LIAM came, I felt nice, but I don't think Peter did too or not.
But I felt something.
I don't know what triggered it, but I swear it started with just a simple laugh.
A stupid laugh over a joke Edward cracked about Finn dropping nachos on his new white sneakers.
The party was on full swing—music blaring, people dancing, red cups in every hand, fairy lights blinking like the stars had decided to attend my birthday too. Chloe was dancing like a wild bird, Peter was somewhere talking to Reena, and Liam—well, Liam was near the back patio, smiling like he belonged in a sad romantic novel.
But me?
I walked into the kitchen to grab a soda, but the second I stepped in, something… snapped.
My stomach twisted. My chest clenched. My hands trembled.
I couldn't tell if I wanted to dance or scream.
And then—tears.
Out of nowhere.
Like a faucet burst open inside my soul.
But then I was laughing. Loudly. Crazily. That terrifying, echoing laugh—the kind they show in psychological thrillers right before the screen cuts to black. I saw myself in the mirror on the fridge, and I didn't even recognize that girl anymore.
"Emma? Babe, are you okay?" Michelle walked in with a slice of cake in her hand.
I turned to her, smiling. "Never better." Then suddenly: "Or maybe worse! Haha, don't you think it's funny how I survived death in another life but I can't even survive a birthday party?!"
"Emma…"
I didn't wait. I grabbed not one, not two—but three bottles of vodka someone had sneakily brought and sprinted out of the kitchen, straight up to the top floor bathroom. My heart was pounding like a war drum. My fingers were ice.
I locked the door.
I collapsed to the floor. I opened the first bottle.
"Cheers to me," I whispered, and took a long sip. "To the girl who doesn't know who she loves, who she is, or what's even real anymore."
One bottle down.
The second one hit harder. My head buzzed. My lips tingled. My vision blurred. I cried so hard I choked on my own breath. The tiles felt cold under my face.
Then the memories came. Like firecrackers inside my brain.
Peter's eyes when he saw me with Liam.
Peter's lips pressed against mine in the garage.
Liam's kiss on my cheek last night.
Liam burning people alive to save me in the past.
Peter walking away from me outside the grocery store.
Liam shouting, holding me in his arms.
Peter's voice.
Liam's touch.
Me. Screaming. Crying. Laughing.
"Make it stop," I whispered.
I crawled to the door, my hand trembling as I unlocked it.
And then—darkness.
I collapsed right there, in front of the door, on the cold floor of the top floor hallway, mascara running down my cheeks, three bottles of alcohol swimming in my system, and no one in sight.
Because guess what?
It was my party.
And no one even realized the birthday girl was missing.
I didn't even know I had passed out.
When I opened my eyes, I was still lying there—cold tiles pressing into my back, cheek burning with leftover tears, but that wasn't what shocked me. It was the blood.
Everywhere.
Sticky, glistening trails of dark red all over the hallway floor, smeared across the walls, seeping into the white rug outside the bathroom. It looked like something out of a horror film. My fingers trembled as I lifted them. Blood. My face? My dress? My legs?
My mouth tasted like metal. Sharp. Bitter.
More terrifying? My eyes. Blood dripped from them in streams.
What the hell was happening to me?
I couldn't move. My limbs were too weak. My body was giving up. Everything was blurry.
And then I heard it—laughing.
Not cruel. Not evil.
Just light, silly, happy laughing. From Chloe.
"Haha, Edward, stop! Someone's gonna catch us—" her voice sang as she walked up the stairs, holding Edward's hand. She was smiling, flushed, glowing in the golden hallway lights. The moment she looked down—
Her laughter died.
She froze.
Her eyes locked onto the river of blood trailing from the bathroom door to where I lay, motionless.
"Emma?"
She dropped Edward's hand. Her heels clicked against the floor as she staggered toward me, shaking.
"EMMA?!" she screamed.
I wanted to speak. I really did. I tried to say, "Chloe, help," but no sound came out.
Edward ran forward and caught Chloe before she collapsed.
"Oh my god, she's not breathing right!" Edward said, crouching beside me.
Chloe's voice cracked as she choked back sobs. "No... no, no, no. Emma, no."
Blood had soaked through my entire dress. That beautiful slit cosmic dress. Blue velvet now dark with red, glued to my skin.
"Call the ambulance!" Chloe screamed, and Edward fumbled for his phone.
The music downstairs still blared—but Chloe's scream had been so raw, so full of horror, that people had already started climbing the stairs. One by one, faces peeked up. The party's buzz turned to panic.
Peter was first.
His eyes widened when he saw me.
"No... no, Emma!" he shouted, pushing through the crowd, dropping his drink.
Reena, Finn, Michelle, everyone—they all stood there, frozen, some gasping, some sobbing.
"Get back! Everyone move!" Edward yelled.
Then... Liam.
His footsteps didn't echo like the others. He just appeared, breathless, eyes dark with horror.
"Emma," he whispered, collapsing beside me. His hands reached for mine. His jaw clenched. "What happened?!"
Peter growled under his breath. "What did you do?"
"Nothing! I swear, I wasn't even with her!"
"ENOUGH!" Chloe screamed. "She's dying! Shut up and DO SOMETHING!"
Liam cupped my face gently. "Emma, can you hear me? Please, stay. Just stay a little longer."
I was drifting. The room tilted. Everything faded in and out like a radio signal.
Then Edward, eyes glued to the phone. "Ambulance in three minutes. Just hold on."
Peter clenched his fists. "She was fine. I saw her dancing. I saw her!"
Chloe sobbed. "She must've come up here. I... oh god... oh my god. The blood. There's so much."
Reena whispered, stunned, "This can't be real. That much blood... no one survives that."
"Yes, she will!" Peter shouted. "SHE WILL."
Liam looked down at me, his voice breaking. "You're not allowed to leave me again, Emma. Not again."
I wanted to speak. To tell him I heard. That I didn't want to go. But then—
everything blacked out.
---
Hours passed.
I don't know how many.
They said I was rushed to the ICU. 52 stab-like puncture wounds. Internal bleeding. Severe alcohol intoxication. And yet... no wounds were visible. No sharp weapon found. And the total volume of blood lost? More than 500 liters.
Medically impossible.
My body shouldn't have had that much blood. And I shouldn't have survived. But I did.
Barely.
Peter sat in the hallway of the hospital, his hoodie soaked from rain. Liam stood a few feet away, arms crossed, face unreadable.
"Don't act like you care more than me," Peter muttered.
Liam stared at the floor. "I never said I did."
"You shouldn't have come back into her life."
"And you shouldn't have ignored her when she needed you."
Edward sat between them, exhausted. "Enough. Both of you. She's in critical condition. This isn't about your egos."
Chloe hadn't stopped crying.
When the doctor finally came out, all eyes turned.
"She's stable. For now. But there's... something strange."
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked.
The doctor adjusted his glasses. "There are no physical stab wounds. But her body reacted like it had been stabbed. Her organs suffered trauma... but her skin is intact. It's like the wounds came from inside."
Peter whispered, "That's not possible."
Liam closed his eyes. "Unless something's trying to tear her apart... from within."
The mystery had just begun.