Cutting the Cord: Reborn as My Mom's High School Frenemy - Full EP - video Dailymotion

Pocket Drama

Cutting the Cord: Reborn as My Mom's High School Frenemy - Full EP

Transcript

00:00:001996, Texas.

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

00:00:05Water drips from my thick blonde hair.

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

00:00:08The 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.

00:00:38She 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,

00:01:02replaced by something cold, something vicious.

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

00:01:08buzzing 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, she 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?

00:01:43God, 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,

00:01:52the bulletin board plastered with fall semester 1996.

00:01:55Cheerleaders rush past us,

00:01:57ponytails flying,

00:01:58while some varsity asshole has 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.

00:02:28I 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?

00:02:59Sunlight spills across her shoulders.

00:03:00For a second,

00:03:01she looks nothing like the woman

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

00:03:05The gym is loud,

00:03:06humilded,

00:03:07packed wall to wall.

00:03:09Football players in red jerseys

00:03:10charge onto the court

00:03:11while cheerleaders shake palm balls

00:03:13under the flashing lights.

00:03:14The bleachers thunder

00:03:15with stomping feet

00:03:16and screaming students.

00:03:18This Friday,

00:03:19let's show East Ridge

00:03:20who really runs this town.

00:03:22The crowd explodes.

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

00:03:26Beside me,

00:03:26Hector adjusts his glasses,

00:03:28eyes 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.

00:03:38After the rally,

00:03:39students pour out of the gym.

00:03:41The halls fill

00:03:42with slamming lockers

00:03:43and overlapping conversations again.

00:03:46People 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.

00:03:55Her notes need enough to look typed.

00:03:57As she flips a page,

00:03:59something slips out from between her books.

00:04:01A pale green application packet.

00:04:03Harvard University.

00:04:05My 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

00:04:11for someone like her.

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

00:04:13Valerie,

00:04:14your future turns out cheap and pathetic anyway.

00:04:16So why are you out here

00:04:17pretend to be some gifted golden girl right now?

00:04:19It makes me sick.

00:04:20I rise from my seat.

00:04:21Then,

00:04:22with one sharp shove of my elbow,

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

00:04:26The dark liquid spills perfectly

00:04:27across the application packet,

00:04:29soaking through the giant Harvard crest

00:04:31until 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

00:04:39underneath all that fake sweetness.

00:04:41But her reaction throws me completely off.

00:04:46Oh God, Scarlet, are you okay?

00:04:49She grabs a stack of napkins

00:04:50and 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

00:05:01if the woman I remember

00:05:02was ever the real Valerie at all.

00:05:04Just then,

00:05:05the classroom door swings open.

00:05:07A Latino teacher steps inside

00:05:09and walks over to Valerie's desk.

00:05:11Hey Valerie,

00:05:12something came up with Scarlet's family.

00:05:14Kind of an emergency.

00:05:15Your parents called

00:05:16and asked if you could bring her home

00:05:17with you after school.

00:05:18An emergency?

00:05:20What the hell happened?

00:05:22By the time school lets out,

00:05:23the Texas sunset looks like

00:05:24the whole sky's on fire.

00:05:26Stadium lights flicker on

00:05:27one by one around the football field.

00:05:29The cheer squad is still practicing

00:05:30while snippets of 90s pop songs

00:05:32crack through the loudspears.

00:05:34Valerie walks a few steps ahead of me,

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

00:05:37She suddenly stops

00:05:38and turns to me gently.

00:05:39I heard about your parents.

00:05:41Scarlet,

00:05:41don'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,

00:05:48I'll always be here.

00:05:48That faint grapefruit scent

00:05:50wraps around me again.

00:05:51And just like that,

00:05:52I break.

00:05:53In my last life,

00:05:54there were countless nights

00:05:55when I would have given anything

00:05:56for this exact embrace.

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

00:05:59I deliberately smears and snot

00:06:00all over her pretty shirt.

00:06:01Petty revenge.

00:06:02Pathetic, tiny revenge.

00:06:04But her arms are warm

00:06:05exactly the way

00:06:06I remember from childhood.

00:06:07So how the hell

00:06:08did someone like this

00:06:09become the woman

00:06:10who 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

00:06:15with a paper box of cupcakes

00:06:17sitting 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

00:06:23walking side by side

00:06:24beneath the football field lights

00:06:25and something bitter

00:06:26twists in my chest.

00:06:27What, Hector?

00:06:28You gonna pick her up

00:06:29like this every day?

00:06:30Keep her stuck in this town

00:06:31and make her your wife someday?

00:06:32Hector stops walking,

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

00:06:35his expression is completely

00:06:36open and sincere.

00:06:37Valerie's meant for bigger things

00:06:39than this place.

00:06:39She's too talented

00:06:40to spend her life

00:06:41shrinking herself for some guy.

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

00:06:45wrong.

00:06:47I freeze

00:06:47because I never imagined

00:06:49Hector would say

00:06:49something like that.

00:06:52I'm not getting stuck

00:06:53married with kids at 18.

00:06:55I want to see

00:06:56what's out there first.

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

00:06:58You ended up trapped

00:06:59in a rotting trailer park

00:07:00full of violence

00:07:01and screaming

00:07:02and broken walls.

00:07:03Valerie,

00:07:03did your dreams betray you?

00:07:05The whole walk there,

00:07:07something about this timeline

00:07:08feels off in a way

00:07:09I can't explain.

00:07:11And then Valerie

00:07:12opens the front door.

00:07:15The smell of home-cooked food

00:07:16hits me instantly.

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

00:07:21Hi, Mr. Wyatt.

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

00:07:25He bursts out laughing

00:07:26and pulls me inside

00:07:27before I can even finish.

00:07:29The house is warm,

00:07:31spotless,

00:07:31lived in.

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

00:07:33of slippers waiting for me

00:07:34by the entryway

00:07:35along with folded pajamas

00:07:36set out they'd been

00:07:36expecting me for days.

00:07:38The living room walls

00:07:38are lined with plaques,

00:07:39commendations,

00:07:40and framed federal service award.

00:07:42On the TV,

00:07:43a local news station

00:07:44is covering a major

00:07:44drug trafficking case

00:07:45near the Texas border.

00:07:46A photo flashes on screen

00:07:48of two fallen narcotics agents.

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

00:07:52Best partners I ever had.

00:07:54Real heroes.

00:07:55And from now on,

00:07:55this house is yours too.

00:07:57You hear me?

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

00:07:59The parents belonging

00:08:00to this body

00:08:01are already dead.

00:08:02Dinner is loud

00:08:03and warm

00:08:03and painfully alive.

