Chapter 4

Sera POV

I closed my apartment door and leaned against it, letting out a long breath. The silence felt heavy after spending the morning with Bri's family and their endless chatter about my bright future.

My phone buzzed with a text from Bri: Don't forget! Party starts at 7. You better be there or I'm sending a search party.

I glanced at the clock. Four-thirty. That gave me a few hours to pull myself together and pretend I wasn't falling apart.

The bathroom mirror reflected back a girl who looked like she hadn't slept in days—which wasn't far from the truth. I started with foundation, trying to cover the dark circles that seemed to have taken permanent residence under my eyes.

"Come on, Sera," I muttered, dabbing concealer under my eyes. "One night. You can fake normal for one night."

The mascara wand slipped in my shaky hands, leaving a black streak across my cheek. I cursed under my breath and reached for a makeup wipe.

That's when I saw it.

In the mirror, staring back at me, were eyes that weren't mine. Ancient, sad eyes filled with something that looked like recognition.

I spun around, heart hammering. Nothing. Just my tiny bathroom with its peeling wallpaper and flickering light.

When I turned back to the mirror, it was just me again. Pale, scared, but me.

"Stress," I whispered to my reflection. "Just stress. Get it together."

The party was in full swing by the time I arrived. Bri had rented out the back room of some trendy restaurant downtown, and it was packed with her usual crowd—trust fund kids who treated money like Monopoly paper and talked about spring break trips to Europe like they were discussing the weather.

"There she is!" Bri appeared the moment I walked in, stunning in a silver dress that probably cost more than my semester's worth of groceries. "Finally! I was starting to think you'd chickened out."

"Just running late," I said, accepting the champagne flute she pressed into my hands.

"You look gorgeous," she said, linking our arms. "That dress is perfect on you. I told you the blue would bring out your eyes."

"Thanks."

She steered me toward a group of her friends clustered near the bar. I recognized most of them from campus, Madison with her perfectly straight blonde hair, Tyler who'd never worked a day in his life but somehow had opinions about "the economy," and Jessica whose idea of roughing it was staying at a four-star hotel instead of five-star.

"Look who decided to grace us with her presence," Madison said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Happy birthday, Sera," Jessica added. "Twenty-one! Big age."

"Barely," Tyler laughed.

"oh shut up Mr economics," I said before I could stop myself.

An awkward silence fell over the group. Bri quickly jumped in.

"Okay, enough chit-chat. Sera needs a real drink. Something stronger than champagne." She flagged down a server. "Can we get a round of shots?"

"Alcohol?"

"It's your birthday," Madison interrupted. "Live a little."

The shots arrived, something clear and expensive-looking. Everyone raised their glasses.

"To Sera," Bri announced, "and her fabulous new life. New apartment, dream internship, and twenty-one years of being absolutely perfect."

"To Sera!" the group chorused.

I downed the shot, grimacing at the burn. The alcohol hit my empty stomach hard, making the room feel warmer and the edges softer.

"Another?" Tyler asked, already signaling for more.

"I should probably pace myself”

"Come on," Jessica said. "When's the next time we'll all be together like this? You'll be too busy being a corporate hotshot to hang out with us."

"That's not true"

"It kind of is," Bri said, but she was smiling. "You're going to be so successful, you won't have time for us anymore."

More shots appeared. More toasts. The room got louder, brighter. I found myself laughing at Tyler's stupid jokes and actually enjoying Madison's gossip about professors.

That's when everything went wrong.

It started as a flicker, like someone had adjusted the lighting. The laughter around me became distant, echoing. I blinked hard, trying to focus.

"Don't be afraid."

The voice was so clear, so close, I turned to see who had spoken. But everyone was still talking and laughing like nothing had happened.

"I said, don't be afraid."

This time I saw him, not the old man from the boutique, but someone else. Younger, with sharp features and eyes that seemed to look right through me. His lips moved, forming words I almost understood.

And then, God help me I was answering him. In a language I didn't know, with words that weren't mine.

The syllables poured out of my mouth like water through a broken dam. Foreign sounds on my tongue.

"Sera?" Bri's voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. "What are you doing?"

I tried to stop, tried to clamp my mouth shut, but the words kept coming. Everyone was staring now, their faces blurred and confused.

"What's she saying?" I heard Madison whisper.

"Is she okay?" That was Tyler.

The floor tilted. My vision went spotty. Someone's drink crashed to the floor, crystal shattering in a spray of champagne and glass.

"Sera!" Bri's voice was sharp with panic now. "Someone help me, she's going to fall!"

The last thing I remembered was Bri's silver dress flashing as she pushed through the crowd, her hands reaching for me as everything went black.

I woke up on a couch in what looked like an office, probably the restaurant manager's. My head felt like someone was using it as a drum, and my mouth tasted like I'd been licking the bottom of a trash can.

"Hey." Bri's voice was soft, worried. "You're awake."

I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. "What happened?"

"You fainted. Right in the middle of the party. Scared the shit out of everyone."

"Did I..." I swallowed hard, afraid to ask. "Did I say something? Before I passed out?"

Bri hesitated. "You were speaking... I don't know what it was. Not English. Maybe you were having some kind of panic attack?"

"What did it sound like?"

"I don't know, Sera. Like... gibberish? Madison thought you were having a stroke."

I buried my face in my hands. "God, I'm so embarrassed."

"Hey, no." Bri sat down beside me, rubbing my back. "You've been under a lot of stress. New job, new apartment, money worries, it's a lot. Your body just hit its limit."

"Everyone must think I'm completely insane."

"Everyone thinks you need to take better care of yourself. When's the last time you ate a real meal? Or slept more than four hours?"

I couldn't remember. "I'm fine…"

"You're not fine. You just passed out at your own birthday party speaking in tongues or whatever that was."

A knock on the door interrupted us. A man in a suit peeked in, probably the manager.

"How is she?" he asked Bri.

"Better. We'll be out of your way in a minute."

"Take your time. I just wanted to make sure she didn't need an ambulance."

"No ambulance," I said quickly. I couldn't afford an ambulance.

"You sure?" Bri asked. "Maybe we should have someone look at you"

"I'm fine. Really. Just tired."

The manager nodded and left us alone.

"This is about more than being tired," Bri said once he was gone. "Talk to me. What's really going on?"

“Trust me when I say I'm fine, it was probably just the alcohol I took”

“Well, If you say so then, I'll be outside if you need me okay?”

“Okay, and bri, thank you again for everything.”

“Don't mention it.”

And she left

I wanted to tell her. About the man in the boutique, about the dreams, about seeing things that weren't there. But how do you explain something you don't understand yourself?