Raising Nora Again💖Telegram@Linkeex

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00:00:001996, Texas.

00:00:02I suddenly jerk up from the sink, gasping for air.

00:00:04Water drips from my thick blonde hair.

00:00:06I stare at the mirror in shock.

00:00:07The face staring back at me is vibrant, beautiful, full of life.

00:00:10Vintage, smoky eye makeup framing a chalky teenage face.

00:00:1318. You young, healthy, cancer-free.

00:00:16I've been thrown back into the dead-end Texas high school years

00:00:19my mom spent her entire life clawing her way out of.

00:00:22Suddenly, the bathroom door swings open.

00:00:25A familiar grapefruit perfume hits me instantly.

00:00:27It's Valerie, my 18-year-old mother.

00:00:30Her hair is pulled into a high-tony tail,

00:00:31high-waisted jeans hugging her hips,

00:00:33a white tam-top straight out of a 90s teen magazine.

00:00:36Come on, the pep lolly's about to start.

00:00:37She yanks me forward hard enough to make me stumble.

00:00:40But instead of following her, I freeze.

00:00:42Stare at the young face in front of me,

00:00:44untouched by wealth, untouched by surgery,

00:00:46untouched by the years that twisted her into a monster.

00:00:49Valerie, we're... friends?

00:00:51Uh, duh, we're best friends.

00:00:53Why are you being so weird today? Come on!

00:00:55She turns and keeps pulling me towards the door.

00:00:57Half a step behind her, I stare at her back.

00:00:59The confusion in my eyes vanishes instantly,

00:01:01replaced by something cold, something vicious.

00:01:04The school's public address system drones on from the loudspeakers overhead,

00:01:07buzzing with the daily lunch menu.

00:01:09Pizza slices, tater tots, and chocolate milk.

00:01:12Valerie pulls me through the crowded hallway,

00:01:14her hand warm and dry in mine.

00:01:16And then it hits me again,

00:01:18that sharp grapefruit perfume.

00:01:20The scent wraps around me so suddenly my breath catches.

00:01:24It was the smell I knew best as a child.

00:01:26Before I turned five,

00:01:28she used to hold me in her arms,

00:01:29humming old country songs and asking if I loved her.

00:01:32But after she ditched me to chase her high school sweetheart to the big city,

00:01:36that scent only ever showed up in my nightmares.

00:01:39Scarlet, you've been acting weird all day.

00:01:41Scarlet?

00:01:42God, even this body's name sucks.

00:01:45Carefully, I slip my hand out of hers.

00:01:47My eyes swamp across the hallway,

00:01:49the dented locker numbers,

00:01:50the faded football team pictures,

00:01:51the bulletin board plastered with fall semester 1996.

00:01:55Cheerleaders rush past us,

00:01:57ponytails flying while some varsity asshole

00:01:59has a scrawny kid pinned against a logger,

00:02:01shaking him down for lunch money.

00:02:03This isn't a dream.

00:02:04I'm really back in the 90s.

00:02:06That's when a tall, lanky guy with glasses started walking toward us.

00:02:10Hector, my mother's first love.

00:02:12The man who ruined all our lives.

00:02:14Hey, this is my Scarlet.

00:02:15She just transferred it in.

00:02:16Scarlet, meet Hector.

00:02:17Straight A student, total teacher's pet,

00:02:19basically tutoring half the school.

00:02:21Hey, I'm Hector.

00:02:23Welcome to East Ridge.

00:02:24The second I hear his name,

00:02:26my stomach turns.

00:02:27I ignore his hand completely

00:02:29and scan the noisy hallway

00:02:31for the one person who should have been here.

00:02:33Where's my dad?

00:02:35Austin should be at this school too.

00:02:37Wait, Austin's not in your class?

00:02:39Austin?

00:02:40There's no Austin in this entire school.

00:02:44Austin Walker, my dad.

00:02:46He's not, he's not here?

00:02:49Your dad?

00:02:50Just as I'm scrambling for an excuse,

00:02:53a roar erupts from the end of the hallway and saves me.

00:02:55The pep rally's starting.

00:02:57You coming or what?

00:02:58Sunlight spills across her shoulders.

00:03:00For a second, she looks nothing like the woman

00:03:02who would one day watch me die without blinking.

00:03:04The gym is loud, humilded, packed wall to wall.

00:03:08Football players in red jerseys charge onto the court

00:03:11while cheerleaders shake palm balls under the flashing lights.

00:03:14The bleachers thunder with stomping feet and screaming students.

00:03:18This Friday, let's show East Ridge who really runs this town.

00:03:22The crowd explodes.

00:03:24She's radiant up there.

00:03:25Beside me, Hector adjusts his glasses, eyes fixed on her.

00:03:29She's gonna get out of this town someday.

00:03:31He says it like he already knows the future.

00:03:34I don't answer.

00:03:35I just stare at Valerie beneath the spotlight.

00:03:37After the rally, students pour out of the gym.

00:03:40The halls fill with slamming lockers

00:03:43and overlapping conversations again.

00:03:45People argue about Friday's game.

00:03:48Girls debate who's gonna win prom queen.

00:03:50Last period is study hall.

00:03:52Valerie sits one row ahead of me by the window.

00:03:54Her notes neat enough to look typed.

00:03:57As she flips a page,

00:03:58something slips out from between her books.

00:04:01A pale green application packet.

00:04:03Harvard University.

00:04:04My breathing catches.

00:04:06She actually got an application.

00:04:08But later in life,

00:04:09she always says Harvard was never an option for someone like her.

00:04:12So that was a lie too.

00:04:13Valerie, your future turns out cheap and pathetic anyway.

00:04:16So why are you out here pretend to be some gifted golden girl right now?

00:04:18It makes me sick.

00:04:19I rise from my seat.

00:04:21Then, with one sharp shove of my elbow,

00:04:23I knock over the black coffee on her desk.

00:04:25The dark liquid spills perfectly across the application packet,

00:04:29soaking through the giant Harvard crest until the ink begins to bleed.

00:04:32I stare at her coldly,

00:04:34waiting for her to snap,

00:04:35waiting for the mask to fall off,

00:04:37waiting to finally see the real Valerie underneath all that fake sweetness.

00:04:40But her reaction throws me completely off.

00:04:46Oh god, Scarlett, are you okay?

00:04:48She grabs a stack of napkins and immediately starts swiping coffee off my hand.

00:04:52There's real concern in her eyes.

00:04:53No anger.

00:04:54No blame.

00:04:55Not even irritation.

00:04:56It's wrong.

00:04:57She's too nice.

00:04:58So nice it scares me.

00:05:00Nice enough to make me wonder if the woman I remember was ever the real Valerie at all.

00:05:04Just then, the classroom door swings open.

00:05:07A Latino teacher steps inside and walks over to Valerie's desk.

00:05:11Hey Valerie, something came up with Scarlett's family.

00:05:14Kind of an emergency.

00:05:15Your parents called and asked if you could bring her home with you after school.

00:05:18An emergency?

00:05:20What the hell happened?

00:05:21By the time school lets out,

00:05:23the Texas sunset looks like the whole sky's on fire.

00:05:26Stadium lights flicker on one by one around the football field.

00:05:29The cheer squad is still practicing

00:05:30while snippets of 90s pop songs crack through the loudspears.

00:05:33Valerie walks a few steps ahead of me,

00:05:35her ponytail swaying softly behind her.

00:05:37She suddenly stops and turns to me gently.

00:05:39I heard about your parents.

00:05:41Scarlett, don't be scared, okay?

00:05:42You've still got me.

00:05:43We're best friends.

00:05:44Then she pulls me into a hug.

00:05:45I'm sorry for what happened.

00:05:46If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll always be here.

00:05:48That faint grapefruit scent wraps around me again.

00:05:51And just like that, I break.

00:05:53In my last life, there were countless nights

00:05:54when I would have given anything for this exact embrace.

00:05:57As I sob into her shoulder,

00:05:59I deliberately smears and snot all over her pretty shirt.

00:06:01Petty revenge.

00:06:02Pathetic, tiny revenge.

00:06:04But her arms are warm exactly the way I remember from childhood.

00:06:07So how the hell did someone like this

00:06:09become the woman who wouldn't even save my life?

00:06:12A bicycle bell rings behind us.

00:06:14Hector catches up,

00:06:15pushing an old bike with a paper box of cupcakes

00:06:16sitting in the basket.

00:06:18He adjusts his glasses awkwardly.

00:06:20Sugar helps.

00:06:21A little, anyway.

00:06:22I watch the two of them walking side by side

00:06:24beneath the football field lights,

00:06:25and something bitter twists in my chest.

00:06:27What, Hector?

00:06:28You gonna pick her up like this every day?

00:06:30Keep her stuck in this town and make her your wife someday?

00:06:32Hector stops walking.

00:06:33But when he looks at me,

00:06:35his expression is completely open and sincere.

00:06:37Valerie's meant for bigger things than this place.

00:06:39She's too talented to spend her life

00:06:41shrinking herself for some guy.

00:06:44That'd be...

00:06:45wrong.

00:06:46I freeze,

00:06:47because I never imagined Hector would say something like that.

00:06:52I'm not getting stuck married with kids at 18.

00:06:55I want to see what's out there first.

00:06:57But you did have me at 18.

00:06:58You ended up trapped in a rotting trailer park

00:07:00full of violence and screaming and broken walls.

00:07:03Valerie,

00:07:03did your dreams betray you?

00:07:05The whole walk there,

00:07:07something about this timeline feels off in a way

00:07:09I can't explain.

00:07:11And then Valerie opens the front door.

00:07:14The smell of home-cooked food hits me instantly.

00:07:18So you're Scarlet, huh?

00:07:20Hi, Mr. Wyatt.

00:07:22Thanks for letting me stay over.

00:07:25He bursts out laughing and pulls me inside

00:07:27before I can even finish.

00:07:29The house is warm, spotless, lived in.

00:07:32There's a brand new pair of slippers

00:07:33waiting for me by the entryway,

00:07:35along with folded pajamas set out

00:07:36they'd been expecting me for days.

00:07:37The living room walls are lined with plaques,

00:07:39commendations, and framed Federal Service Award.

00:07:42On the TV,

00:07:42a local news station

00:07:43is covering a major drug trafficking case

00:07:45near the Texas border.

00:07:46A photo flashes on screen

00:07:47of two fallen narcotics agents.

00:07:49Your parents were good people, kiddo.

00:07:51Best partners I ever had.

00:07:53Real heroes.

00:07:54And from now on,

00:07:55this house is yours, too.

00:07:56You hear me?

00:07:57That's when it finally hits me.

00:07:59The parents belonging to this body

00:08:01are already dead.

00:08:02Dinner is loud and warm

00:08:03and painfully alive.

00:08:05Grandpa keeps piling food onto plates.

00:08:07Grandma laughs at everything.

00:08:08A dog nudges against my legs beneath the table.

00:08:10The kitchen light glows so warmly

00:08:12it almost hurts to look at.

00:08:13And across from me sits Valerie,

00:08:14laughing freely while her parents

00:08:15dole on her like she's the center

00:08:17of their universe.

00:08:18My chest tightens so hard

00:08:19it feels unbearable.

00:08:21This is insane.

00:08:22Like some cruel cosmic joke.

00:08:24She grew up surrounded

00:08:25by this much love.