00:08:05Grandpa keeps piling food

00:08:06onto plates.

00:08:07Grandma laughs at everything.

00:08:08A dog nudges against my legs

00:08:10beneath the table.

00:08:10The kitchen light glows so warmly

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

00:08:13And across from me

00:08:13sits Valerie,

00:08:14laughing freely

00:08:15while her parents dole on her

00:08:16like she's the center

00:08:17of their universe.

00:08:18My chest tightens so hard

00:08:20it 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

00:08:27did she become someone

00:08:28who could watch me die

00:08:29without a single shred

00:08:30of kindness?

00:08:31Late that night,

00:08:32Valerie and I lay

00:08:33side by side in the dark.

00:08:35There's been this huge

00:08:37cartel case near the border

00:08:38lately.

00:08:39I 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

00:08:47of movement

00:08:48in the living room.

00:08:49Grandpa is sitting

00:08:49by 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.

00:08:57He smiles

00:08:57and ruffles my hair.

00:08:58I will, kiddo.

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

00:09:01Then he and Grandma

00:09:01disappear together

00:09:02into the pale border fog

00:09:04of early morning

00:09:05and the dread

00:09:06in my chest

00:09:06only grows heavier.

00:09:10Valerie stumbles

00:09:11out of bed

00:09:12half asleep

00:09:12the next morning

00:09:13and stands in front

00:09:14of the mirror,

00:09:15completely lost

00:09:16trying to fix her ponytail.

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

00:09:19I walk over

00:09:20and quietly redo

00:09:21her 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

00:09:27at this?

00:09:28And suddenly I remember

00:09:29how, when I was little,

00:09:30she always hacked

00:09:31my hair off

00:09:32into awful tomboy cuts.

00:09:33Maybe it wasn't

00:09:34coldness 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.

00:09:42He hands me

00:09:42an ice-cold soda,

00:09:44then stares at my face

00:09:45for a little too long.

00:09:47Scarlett,

00:09:48is it just me

00:09:48or are you starting

00:09:49to look more and more

00:09:50like Valerie?

00:09:51A chill shoots

00:09:52straight 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

00:10:02wearing my own

00:10:0318-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

00:10:11of Valini to the woman

00:10:12from my last life.

00:10:13This girl is kind,

00:10:15bright,

00:10:16alive.

00:10:16I finally begin

00:10:17to understand

00:10:18why my dad,

00:10:19Austin,

00:10:19spent his whole life

00:10:20loving her

00:10:20even when she never

00:10:21truly loved him back.

00:10:22Part of me even starts

00:10:23thinking that when I

00:10:23finally 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

00:10:32opening its doors.

00:10:33School lets out early

00:10:34that day.

00:10:35Hector and I stop

00:10:36by a taco truck

00:10:37on 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

00:10:43ahead of us.

00:10:44We're almost at her house

00:10:45when an old pickup truck

00:10:46with no plates

00:10:47suddenly comes flying

00:10:48backward out of the driveway.

00:10:51Several tattooed men

00:10:52in masks

00:10:52jump into the bed

00:10:53of the truck.

00:10:54Then, a scream

00:10:56tears through the air.

00:10:57It's Valerie.

00:11:01Hector and I

00:11:02sprint toward the house

00:11:03so fast

00:11:03my lungs feel like

00:11:04they're tearing apart.

00:11:06The front door

00:11:07hangs crooked

00:11:08on 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,

00:11:14the 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

00:11:22the wooden floorboards

00:11:22and long streaks

00:11:23like someone had been dragged.

00:11:24Grandpa and Grandma

00:11:26lie motionless

00:11:26on 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

00:11:35like nothing happened.

00:11:38Hector roars

00:11:39and charges at him,

00:11:40only to get kicked hard

00:11:41across the room.

00:11:42The stranger turns

00:11:43toward me slowly.

00:11:44Then he grabs my collar

00:11:45and jerks me forward

00:11:46so violently

00:11:47my feet leave the ground.

00:11:48Hector!

00:11:50The stench of blood

00:11:51and cigarettes,

00:11:52floods my nose

00:11:53so hard I nearly gag.

00:11:55Well, damn.

00:11:56If it isn't

00:11:56Officer Miller's kid.

00:11:58Lucky day for you,

00:11:59sweetheart.

00:12:00Boss already told us

00:12:01to pull out.

00:12:02Otherwise,

00:12:03you'd have been

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

00:12:04He spits onto the floor

00:12:06beside 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

00:12:17snaps.

00:12:18I throw myself forward

00:12:19and grab the man's

00:12:20pant leg

00:12:20with 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

00:12:32around me

00:12:32because he isn't

00:12:34some random cartel thug.

00:12:35He's Austin.

00:12:37My father.

00:12:41Hector scrambles

00:12:42to 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

00:12:50on yourself,

00:12:51you 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

00:13:06a hunting knife

00:13:07from the back

00:13:07of 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.

00:13:20The man I loved most

00:13:21growing up.

00:13:22The 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 Valier's desperate sobbing

00:13:35remind me this is real.

00:13:37I clamp down on the knife

00:13:39with everything I have

00:13:40and scream hysterically

00:13:41at Hector.

00:13:42Hector, run!

00:13:43Go get help!

00:13:45Go!

00:13:46Now!

00:13:46Blood streams down

00:13:47Hector'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

00:13:57of 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

00:14:10back up

00:14:10with the last bit of strength

00:14:12she has left.

00:14:14Austin 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,

00:14:28crushing 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

00:14:34pull it back out.

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

00:14:37You can't.

00:14:40I'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,

00:15:08kicks 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.

00:15:23My consciousness

00:15:24is already slipping away,

00:15:25sobbing controllably.

00:15:27With 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

00:15:35into the blood.

00:15:35In the distance,

00:15:36sirens scream through 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

00:15:46as 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,

00:15:55all 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 entice

00:16:06Sotanli.

00:16:06You were the last one

00:16:07to wake up!

00:16:08Do you have any idea

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

00:16:11You 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

00:16:22all over my body.

00:16:22I look at him anxiously.

00:16:23Valerie's parents?

00:16:25And Valerie,

00:16:25are they okay?

00:16:27Her folks made it

00:16:28to the hospital

00:16:28just 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 in them

00:16:43I can't even begin to explain.

00:16:45I say her name softly.

00:16:46She nods faintly

00:16:47and walks over.

00:16:47Her cold fingers

00:16:48are on my shoulder.

00:16:49Does it hurt?

00:16:51I shake my head.

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

00:16:53I force a small smile.

00:16:55Have you been crying?

00:16:57She doesn't answer.

