Abandoned to Die by My Boyfriend's Clique, Reborn as Their Only Escape

My boyfriend proposed we hike a mountain without water or food. A test of our limits.

The others jumped on the idea. I hesitated, and my best friend hooked her arm through mine.

Where's your sense of adventure? Just think of it as keeping me company, okay?

My boyfriend's face went hard too. Renee Pruitt, why do you always have to be the one who ruins the fun?

I gave in. On the day of the hike, he made us all leave our phones at the base of the mountain, so no one could sneak an electronic payment.

Then, when our throats were dry as sand, the others pulled out cash and each bought water and bread.

When I questioned it, he looked at me like I was pathetic. "We said no bringing food. We never said we couldn't buy it with cash. If you can't think for yourself, whose fault is that?"

I passed out from dehydration, and they didn't give me a single drop of water. They just picked up their feet and walked away.

"You have to feel the pain before you'll ever learn. We're doing this for your own good!"

By the time someone found me, my skin was burned raw, and one of my arms had charred so badly it had to be amputated.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day they proposed the no-supply hike.

I agreed without a moment's pause. "Sure. Count me in."

This time, I would be the one to let them feel what hunger and thirst really did to a person. Let them learn their lesson.

I was doing it for their own good. Wasn't I?

Seeing me agree, my best friend Bertha Finch put on her helpful, concerned face.

"Renee, remember, you can't bring anything to eat or drink. And no asking for help along the way. Each of us is responsible for ourselves."

I looked at her and asked, puzzled, "Asking for help?"

"You're not bringing anything either, right? So even if we could ask for help, it wouldn't do any good, would it?"

The second the words left my mouth, my boyfriend Ezra Henson, his older sister Bernice Henson, and his childhood friend Desmond Cobb all burst out laughing.

They nodded along. "Right, right. Renee's so clever, she doesn't need you reminding her, Bertha."

Bertha gave me a smile heavy with meaning.

"You're right. I was making a fuss over nothing."

Ezra took out an agreement.

"Since you've agreed, sign it."

In my last life, he'd produced the exact same document.

It stated that I, as a legally competent adult, took full responsibility for my own safety.

Back then I'd been so confused. "It's just a hike. Do we really need to be this serious about it?"

But they'd called it a gentleman's agreement and pressed me until I signed.

Now, looking at that familiar wording on the page, I gently pushed it back across to him.

Ezra's expression changed.

"What's that supposed to mean? We haven't even set out and you're already trying to weasel out?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Since all five of us are going, shouldn't everyone sign one? And everyone keep a copy on file?"

"Your safety is your own responsibility too. It has nothing to do with me."

Desmond laughed out loud.

"We'll be perfectly safe. You should worry about yourself."

I tilted my head toward him.

"How can you be so sure? Don't tell me you've got a way to cheat and you're just not telling me."

The moment I said it, guilt was written all over the rest of them.

Desmond's laugh froze on his face, his mouth still slightly open.

Ezra shot him an irritated glare.

"Renee has a point. We're all doing this together, so we should all sign one."

He ran off to the copy shop next door and came back with four more copies.

Ezra, Bernice, Bertha, Desmond. One after another, they each signed their names.

I picked up one of the signed copies, put it in my bag, and turned to leave.

Bertha called after me with her "concerned" reminder.

"Go home and eat and drink plenty, okay? Tomorrow you won't be getting a single drop."

I nodded. "Thanks. Same to you all."

Their laughter rang out behind me.

The day of the hike in my last life, it was a hundred and four degrees.

The sun beat down until my throat felt like it was on fire, and all I could do was keep swallowing.

At the supply station, Ezra and the others turned and went inside to buy water and bread.

I was stunned. "I thought we agreedno food, no drinks?"

Bertha pressed her lips into a little smile. "We said no bringing our own water or food. When did anyone say we couldn't buy any?"

I asked, "But we left our phones at the base. What are you going to pay with?"

Like a magic trick, they all pulled out their wallets.

"With cash, obviously. Renee, don't tell me you didn't bring any?"

"Then I guess you'll just have to watch us eat and drink."

At the time, I still thought they were joking with me.