00:08:26So how the hell did she become

00:08:28someone who could watch me die

00:08:29without a single shred of kindness?

00:08:31Late that night,

00:08:32Valerie and I lay side by side

00:08:34in the dark.

00:08:35There's been this huge cartel case

00:08:37near the border lately.

00:08:38I keep having nightmares

00:08:40something's gonna happen

00:08:40to my parents.

00:08:42At 18,

00:08:43she looks so young,

00:08:44so fragile.

00:08:45Before sunrise,

00:08:46I wake to the sound of movement

00:08:48in the living room.

00:08:49Grandpa is sitting by the door

00:08:50pulling on his police boots.

00:08:51I run out barefoot

00:08:52and grab onto his sleeve

00:08:53before he can leave.

00:08:54Mr. Wyatt,

00:08:55please be careful out there.

00:08:56He smiles and ruffles my hair.

00:08:58I will, kiddo.

00:08:59Promise I'll come home safe.

00:09:00Then he and Grandma

00:09:01disappear together

00:09:02into the pale border fog

00:09:04of early morning.

00:09:05And the dread in my chest

00:09:06only grows heavier.

00:09:10Valerie stumbles out of bed

00:09:11half asleep the next morning

00:09:13and stands in front of the mirror,

00:09:15completely lost

00:09:15trying to fix her ponytail.

00:09:17God, she's hopeless.

00:09:19I walk over

00:09:19and quietly redo her hair for her.

00:09:22It's the first time

00:09:23in both my lives

00:09:24that I've ever been

00:09:24this close to her.

00:09:26Scarlett,

00:09:26how are you so good at this?

00:09:28And suddenly I remember how,

00:09:29when I was little,

00:09:30she always hacked my hair off

00:09:32into awful tomboy cuts.

00:09:33Maybe it wasn't coldness after all.

00:09:35Maybe 18-year-old Valerie

00:09:36just barely knew

00:09:37how to take care of herself.

00:09:38A bicycle bell rings

00:09:39outside the yard.

00:09:40Hector,

00:09:41right on schedule.

00:09:41He hands me an ice-cold soda,

00:09:43then stares at my face

00:09:45for a little too long.

00:09:47Scarlett,

00:09:47is it just me

00:09:48or are you starting to look

00:09:49more and more like Valerie?

00:09:51A chill shoots straight through me.

00:09:52Right before I died

00:09:53in my last life,

00:09:54I was barely recognizable,

00:09:55skin and bones

00:09:56from the cancer.

00:09:57But the last time

00:09:57I looked in a mirror,

00:09:58I realized something horrifying.

00:09:59I hadn't taken over

00:10:00someone else's body.

00:10:01I came back wearing

00:10:02my own 18-year-old face.

00:10:04Pretty girls always

00:10:05kind of look alike, right?

00:10:06Surrounded by all this warmth,

00:10:08I start wavering.

00:10:09It gets harder and harder

00:10:10to connect this version of Valini

00:10:12to the woman from my last life.

00:10:13This girl is kind,

00:10:15bright,

00:10:16alive.

00:10:16I finally begin to understand

00:10:18why my dad,

00:10:18Austin,

00:10:19spent his whole life loving her

00:10:20even when she never

00:10:21truly loved him back.

00:10:22Part of me even starts thinking

00:10:23that when I finally meet him

00:10:24in this timeline,

00:10:25maybe I should tell him

00:10:26to fall for somebody else.

00:10:28But I never imagined

00:10:29that just as I started

00:10:30letting my guard down,

00:10:31hell was already

00:10:31opening its doors.

00:10:33School lets out early that day.

00:10:35Hector and I stop by

00:10:36a taco truck on the corner.

00:10:38Valerie says she's tired

00:10:39and asks us to grab her

00:10:41a baked potato

00:10:41before heading home

00:10:42ahead of us.

00:10:43We're almost at her house

00:10:45when an old pickup truck

00:10:46with no plates

00:10:47suddenly comes flying backward

00:10:49out of the driveway.

00:10:50Several tattooed men in masks

00:10:52jump into the bed

00:10:53of the truck.

00:10:54Then a scream tears

00:10:56through the air.

00:10:57It's Valerie.

00:11:01Hector and I sprint

00:11:02toward the house so fast

00:11:03my lungs feel like

00:11:04like they're tearing apart.

00:11:06The front door

00:11:07hangs crooked on its hinges,

00:11:09creaking heavily

00:11:09as it swings loosely

00:11:10against the broken frame.

00:11:12The second we step inside,

00:11:13the smell hits me.

00:11:14Blood, sweat, whiskey.

00:11:16The living room

00:11:16looks like a battlefield.

00:11:17Furniture overturned.

00:11:18Glass shattered everywhere.

00:11:19Family photos

00:11:20ripped from the walls.

00:11:21Blood smeared across

00:11:21the wooden floorboards

00:11:22in long streaks

00:11:23like someone had been dragged.

00:11:24Grandpa and Grandma

00:11:25lie motionless on the ground.

00:11:27And in the middle of the room,

00:11:29Valerie,

00:11:30covered in blood,

00:11:31curled up on the floor.

00:11:32A tattooed man

00:11:33stands nearby,

00:11:34calmly fixing his belt

00:11:35when nothing happened.

00:11:37Hector roars

00:11:38and charges at him,

00:11:40only to get kicked hard

00:11:41across the room.

00:11:42The stranger turns

00:11:42toward me slowly.

00:11:43Then he grabs my collar

00:11:45and jerks me forward

00:11:46so violently

00:11:46my feet leave the ground.

00:11:48Hector!

00:11:50The stench of blood

00:11:51and cigarettes

00:11:51floods my nose

00:11:53so hard I nearly gag.

00:11:54Well, damn.

00:11:55If it isn't Officer Miller's, kid,

00:11:57lucky day for you, sweetheart.

00:12:00Boss already told us

00:12:01to pull out.

00:12:02Otherwise,

00:12:02you'd have been

00:12:03a lot of fun, too.

00:12:04He spits onto the floor

00:12:05beside me

00:12:06and turns to leave.

00:12:08Behind him,

00:12:09Valerie curls

00:12:10tighter into herself,

00:12:11desperately clutching

00:12:12the ripped fabric

00:12:13over her chest.

00:12:14A broken sound

00:12:15escapes her throat.

00:12:16Something inside me snaps.

00:12:18I throw myself forward

00:12:19and grab the man's

00:12:20pant leg with both hands.

00:12:21Moonlight spills

00:12:22through the shattered window,

00:12:23sliding across

00:12:24the side of his face.

00:12:25That jawline.

00:12:26That scar near his mouth.

00:12:27That voice.

00:12:28My entire body freezes.

00:12:30The world goes

00:12:31completely silent around me.

00:12:33Because he isn't

00:12:33some random cartel thug.

00:12:35He's Austin.

00:12:36My father.

00:12:41Hector scrambles to the wall

00:12:43and grabs the landline.

00:12:44But the phone cord

00:12:45has already been cut.

00:12:49You brought this on yourself,

00:12:50you little bitch!

00:12:52He lunges at me

00:12:53and starts ripping

00:12:54at my clothes,

00:12:55yanking violently

00:12:56at my collar.

00:12:57Trying to save me,

00:12:58Hector throws himself

00:12:59at Austin again,

00:13:00without a second thought.

00:13:01In the chaos,

00:13:02I catch a flash of murder

00:13:04in Austin's eyes.

00:13:05He suddenly pulls a hunting knife

00:13:06from the back of his waist hand.

00:13:08And in that instant,

00:13:09I completely lose it.

00:13:11Without thinking,

00:13:12I grab the blade

00:13:13with my bare hand.

00:13:14My dad?

00:13:15How could this be my dad?

00:13:17Tears crash

00:13:17into the growing pool

00:13:18of blood beneath me.

00:13:19The man I loved most

00:13:21growing up.

00:13:21The father who raised me

00:13:23in that trailer park

00:13:24with nothing.

00:13:25How could it be you?

00:13:26You're a rapist now.

00:13:27A murderer.

00:13:28I can't take it.

00:13:29I feel like I'm losing my mind.

00:13:31But the sharp pain

00:13:32slicing through my palm

00:13:34and Vallier's desperate sobbing

00:13:35remind me this is real.

00:13:37I clamp down on the knife

00:13:38with everything I have

00:13:40and scream hysterically

00:13:41at Hector.

00:13:42Hector, run!

00:13:43Go get help!

00:13:45Go!

00:13:45Now!

00:13:46Blood streams down Hector's face

00:13:48as he staggers toward the door

00:13:50and bolts outside.

00:13:51And the second he's gone,

00:13:53Austin completely snaps.

00:13:55With a vicious twist

00:13:56of his wrist,

00:13:57he jerks the knife free

00:13:59and points the blade

00:14:00straight at my throat.

00:14:03But just then,

00:14:05my grandmother,

00:14:06who had been lying motionless

00:14:07in a pool of blood,

00:14:09somehow forces herself back up

00:14:10with the last bit of strength

00:14:12she has left.

00:14:13Austin turns,

00:14:15ready to stab the next.

00:14:18No!

00:14:19I slam into him

00:14:20with everything I have.

00:14:21The blade plunges

00:14:22straight into my stomach.

00:14:24Warmth explodes

00:14:25through my body.

00:14:26Then comes the pain.

00:14:27Endless, crushing pain.

00:14:29I press both hands

00:14:30against the wound,

00:14:31holding onto the knife

00:14:32with everything I've got

00:14:33so Austin can't pull it back out.

00:14:35You can't kill them.

00:14:37You can't.

00:14:39I'm crying,

00:14:41choking as blood pours

00:14:42from my mouth

00:14:43in heavy bursts.

00:14:44But Austin just twists

00:14:45the knife cruelly

00:14:46inside me.

00:14:48The agony sends me

00:14:50collapsing to my knees

00:14:51in the blood.

00:14:51That's when Grandma

00:14:52suddenly wraps both arms

00:14:54around Austin's neck

00:14:55from behind

00:14:55and drags him to the floor

00:14:56with every ounce of strength

00:14:57she has left.

00:14:59My grandfather,

00:15:00already covered in blood,

00:15:01grabs onto Austin's leg

00:15:02and refuses to let go.

00:15:04Realizing he's about

00:15:05to get caught,

00:15:06Austin curses violently,

00:15:07kicks himself free from them,

00:15:09and climbs out the window,

00:15:10disappearing into the darkness

00:15:11near the border.

00:15:12Scarlet!

00:15:14Scarlet, stay with me!

00:15:16Please don't close your eyes!

00:15:18Through my fading vision,

00:15:20I feel Valerie

00:15:21pulling me into her arms.

00:15:22My consciousness

00:15:23is already slipping away,

00:15:25sobbing controllably.

00:15:26With tears and blood

00:15:27all over my face,

00:15:28I still try to take off

00:15:29my jacket and cover her with it.

00:15:31But I'm too weak.

00:15:32My arm barely lifts halfway

00:15:33before it drops limply

00:15:34into the blood.

00:15:35In the distance,

00:15:36sirens scream

00:15:37through the night.

00:15:38I hear Hector crying

00:15:39as he rushes back inside

00:15:40with the police.

00:15:41Then everything goes dark.

00:15:43Somewhere far away,

00:15:44voices echo around me

00:15:45as I'm lifted onto a stretcher.