00:16:58She just holds my hand tighter

00:16:59and gently squeezes my cheek

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

00:17:01Then suddenly,

00:17:02she lowers her head

00:17:03and tears drip

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

00:17:05Thank 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

00:17:14completely changed

00:17:15because of me.

00:17:16I sniff hard,

00:17:17holding back tears.

00:17:17I 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

00:17:23and 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

00:17:30as 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,

00:17:39but for the first time

00:17:40in forever,

00:17:41her voice carries

00:17:42a little relief.

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

00:17:44The case is over.

00:17:45The cartel operation

00:17:47finally 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

00:17:52rest for 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

00:17:59so hard I almost

00:18:00shoot upright

00:18:01in the hospital bed.

00:18:02Wait, seriously?

00:18:03They caught all of them?

00:18:05Yes, seriously.

00:18:06Now stop moving

00:18:08before you rip

00:18:08your stitches open.

00:18:09The crushing weight

00:18:10that haunted me

00:18:11through 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

00:18:25to see if you can finally

00:18:26have 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.

00:18:31Unfortunately,

00:18:31the second I laugh,

00:18:32pain rips through

00:18:33the stitches in my abdomen.

00:18:34I 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.

00:18:45Hector's smile

00:18:45slowly disappears too.

00:18:47I wrap both arms tightly

00:18:49around 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,

00:18:56if I had known

00:18:56my biologed father

00:18:57was the monster

00:18:58who destroyed

00:18:58your 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,

00:19:08I'll set you free.

00:19:11After surviving the nightmare,

00:19:13the little Texas town

00:19:14slowly comes back to life.

00:19:15Once I'm discharged

00:19:16from the hospital,

00:19:16my grandparents

00:19:17take 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

00:19:27completely hijacks

00:19:28what was supposed to be

00:19:28an emotional family dinner

00:19:29with giant sizzling

00:19:30Texas steaks,

00:19:31oversized cowboy hats

00:19:32and boots that look

00:19:33straight out of

00:19:34a 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

00:19:39way too composed

00:19:39for his age,

00:19:40finally laughs

00:19:40without holding back.

00:19:43But beneath the warm

00:19:44yellow glow

00:19:45of the dinner lights,

00:19:46the conversation

00:19:46eventually turns to goodbye.

00:19:48Hector's mother

00:19:48lifts her 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.

00:19:54She can't handle

00:19:54the danger near 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

00:20:04on 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

00:20:09from this 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

00:20:15about the future.

00:20:16Valerie asks

00:20:17where I want to go

00:20:17to school someday.

00:20:18I look at her,

00:20:20the 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

00:20:29like a dream,

00:20:29I finally understand

00:20:30the suffocating pain

00:20:31she carried in her

00:20:31previous 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, this time

00:20:36go live your life.

00:20:37Chase your dreams.

00:20:38Be yourself again.

00:20:38As for me,

00:20:39I'll stay behind

00:20:40in 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

00:20:51slowly pulls away,

00:20:52kicking 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

00:21:23out of my grasp.

00:21:24Like a frightened deer,

00:21:25she stumbles towards

00:21:25a trash can

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

00:21:27bends over,

00:21:27and starts violently throwing up.

00:21:29She vomits so hard

00:21:30there's eventually

00:21:31nothing 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

00:21:37for 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

00:21:45on my face.

00:21:46Watching her clutch

00:21:47her stomach

00:21:48and reek in pain,

00:21:49a terrifying cold

00:21:51realization

00:21:52crawls slowly up

00:21:53my spine

00:21:53like ice water.

00:21:56Those symptoms...

00:21:57No, no way.

00:22:04You...

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...

00:22:30I don't know, Scarlett.

00:22:32I thought maybe

00:22:33it was just 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.

00:22:42I don't even let her

00:22:43finish speaking.

00:22:43I grab her hand

00:22:45and practically drag her

00:22:46down the street

00:22:47toward the town's

00:22:48small community clinic.

00:22:51The doctor on duty

00:22:52is an elderly

00:22:53Cuban-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 child's

00:23:02alongside 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,

00:23:08battle-worned gaze

00:23:09immediately narrows.

00:23:10Wasting another second,

00:23:11she starts ushering

00:23:13every 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.

00:23:22My scalp precles with dread

00:23:23as I quickly explain

00:23:24Valerie's nausea

00:23:25and vomiting.

00:23:26The old doctor

00:23:27says nothing

00:23:28after hearing me out,

00:23:29but a deep,

00:23:30piercing sorrow

00:23:30flashes through her eyes.

00:23:32She quietly takes Valerie

00:23:33into the examination room

00:23:35in the back.

00:23:36The moment the door closes,

00:23:38all 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 that,

00:23:48a horrifying truth

00:23:48finally pieces itself

00:23:49together in my mind.

00:23:50In my previous life,

00:23:52Austin,

00:23:52the 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

00:24:09helped set 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

00:24:14destroyed a brilliant girl

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

00:24:17And 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.

00:24:28She 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

00:24:41one 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

00:25:01now looks hollowed out

00:25:02like a man aging

00:25:03ten years in a single night.

00:25:08He 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,

00:25:19sobbing 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 monster'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.

00:25:52The sight tears me apart inside.

00:25:55I lower my head immediately,

00:25:58too ashamed to even look

00:25:59my own mother in the eye.

00:26:01And then things somehow

00:26:03get even worse.

00:26:05Austin's trashy parents,

00:26:06the grandparents I had

00:26:07in my previous life,

00:26:09somehow hear about

00:26:09Valerie's pregnancy.

00:26:10Right after the attack,

00:26:12those two cowards

00:26:13vanished completely

00:26:14to avoid being dragged

00:26:14into the police investigation.

00:26:16But the second they hear

00:26:17Valerie is carrying

00:26:18Austin's child,

00:26:19they swoop in like

00:26:19vultures smelling blood.

00:26:21To them,

00:26:21this pregnancy is leverage,

00:26:23the perfect weapon

00:26:24to destroy the Wyatt family.

00:26:25We 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

00:26:31they hired.

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,

00:26:44doesn't show even a trace

00:26:45of 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 police.

00:26:59Officer Wyatt,

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

00:27:03My son Austin

00:27:04may be in prison,

00:27:05but he still has

00:27:06parental rights.

00:27:07That baby is part

00:27:08of 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,

00:27:21we're fully prepared

00:27:21to drag this

00:27:22through family court

00:27:23for years.

00:27:24And trust me,

00:27:25once the media

00:27:25gets involved,

00:27:26everybody in Texas

00:27:27is going to know

00:27:28exactly what happened

00:27:29to your daughter.