Until Ezra walked over, twisted a bottle open, and held it out in front of me.

I reached for it, and he yanked it back, his face full of mockery.

"You didn't actually think I'd let you drink my water, did you? We agreed. Everyone looks after themselves."

I stared at him, shaking with disbelief and fury.

"What are you saying? You want me to die of thirst?"

Bertha lifted her bottle, took a few sips, and unhurriedly wiped the drops from the corner of her mouth.

"Renee, we're doing this for your own good. Consider it a free lesson so you learn to think ahead next time."

"See, we all remembered to bring cash. You're the only one who didn't. So whose fault is that?"

I tried to go to the shop owner for help, but they dragged and hauled me out of the store.

The owner came out after us, uneasy, and Ezra pretended to hug me, using it to clamp a hand over my mouth.

Bertha waved at the owner, her voice sweet as syrup.

"We're just messing with her. You think we'd really leave her with no water? I even bought two bottles!"

She shoved a bottle of water into my hand, and the owner smiled and went back inside, reassured.

Ezra pushed me forward with his hand over my mouth, and after two turns in the trail, he snatched the water out of my hand and poured the whole bottle onto the ground.

"We agreedyou fend for yourself. Don't even think about cheating."

I grabbed for it in desperation and came away with an empty bottle.

Their careless laughter rang in my ears all over again, and the burning of my scorched skin came rushing back.

I took a few deep breaths and made myself calm down.

I opened my laptop and anonymously messaged someone who took odd, off-the-books jobs on one of those shady forums.

Steal four walletscan you do it?

The reply came instantly. Ten grand. If the price works, transfer it now and send me the time and place.

Once everything was arranged, I opened the group chat.

Ezra, Bertha, and the rest were all posting "Can't wait for tomorrow."

I let out a soft laugh and typed, "I can't wait either."

The chat instantly filled with a flood of laughing reaction stickers.

I put my phone on silent, packed my cash, and rolled over to sleep.

The next day, we gathered at the base of the mountain.

It was a bleak, undeveloped peak, the kind almost no one came to unless they wanted to test their endurance.

At the storage point below, Ezra took out his phone and waved it at us, exactly like last life.

"Phones go in too, so no one gets desperate and cheats with a payment app!"

Bertha giggled and fished out her own phone.

"No idea who's going to crack first. Definitely not me, though."

Bernice and Desmond made faces and handed their phones over to Ezra too.

Behind them, a person in a cap was drawing closer.

I stepped up beside Ezra and pulled out my phone.

While everyone's attention was on me, that person's hands moved smoothly and lifted something out of their pockets.

Ezra didn't notice a thing. He took my phone and smiled, satisfied.

"I thought you'd give me trouble about it."

I shrugged. "We agreed on this. Why would I make trouble?"

We set off toward the entrance.

Bertha put on her sweet, helpless voice. "This mountain's so tall. The sun up there's going to be brutal, right? What if we get thirsty?"

Bernice smiled, pleased with herself. "What's there to worry about? We came prepared, didn't we?"

I looked up at them.

"Prepared with what? I thought we agreed no one could bring anything."

Bernice took on a lecturing tone.

"What we brought is none of your business. Outdoor sports are about survival of the fittest. Everyone looks out for themselves. You rely on yourself, understand?"

Ezra added, "Right. Today's about each of us pushing our own limits. No helping each other."

"Renee, whatever happens today, I won't be looking after you. Don't use the fact that you're my girlfriend to guilt-trip me into it."

In my last life, he'd said the same thing, and he'd done exactly that.

I collapsed on the trail from dehydration, and he walked right past me with a bottle of water in his hand.

"Quit the act. Your acting is terrible."

"I already told you, I'm not giving you water. This is helping you toughen up!"

I pulled myself out of the memory and nodded, all seriousness.

"Ezra, I won't be helping you either."

"Whatever happens, don't use the fact that you're my boyfriend to guilt-trip me into it."

Ezra clutched his stomach, doubling over with laughter.

"Me, needing your help? You'd better just worry about yourself!"

Bernice, Desmond, and the rest laughed until they had tears in their eyes.

"Don't worry. We'd never come begging to you."

As we climbed, the sun overhead grew fiercer.

