Author's Note: Hi guys! This chapter's a Keefe POV. I failed to explain the last chapter very well, sorry. So, to clear up any confusion from the last few chapters, here is a summary:

Keefe can talk in Sophie's brain because their minds are weirdly connected after the whole Gisela's mind incident. I'm sorry, I didn't really explain that. I promise the connection thing will make sense— soon. And to explain the whole Gisela's mind thing, basically Keefe could see through Sophie's eyes into his mom's mind. And he found a way to project an image of himself onto one of the empty frames, even though he's not a telepath. Also, Sophie can sort of sense his feelings, a little bit. So it's like their abilities are weirdly mixing.

I hope that cleared up any lingering confusion that you had!

Update on my best friend just in case you were curious: his condition isn't improving, but he's not getting worse either. That's good, I guess.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to leave a review!

I hear the soft rustle of the bedsheets, and see Sophie sit up. After she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, I sat on the couch for about an hour, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for what happened earlier. I racked my brain, to no avail.

"Hey," Sophie mumbles, swiping her hair out of her eyes, which are still red and swollen from crying so much.

"Hey," I say, standing up and walking over to her. "How are you holding up?"

She sighs, brushing away the lingering rheum around her eyes. "I'm fine. It hurt, and brought back some painful memories, but I'm okay."

I sit down on the corner of the bed. She's not okay. One thing I've learned about her is that when she says she's fine, she's usually not.

"And now the real answer?" I prompt.

Sophie sighs. "I never could lie to you, huh?"

"That's not an answer."

"No, I suppose it's not. But. . . I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet," she explains.

I nod. "That's okay. But don't bottle up your feelings, either. I tried that, and it didn't go too well. Remember, I'm here for you."

Sophie gives me a small, sad smile. "I know. And for that, I will be forever grateful."

She intertwines our fingers, a gesture of comfort.

"You know, I'm impressed," she says finally. "You managed to hold up under Gisela for so long. Now that I think about it, it's actually very surprising that you're such an amazing person."

"What?" I ask, thoroughly confused.

"You have a villain's backstory," she explains. "Abusive parents that never showed you love, smart but they never thought you were smart enough."

I tilt my head to the side. "Really?"

"Always second place," she adds quietly.

Second to Fitz. Always. That's how I grew up. Because he was a Vacker, and I was. . . nobody. He was the golden child, and I was the troublemaker. That's just the way of things. And somehow, I'm okay with it. Disappointing my parents is what I do best, anyway.

"It's not true," she growls. "Don't give me that look. Your parents might have believed that, but don't think for one second that you have less value than him."

Her tone is ferocious, like some beast inside her has been awakened.

"You," Sophie whispers, moving closer to me, "will always be first to me. Always."

I don't know where this is coming from. Maybe, in my mother's mind, Sophie saw something?

"Why?" I ask, her brown eyes so close that I can see the little flecks of gold in them.

Sophie smiles at me. It's a small smile, but it's sincere.

"Because," she whispers, her fingers trailing up my arm, "You deserve it. You deserve the whole world, Keefe, and don't ever let anyone tell you anything else."

My mouth goes dry.

And suddenly I am left wondering if love is too weak a word for what I feel for her. If maybe there is no word in all the languages ever invented to accurately describe the racing of my heart, the way my thoughts flash through my head, how she stares at me so intently that I begin to think maybe, just maybe. . .

I can't tell which of the emotions I'm feeling are hers and which are mine. I can hear thoughts in my head, and I can't tell if I'm the one thinking them. I can see her eyes, but I can also see mine. It's as if I'm in her head, but not really.

Flashes of memories flit through my mind, some of them mine, some hers. They're blinking by too fast for me to fully comprehend any of them.

She leans a tiny bit closer.

My mind manages to comprehend one of the images— just one. But it's enough to startle me out of my trance.

A pair of teal eyes, closer than I am to Sophie now. Of course. Fitz.

And I am suddenly brought back to the harsh reality of the world.

We are trapped, imprisoned. Caged in this place for my mother to experiment on and abuse as she pleases. And Sophie. . .

Still has feelings for Fitz.

Of course she does.

It makes sense. You don't just stop liking someone, I suppose, even if they did threaten one of your friends.

That's fine. It's not like there's going to be an us after this, anyway.

I've had a feeling, in the pit of my stomach, ever since we arrived here. I guess Sophie has no idea. That's good. I don't intend for her to find out. She'd try to stop me, convince me that there's another way.

That feeling tells me that only one of us is getting out of here.

So I will help her escape. I will help her hunt for a way out, help her get through whatever other tortures my mother has planned.

And then I'll stay behind and take the Neverseen down, once and for all.

My mother has made plans, plenty of them. But she's miscalculated. Forgotten something.

I've made plans, too.