00:27:33Then Mayabelle Walker,

00:27:34my former grandmother,

00:27:36blows out a stream

00:27:37of cigarette smoke

00:27:38and starts screeching

00:27:39at the house.

00:27:40You go testify

00:27:41in federal court,

00:27:43and we'll swear

00:27:44Valerie wanted it!

00:27:45We'll tell everyone

00:27:46you cops framed our son!

00:27:51We'll make damn sure

00:27:52every police department

00:27:53in Texas knows

00:27:55what kind of girl

00:27:56your daughter really is!

00:27:57You think those

00:27:58badges are going

00:27:59to survive this?

00:28:02We'll ruin

00:28:03your whole family!

00:28:07The police had kept

00:28:08the details of that night

00:28:10sealed tightly.

00:28:11Nobody in town

00:28:12knew what Valerie

00:28:13had actually suffered

00:28:14in the dark.

00:28:15But now,

00:28:15these two shameless monsters

00:28:17are ripping open

00:28:17her deepest traumata

00:28:18in public

00:28:19just to save

00:28:20their 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

00:28:27public 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.

00:28:34That'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,

00:28:44until 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

00:28:55and knew nothing

00:28:56about 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

00:29:03rising outside the fence,

00:29:04seeing neighbors stare

00:29:06with that fake sympathy

00:29:07hiding disgust underneath.

00:29:11Everything suddenly

00:29:12clicks into place

00:29:13inside 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

00:29:23had 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

00:29:32finally 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

00:30:10stumble backward,

00:30:11clutching their bloody mouths

00:30:12before collapsing

00:30:12into the dirt.

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

00:30:15I point the bat

00:30:16directly at the two of them,

00:30:18shaking with rage.

00:30:19Where the hell

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

00:30:21when 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

00:30:34instantly into 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,

00:30:40all of them whispering

00:30:40and staring.

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

00:30:43Anybody else wants

00:30:44to 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!

00:30:57Move!

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

00:31:17detonates

00:31:17complete like thunder.

00:31:19The bullet slices

00:31:20past Silas's ear

00:31:21and blasts apart

00:31:22one of the wooden fence posts

00:31:23behind him.

00:31:24Everyone freezes.

00:31:25Grandpa Rick stands there

00:31:26gripping a coal pipe

00:31:27on the revolver.

00:31:28The barrel pressed

00:31:29directly against Silas'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 the knife

00:31:43immediately.

00:31:44It clatters onto the dirt

00:31:45beside him

00:31:46as he collapses in terror.

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

00:31:51The cops are trying

00:31:53to 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.

00:32:00She 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

00:32:06the old woman nearly falls.

00:32:07Slap!

00:32:09Grandma backhands her

00:32:10across the face

00:32:10hard enough

00:32:11to send her crashing

00:32:12into the dirt,

00:32:12then plants a boot

00:32:14against her chest.

00:32:15Her eyes are pure steel.

00:32:17You think you can

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

00:32:19I'll go to prison

00:32:20smiling before I let

00:32:21your family destroy her life.

00:32:22Now get the hell

00:32:23off my property

00:32:24before I bury

00:32:25all of you out

00:32:26in the desert myself.

00:32:27Rick cocks

00:32:28the revolver once,

00:32:29never taking his eyes

00:32:30off 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 silence.

00:32:46The gossiping 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.

00:32:53But then suddenly,

00:32:54Grandpa Rick

00:32:55doubles over

00:32:56coughing violently.

00:32:57Fresh blood

00:32:58begins soaking

00:32:59through the white bandages

00:33:00wrapped around his torso.

00:33:07Grandpa's stitches

00:33:07tear open again

00:33:08so Grandma

00:33:08rushes him back

00:33:09to 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

00:33:13to breathe through

00:33:13the panic crushing

00:33:14my chest.

00:33:14I wipe the tears

00:33:15and blood off my face

00:33:16over and over

00:33:16with my sleeve

00:33:17until my skin

00:33:17burns raw.

00:33:18I can't let Valerie

00:33:19see me falling apart.

00:33:20Right now I have

00:33:21to be strong for her.

00:33:22I shove the bedroom

00:33:23door open

00:33:23and lock it tightly

00:33:24behind me

00:33:25shutting out the chaos

00:33:25outside.

00:33:26Then I walk straight

00:33:27towards her bed.

00:33:29The second I see

00:33:30her sitting there

00:33:31pale, hollow,

00:33:33motionless,

00:33:34something inside me

00:33:35finally breaks

00:33:35completely.

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

00:33:49desperate.

00:33:50I grab her shoulders

00:33:51gently,

00:33:52trying to pull strength

00:33:53from the girl

00:33:53who,

00:33:54in another lifetime,

00:33:55would become my mother

00:33:5619 years later.

00:33:58But Valerie never

00:33:59says 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

00:34:07across her face.

00:34:08Then she finally

00:34:09lifts her head

00:34:10and once again

00:34:11she looks at me

00:34:12with those same

00:34:13shattered eyes,

00:34:14empty,

00:34:15helpless,

00:34:15but still quietly

00:34:17begging someone

00:34:17to save her.

00:34:18Sight crushes my chest.

00:34:19For my entire previous life

00:34:21I thought I had been

00:34:21born unwanted,

00:34:22but now I finally

00:34:23understand the truth.

00:34:24My birth was never love.

00:34:25It was a chain,

00:34:27a weapon crafted

00:34:27by 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

00:34:41my mouth with her hand.

00:34:44I look up at her

00:34:46and suddenly the dam

00:34:48inside me

00:34:49completely breaks.

00:34:51Tears pour down my face

00:34:52as I collapse to my knees

00:34:54beside the bed.

00:34:55I pull her hand away

00:34:56from my mouth

00:34:57and finally scream out

00:34:58the truth

00:34:59that destroyed me

00:35:00for an entire lifetime.

00:35:02This 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

00:35:18completely.

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

00:35:30to erase them

00:35:30from existence.

00:35:31But at that exact moment,

00:35:33Valerie,

00:35:33who has been sitting there

00:35:35lifeless 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

00:35:41finally snaps awake.

00:35:42She bolts upright

00:35:43from the bed

00:35:44and throws her arms

00:35:45around me

00:35:45without warning,

00:35:46crushing me

00:35:47against her chest.

00:35:48She holds me so tightly

00:35:49her fingers dig painfully

00:35:51into my back.

00:35:52Hot tears spill

00:35:53onto my neck,

00:35:54burning 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

00:36:17crashes 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.

00:36:31Not 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

00:36:44the 18-year-old Valerie

00:36:46who knows nothing

00:36:46about the future.

00:36:47she remembers too.

00:36:50In this broken,

00:36:51twisted timeline,

00:36:53a 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.

