“Oh my God, you did,” she said, equal parts impressed and horrified.
“Serena,” Ursula said softly, “that’s not something people here do lightly.”
“He doesn’t seem like a Monster to me,” I muttered.
Sapphire gave me a look.
“That’s how it starts. But the thing is, Serena, there are real Monsters here.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because part of me knew what she meant.
And part of me rejected it completely.
“I’m not stupid,” I said quietly.
“No one said you were,” Emery replied. “We’re just worried.”
About me.
And that landed in a place I didn’t realize was still open.
It felt… nice.
And terrifying.
Because I wasn’t used to it.
We talked after that.
More gently.
They apologized for the bluntness.
For the assumptions.
For not being there sooner.
At some point, Emery squeezed my hand again and said, “You’re one of us now, okay?”
Ursula nodded. “Best friend circle!”
Sapphire didn’t say it—but she didn’t argue either.
The word settled in my chest.
Best friend circle.
It shouldn’t have meant that much.
But it did.
Maybe because I’d spent so long being the girl people avoided.
The girl people whispered about.
The girl who was too much.
