Norman is gone.

Serephina sat on the bed as she looked at the window. She could get glimpses of the kids playing around the fields happily, as if nothing ever happened. Ignorance was indeed a bliss.

... It's agonizing to think about it..

It had been a day since Norman was shipped out, and Serephina doesn't have the heart to move on. It was as if a big part of her was taken out, she had no other way of explaining how it felt like.

Since then, she never got a visit from Emma. Serephina could already tell why. Norman was closest to Emma after all, he had been with her through her bad and good times. To lose someone that close to you...

Serephina couldn't even begin to imagine it.. if Ray would get taken away from her, she wouldn't know what to do at all.

Don and Gilda were the only two people who'd come by to check up on her happily. Those two managed to force out a smile, and it definitely made Serephina's day a little brighter. She knew they both had it hard, yet they still try to bring out positivity. If Serephina wasn't on the bed with a broken leg, then she would have went with them.

And then there's Ray. The boy who could barely get a word out after Norman's adoption.

He managed to visit her a few times. And when he did, he would always bring a book with them. And then, he'd sit down on the chair beside Serephina and just read, he would never bother starting a conversation with her. It's as if he brought that book to ignore Serephina. But then, why would he even bother visiting?

The brunette sighed as she leaned onto her bed.

I just hope the escape still goes on plan...

"Screw it all."

It was like a bucket filled with ice-cold water was harshly splashed onto Serephina's face. She stared at Ray with her eyes both wide in disbelief.

They were all gathered in the dining hall, since Ray stated that he had something to announce. Serephina didn't even know about it till Gilda visited her and mentioned it.

This was that one part of Ray which she really, really hated. He was too quick to give up. One mistake, and in his eyes, everything is done for. Serephina really hated that side of his.

"Let's just all die here," the boy continued to mumble as he looked up at Emma. The ginger frowned as she gave Serephina a quick glance. But the girl never looked back at her, instead, she continued looking at Ray with an expression Emma had never seen before.

"Huh?" Gilda flinched as Don stepped forward, shocked to hear Ray such words. "What...?"

"We can't do this." Ray lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with the others. "We're on a cliff too high to jump off of. The only bridge that leads us to the other side is connected to the HQ. And most of all..."

Please don't say it—

Serephina's wish wasn't fulfilled. She felt her lose her breath when hearing Ray's next words.

"I'm tired."

Serephina clenched her flinched as Don raised a brow, looking at Ray in disbelief and confusion. "Wha—"

"I'm just exhausted..." he mumbled, though they couldn't complain. Ray spent more than half of his life plotting an escape. He wanted them to escape. But then, it was all ruined. In the end, Ray's hard work was wasted.

"Then what about this?" Emma held out the device that Ray had built to destroy the trackers.

"Don't care. You can have it." He then paused. "Run if you'd like. I'm no longer part of this plan." He looked up at them, a dark expression on his face as his eyes landed on the ginger. "I'm sorry, Emma."

Emma clenched her fists together, tears threatening to fall any minute. Without another word, she quickly left the room, leaving behind the others.

"Ray—!" Before Don could even take a step forward, Serephina quickly grabbed his arm. The boy turned around with his eyes wide in confusion as he looked at the brunette. "Serephina..?"

"You and Gilda should go ahead." Serephina released a warm smile at the two. She looked at Gilda and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe cheer Emma up too, okay?"

"But—"

"No buts," Serephina cooed as she gently pushed the two out of the dining hall. "Now, off you go! I'll catch up later, okay?"

"Wait—!"

"Bye!" Serephina then closed the door shut, making sure that she heard both Gilda and Don walking away before releasing her hands from the handle.

She then turned around and walked towards the boy sitting down on one of the chairs, his head still down as he tried to avoid the conversation. But of course, Serephina will do anything to let him talk.

"You know, you're being really annoying right now."

Serephina sighed as she crossed her arms, sitting on the table as she looked down at Ray with a sharp glare.

"I'm being selfish and all, but do you really think I don't know about your plan?"

Ray didn't answer once again, making Serephina scoff.

"What the heck is wrong with you? Saying you'd be giving up and then by the end you're literally going to sacrifice your life? That's so messed up—"

"Then what else can I do?" Serephina froze when hearing Ray's loud voice echo through the huge spaces of the dining hall. She tilted her head and looked at Ray. "What else you can do?"

She snickered. "There's a lot, and to be honest, you're being pretty dumb."

"I'm not being dumb, Serephina." Ray was definitely intimidating right now. The whole reason why she was even sitting down on the table was so that Ray wouldn't notice her trembling. "I'm being logical, and this was for your own good."

"My own good?" Serephina placed a hand on her chest as she raised a brow. "My own good? Ray, as much as I wanna escape, escaping with you is literally equivalent to being dead inside!" She bit her lip. "If you can't understand that, then—"

Serephina stood up and released the breath she was unintentionally holding in. She gave Ray a sharp look before walking away from him and towards the exit.

As unreasonable as she may be, a life without Ray would be something she'd never get used to.

"If you can't understand how important you are to me, then sorry, Ray.. I just— can't... Talk to you anymore..."

She's being unreasonable, but she doesn't care.

She wants Ray to understand how she feels.

And with those words, she left the room. Ray sat there in the darkness, his head down as he clasped his hands together.

"Shit."

Fact Eighteen
This wasn't the only fight
that both Ray and Serephina had.

Woah, an update? Yep. It's currently twelve in the midnight and I'm bored so I decided to FINALLY write a chapter. I'm so sorry for this late update, school's been shiz and I've been busy, ya know, tending to my growing anxiety wkfnsjs.
—chyuu.