00:37:14Valerie suddenly grabs

00:37:16my face with both hands

00:37:17and forces me to look

00:37:18at her through her tears.

00:37:19How could a mother

00:37:20ever hate her child?

00:37:22After two lifetimes,

00:37:24inside this old

00:37:24Texas house in 1996,

00:37:26she finally tears open

00:37:28the truth she buried

00:37:29for 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

00:37:44terminal cancer too.

00:37:46I wasn't eligible

00:37:47to donate.

00:37:48I wasn't abandoning you,

00:37:50Nora.

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 borderlands.

00:37:59But inside this cold

00:38:01little room,

00:38:02a mother and daughter

00:38:03separated by two lifetimes

00:38:05finally find each other again

00:38:06in 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

00:38:18from anybody willing

00:38:19to listen because

00:38:19I wanted to save you.

00:38:21Every word tears

00:38:22out of her throat

00:38:23like 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

00:38:29every 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

00:38:35and every piece of property

00:38:36I owned in Boston

00:38:37just 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

00:38:59because I needed money.

00:39:00I was trying to build

00:39:01enough of a life

00:39:01to come back

00:39:02and take you away

00:39:03from that rotting border town.

00:39:04But the second I left,

00:39:06Austin cut off

00:39:07every possible way

00:39:07for me to contact you.

00:39:09He 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.

00:39:19...was stand outside

00:39:20your school

00:39:21at the beginning

00:39:21of every semester

00:39:22and watch you

00:39:23from across the street.

00:39:27I bite down so hard

00:39:29on my lip

00:39:30I taste blood.

00:39:32My vision is

00:39:33completely blurred

00:39:34by tears.

00:39:35And finally,

00:39:37I understand everything.

00:39:39Back then,

00:39:41she was only 18.

00:39:42A girl who had survived

00:39:44something 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 crant

00:39:53was like walking back

00:39:54into hell itself.

00:39:55But fate has always

00:39:56been cruel.

00:39:57By the time mom

00:39:57finally saved enough money

00:39:59and came back

00:40:00to fight for custody of me,

00:40:01Austin had already

00:40:02sensed something was coming.

00:40:04He 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

00:40:13into countless

00:40:13forgotten trailer parks

00:40:15scattered across America.

00:40:17She never found us again.

00:40:19Valerie cups my face

00:40:21with trembling hands.

00:40:25When you turned 18,

00:40:27you finally tracked down

00:40:28my private number.

00:40:29The voice cracks apart.

00:40:32But by then,

00:40:34I'd already been diagnosed

00:40:35with terminal cancer.

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

00:40:40Nora.

00:40:43Her tears mix with mine

00:40:45as they stream 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

00:41:09my whole life hating

00:41:09never abandoned me.

00:41:11Not once.

00:41:13With 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

00:41:19she 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

00:41:35been given another chance,

00:41:37then don't let me

00:41:37become your chains

00:41:38all over again.

00:41:40We 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

00:41:47in 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!

00:41:55She covers her face,

00:41:56crying uncontrollably.

00:41:58And seeing the pain

00:41:59and determination

00:41:59in her eyes,

00:42:00I can't force her anymore.

00:42:02The sunset

00:42:03over the Texas border

00:42:04paints the entire sky

00:42:05blood red.

00:42:06Hot wind rolls

00:42:07through the yard

00:42:08carrying dust

00:42:09and dry heat

00:42:10that makes my chest

00:42:11tighten with unease.

00:42:12Grandpa fires up

00:42:13the smoker in the backyard

00:42:14using a stash

00:42:15of oak wood

00:42:16he's been saving

00:42:16for years.

00:42:17Before long,

00:42:18the air fills

00:42:18with the smell

00:42:19of smoked brisket

00:42:20and ribs.

00:42:20Grandma and I

00:42:21spend the entire afternoon

00:42:22preparing dinner,

00:42:23wanting to give Mom,

00:42:24the girl who suffered

00:42:24so much in this timeline,

00:42:26the happiest 18th birthday

00:42:27possible.

00:42:27But just as Grandma

00:42:28wipes her hands clean

00:42:29and starts heading inside

00:42:30to call Valerie at a dinner,

00:42:39Officer Wyatt,

00:42:40we've got a problem.

00:42:42Austin escaped

00:42:43during transport

00:42:43to federal prison.

00:42:44He killed two federal marshals

00:42:46and stole a shotgun.

00:42:47Dispatch intercepted

00:42:48a report 10 minutes ago.

00:42:49He's heading straight for town

00:42:50in a stolen pickup truck.

00:42:52The second I hear

00:42:53Austin's name,

00:42:54rage destinates

00:42:55inside my body.

00:42:56Every 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 another chance

00:43:12to destroy her life?

00:43:18While Grandpa and Grandma

00:43:20rush back inside

00:43:21in Scotch

00:43:22to grab their

00:43:23Remingston shoe duns,

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 back

00:43:47at 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,

00:43:56this time,

00:43:58I'm going to kill

00:44:00you 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

00:44:18of 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

00:44:27suddenly clenches

00:44:28around my heart.

00:44:29Valerie should have

00:44:30returned from the clinic

00:44:31hours ago,

00:44:32but she still isn't home.

00:44:34Headlights suddenly

00:44:35tear through the darkness.

00:44:36Grandpa's old

00:44:37wake-up truck

00:44:38skids to a stop

00:44:39beside me.

00:44:39Scarlett, get in!

00:44:46Grandma and Grandpa

00:44:47both look pale with fear,

00:44:49gripping loaded

00:44:49Remington shoot guns

00:44:51tightly 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

00:45:03to the edge of town.

00:45:04Then the pickup engine

00:45:05dies.

00:45:06Silence.

00:45:06Nothing but cold desert 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.

00:45:31So I run toward

00:45:32Valerie's screams

00:45:33alone.

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

00:45:44happens.

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,

00:45:56I grip the heavy

00:45:57meat cleaver

00:45:57hidden beneath my

00:45:58coat so tightly

00:45:58my hand aches.

00:45:59My palm is slipped

00:46:01with 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

00:46:10to 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 28 years

00:46:15of time for one

00:46:16reason only.

00:46:17To set my mother

00:46:18free, even if it

00:46:19cost the life I was

00:46:20never supposed to

00:46:21have in the first

00:46:22place.

00:46:23I stare at the

00:46:24battered trailer

00:46:25door glowing faintly

00:46:26under the moonlight.

00:46:27And I never slow

00:46:28down for even a

00:46:29second.

00:46:30You sick

00:46:31bastard!

00:46:33Die!