00:15:48She's flatlining!

00:15:49Move!

00:15:49Get the defibrillator!

00:15:50Now!

00:15:53When I finally open my eyes again,

00:15:54all I see is the pale white ceiling

00:15:56of a hospital room.

00:15:57Sitting beside my bed is Hector.

00:15:58When he ran for help,

00:15:59Austin's men caught him

00:16:00and beat him half to death.

00:16:01The second he sees me awake,

00:16:02arrogant genius,

00:16:03completely falls apart.

00:16:04He wipes his eyes

00:16:05while gripping to entail

00:16:06Sertanli.

00:16:06You were the last one to wake up!

00:16:08Do you have any idea

00:16:09how close you came to dying?

00:16:10You scared the hell out of us!

00:16:12He's crying so hard,

00:16:13it's a complete mess.

00:16:14Tears, snot, everything.

00:16:15At one point,

00:16:15he even spits on my face

00:16:16while talking.

00:16:17I let out a weak laugh.

00:16:18The anesthesia still

00:16:19hasn't fully worn over.

00:16:20I can't really feel pain yet,

00:16:21just a heavy numbness

00:16:21all over my body.

00:16:22I look at him anxiously.

00:16:23Valerie's parents?

00:16:24And Valerie,

00:16:25are they okay?

00:16:27Her folks made it

00:16:28to the hospital just in time.

00:16:29If that knife had hit

00:16:31either of them any worse.

00:16:33I struggle to sit up,

00:16:34desperate to see her,

00:16:35but before I can move,

00:16:36the hospital room door

00:16:37slowly opens.

00:16:38Valerie is standing there.

00:16:39Her eyes look hollow.

00:16:40And when she looks at me,

00:16:42there's something shattered

00:16:43in them I can't even

00:16:43begin to explain.

00:16:44I say her name softly.

00:16:46She nods faintly

00:16:46and walks over.

00:16:47Her cold fingers

00:16:48are on my shoulder.

00:16:49Does it hurt?

00:16:50I shake my head.

00:16:51Looking at her red-rimmed eyes,

00:16:53I force a small smile.

00:16:55Have you been crying?

00:16:56She doesn't answer.

00:16:57She just holds my hand tighter

00:16:59and gently squeezes my cheek

00:17:00like she's afraid I'll disappear.

00:17:01And suddenly,

00:17:02she lowers her head

00:17:03and tears drip

00:17:03onto the back of my hand.

00:17:04Thank you, Scarlet.

00:17:06If it weren't for you,

00:17:07I would have lost my parents.

00:17:10I look at the 18-year-old version

00:17:12of my mother

00:17:12standing in front of me,

00:17:13her fate already completely changed

00:17:15because of me.

00:17:15I sniff hard,

00:17:17holding back tears.

00:17:18I don't say a single word.

00:17:19I just let her tears

00:17:20soak into my skin

00:17:21before slowly lifting

00:17:22my free hand

00:17:22and placing it softly

00:17:23over the trembling hand

00:17:24resting on my shoulder.

00:17:28Valerie looks down

00:17:29at my hand covering hers,

00:17:31as if she understands

00:17:32the comfort in my eyes.

00:17:34She takes a deep breath.

00:17:37Tears still cling to her lashes,

00:17:38but for the first time in forever,

00:17:40her voice carries a little relief.

00:17:43I've got good news.

00:17:44The case is over.

00:17:45The cartel operation

00:17:46finally got busted.

00:17:48Every single person

00:17:49involved in the attack

00:17:50was caught near the border.

00:17:51My parents can finally rest

00:17:52for a while.

00:17:53The moment I hear

00:17:54Austin and the traffickers

00:17:55were all arrested,

00:17:56my entire mind goes blank.

00:17:58Relief crashes over me so hard

00:18:00I almost shoot upright

00:18:00in the hospital bed.

00:18:02Wait, seriously?

00:18:02They caught all of them?

00:18:05Yes, seriously.

00:18:06Now stop moving

00:18:07before you rip

00:18:08your stitches open.

00:18:09Crushing weight

00:18:10that haunted me

00:18:10through both lifetimes

00:18:11finally disappears

00:18:12at that moment.

00:18:13Meanwhile, Hector,

00:18:14who has been sitting nearby

00:18:15this entire time,

00:18:16calmly peels a banana

00:18:17like nothing's happening.

00:18:18Doctor said you should eat this.

00:18:20You've already woken up

00:18:21a few times

00:18:21these past couple days.

00:18:22You've managed to pass gas,

00:18:24so now they're just waiting

00:18:24to see if you can finally

00:18:25have a bowel movement.

00:18:27Coming from someone

00:18:28usually this serious,

00:18:29it's so absurd

00:18:29I completely lose it.

00:18:30Unfortunately,

00:18:31the second I laugh,

00:18:32pain rips through

00:18:32the stitches in my abdomen.

00:18:33I immediately hiss in pain,

00:18:35clutching my stomach.

00:18:36Valerie starts laughing too,

00:18:37but after a few seconds,

00:18:38her laughter fades.

00:18:39Tears suddenly begin

00:18:40falling again without warning.

00:18:41She tries to cry quietly.

00:18:43She doesn't want

00:18:43either of us to notice.

00:18:44Hector's smile

00:18:45slowly disappears too.

00:18:47I wrap both arms tightly

00:18:48around this 18-year-old girl.

00:18:50At that moment,

00:18:51through my chest

00:18:52is no longer the hatred

00:18:53I carried in my previous life.

00:18:55Mom,

00:18:55if I had known

00:18:56my biologed father

00:18:57was the monster

00:18:58who destroyed your entire family,

00:18:59how could I ever

00:19:00have hated you?

00:19:01I would have only hated myself

00:19:03for ever being born,

00:19:04since fate gave me

00:19:05another chance.

00:19:06Then this time,

00:19:07I'll set you free.

00:19:11After surviving the nightmare,

00:19:13the little Texas town

00:19:13slowly comes back to life.

00:19:15Once I'm discharged

00:19:15from the hospital,

00:19:16my grandparents take me home.

00:19:18Grandpa proudly hands me

00:19:19a limited edition Barbie doll

00:19:20he brought back from New York.

00:19:21In my previous life,

00:19:22it was the only toy

00:19:23my mother had ever given me,

00:19:24but this time,

00:19:25somehow,

00:19:25it heals me first.

00:19:26Then Grandma completely hijacks

00:19:28what was supposed to be

00:19:28an emotional family dinner

00:19:29with giant sizzling Texas steaks,

00:19:31oversized cowboy hats

00:19:32and boots that look straight

00:19:33out of a Hollywood audition,

00:19:34and enough chaos

00:19:35to turn the whole night

00:19:36upside down.

00:19:37Even Hector,

00:19:38who normally acts

00:19:38way too composed for his age,

00:19:40finally laughs

00:19:40without holding back.

00:19:43But beneath the warm

00:19:44yellow glow of the dinner lights,

00:19:46the conversation

00:19:46eventually turns to goodbye.

00:19:48Hector's mother lifts

00:19:48her wine glass,

00:19:49eyes red and swollen,

00:19:50and quietly announces

00:19:51that they're moving back

00:19:52to Boston before Thanksgiving.

00:19:53She can't handle the danger

00:19:54near the border anymore.

00:19:56And in that moment,

00:19:57a misunderstanding

00:19:58from both my lifetimes

00:19:59finally unravels.

00:20:00In my previous life,

00:20:02Hector never left

00:20:03because he looked down

00:20:03on my mother's reputation.

00:20:05His mother had simply

00:20:06watched her son nearly die.

00:20:07Any parent would have

00:20:08wanted to run from

00:20:09this place after that.

00:20:10As an old country song

00:20:12crackles through the radio

00:20:13in the background,

00:20:14we start talking

00:20:14about the future.

00:20:16Valerie asks where I want

00:20:17to go to school someday.

00:20:18I look at her,

00:20:19the girl whose entire future

00:20:21was crushed fate

00:20:22in my previous life,

00:20:23an answer without hesitation,

00:20:25Harvard.

00:20:26Under the endless

00:20:26Texas night sky,

00:20:27with the Milky Way

00:20:28stretched above her

00:20:28like a dream,

00:20:29I finally understand

00:20:30the suffocating pain

00:20:31she carried in her previous life.

00:20:32I turn my head slightly

00:20:33and whisper so softly

00:20:34that only I can hear it.

00:20:35Mom,

00:20:35this time go live your life,

00:20:37chase your dreams,

00:20:37be yourself again.

00:20:38As for me,

00:20:39I'll stay behind

00:20:39in the darkness

00:20:40of this timeline.

00:20:41The day Hector leaves,

00:20:42the boy who has always

00:20:43been calm and restrained

00:20:44completely breaks down

00:20:45the moment he steps

00:20:46onto the bus.

00:20:47Clinging to the window,

00:20:48he cries so hard

00:20:49he can barely breathe.

00:20:50And then the bus

00:20:50slowly pulls away,

00:20:51kicking up clouds

00:20:52of Texas dust

00:20:53before disappearing

00:20:54at the end of the highway.

00:20:55Watching the bus

00:20:56vanish into the distance,

00:20:57I think life might

00:20:58finally return to normal.

00:20:59But fate still

00:21:00isn't done with me yet.

00:21:01Something happened

00:21:02to Valerie.

00:21:05After seeing Hector off,

00:21:07we head home

00:21:07through the bitter

00:21:08Texas winter wind.

00:21:09I cling tightly

00:21:09to Valerie's arm,

00:21:10trying my best

00:21:11to keep the mood light

00:21:11while talking excitedly

00:21:12about Christmas dinner plans.

00:21:13Mr. Wyatt's brisket

00:21:13has to be there.

00:21:14And Mr. Wyatt

00:21:15smoked pulled pork too.

00:21:16No argument.

00:21:16This year,

00:21:17we are eating like royalty.

00:21:18I'm still rambling happily

00:21:19when Valerie's expression

00:21:20suddenly changes.

00:21:21Without warning,

00:21:22she jerks her arm

00:21:22out of my grasp.

00:21:23Like a frightened deer,

00:21:24she stumbles

00:21:25towards a trash can

00:21:26on the side of the road,

00:21:27bends over,

00:21:27and starts violently

00:21:28throwing up.

00:21:29She vomits so hard

00:21:30there's eventually

00:21:30nothing left

00:21:31except bitter dry humps.

00:21:33By the end,

00:21:34she can barely

00:21:34stay standing.

00:21:35She grips a freezing

00:21:36telephone pole for support,

00:21:38her whole body

00:21:39trembling violently,

00:21:40her face drained

00:21:41completely white.

00:21:42My mind goes blank.

00:21:43The smile freezes

00:21:44on my face.

00:21:46Watching her clutch

00:21:47her stomach

00:21:48and reek in pain,

00:21:49a terrifying cold realization

00:21:51crawls slowly up my spine

00:21:53like ice water.

00:21:55Those symptoms.

00:21:58No.

00:21:58No way.

00:22:05You're pregnant?

00:22:08Valerie instinctively

00:22:09places a hand

00:22:10over her stomach.

00:22:11Her eyes are filled

00:22:12with the kind of panic

00:22:13and confusion

00:22:14no 18-year-old girl

00:22:16should ever have to carry.

