I kept waiting for the voice to go away.
Dr. Reyes'.
But it didn't.
It wasn't loud. Not constant. Just… there.
Like an echo bouncing around inside my skull.
Sometimes, when I tried to get a flash on something small—like whether to take the stairs or the elevator—it would come first.
A whisper.
"Trust yourself."
Then the vision would follow.
But was it mine?
Or was it still hers?
Lena noticed something was wrong at lunch.
"You're zoning out again," she said.
Ava glanced at me too. "Is it happening again?"
I nodded slowly. "She's not gone."
Lena's jaw tightened. "They do this. They don't just erase themselves. They leave pieces behind. Triggers."
I looked at her. "How do you know?"
"Because I heard them too," she admitted. "After I left. For weeks. Sometimes still do."
Ava frowned. "So what does that mean for him?"
Lena didn't answer right away.
Then she said, "It means they're still talking to us. Even when we walk away."
That chill came back.
I wanted to believe I'd made the right choice.
But what if I hadn't made it at all?
What if I was just playing out another version of what they wanted?
Just then, my phone buzzed.
Message from an unknown number:
"You left something behind. You'll come back for it."
I stared at the screen.
Then showed it to Lena.
Her face went pale.
She whispered, "No."
Ava leaned in. "What? Who is it?"
Lena looked at me, eyes full of something close to fear.
"It's not who," she said quietly.
"It's what. "
"They're already in your life."
And then I realized—
Maybe I never left at all.