00:46:37Without hesitation,

00:46:38I slam my foot

00:46:40into the flimsy

00:46:40aluminum trailer

00:46:41door.

00:46:42Using the momentum,

00:46:44I throw myself

00:46:44straight at Austin

00:46:46from behind.

00:46:47Under 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 from

00:46:54both lifetimes

00:46:55behind it.

00:46:57Austin lets out

00:46:58an animalistic

00:46:59scream, but I

00:47:00underestimated what

00:47:01kind of monster

00:47:02he really is.

00:47:05I'm gonna rip

00:47:06you apart!

00:47:07A man who

00:47:08survived years of

00:47:09cartel violence

00:47:10along the border

00:47:11doesn't go down

00:47:11easily.

00:47:13The pain only

00:47:14drives me insane.

00:47:16Before I can

00:47:17swing again,

00:47:17agony shoots

00:47:18through my arm

00:47:19like the bone

00:47:19is about to snap.

00:47:21I'm gonna kill

00:47:23you!

00:47:24The clever is ripped

00:47:25out of my hands

00:47:26instantly.

00:47:27Clang!

00:47:28The weapon

00:47:28crashes to the floor

00:47:29as Austin slams me

00:47:31hard against the ground

00:47:31inside the trailer.

00:47:36Under 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

00:47:46again.

00:47:47You just

00:47:48keep ruining

00:47:49everything!

00:47:50He roars

00:47:51hysterically and

00:47:51raises the

00:47:52clember over his head.

00:47:53Then it comes

00:47:54down.

00:47:55Again.

00:47:56And again.

00:47:57The blade

00:47:58flashes silver

00:47:59through the cramped

00:48:00trailer.

00:48:00Each strike

00:48:01tears violently

00:48:02into my stomach

00:48:03and chest

00:48:04out of her side.

00:48:10Warm blood

00:48:11immediately floods

00:48:11from my mouth,

00:48:12soaking my clothes.

00:48:16But strangely,

00:48:18I can't feel

00:48:19pain anymore.

00:48:23My mind

00:48:24is terrifyingly

00:48:25clear.

00:48:25Only one thought

00:48:27keeps screaming

00:48:27inside my head.

00:48:29Don't let him go.

00:48:30Don't let him

00:48:31get to Valerie.

00:48:32No!

00:48:33Please!

00:48:33Stop!

00:48:34Let her go!

00:48:37No!

00:48:40Please stop!

00:48:49And the second

00:48:50I see him

00:48:51turning toward

00:48:51my mother again,

00:48:52something inside

00:48:53me snaps,

00:48:55using every

00:48:55last ounce of

00:48:56strength from

00:48:57both my lives.

00:48:58I throw myself

00:48:59onto him from

00:49:00behind and lock

00:49:01my arms around

00:49:02his body like

00:49:03a steel trap.

00:49:12No matter how

00:49:13violently he

00:49:14punches me,

00:49:16no matter how

00:49:17many times the

00:49:18blade carves

00:49:19into my flesh,

00:49:20I grit my teeth

00:49:21so hard I taste

00:49:22blood and hold

00:49:23on anyway.

00:49:25Even as blood

00:49:26pours from my mouth,

00:49:27I use my dying

00:49:28body weight to

00:49:29keep him pinned

00:49:30against the place.

00:49:31You want to

00:49:31hurt 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 through

00:49:43the trailer.

00:49:45Austin!

00:49:46Blinding police

00:49:47spotlights flood

00:49:48the darkness

00:49:48as Grandpa

00:49:49storms inside,

00:49:50roaring.

00:49:51the blast

00:49:52tears straight

00:49:53through Austin's

00:49:54skull.

00:49:55The impact

00:49:55stops the

00:49:56monster cold.

00:49:57His body

00:49:58jerks violently

00:49:59before 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

00:50:07body,

00:50:07I collapse

00:50:08into the blood

00:50:09beside him.

00:50:14Scarlet!

00:50:15Scarlet!

00:50:19Scarlet,

00:50:20wake up!

00:50:21Please!

00:50:23Mom's begging

00:50:24you,

00:50:24please wake up!

00:50:27My mother's

00:50:27screams tear

00:50:28through the

00:50:28freezing Texas

00:50:29night,

00:50:30raw,

00:50:31desperate,

00:50:32sharp enough

00:50:33to rip the

00:50:33sky apart.

00:50:34I want to

00:50:35lift my hand,

00:50:37wipe the blood

00:50:38off her face,

00:50:38like I always

00:50:39do,

00:50:40pull her

00:50:40into my arms

00:50:41one last time,

00:50:42but my arm

00:50:42feels filled

00:50:43with concrete.

00:50:44My body

00:50:44is getting

00:50:45colder by the

00:50:45second,

00:50:46and the voices

00:50:46around me

00:50:47sound farther

00:50:47and farther

00:50:48away,

00:50:48like they're

00:50:49trapped beneath

00:50:49deep water.

00:50:50The whole world

00:50:51is slowly

00:50:51drifting out

00:50:52of reach.

00:50:52I lie there

00:50:53helplessly in

00:50:54the cold,

00:50:54moldy blood

00:50:55pooling across

00:50:55the floor

00:50:56of the abandoned

00:50:56trailer.

00:50:57I see Grandpa

00:50:58and Grandma

00:50:58rushing toward

00:50:59me.

00:51:01Grandpa's

00:51:01hands,

00:51:02the same steady

00:51:03hands that

00:51:03held a gun

00:51:04his entire life

00:51:05without trembling

00:51:06once.

00:51:06He presses so

00:51:07hard his

00:51:08knuckles

00:51:08turn white,

00:51:09but the blood

00:51:10still keeps

00:51:10pouring through

00:51:11his fingers.

00:51:13Grandma

00:51:13collapses beside

00:51:14me,

00:51:15covering her

00:51:16mouth as

00:51:16sobs wreck

00:51:17her body.

00:51:19The whole world

00:51:20is slowly

00:51:21drifting out of

00:51:22reach.

00:51:23I know then,

00:51:25I'm never

00:51:26gonna wake up

00:51:26again.

00:51:30that monster

00:51:31who haunts

00:51:31both of my

00:51:32lives like a

00:51:33curse carved

00:51:33into my

00:51:34bones.

00:51:36Austin Walker

00:51:37is finally

00:51:38killed that

00:51:38night by

00:51:39Grandpa's

00:51:39shotgun.

00:51:40The blast

00:51:41tears straight

00:51:42through his

00:51:42head.

00:51:43His blood,

00:51:44his violence,

00:51:45his evil.

00:51:46All of it

00:51:46splatter across

00:51:47the rusted

00:51:47trailer walls

00:51:48and sinks into

00:51:49the mud of

00:51:50the Texas

00:51:50borderlands.