00:22:17What happened that night

00:22:18may have been stopped

00:22:19halfway through,

00:22:20but some nightmares

00:22:21had already rerouted

00:22:22themselves deep in the dark.

00:22:25She looks at me helplessly,

00:22:27tears trembling

00:22:28in her eyes.

00:22:29I don't know, Scarlett.

00:22:32I thought maybe it was

00:22:33just stress lately.

00:22:35I haven't had much appetite

00:22:37and I kept feeling nauseous.

00:22:39Come on.

00:22:40We're going to the clinic.

00:22:41Now.

00:22:41I don't even let her

00:22:42finish speaking.

00:22:43I grab her hand

00:22:45and practically drag her

00:22:46down the street

00:22:47toward the town's

00:22:47small community clinic.

00:22:51The doctor on duty

00:22:52is an elderly

00:22:52Cuban-American woman

00:22:54with silver hair,

00:22:55Dr. Ramirez.

00:22:56She isn't just the only

00:22:57general practitioner in town.

00:22:58She's also one of

00:22:59Grandma Wyatt's

00:23:00oldest friends

00:23:01and her chelps

00:23:01alongside her years ago.

00:23:03The second Dr. Romero

00:23:04sees Valerie's face

00:23:05and the sheer panic

00:23:06in my eyes,

00:23:07her sharp battle-worned gaze

00:23:09immediately narrows.

00:23:10Wasting another second,

00:23:11she starts ushering

00:23:12every remaining patient

00:23:14out of the clinic.

00:23:15The entire room

00:23:16falls into suffocating silence.

00:23:20Tell me what's going on.

00:23:21My scalp precles with dread

00:23:23as I quickly explain

00:23:24Valerie's nausea

00:23:25and vomiting.

00:23:26The old doctor says

00:23:27nothing after hearing me out,

00:23:29but a deep, piercing sorrow

00:23:30flashes through her eyes.

00:23:32She quietly takes Valerie

00:23:33into the examination room

00:23:34in the back.

00:23:36The moment the door closes,

00:23:37all the strength

00:23:38drains out of me.

00:23:39I collapse into the

00:23:40cold metal chair

00:23:41outside the office,

00:23:42shoving both hands

00:23:43deep into my hair.

00:23:44More than anyone else,

00:23:45I know exactly

00:23:46where I came from

00:23:47and because of my hair.

00:23:47and because of that,

00:23:48a horrifying truth

00:23:48finally pieces itself

00:23:49together in my mind.

00:23:50In my previous life,

00:23:51Austin, the man who raised me

00:23:53after destroying Valerie's life,

00:23:54was actually released

00:23:55from prison early.

00:23:56After committing crimes like that,

00:23:57he still got out

00:23:58in less than 20 years.

00:23:59Back then,

00:24:00when the case went to court,

00:24:01Valerie must have stayed silent.

00:24:03Maybe to hide the shame

00:24:04of being pregnant

00:24:04as a teenager.

00:24:05Maybe to protect

00:24:06the Wyatt family's reputation.

00:24:08Whatever the reason,

00:24:09her silence helped

00:24:10set a monster free.

00:24:11The guilt of my own existence

00:24:12tears through me

00:24:13like a dull blade.

00:24:14This nightmare destroyed

00:24:14a brilliant girl

00:24:15who was supposed to go to Harvard.

00:24:16and the one thing

00:24:17it gave back to the world

00:24:18was a demon.

00:24:21Half an hour later,

00:24:22the exam room door

00:24:23slowly creaks open.

00:24:25Dr. Ramirez steps outside

00:24:26looking exhausted.

00:24:27She gently pats my shoulder.

00:24:30Scarlet,

00:24:32go get Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt for me.

00:24:36The moment the truth comes out,

00:24:38the house,

00:24:39which had barely survived

00:24:40one nightmare already,

00:24:42falls into dead silence

00:24:44all over again.

00:24:53Grandpa sits heavily on the couch.

00:24:56This massive,

00:24:58hard-nosed cop

00:24:58who once stared down

00:24:59cartel gunfires

00:25:00now looks hollowed out

00:25:02like a man aging

00:25:03ten years

00:25:04in a single night.

00:25:07He buries his rough,

00:25:09califafed hands

00:25:10over his face

00:25:11and says nothing.

00:25:14Meanwhile,

00:25:15Grandma holds

00:25:1618-year-old Valerie

00:25:17tightly in her arms,

00:25:18sobbing so hard

00:25:20she can barely breathe.

00:25:22We're packing tonight.

00:25:25We'll go straight to Boston

00:25:26and stay with Hector

00:25:28and his mother.

00:25:30I won't let that

00:25:31monster's family

00:25:32lay a finger on you

00:25:34ever again.

00:25:36Valerie stays curled up

00:25:38in the corner of the bed

00:25:39the entire time,

00:25:40silent as a porcelain doll.

00:25:42She doesn't say a word.

00:25:43She just keeps staring at me

00:25:45with those shattered,

00:25:46empty eyes.

00:25:47But somewhere inside them

00:25:48is still this helpless instinct

00:25:50begging for someone

00:25:51to save her.

00:25:51The sight tears me

00:25:53apart inside.

00:25:55I lower my head

00:25:56immediately,

00:25:58too ashamed to even

00:25:59look my own mother

00:26:00in the eye.

00:26:01And then things

00:26:02somehow get even worse.

00:26:04Austin's trashy parents,

00:26:06the grandparents I had

00:26:07in my previous life,

00:26:08somehow hear about

00:26:09Valerie's pregnancy.

00:26:11Right after the attack,

00:26:12those two cowards

00:26:13vanished completely

00:26:13to avoid being dragged

00:26:14into the police investigation.

00:26:16But the second they hear

00:26:17Valerie is carrying

00:26:17Austin's child,

00:26:18they swoop in

00:26:19like vultures smelling blood.

00:26:20To them,

00:26:21this pregnancy is leverage,

00:26:23the perfect weapon

00:26:24to destroy the Wyatt family.

00:26:25We've barely made it back home

00:26:27before the two of them

00:26:28show up outside the house

00:26:29with some sleazy lawyer

00:26:30they hire.

00:26:33The smell of cheap cigarettes

00:26:35and stale alcohol

00:26:36hits before they even

00:26:37step into the yard.

00:26:41My former grandfather,

00:26:43Silas Walker,

00:26:43doesn't show even

00:26:44a trace of shame.

00:26:46No guilt,

00:26:48no apology,

00:26:50just this disgusting,

00:26:52smug arrogance.

00:26:56Standing in the yard,

00:26:57he bellows toward the house

00:26:58like he owns the place.

00:27:00Officer Wyatt,

00:27:01don't hide in there.

00:27:02My son Austin

00:27:04may be in prison,

00:27:05but he still has

00:27:05parental rights.

00:27:07That maybe is part

00:27:07of our family,

00:27:08and you're not taking

00:27:09our grandchild anywhere.

00:27:11The sleazy lawyer beside him

00:27:13adjusts his glasses

00:27:14and smirks coldly.

00:27:18If Miss Yight refuses

00:27:20to drop the charges,

00:27:20we're fully prepared

00:27:21to drag this

00:27:22through family court

00:27:23for years.

00:27:24And trust me,

00:27:24once the media

00:27:25gets involved,

00:27:26everybody in Texas

00:27:27is going to know

00:27:28exactly what happened

00:27:28to your daughter.

00:27:33Then Mayabelle Walker,

00:27:34my former grandmother,

00:27:36blows out a stream

00:27:37of cigarette smoke

00:27:37and starts screeching

00:27:38at the house.

00:27:40You go testify

00:27:41in federal court,

00:27:43and we'll swear

00:27:43Valerie wanted it.

00:27:45We'll tell everyone

00:27:46you cops framed our son.

00:27:50We'll make damn sure

00:27:52every police department

00:27:53in Texas knows

00:27:55what kind of girl

00:27:55your daughter really is.

00:27:57You think those badges

00:27:59are going to survive this?

00:28:01We'll ruin your whole family!

00:28:07The police had kept

00:28:08the details of that night

00:28:09sealed tightly.

00:28:11Nobody in town knew

00:28:12what Valerie had actually

00:28:13suffered in the dark.

00:28:15But now,

00:28:15these two shameless monsters

00:28:16are ripping open

00:28:17her deepest traumata

00:28:18in public

00:28:19just to save their worthless son

00:28:20from federal prison.

00:28:21They stand outside

00:28:22with a damn megaphone,

00:28:24turning a survivor's

00:28:25private nightmare

00:28:26into some sick public spectacle

00:28:27about protecting

00:28:28the family bloodline.

00:28:29Before long,

00:28:30the whole town knows.

00:28:31But they don't actually

00:28:33want the baby.

00:28:33That's never been the point.

00:28:35What they want

00:28:36is pressure.

00:28:38They want to weaponize

00:28:39this conservative

00:28:40little town.

00:28:41The gossip,

00:28:42the judgment,

00:28:43the victim blaming

00:28:43until the Wyatts

00:28:45have nowhere left to run.

00:28:46And their terms

00:28:47are crystal clear.

00:28:48They want Valerie

00:28:49to change her testimony

00:28:50in federal court.

00:28:52They want her to claim

00:28:53Austin was just the driver

00:28:54and knew nothing

00:28:55about the attack.

00:28:57In exchange,

00:28:58the walkers will stop

00:28:59harassing the family

00:29:00and leave them alone.

00:29:01Hearing the whispers

00:29:02rising outside the fence,

00:29:04seeing neighbors stare

00:29:05with that fake sympathy

00:29:07hiding disgust underneath.

00:29:11Everything suddenly

00:29:12clicks into place

00:29:12inside my head.

00:29:15Now I understand

00:29:16exactly how Austin

00:29:17got that early release

00:29:18in my previous life.

00:29:20there had been a deal

00:29:22and Valerie

00:29:22had been crushed

00:29:23into accepting it.

00:29:24Looking at those

00:29:25two smug bastards

00:29:26standing outside our home

00:29:27acting righteous,

00:29:28every ounce of humiliation

00:29:29from my previous life

00:29:30and every drop of rage

00:29:31from this one

00:29:31finally explodes inside me.

00:29:33To hell with staying calm.

00:29:35I grab grandpa's

00:29:36Louisville slugger

00:29:37from behind the front door

00:29:38and storm outside,

00:29:39gripping the bat so hard

00:29:40my knuckles go white.

00:29:41By then,

00:29:41all I can see is red.

00:29:58Right in front of everyone,

00:29:59I swing the bat.

00:30:00Crack, crack.

00:30:01The heavy end

00:30:02of the Louisville slugger

00:30:03smashes straight into Silas

00:30:04and Maybean's faces

00:30:05without a shred of hesitation.

00:30:06The sound of teeth breaking

00:30:08mixes with their screams

00:30:09as both of them stumble backward,

00:30:10clutching their bloody mouths

00:30:11before collapsing into the dirt.

00:30:13Your son is a convicted rapist!

00:30:15I point the bat directly

00:30:16at the two of them,

00:30:17shaking with rage.

00:30:19Where the hell

00:30:19was the talk about the La La

00:30:20when your psycho son

00:30:22was pointing a gun

00:30:23at federal officers?

00:30:24And now you want to come here

00:30:25and black rail cops?

00:30:28Gripping the bat

00:30:29with both hands,

00:30:30I swing as hard as I can

00:30:31into the lawyer's sedan

00:30:32parked by the curb.

