A singular thought struck me as I lay on the cold, hard floor.
"What was the point?"
Dust stung my eyes.
"That's what you get for hurting her, Ari." My fiancé said as he mercilessly pressed the sole against my head.
I looked up, seeing her chuckle behind him.
Coward.
I wanted to stand, to shout…
I felt faint. My consciousness slowly slipping away.
"This can't be it. Please…"
.
.
.
Everything faded to black.
Am I… still conscious?
For a brief moment, there was peace—a calm I'd never felt before. Then a sharp beep dragged me back.
My body protested. Weak. Stiff. Faint. I blinked at white walls, sterile and unfamiliar. Machines beeped rhythmically around me, IV lines crawling into my skin like tiny snakes.
Hospital. Somehow, I was in a hospital.
I flexed my fingers. Numb. Not… foreign. This was my body. But why was I here? Why now?
I rang the bell.
Minutes later, a young nurse appeared, bustling with energy. Her face froze me: Barbara? No… impossible. Too young, too kind.
"H-Hello," I croaked. My voice barely emerged.
"You must be confused," she said, checking the monitors. "Lie down. Let's get your vitals first. I'm Barbara."
Barbara Collins. The woman who had destroyed everything. My chest tightened. My mind raced. She'd stop nursing ten years ago… Yet here she was, smiling at me.
I forced words out, my lips dry: "ahem- Miss… Collins?"
"Yes," she said softly. "Today is August 26th, 2025. Rest now."
Rest? My head spun. The pieces didn't fit. I had never been to this hospital before. My life… my past… something had changed.
Had I… gone back? Or slipped into some other version of myself?
The room was silent, except for the steady beeping. And in that silence, the question burned hotter than any pain:
What really happened to me?