00:51:51Justice comes

00:51:52late.

00:51:52The law never

00:51:53even gets the

00:51:53chance to put

00:51:54him on death

00:51:54row.

00:51:55Fate beats

00:51:56it to the

00:51:56punch.

00:51:57Brutal,

00:51:57bloody,

00:51:58and absolute.

00:51:59After two

00:51:59lifetimes of

00:52:00suffering,

00:52:01the debt is

00:52:01finally paid.

00:52:03But the

00:52:03devil's death

00:52:04doesn't bring

00:52:05life back to

00:52:05our family.

00:52:06A few days

00:52:06later, an

00:52:07unusual storm

00:52:08rolls across

00:52:08the border.

00:52:09Cold rain

00:52:10mixes with

00:52:10sand and

00:52:11dirt,

00:52:11turning the

00:52:11whole town

00:52:12gray,

00:52:12muddy,

00:52:13and bitterly

00:52:13cold as

00:52:14if the

00:52:14sky itself

00:52:14is mourning

00:52:15everything

00:52:15we've

00:52:16lost.

00:52:16The

00:52:16Wyatt House

00:52:17falls silent.

00:52:18The

00:52:18kitchen that

00:52:18once smells

00:52:19of barbecue

00:52:19and fresh

00:52:20coffee never

00:52:20lights up

00:52:21again.

00:52:22Valerie

00:52:22becomes a

00:52:22ghost.

00:52:23She

00:52:24barely

00:52:24speaks,

00:52:25barely

00:52:25moves,

00:52:26like someone

00:52:27winds her

00:52:28up once

00:52:28and then

00:52:28forgets to

00:52:29do it

00:52:29again.

00:52:30Late one

00:52:31night,

00:52:31after the

00:52:32rain finally

00:52:32stops,

00:52:33she stumbles

00:52:34into my

00:52:34room alone.

00:52:35Dust has

00:52:36already settled

00:52:36across everything

00:52:37I leave

00:52:37behind.

00:52:38With trembling

00:52:39hands,

00:52:39she folds

00:52:40my faded

00:52:40jeans,

00:52:41picks up

00:52:42my unfinished

00:52:42notebooks,

00:52:43smooths out

00:52:44the wrinkles

00:52:44in the

00:52:44blanket on

00:52:45my bed.

00:52:46And the

00:52:46moment her

00:52:47fingers touch

00:52:48those cold

00:52:48sheets,

00:52:49the ones

00:52:49that will

00:52:49never hold

00:52:50my warmth

00:52:50again,

00:52:51something

00:52:51inside her

00:52:52finally breaks.

00:52:53Tears

00:52:53hit the

00:52:54hardwood

00:52:54floor

00:52:54one after

00:52:55another,

00:52:56soft,

00:52:56heavy.

00:52:58Nora,

00:52:59can mom

00:53:00come find

00:53:00you in

00:53:01heaven?

00:53:04Valerie

00:53:05drops to her

00:53:05knees beside

00:53:06the bed.

00:53:07She buries

00:53:08her pale face

00:53:08deep into

00:53:09my old

00:53:09pillow,

00:53:10the one I

00:53:11never get

00:53:11around to

00:53:12washing.

00:53:13There's still

00:53:13the faint

00:53:14smell of

00:53:14cheap shampoo

00:53:15lingering in

00:53:16the fabric,

00:53:16the last

00:53:17trace of her

00:53:17daughter left

00:53:18in this

00:53:18world.

00:53:19she clutches

00:53:20the sheets

00:53:21so tightly

00:53:21her fingers

00:53:22cramp,

00:53:23crying like

00:53:23a child

00:53:24who loses

00:53:24everything

00:53:25in the

00:53:25middle

00:53:25of the

00:53:26desert.

00:53:28The news

00:53:29of the

00:53:30border

00:53:30shooting

00:53:30reaches

00:53:31Boston

00:53:31overnight.

00:53:33Hector

00:53:33and his

00:53:34mother

00:53:34immediately

00:53:35cancel

00:53:35everything

00:53:36and drive

00:53:37back to

00:53:37Texas.

00:53:39Neither

00:53:39of them

00:53:40asks

00:53:40questions.

00:53:41They simply

00:53:42stay beside

00:53:43my grandparents

00:53:44and help

00:53:44them hold

00:53:45themselves

00:53:45together

00:53:46long enough

00:53:47to bury

00:53:47me.

00:53:49The funeral

00:53:50is held

00:53:50in the

00:53:50little cemetery

00:53:51outside town.

00:53:53For once,

00:53:54there is no

00:53:55sandstorm.

00:53:57White roses

00:53:58cover my

00:53:58grave.

00:53:59Hector stands

00:54:00at the very

00:54:00back of the

00:54:01crowd.

00:54:02The boy

00:54:03who once

00:54:03looked so

00:54:04calm and

00:54:04untouchable

00:54:05now has

00:54:06eyes darkened

00:54:07with grief

00:54:08and rage.

00:54:09He stares

00:54:10at the photo

00:54:11on my

00:54:11headstone,

00:54:12my 18-year-old

00:54:13smile frozen

00:54:14forever in

00:54:14time and

00:54:15clenches his

00:54:16fists so

00:54:17hard his

00:54:17knuckles

00:54:18turn pale.

00:54:21After the

00:54:22funeral,

00:54:22the atmosphere

00:54:23inside the

00:54:24Wyatt house

00:54:24feels suffocating.

00:54:26Grandpa

00:54:27and Grandma

00:54:27sit silently

00:54:28at the

00:54:29dinner table,

00:54:30exhaustion

00:54:30and grief

00:54:31etched into

00:54:32every line

00:54:33on their

00:54:33faces.

00:54:34Hector sits

00:54:35alone on

00:54:35the old

00:54:35bench near

00:54:36the living

00:54:36room window,

00:54:37staring out

00:54:37at the

00:54:38empty Texas

00:54:38highway.

00:54:39He struggles

00:54:40with himself

00:54:40for a long

00:54:41time before

00:54:41finally standing

00:54:42and walking

00:54:43over to

00:54:43Valerie.

00:54:44He crouches

00:54:45down in

00:54:45front of

00:54:45her carefully,

00:54:46like he's

00:54:47afraid she

00:54:47might shitter

00:54:48if he moves

00:54:48too fast.

00:54:54Valerie,

00:54:54come with

00:54:55us.

00:54:55Leave this

00:54:56place behind.

00:54:57We can

00:54:58start over

00:54:59somewhere else.

00:55:00Okay?