00:30:33The windshield explodes instantly

00:30:34into a spider web

00:30:35of shattered glass.

00:30:36Then I whip around

00:30:37towards the neighbors

00:30:38gathering outside the fence,

00:30:39all of them whispering

00:30:40and staring.

00:30:41What are you all looking at?

00:30:43Anybody else wants to stand here

00:30:45screaming at a victim

00:30:46with these two pieces of trash?

00:30:47I raise the broken bat,

00:30:49splintered wood

00:30:50jouting from the barrel.

00:30:51I swear to God,

00:30:52the next swing

00:30:53straight goes through your skull.

00:30:54Get the hell away

00:30:55from the Wyatt house!

00:30:56All of you, move!

00:30:58The hot border wind

00:30:59tears through the street.

00:31:01One look at the shattered bat

00:31:02in my hands is enough.

00:31:03The neighbors pale instantly

00:31:04and start backing away in fear.

00:31:06And then suddenly,

00:31:07Silas runges at me

00:31:08with a rusty switchblade

00:31:10in his hand.

00:31:10Drop the charges

00:31:11or I'll kill

00:31:12every last one of you!

00:31:16The gunshot detonates

00:31:17from the street

00:31:18like thunder.

00:31:19The bullet slices

00:31:20past Silas's ear

00:31:21and blasts apart

00:31:21one of the wooden fence

00:31:22posts behind him.

00:31:24Everyone freezes.

00:31:25Grandpa Rick stands there

00:31:26gripping a cold knife

00:31:27on the revolver,

00:31:28the barrel pressed

00:31:28directly against

00:31:29Silas's forehead.

00:31:30His voice is low

00:31:31and deadly.

00:31:32Officer Miller's daughter

00:31:33took a knife

00:31:34from my family.

00:31:35You touch her again

00:31:36and see what happens.

00:31:38The ringing echo

00:31:39from the gunshot

00:31:40leaves everyone stunned.

00:31:42Silas drops

00:31:42the knife immediately.

00:31:44It clatters onto

00:31:45the dirt beside him

00:31:46as he collapses

00:31:46in terror.

00:31:50He's gonna kill us!

00:31:51The cops are trying

00:31:52to murder us!

00:31:54But before she can

00:31:54say another word,

00:31:55another figure comes

00:31:56flying down the porch steps.

00:31:58Grandma.

00:31:59She moves like lightning.

00:32:01Grabbing a fistful

00:32:02of Maybella's

00:32:03brittle yellow hair,

00:32:04she yanks her sideways

00:32:05so hard the old woman

00:32:06nearly falls.

00:32:07Slap!

00:32:08Grandma backhands her

00:32:09across the face

00:32:10hard enough to send her

00:32:11crashing into the dirt,

00:32:12then plants a boot

00:32:13against her chest.

00:32:15Her eyes are pure steel.

00:32:16You think you can

00:32:17threaten my daughter's name?

00:32:19I'll go to prison smiling

00:32:20before I let your family

00:32:21destroy her life.

00:32:22Now get the hell

00:32:23off my property

00:32:24before I bury all of you

00:32:25out in the desert

00:32:26myself.

00:32:27Rick cocks the revolver

00:32:29once, never taking

00:32:30his eyes off Silas.

00:32:31You assaulted my family.

00:32:33As a police officer,

00:32:34I have every right

00:32:35to arrest you right now.

00:32:36Next time,

00:32:37you won't walk away

00:32:38this lucky.

00:32:39Now get out.

00:32:40The sheer violence

00:32:41radiating off the two

00:32:42retired narcotics officers

00:32:44terrifies everyone

00:32:45into Silas.

00:32:46The gossipy neighbors

00:32:47scatter immediately.

00:32:48Silas and Maybella

00:32:49scramble to their feet

00:32:50and flee down the road

00:32:51like stray dogs.

00:32:52But then suddenly,

00:32:54Grandpa Rick

00:32:55doubles over

00:32:56coughing violently.

00:32:57Fresh blood

00:32:58begins soaking

00:32:58through the white bandages

00:33:00wrapped around his torso.

00:33:06Grandpa's stitches

00:33:07tear open again

00:33:08so Grandma rushes him

00:33:09back to the hospital.

00:33:10I stay behind

00:33:10to take care of Valerie.

00:33:11Standing outside

00:33:12her bedroom door,

00:33:12I force myself to breathe

00:33:13through the panic

00:33:13crushing my chest.

00:33:14I wipe the tears

00:33:15and blood off my face

00:33:16over and over with my sleeve

00:33:17until my skin burns raw.

00:33:18I can't let Valerie

00:33:19see me falling apart.

00:33:20Right now,

00:33:20I have to be strong for her.

00:33:22I shove the bedroom door open

00:33:23and lock it tightly behind me,

00:33:24shutting out the chaos outside.

00:33:26Then I walk straight

00:33:27towards her bed.

00:33:29The second I see her

00:33:30sitting there,

00:33:31pale,

00:33:32hollow,

00:33:33motionless,

00:33:34something inside me

00:33:35finally breaks completely.

00:33:37Valerie,

00:33:39let's leave.

00:33:40We can start over

00:33:41somewhere else.

00:33:42New York,

00:33:43California,

00:33:44anywhere.

00:33:45Please,

00:33:46just pack a bag

00:33:47and come with me,

00:33:47okay?

00:33:48I almost sound desperate.

00:33:49I grab her shoulders gently,

00:33:52trying to pull strength

00:33:52from the girl who,

00:33:53in another lifetime,

00:33:55would become my mother

00:33:5619 years later.

00:33:57But Valerie never says a word.

00:34:00She just stays curled

00:34:01in the corner of the bed.

00:34:03The fading sunset

00:34:04filters through the blinds,

00:34:05strip by strip,

00:34:06dying slowly across her face.

00:34:08Then she finally lifts her head.

00:34:10And once again,

00:34:11she looks at me

00:34:12with those same shattered eyes,

00:34:14empty,

00:34:15helpless,

00:34:15but still quietly begging

00:34:17someone to save her.

00:34:18sight crushes my chest.

00:34:19For my entire previous life,

00:34:21I thought I had been born unwanted.

00:34:22But now I finally understand the truth.

00:34:24My birth was never love.

00:34:25It was a chain,

00:34:26a weapon crafted by a monster

00:34:28to trap my mother

00:34:29and destroy her family forever.

00:34:30I have never hated myself

00:34:31more than I do right now.

00:34:35Valerie,

00:34:36listen to me.

00:34:38This baby...

00:34:39Before I can finish,

00:34:40Valerie suddenly covers my mouth

00:34:41with her hand.

00:34:44I look up at her

00:34:46and suddenly the dam inside me

00:34:49completely breaks.

00:34:51Tears pour down my face

00:34:52as I collapse to my knees

00:34:53beside the bed.

00:34:54I pull her hand away

00:34:56from my mouth

00:34:56and finally scream out the truth

00:34:59that destroyed me

00:35:00for an entire lifetime.

00:35:01This baby

00:35:03is a stain

00:35:04that monster

00:35:05left on your life.

00:35:07You'll hate it forever!

00:35:09Every time you look at it,

00:35:11you'll remember him.

00:35:13You'll wish

00:35:14it had never been born!

00:35:16My voice cracks apart completely.

00:35:19It's better to end this now

00:35:20than let that child

00:35:21grow up trapped

00:35:22in pain and misery.

00:35:25I can barely breathe

00:35:26through the sobbing.

00:35:27No one can calmly

00:35:29beg their own mother

00:35:29to erase them

00:35:30from existence.

00:35:31But at that exact moment,

00:35:33Valerie,

00:35:33who has been sitting there

00:35:34lifeless and hollow

00:35:35this whole,

00:35:36whole time,

00:35:37suddenly trembles violently.

00:35:39It's like something

00:35:40inside her

00:35:40finally snaps awake.

00:35:42She bolts upright

00:35:43from the bed

00:35:44and throws her arms

00:35:45around me without warning,

00:35:46crushing me

00:35:47against her chest.

00:35:48She holds me so tightly

00:35:49her fingers dig painfully

00:35:50into my back.

00:35:51Hot tears spill

00:35:53onto my neck

00:35:53burning against my skin.

00:35:55And then she completely

00:35:56breaks down.

00:35:57I never wanted you dead.

00:36:00Nora.

00:36:02Her voice is raw

00:36:04and shattered from crying.

00:36:06Not once!

00:36:08Not for a single second

00:36:10did I ever wish

00:36:11you were dead!

00:36:15That single sentence

00:36:16crashes through the room

00:36:18with the weight

00:36:18of two lifetimes

00:36:19behind it.

00:36:20Every ounce of pain,

00:36:22resentment,

00:36:23anger,

00:36:24and loneliness

00:36:24I carried inside me

00:36:26shatters instantly

00:36:27into dust.

00:36:28Because she called me

00:36:30Nora.

00:36:30Not Scarlet.

00:36:32Nora.

00:36:33In this timeline,

00:36:34nobody knows that name.

00:36:36Nobody except my mother

00:36:38from my previous life.

00:36:39I freeze in her arms,

00:36:41my mind going

00:36:42completely blank.

00:36:43She isn't just the

00:36:4418-year-old Valerie

00:36:45who knows nothing

00:36:46about the future.

00:36:48She remembers, too.

00:36:49In this broken,

00:36:51twisted timeline,

00:36:53and near my find,

00:36:55my mother was reborn

00:36:56alongside me.

00:36:58I know.

00:37:00My entire body shakes

00:37:01as I cling to

00:37:02her shoulder,

00:37:03her shoulder

00:37:04like a lost child.

00:37:07I know I was never

00:37:09supposed to be born.

00:37:10You had every reason

00:37:12to hate me

00:37:13because of that monster.

00:37:15Valerie suddenly grabs

00:37:16my face with both hands

00:37:17and forces me to look at her

00:37:18through her tears.

00:37:19How could a mother

00:37:20ever hate her child?

00:37:22After two lifetimes,

00:37:24inside this old Texas house

00:37:25in 1996,

00:37:26she finally tears open

00:37:27the truth she buried

00:37:28for decades.

00:37:29And through uncontrollable

00:37:31sobbing,

00:37:32my mother finally tells me

00:37:33why she stood beside

00:37:34my hospital bed

00:37:35and watched me die

00:37:36in my previous life.

00:37:39The reason I couldn't

00:37:41donate bone marrow

00:37:42was because I had

00:37:43terminal cancer, too.

00:37:45I wasn't eligible

00:37:47to donate.

00:37:48I wasn't abandoning

00:37:49you, Nora.

00:37:50How could I ever

00:37:52abandon my own daughter?

00:37:54Outside,

00:37:55the winter wind screams

00:37:57across the Texas

00:37:57borderlands.

00:37:59But inside this

00:38:00cold little room,

00:38:01a mother and daughter

00:38:02separated by two

00:38:03lifetimes

00:38:04finally find each other

00:38:06again in the ruins

00:38:07of everything they lost.

00:38:09Valerie clutches me

00:38:10so tightly,

00:38:11she's shaking.

00:38:12I never gave on you,

00:38:14Nora.

00:38:14I begged everyone

00:38:16I could for help.

00:38:17I borrowed money

00:38:17from anybody willing

00:38:18to listen because

00:38:19I wanted to save you.