The roof of my mouth felt like it was splitting all the way down my throat, and even swallowing my own spit hurt like gulping down razor blades.

Ezra walked at the front and pointed ahead.

"Look, the supply store!"

Bertha and the others perked up.

"We're saved, we're saved. My throat's about to dry out completely."

I gave them a baffled look.

"So there's a supply store. Weren't we supposed to be doing this whole hike without eating or drinking?"

Desmond gave a contemptuous little laugh. "Renee, is something wrong with your ears?"

"What we said was that we wouldn't bring our own food or drinks. We never said we couldn't buy from the supply store."

My tone grew even more puzzled.

"But our phones are all locked up at the base. With no money, what are you going to buy anything with?"

Bertha pressed her lips into a smile. "True enough. People with no money can only sit there dreaming about water."

The few of them exchanged a look and smiled, letting it drag out.

Ezra was the first up the steps. "Come on, let's go stock up at the supply station!"

By the time I stepped into the supply store, they were already picking out water and bread by the shelves.

I stood there in the shop, watching them.

"What are you doing? You didn't bring your phones. How are you going to pay for anything?"

Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"What does not bringing my phone have to do with buying things? You've never heard of this thing called cash?"

Bertha smiled at me too. "We all brought cash. We'll just pay with cash, easy."

"Oh no, Renee, don't tell me you didn't even bring any cash? You must be dying of thirst by now. What are you going to do?"

"Ezra, can I buy some for Renee?"

Ezra frowned. "Rules are rules. You want to help her cheat?"

Bertha stuck her tongue out at me. "Then there's nothing I can do, Renee. You'll just have to watch us eat and drink."

I turned to Ezra. "Isn't buying stuff against the rules? Otherwise why lock our phones away at the trailhead?"

Ezra and the others answered together. "Who said buying things was against the rules? We said electronic payment was against the rules!"

"Of course you can buy things if you've got money. The whole point is testing whether we can survive without phones and the internet. You've got cash, you can buy too. Who's stopping you?"

Bernice shook her head and sighed. "Ezra, this girl you picked has something wrong with her IQ. Her brain doesn't even turn."

Ezra grabbed a bottle of water and waved it at me.

"No money means you go thirsty. Don't expect me to help you. We agreedeveryone's on their own."

I nodded and sat down on the stool in the shop. "Fine. On our own. No objection here."

Ezra and the others grinned, pleased with themselves.

Bertha was practically draped over Ezra, keeping her voice at just the right level for me to hear.

"Bet you anything, in a minute she'll be begging us. I'm your girlfriend, I'm your best friend, all that..."

Ezra made a gagging motion. "Ugh. Every time she gets clingy it makes me sick."

"Whatever, I'm not looking after her. You want to, you go ahead."

"Me? Do I look like some saint?"

I watched quietly as they walked up to the register.

"We're paying separately, each for our own!"

"Right, we agreed before we set outon our own, no cheating."

They said it while shooting me a glance, then reached smugly into their pockets.

Ezra's hand had barely gone in before his face changed.

"Where's my money? Where'd I put it?"

He looked down and dug through every pocket, refusing to accept it.

But apart from a pack of tissues, he came up with nothing.

Bernice rolled her eyes. "When are you going to fix that careless streak of yours? Never mind. I'll pay for you."

Then something dawned on her, and she turned to say to me on purpose,

"I'm his own sister. Family helping pay doesn't count as cheating."

I said nothing.

She thought I was sulking and let out a cold laugh. "Object all you like, it won't help. My money's mine to spend on whoever I"

"Where's my money?!"

Bernice's face went white in an instant.

Then came Desmond's and Bertha's screams, one after another.

"Mymy money's gone!"

"What do we do? No money, how do we buy water? I'm dying of thirst!"

I propped my chin in both hands and tilted my head to watch them.

Last time, they'd been so smug pulling out their wallets. This time, they were just as pathetic patting empty pockets.

When their faces had twisted with despair, I stretched, stood up, took a bottle of water and some bread off the shelf, and walked to the register.

I met their stunned stares, pulled a ten-dollar bill from my pocket, and handed it to the owner.

"Ring me up."