AVA'S POVI could taste the resignation in my voice, but who cared? There was literally nothing left for me. I was a nobody now. I couldn't go back to my aunt. She'd pretend she didn't know me and have me thrown out.Rome didn't reply immediately, but I could feel his stare boring into the side of my head.His reply was so faint I almost didn't catch his words. "We've both lost something valuable. I couldn't get mine back, but you can.""But why?" I pressed. It didn't make sense. What could he understand about anything I'd lost? Why was he helping me?"While you were asleep," he went on, pretending I hadn't said anything, "your nails were replaced. The real ones will grow back, but those are your replacements for now. The doctor said you'll have a couple of scars here and there, but other than that, you'll be fine."Lifting my hands, I admired the smooth, pink curves and bit back a sob. They were beautiful.I curled them into my palm.Satisfied, I ran them through my thick locks, yanking out the scrunchie at the base. My hair felt different. It smelled different, too. I swooped the soft mass over my shoulder.I tilted my head to take a closer look. My hair was dyed. Dark red. There were a couple of faint highlights here and there, making it shinier.Reaching down, I spun my heavily bandaged shoulder in a circle. Pain sliced down to my elbow when I rolled it too fast, but that was okay. It was fixed.I dug my hands under the blanket and rolled the large gown up to my hips, ready to push it higher when I snuck a glance at Rome.He openly stared, not even avoiding eye contact, as if my almost strip show was a daily occurrence.Discomfort wrapped over me like a cloak. Yeah, I'd stripped for several men and exposed my body more times than I could count, but that pretend confidence was gone. Unease replaced it.I didn't want that kind of attention anymore. I wished I could bury it and then drown it with a thousand cement blocks attached.I lowered the gown.Rome's dark head dipped to his lap. He turned his phone on, thumbed the screen, and turned the chair so his back was to me. Guess he caught on.Who said the chivalry was dead, right?Lifting the hem of the gown, I tucked it under my breasts. I ran the pads of my fingers over my ribs, then lower till they brushed over puckered, bumpy lines. I pulled lightly on the outer skin to inspect the work done. The cut looked clean and rutty, but the flesh around it was healing. It was fading to a burnt yellow."Have you thought of getting back everything you lost?" His gravelly voice sliced through the silence we'd settled in. "You can't leave it all to them."I released the gown, and it rolled down to my waist. "Is that why you brought me here? To get back what I lost? That doesn't make any sense."He blatantly ignored my questions. "Are you decent?""Yeah."He raised his head. "I was going to get you glasses so no one recognizes you, but I realized that wouldn't be necessary." Those bright eyes swept over me. "Puberty did enough."Glasses? For what? "What do you mean 'so no one recognizes me'?""I want you to come to school with me."A disbelieving reply burst out of me before I could think twice. "Absolutely not.""What?""N-no," I stuttered, "I'm not going to any school."I tried to gulp down my terror. He wanted me to go back to school? With lessons and teachers and people?The thought spooked me to no end.Besides, I barely knew him, and he was trying to get me to go to some school. Who did that? I voiced the thought."Who does that?" He repeated my question gently. "It is questionable, but I don't intend to change my mind. You'll appreciate this later."Did he hear himself? Has he lost his mind?"I'm not going." I reiterated, stressing with a deep frown.His eyes flitted to me, careful and alert, like I was going to explode any second. "And why is that?""Look at me," my temples throbbed, "I'm a filthy mess! There's no way I can go back into your world, much more be thrust into it. I wouldn't even know what to do when I get there, as you can see I'm not exactly fit for that and I'm a nobody. I haven't been to school in years. I'm different from all of you. I've seen and done things no one my age should have. You've lived a sheltered life, and you know how to act around others, but I don't. Not anymore. I'm just some misplaced charity. Your world is not someplace I know how to live in anymore, so let me stay in mine. I've been indoors for years. This won't be anything new to me."His reply was as smooth as his demeanor. "It's your world, too. It always has been. And if you're going to stand up to your friend, you will have to do it there." Then he said something I never saw coming. "She started Prestige last week."