00:38:21Every word tears

00:38:22out of her throat

00:38:22like it physically

00:38:23hurts to say it.

00:38:24Your bastard father

00:38:25wouldn't pay a single dime.

00:38:27The ICU bills

00:38:28kept piling up

00:38:28every single day.

00:38:30The hospital kept

00:38:30mailing notices

00:38:31until my bowel box

00:38:32was overflowing.

00:38:33In the end,

00:38:33I sold every apartment

00:38:34and every piece of property

00:38:36I owned in Boston

00:38:36just to barely cover

00:38:38your medical bills.

00:38:39Then her breathing

00:38:39completely falls apart.

00:38:41And Austin,

00:38:42that monster wanted

00:38:43to pull your ventilator

00:38:44out himself

00:38:44back at the trailer park.

00:38:46He lied to you.

00:38:47He actually convinced you

00:38:48that I was the one

00:38:49who abandoned you.

00:38:50She cries so hard

00:38:51she can barely breathe anymore.

00:38:52Decades of humiliation

00:38:53and buried motherhood

00:38:54finally exploding out

00:38:55all at once.

00:38:56Back then,

00:38:57I left with Hector's mother

00:38:58to work in the city

00:38:58because I needed money.

00:39:00I was trying to build

00:39:00enough of a life

00:39:01to come back

00:39:02and take you away

00:39:02from that rotting border town.

00:39:04But the second I left,

00:39:06Austin cut off

00:39:06every possible way

00:39:07for me to contact you.

00:39:08He guarded the trailer park

00:39:10with a gun

00:39:10and wouldn't even

00:39:11let me get near you.

00:39:12The only thing

00:39:13I could do...

00:39:16Her voice breaks

00:39:17completely.

00:39:19Was stand outside

00:39:20your school

00:39:20at the beginning

00:39:21of every semester

00:39:22and watch you

00:39:23from across the street.

00:39:27I bite down

00:39:28so hard on my lip

00:39:30I taste blood.

00:39:31My vision

00:39:32is completely blurred

00:39:34by tears.

00:39:35And finally,

00:39:36I understand everything.

00:39:39Back then,

00:39:40she was only 18.

00:39:42A girl who had

00:39:43survived something horrific

00:39:44whose mind was already

00:39:45hanging by a thread.

00:39:47There was no way

00:39:48she could go back

00:39:48to that monster.

00:39:49For her,

00:39:51every step towards

00:39:52that trailer cramp

00:39:53was like walking back

00:39:53into hell itself.

00:39:54But fate has always

00:39:56been cruel.

00:39:56By the time mom

00:39:57finally saved enough money

00:39:59and came back

00:39:59to fight for custody of me,

00:40:01Austin had already

00:40:02sensed something was coming.

00:40:03He grabbed me

00:40:04in the middle of the night

00:40:05and disappeared.

00:40:06And in the 1990s,

00:40:07before cell phones,

00:40:09databases,

00:40:10and internet tracking

00:40:11connected the world,

00:40:12we vanished

00:40:12into countless

00:40:13forgotten trailer parks

00:40:14scattered across America.

00:40:16She never found us again.

00:40:19Valerie cups my face

00:40:20with trembling hands.

00:40:25When you turned 18,

00:40:27you finally tracked down

00:40:28my private number.

00:40:29Her voice cracks apart.

00:40:31But by then,

00:40:34I'd already been diagnosed

00:40:35with terminal cancer.

00:40:38I didn't have much time

00:40:40left, Nora.

00:40:43Her tears mixed with mine

00:40:45as they streamed down

00:40:45our faces together.

00:40:47My body was falling apart

00:40:48day by day.

00:40:49I didn't want to drag you

00:40:50into that.

00:40:51I couldn't bear the thought

00:40:52of you watching me die

00:40:53in a hospital bed

00:40:54or inheriting all my debt

00:40:56after I was gone.

00:40:57That's why I acted cold

00:40:59on the phone.

00:41:00That's why I pretended

00:41:01I didn't know you.

00:41:02Everything inside my head

00:41:03goes completely blank.

00:41:07The mother I spent

00:41:08my whole life hating

00:41:09never abandoned me.

00:41:11Not once.

00:41:12With a body and soul

00:41:14shattered by a monster,

00:41:15she still fought

00:41:16through the filled

00:41:17and hopelessness

00:41:18of the 1990s

00:41:19with everything she had left

00:41:20just to keep loving me.

00:41:22We cling to each other

00:41:23in that dark little room

00:41:24and cry until there

00:41:25are no tears left.

00:41:27Finally,

00:41:28I wipe my face hard

00:41:29and force myself

00:41:30to look straight

00:41:31into her eyes.

00:41:32Mom,

00:41:33if we've really both

00:41:34been given another chance,

00:41:36then don't let me

00:41:37become your chains

00:41:38all over again.

00:41:39We can still fix this.

00:41:41We'll go to the hospital.

00:41:43Without me,

00:41:43you can finally

00:41:44live your own life.

00:41:45Valerie instantly

00:41:46shakes her head

00:41:46in panic.

00:41:47Stop!

00:41:48Don't say that!

00:41:49I can't do it!

00:41:50Nora!

00:41:51You are part of me!

00:41:52I will never let you go!

00:41:53No!

00:41:54No!

00:41:55No!

00:41:56No!

00:41:58No!

00:42:27No!

00:42:28You are part of me!

00:42:51The second I hear

00:42:52Austin's name,

00:42:53rage destinates

00:42:54inside my body.

00:42:55Every ounce of blood

00:42:57in my veins

00:42:57feels like it catches fire.

00:42:59He's coming here

00:43:00for revenge!

00:43:06That monster ruined

00:43:08my mother once already.

00:43:09Why the hell

00:43:10should he get

00:43:11another chance

00:43:11to destroy her life?

00:43:18While Grandpa and Grandma

00:43:20rush back inside

00:43:21in Scotch

00:43:21to grab their

00:43:22Remingston shoeduns,

00:43:24I move first.

00:43:31Without hesitation,

00:43:33I snatch up

00:43:33the heavy cleaver

00:43:34sitting beside

00:43:35the cutting board

00:43:36in the kitchen.

00:43:46I don't even look

00:43:47back at the house.

00:43:48Eyes burning red

00:43:49with hatred,

00:43:50I run straight

00:43:51into the blood-colored

00:43:52Texas dusk.

00:43:53Austin,

00:43:54even if this drags

00:43:55my soul straight

00:43:56into hell,

00:43:57this time,

00:43:58I'm going to

00:43:59kill you myself.

00:44:03Night falls fast

00:44:05near the border.

00:44:06Freezing wind

00:44:07filled with sand

00:44:08cuts across my face

00:44:09like blades.

00:44:12I crouch silently

00:44:13in the shadows

00:44:14near the edge

00:44:14of the neighborhood,

00:44:15my palms slick

00:44:16with sweat

00:44:17around the handle

00:44:17of the clemver.

00:44:20But no matter

00:44:21how long I wait,

00:44:23Austin never appears.

00:44:24Then around midnight,

00:44:25a horrible instinct

00:44:26suddenly clenches

00:44:27around my heart.

00:44:29Valerie should have

00:44:30returned from

00:44:31the clinic hours ago.

00:44:32But she still

00:44:33isn't home.

00:44:34Headlights suddenly

00:44:34tear through the darkness.

00:44:36Grandpa's old

00:44:37wake-up truck

00:44:37skids to a stop

00:44:38beside me.

00:44:39Scarlet, get in!

00:44:46Grandma and Grandpa

00:44:47both look pale with fear,

00:44:49gripping loaded

00:44:49Remington shoot guns

00:44:50tightly in their hands.

00:44:52We immediately

00:44:53start tracking tire marks

00:44:54and crushed brush

00:44:55along the bide side.

00:44:59following every sign

00:45:00we can find.

00:45:01The search leads us

00:45:02all the way

00:45:02to the edge of town.

00:45:04Then the pickup engine

00:45:05dies.

00:45:06Silence.

00:45:06Nothing but cold

00:45:07desert wind

00:45:08and darkness.

00:45:09In front of us

00:45:10sits an abandoned

00:45:10trailer park

00:45:11that's been empty

00:45:12for years.

00:45:12We split up

00:45:13to search for Valerie.

00:45:14Let go of me!

00:45:15You're insane!

00:45:16Let me go!

00:45:19Let go of me!

00:45:20You're insane!

00:45:21Let me go!

00:45:23My mind goes blank.

00:45:26I know instantly

00:45:27there's no time

00:45:28to turn back

00:45:28for Grandpa.

00:45:30So I run toward

00:45:32Valerie's screams

00:45:32alone.

00:45:35But somewhere

00:45:36during those few

00:45:37desperate seconds

00:45:38hearing my mother

00:45:39crying inside

00:45:40that trailer

00:45:42something strange

00:45:43happens.

00:45:45The panic inside

00:45:46my head

00:45:47suddenly disappears.

00:45:48Something strange

00:45:49happens.

00:45:50The panic inside

00:45:51my head

00:45:51suddenly disappears.

00:45:53Completely.

00:45:54As I sprint

00:45:55through the freezing

00:45:55dark

00:45:55I grip the heavy

00:45:56meat clever

00:45:57hidden beneath

00:45:57my coat

00:45:58so tightly

00:45:58my hand aches.

00:45:59My palm is

00:46:00slipped with sweat

00:46:01but my eyes

00:46:02hold no fear

00:46:03anymore.

00:46:04Only calm

00:46:05and certainty.

00:46:07In that moment

00:46:08I finally understand

00:46:09why I came back

00:46:09to this world.

00:46:10I wasn't reborn

00:46:11to keep living

00:46:12as that monster's

00:46:13unwanted child.

00:46:14I crossed

00:46:1428 years of time

00:46:15for one reason only.

00:46:17To set my mother

00:46:18free

00:46:18even if it cost

00:46:19the life I was

00:46:20never supposed

00:46:21to have in the

00:46:21first place.

00:46:22I stare

00:46:24at the battered

00:46:24trailer door

00:46:25glowing faintly

00:46:26under the moonlight

00:46:27and I never

00:46:28slow down

00:46:28for even

00:46:29a second.

00:46:31You sick

00:46:31bastard!

00:46:33Die!

00:46:37Without hesitation

00:46:38I slam my foot

00:46:39into the flimsy

00:46:40aluminum trailer

00:46:41door.

00:46:42Using the momentum

00:46:43I throw myself

00:46:44straight at Austin

00:46:45from behind.

00:46:46under the pale

00:46:48moonlight I raise

00:46:49the heavy cleaver

00:46:50high over my head

00:46:51and bring it down

00:46:52with every ounce

00:46:53of hatred

00:46:53from both

00:46:54lifetimes

00:46:54behind it.

00:46:56Austin lets out

00:46:57an animalistic

00:46:58scream

00:46:59but I underestimated

00:47:00what kind of monster

00:47:01he really is.

00:47:06a man who survived

00:47:08years of cartel

00:47:09violence along

00:47:10the border

00:47:10doesn't go down

00:47:11easily.

00:47:13The pain

00:47:14only drives me

00:47:15insane.

00:47:16Before I can

00:47:16swing again

00:47:17agony shoots

00:47:18through my arm

00:47:18like the bone

00:47:19is about to snap.

00:47:21I'm gonna kill you!

00:47:24The clever

00:47:25is ripped out

00:47:25of my hands

00:47:26instantly.

00:47:27Clang!

00:47:28The weapon

00:47:28crashes to the floor

00:47:29as Austin slams me

00:47:30hard against the ground

00:47:31inside the trailer.

00:47:35Under the dim

00:47:36moonlight leaking

00:47:37through the broken

00:47:38trailer walls

00:47:39Austin finally

00:47:40sees my face

00:47:41clearly.

00:47:44You little

00:47:45bitch again.

00:47:47You just keep

00:47:48ruining everything!

00:47:50He roars hysterically

00:47:51and raises the

00:47:52clember over his head

00:47:53then it comes down

00:47:55again

00:47:55and again.

00:47:57The blade

00:47:58flashes silver

00:47:59through the cramped

00:47:59trailer.

00:48:00each strike

00:48:01tears violently

00:48:02into my stomach

00:48:03and chest

00:48:04without mercy.

00:48:10Warm blood

00:48:10immediately floods

00:48:11from my mouth

00:48:12soaking my clothes.

00:48:16Strangely

00:48:18I can't feel pain

00:48:19anymore.

00:48:23my mind is terrifyingly

00:48:24clear.

00:48:25Only one thought

00:48:26keeps screaming

00:48:27inside my head.

00:48:28Don't let him go.

00:48:30Don't let him

00:48:30get to Valerie.

00:48:32No!

00:48:32Please!

00:48:33Stop!

00:48:34Let her go!

00:48:37No!

00:48:40Please!

00:48:41Please!

00:48:41Stop!

00:48:42Stop!

00:48:49And the second

00:48:50I see him

00:48:50turning toward

00:48:51my mother again

00:48:52something inside

00:48:53me snaps

00:48:54using every last

00:48:56ounce of strength

00:48:56from both my lives.

00:48:58I throw myself

00:48:59onto him

00:49:00from behind

00:49:00and lock my arms

00:49:01around his body

00:49:02like a steel trap.

00:49:06No!

00:49:07No!

00:49:08No!

00:49:09No!

00:49:10No!

00:49:11No!

00:49:12No!

00:49:12No matter

00:49:13how violently

00:49:14he punches me

00:49:16No matter

00:49:17how many times

00:49:18the blade

00:49:18carves into my flesh

00:49:19I grit my teeth

00:49:21so hard

00:49:21I taste blood

00:49:22and hold on anyway.

00:49:24Even as blood

00:49:25pours from my mouth

00:49:26I use my dying

00:49:28body weight

00:49:28to keep him

00:49:29pinned in place.

00:49:31You want to hurt her?

00:49:33Then you'll have

00:49:34to cut me

00:49:35into pieces first.

00:49:37Then you'll have

00:49:38to cut me

00:49:38into pieces first.

00:49:41A deafening

00:49:42shotgun blast

00:49:42erupts

00:49:43through the trailer.

00:49:44Austin!

00:49:46Blinding police

00:49:47spotlights

00:49:47flood the darkness

00:49:48as Grandpa

00:49:49storms inside

00:49:49roaring.

00:49:51The blast

00:49:52tears straight

00:49:53through Austin's skull.

00:49:54The impact

00:49:55stops the monster

00:49:56cold.

00:49:57His body

00:49:58jerks violently

00:49:58before collapsing

00:49:59to the floor

00:50:00like dead weight.

00:50:01Scarlet!

00:50:02Finally

00:50:03the demon

00:50:04falls silent

00:50:05and with the

00:50:05last bit of life

00:50:06draining from my body

00:50:07I collapse

00:50:08into the blood

00:50:09beside him.

00:50:14Scarlet!

00:50:15Scarlet!

00:50:19Scarlet wake up!

00:50:21Please!

00:50:23Mom's begging you

00:50:24please wake up!

00:50:26My mother's screams

00:50:28tear through the

00:50:28freezing Texas night

00:50:29raw

00:50:31desperate

00:50:32sharp enough

00:50:32to rip the sky apart.

00:50:34I want to lift my hand

00:50:36wipe the blood

00:50:37off her face

00:50:38like I always do

00:50:39pull her into my arms

00:50:41one last time

00:50:42but my arm feels

00:50:43filled with concrete.

00:50:44My body is getting

00:50:45colder by the second

00:50:45and the voices around me

00:50:47sound farther and farther

00:50:48away

00:50:48like they're trapped

00:50:49beneath deep water.

00:50:50The whole world

00:50:51is slowly drifting

00:50:51out of reach.

00:50:52I lie there

00:50:53helplessly in the cold

00:50:54moldy blood pooling

00:50:55across the floor

00:50:56of the abandoned trailer.

00:50:57I see Grandpa

00:50:58and Grandma

00:50:58rushing toward me.

00:51:01Grandpa's hands

00:51:02the same steady hands

00:51:03that held a gun

00:51:04his entire life

00:51:05without trembling

00:51:06once.

00:51:06He presses so hard

00:51:08his knuckles

00:51:08turn white

00:51:09but the blood

00:51:10still keeps pouring

00:51:11through his fingers.

00:51:13Grandma collapses

00:51:14beside me

00:51:14covering her mouth

00:51:16as sobs wreck her body.

00:51:19The whole world

00:51:20is slowly drifting

00:51:21out of reach.

00:51:23I know then

00:51:24I'm never gonna

00:51:26wake up again.

00:51:29That monster

00:51:30who haunts

00:51:31both of my lives

00:51:32like a curse

00:51:33carved into my bones.

00:51:36Austin Walker

00:51:37is finally killed

00:51:38that night

00:51:38by Grandpa's shotgun.

00:51:40The blast tears

00:51:41straight through his head.

00:51:43His blood

00:51:43his violence

00:51:44his evil

00:51:45all of it

00:51:46splatter across

00:51:47the rusted trailer walls

00:51:48and sinks into the mud

00:51:49of the Texas borderlands.

00:51:51Justice comes late

00:51:52the law never even

00:51:53gets the chance

00:51:54to put him on death row.

00:51:55Fate beats it

00:51:56to the punch

00:51:56brutal, bloody

00:51:57and absolute.

00:51:59After two lifetimes

00:52:00of suffering

00:52:00the debt

00:52:01is finally paid.

00:52:03But the devil's death

00:52:04doesn't bring life

00:52:05back to our family.

00:52:06A few days later

00:52:07an unusual storm

00:52:08rolls across the border.

00:52:09Cold rain mixes

00:52:10with sand and dirt

00:52:11turning the whole town

00:52:12gray, muddy

00:52:12and bitterly cold

00:52:13as if the sky itself

00:52:14is mourning

00:52:15everything we've lost.

00:52:16The Wyatt house

00:52:17falls silent.

00:52:18The kitchen

00:52:18that once smells

00:52:18of barbecue

00:52:19and fresh coffee

00:52:20never lights up again.

00:52:21Valerie becomes a ghost.

00:52:23She barely speaks.

00:52:25Barely moves.

00:52:26Like someone winds

00:52:27her up once

00:52:28and then forgets

00:52:29to do it again.

00:52:30Late one night

00:52:31after the rain

00:52:32finally stops

00:52:33she stumbles

00:52:34into my room alone.

00:52:35Dust has already

00:52:36settled across

00:52:36everything I leave behind.

00:52:38With trembling hands

00:52:39she folds my faded jeans

00:52:41picks up my

00:52:42unfinished notebooks

00:52:43smooths out the wrinkles

00:52:44in the blanket

00:52:44on my bed.

00:52:46And the moment

00:52:47her fingers

00:52:47touch those cold sheets

00:52:48the ones that will

00:52:49never hold my warmth again

00:52:50something inside her

00:52:52finally breaks.

00:52:53Tears hit the hardwood floor

00:52:54one after another

00:52:55soft

00:52:56heavy.

00:52:58Nora?

00:52:59Can mom come

00:53:00find you in heaven?

00:53:04Valerie drops

00:53:05to her knees

00:53:06beside the bed.

00:53:07She buries

00:53:08her pale face

00:53:08deep into my old pillow

00:53:10the one I never

00:53:11get around to washing.

00:53:13There's still

00:53:13the faint smell

00:53:14of cheap shampoo

00:53:15lingering in the fabric

00:53:16the last trace

00:53:17of her daughter

00:53:18left in this world.

00:53:19She clutches

00:53:20the sheets

00:53:21so tightly

00:53:21her fingers cramp

00:53:22crying like a child

00:53:24who loses everything

00:53:25in the middle

00:53:25of the desert.

00:53:28The news

00:53:29of the border

00:53:30shooting

00:53:30reaches Boston

00:53:31overnight.

00:53:33Hector

00:53:33and his mother

00:53:34immediately cancel

00:53:35everything

00:53:36and drive back

00:53:37to Texas.

00:53:38Neither of them

00:53:39asks questions.

00:53:41They simply

00:53:42stay beside

00:53:43my grandparents

00:53:44and help them

00:53:44hold themselves

00:53:45together

00:53:45long enough

00:53:46to bury me.

00:53:49The funeral

00:53:50is held

00:53:50in the little cemetery

00:53:51outside town.

00:53:53For once

00:53:54there is no sandstorm.

00:53:56White roses

00:53:58cover my grave.

00:53:59Hector stands

00:54:00at the very back

00:54:01of the crowd.

00:54:02The boy

00:54:03who once

00:54:03looked so calm

00:54:04and untouchable

00:54:05now has eyes

00:54:07darkened

00:54:07with grief

00:54:08and rage.

00:54:09He stares

00:54:10at the photo

00:54:10on my headstone

00:54:11my 18-year-old

00:54:13smile frozen

00:54:14forever in time

00:54:15and clenches

00:54:16his fists

00:54:16so hard

00:54:17his knuckles

00:54:18turn pale.

00:54:21After the funeral

00:54:22the atmosphere

00:54:23inside the Wyatt

00:54:24house

00:54:24feels suffocating.

00:54:26Grandpa

00:54:27and Grandma

00:54:27sit silently

00:54:28at the dinner table

00:54:29exhaustion

00:54:30and grief

00:54:31etched

00:54:31into every line

00:54:32on their faces.

00:54:34Hector sits alone

00:54:35on the old bench

00:54:35near the living room

00:54:36window

00:54:37staring out

00:54:37at the empty

00:54:38Texas highway.

00:54:39He struggles

00:54:40with himself

00:54:40for a long time

00:54:41before finally standing

00:54:42and walking

00:54:43over to Valerie.

00:54:44He crouches down

00:54:45in front of her

00:54:45carefully

00:54:46like he's afraid

00:54:47she might shitter

00:54:47if he moves too fast.

00:54:53Valerie

00:54:54come with us

00:54:55leave this place

00:54:56behind

00:54:57we can start

00:54:58over somewhere else

00:55:00okay?

00:55:01His voice

00:55:02is barely

00:55:02above a whisper

00:55:03he doesn't even

00:55:04dare touch her

00:55:05he just looks at her

00:55:06with quiet heartbreak

00:55:07in his eyes

00:55:08Valerie doesn't

00:55:09answer

00:55:09she sits there

00:55:11in the shadows

00:55:11clutching my faded

00:55:12denim jacket

00:55:13against her chest

00:55:14like it's the last

00:55:15oxygen left

00:55:16in the world

00:55:18that night

00:55:19after everyone

00:55:20finally falls asleep

00:55:21from sheer exhaustion

00:55:22the old house

00:55:24sinks into silence

00:55:31and Valerie wanders

00:55:33back into my room

00:55:34again

00:55:49she doesn't turn on

00:55:50the lights

00:55:51in a room without me

00:55:52even the light

00:55:53feels like a mockery

00:56:00she kneels alone

00:56:01on the cold floor

00:56:02organizing my belongings

00:56:03one piece at a time

00:56:04under the pale moonlight

00:56:06coming through the window

00:56:15my textbooks

00:56:16full of notes

00:56:20my erasers

00:56:21worn down

00:56:21to almost nothing

00:56:22then finally

00:56:25my old backpack

00:56:26the cheap one

00:56:28with frayed edges

00:56:28and fading fabric

00:56:29she pulls it

00:56:31into her arms

00:56:32and buries her face

00:56:33against it

00:56:33breathing in

00:56:35what little remains

00:56:35of my scent

00:56:40then her hand

00:56:41brushes against

00:56:42something hidden deep

00:56:43inside the torn

00:56:44inner lining

00:56:53paper

00:56:54a folded envelope

00:56:56slips loose

00:56:56and falls softly

00:56:57and falls softly

00:56:58into her lap

00:56:58on the front

00:56:59is only one word

00:57:02those are the words

00:57:03I want to say

00:57:04across two lifetimes

00:57:06the words

00:57:06I never managed

00:57:07to say out loud

00:57:08before I die

00:57:17Valerie

00:57:17Valerie freezes

00:57:18her whole body

00:57:19stiffens

00:57:20as her trembling

00:57:21fingers slowly

00:57:21tear the envelope

00:57:22open

00:57:24she's shaking

00:57:25so badly

00:57:26her fingernail

00:57:27slices the edge

00:57:28of the paper

00:57:28and draws blood

00:57:30but she doesn't

00:57:31even notice

00:57:32then she sees

00:57:33the first line

00:57:34and the moment

00:57:36she reads

00:57:36the name

00:57:37buried deepest

00:57:37inside her heart

00:57:43her breathing

00:57:44stops

00:57:51mom

00:57:53if you're reading

00:57:54this

00:57:55I'm probably

00:57:56already gone

00:58:02don't cry

00:58:03for me

00:58:06from the first day

00:58:07I came back

00:58:08to this timeline

00:58:09I already

00:58:11make up my mind

00:58:12I'm going to

00:58:13trade my life

00:58:14for your freedom

00:58:18under the moonlight

00:58:19Valerie's eyes

00:58:21instantly turn red

00:58:22she covers

00:58:23her mouth

00:58:24tightly

00:58:24to stop herself

00:58:26from sobbing

00:58:27out loud

00:58:27and keeps reading

00:58:31during those

00:58:3228 filthy years

00:58:33in my first life

00:58:35I hated you

00:58:36so much

00:58:37sometimes

00:58:38living in that

00:58:39moldy trailer park

00:58:40I wonder

00:58:40every day

00:58:41why everyone else

00:58:41has a loving mom

00:58:42except me

00:58:44why you left me

00:58:45alone in hell

00:58:46but in this life

00:58:47I finally learn

00:58:48the truth

00:58:48my mother loves me

00:58:50more than anyone

00:58:50ever could

00:58:52you burn your

00:58:53whole life away

00:58:54trying to protect me

00:58:55and honestly mom

00:58:56being loved by you

00:58:58like that

00:58:58is already enough

00:58:59you're brilliant

00:59:01beautiful

00:59:03grandpa and grandma

00:59:04love you

00:59:04so much

00:59:06Hector's mom

00:59:07once says

00:59:07you're meant to

00:59:08soar high above

00:59:08the clouds

00:59:09not rot away

00:59:10in border town dirt

00:59:11because some rapist

00:59:12destroys your life

00:59:14please let me go mom

00:59:15don't give birth

00:59:16to me again

00:59:17as long as the name

00:59:18Nora exists

00:59:19Austin Walker's shadow

00:59:20will always haunt you

00:59:21this time

00:59:22don't look back

00:59:23promise me

00:59:24go somewhere cleaner

00:59:25higher

00:59:26better

00:59:27go live the life

00:59:28you're supposed to have

00:59:29be free

00:59:31by the end of the letter

00:59:32Valerie has completely

00:59:33collapsed onto the floor

00:59:34she presses those pages

00:59:36against her chest

00:59:37like they're the last

00:59:38pieces of my heartbeat

00:59:39left in the world

00:59:39and cries so hard

00:59:41she can barely breathe

00:59:42curled up beside the bed

00:59:43in the darkness

00:59:44she breaks apart completely

00:59:46and in that winter night

00:59:48of 1996

00:59:50in a world without her daughter

00:59:52my mother lets out

00:59:54the most shattered

00:59:55guilt-rading

00:59:56heartbroken sobs

00:59:57of both our lifetimes

01:00:02that night

01:00:03the Texas winter wind

01:00:04howls so hard

01:00:05it nearly tears

01:00:06the old wooden house

01:00:07apart

01:00:09Valerie clutches

01:00:10my letter

01:00:10against her chest

01:00:12and cries

01:00:13until her voice

01:00:14gives up

01:00:17in that letter

01:00:18I beg her

01:00:19to let me go

01:00:19beg her not

01:00:20to look back

01:00:21beg her to chase

01:00:22her dreams

01:00:23and finally become

01:00:24the free person

01:00:25she deserves to be

01:00:27but staring into

01:00:28my empty room

01:00:29something reignites

01:00:30in her hollow

01:00:31lifeless eyes

01:00:35a fire

01:00:37a stubbornness

01:00:38stronger than grief

01:00:39itself

01:00:41Valerie whispers

01:00:42hoskily

01:00:43into the darkness

01:00:45you silly girl

01:00:47how could a mother

01:00:49ever stop

01:00:50loving her child

01:00:51she can't do

01:00:52what I ask

01:00:55because she had

01:00:56already told me

01:00:57once before

01:00:59I will never

01:01:00let you go

01:01:03you are part

01:01:04of my body

01:01:05part of my life

01:01:09a few days later

01:01:11Hector and his mother

01:01:12help my exhausted

01:01:14grandparents

01:01:16finish arranging

01:01:17everything

01:01:25then carrying

01:01:26unbearable grief

01:01:27with them

01:01:28the entire family

01:01:30leaves Texas

01:01:31for Boston

01:01:38the day the bus

01:01:39pulls away

01:01:40kicking up

01:01:41yellow dust

01:01:42behind it

01:01:44Valerie stands

01:01:45by the window

01:01:46and takes a deep

01:01:47breath of cold

01:01:48New England air

01:01:52this time

01:01:53she isn't running

01:01:54as a victim

01:01:55buried under shame

01:01:57this time

01:01:58she's a mother

01:01:59determined to

01:02:00rewrite fate itself

01:02:01and bring her daughter

01:02:03back into the world

01:02:04with every ounce

01:02:05of love

01:02:06she has

01:02:09time moves quickly

01:02:10beneath Boston's

01:02:11blue skies

01:02:14valerie throws every ounce

01:02:16of grief and pain

01:02:17into studying

01:02:21fueled by the determination

01:02:22of two lifetimes

01:02:24she works through

01:02:25endless nights

01:02:26until she's accepted

01:02:28into Harvard

01:02:29with near perfect

01:02:30scores

01:02:32and Hector

01:02:33the boy who once

01:02:35cries for me

01:02:35at that Texas

01:02:36bus station

01:02:38finally achieved

01:02:39his own dream

01:02:40too

01:02:42earning a place

01:02:43at one of the country's

01:02:44top medical schools

01:02:47textbooks become

01:02:49Valerie's shelter

01:02:49and the child

01:02:51growing inside her

01:02:52the child

01:02:53once used

01:02:54by monsters

01:02:54as blackmail

01:02:55is finally being

01:02:57nurtured

01:02:57in warmth

01:02:58and love

01:02:59the following autumn

01:03:01beneath golden maple leaves

01:03:03and the bright lights

01:03:04of a Boston maternity room

01:03:06a baby girl

01:03:07enters the world

01:03:08with a loud

01:03:09healthy cry

01:03:11Valerie lies exhausted

01:03:13against the hospital bed

01:03:14tears blurring her vision

01:03:16as she smiles wider

01:03:17than she ever has before

01:03:18with trembling arms

01:03:20she holds the tiny newborn

01:03:21against her chest

01:03:22and kisses her forehead

01:03:24gently

01:03:24Noma

01:03:26welcome to the world baby

01:03:28this time

01:03:30there's no moldy trailer park

01:03:31no violence

01:03:32no shadow left behind

01:03:34by monsters

01:03:35sunlight pours

01:03:36through the hospital windows

01:03:37onto a warm nursery crib

01:03:39grandpa and grandma

01:03:40show up crying

01:03:41and carrying

01:03:41brand new Barbie dolls

01:03:43Hector adjusts his glasses

01:03:45and smiles softly

01:03:47beside him

01:03:47and this version of Nora

01:03:49is finally born into love

01:03:53after that

01:03:54life slowly finds its way

01:03:56onto the right path

01:03:57without the suffering

01:03:59and burdens

01:03:59of the first timeline

01:04:00Valerie and Hector

01:04:02both reach the futures

01:04:03they are always meant to have

01:04:05Hector becomes one of the country's

01:04:07leading surgeons

01:04:08saving countless lives

01:04:10Valora becomes a legendary attorney

01:04:13known across America

01:04:14dedicating her career

01:04:16to protecting women and children

01:04:18through civil rights law

01:04:19and the new Nora

01:04:21grows up beneath Harvard's golden autumn trees

01:04:24surrounded by love

01:04:25instead of fear

01:04:26she is bright

01:04:27confident

01:04:30happy

01:04:32the cancer that once destroys my body

01:04:36never appears in hers

01:04:41as little Nora grows up

01:04:43she watches Valerie and Hector

01:04:46eventually fall in love

01:04:47and build a quiet

01:04:48beautiful family together

01:04:50their life isn't glamorous

01:04:52but the love they give her

01:04:54overflows far beyond

01:04:55what most families could ever offer

01:04:58and somewhere inside

01:04:59the golden evening light

01:05:00the version of me

01:05:02that crosses time itself

01:05:03the wandering soul

01:05:05carried away by the wind

01:05:07finally smiles

01:05:08at the end of her autobiography

01:05:10my mother writes

01:05:11one final dedication

01:05:14every achievement and honor in my life

01:05:16belongs to a girl named Nora

01:05:18my daughter once tears open

01:05:20the darkness with her own life

01:05:22and I spend the rest of mine

01:05:23bringing her back into the light

01:05:25I lean quietly against my mother's

01:05:27meaning that final memory

01:05:29and whisper softly

01:05:30in her heart

01:05:31do you agree with me?

01:05:33Mom

01:05:33this time

01:05:35you get everything right

01:05:36and at last

01:05:37those two wounded souls

01:05:39walk hand in hand

01:05:40towards the endless stars

01:05:41waiting beyond the clouds

01:05:43you

01:05:43it's

01:05:43I loving you

01:05:43I love you

01:05:44at the end of my car

01:05:44you

Raising Nora Again💖Telegram@Linkeex

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