00:55:01His voice

00:55:02is barely

00:55:02above a

00:55:03whisper.

00:55:03He doesn't

00:55:04even dare

00:55:04touch her.

00:55:05He just

00:55:06looks at

00:55:06her with

00:55:06quiet heartbreak

00:55:07in his eyes.

00:55:08Valerie doesn't

00:55:09answer.

00:55:10She sits

00:55:10there in

00:55:11the shadows,

00:55:12clutching my

00:55:12faded denim

00:55:13jacket against

00:55:13her chest like

00:55:14it's the last

00:55:15oxygen left in

00:55:16the world.

00:55:19That night,

00:55:20after everyone

00:55:20finally falls

00:55:21asleep from

00:55:22sheer exhaustion,

00:55:23the old house

00:55:24sinks into

00:55:24silence.

00:55:31And Valerie

00:55:32wanders back

00:55:33into my

00:55:33room again.

00:55:49She doesn't

00:55:50turn on the

00:55:50lights.

00:55:51In a room

00:55:52without me,

00:55:53even the light

00:55:53feels like a

00:55:54mockery.

00:56:00She kneels

00:56:01alone on the

00:56:01cold floor,

00:56:02organizing my

00:56:03belongings one

00:56:04piece at a

00:56:04time under

00:56:05the pale

00:56:05moonlight coming

00:56:06through the

00:56:06window.

00:56:15My textbooks

00:56:16full of

00:56:16notes.

00:56:20My erasers

00:56:21worn down to

00:56:22almost nothing.

00:56:23Then finally,

00:56:25my old

00:56:26backpack,

00:56:27the cheap

00:56:28one with

00:56:28frayed edges

00:56:29and fading

00:56:29fabric.

00:56:30She pulls

00:56:31it into her

00:56:31arms and

00:56:32buries her

00:56:32face against

00:56:33it,

00:56:34breathing in

00:56:35what little

00:56:35remains of

00:56:36my scent.

00:56:40Then her

00:56:41hand brushes

00:56:42against something

00:56:42hidden deep

00:56:43inside the

00:56:44torn inner

00:56:45lining.

00:56:54Paper.

00:56:54A folded envelope

00:56:56slips loose

00:56:56and falls softly

00:56:57into her lap.

00:56:58on the front

00:56:59on the front

00:56:59is only one

00:57:00word.

00:57:02Those are the

00:57:03words I want

00:57:03to say across

00:57:04two lifetimes.

00:57:06The words I

00:57:07never managed to

00:57:07say out loud

00:57:08before I die.

00:57:17Valerie freezes.

00:57:19Her whole body

00:57:20stiffens as her

00:57:20trembling fingers

00:57:21slowly tear the

00:57:22envelope open.

00:57:23skin.

00:57:24She's shaking

00:57:25so badly,

00:57:26her fingernail

00:57:27slices the

00:57:28edge of the

00:57:28paper and

00:57:29draws blood,

00:57:30but she

00:57:30doesn't even

00:57:31notice.

00:57:32Then she

00:57:33sees the

00:57:33first line,

00:57:35and the

00:57:35moment she

00:57:36reads the

00:57:36name buried

00:57:37deepest inside

00:57:38her heart,

00:57:43her breathing

00:57:44stops.

00:57:51mom,

00:57:53if you're

00:57:54reading this,

00:57:55I'm probably

00:57:56already gone.

00:58:03Don't cry

00:58:04for me.

00:58:06From the

00:58:07first day I

00:58:08came back to

00:58:09this timeline,

00:58:10I already

00:58:11make up my

00:58:12mind.

00:58:13I'm going to

00:58:14trade my

00:58:14life for

00:58:15your freedom.

00:58:18Under the

00:58:19moonlight,

00:58:20Valerie's eyes

00:58:21instantly turn

00:58:22red.

00:58:23She covers

00:58:23her mouth

00:58:24tightly to

00:58:25stop herself

00:58:26from sobbing

00:58:27out loud and

00:58:28keeps reading.

00:58:31During those

00:58:3228 filthy

00:58:33years in my

00:58:33first life,

00:58:35I hated

00:58:36you so much

00:58:37sometimes.

00:58:38Living in that

00:58:39moldy trailer

00:58:39park, I wonder

00:58:40every day why

00:58:41everyone else has

00:58:42a loving mom

00:58:42except me.

00:58:44why you left

00:58:45me alone in

00:58:46hell.

00:58:46But in this

00:58:47life, I finally

00:58:47learned the

00:58:48truth.

00:58:49My mother loves

00:58:50me more than

00:58:50anyone ever

00:58:51could.

00:58:52You burn your

00:58:53whole life away

00:58:54trying to protect

00:58:54me.

00:58:55And honestly,

00:58:56mom, being

00:58:57loved by you like

00:58:58that is already

00:58:59enough.

00:58:59You're brilliant,

00:59:01beautiful.

00:59:03Grandpa and

00:59:04grandma love you

00:59:05so much.

00:59:06Hector's mom

00:59:07once says you're

00:59:08meant to soar

00:59:08high above the

00:59:09clouds, not rot

00:59:10away in border

00:59:11town dirt because

00:59:12some rapist

00:59:12destroys your

00:59:13life.

00:59:14Please let me

00:59:15go, mom.

00:59:16Don't give birth

00:59:16to me again.

00:59:17As long as the

00:59:18name Nora exists,

00:59:19Austin Walker's

00:59:20shadow will

00:59:21always haunt you.

00:59:22This time, don't

00:59:23look back.

00:59:23Promise me.

00:59:24Go somewhere

00:59:25cleaner, higher,

00:59:26better.

00:59:27Go live the life

00:59:28you're supposed to

00:59:29have.

00:59:29Be free.

00:59:31By the end of

00:59:32the letter, Valerie

00:59:33has completely

00:59:33collapsed onto the

00:59:34floor.

00:59:35She presses those

00:59:36pages against her

00:59:37chest like they're

00:59:37the last pieces of

00:59:38my heartbeat left in

00:59:39the world and cries

00:59:40so hard she can

00:59:41barely breathe.

00:59:42Curled up beside the

00:59:43bed in the darkness,

00:59:44she breaks apart

00:59:45completely.

00:59:47And in that winter

00:59:48night of 1996, in a

00:59:50world without her

00:59:51daughter, my mother

00:59:53lets out the most

00:59:54shattered, guilt-radened,

00:59:56heartbroken sobs of

00:59:57both our lifetimes.

01:00:02That night, the Texas

01:00:04winter wind howls so

01:00:05hard it nearly tears

01:00:06the old wooden house

01:00:07apart.

01:00:09Valerie clutches my

01:00:10letter against her

01:00:11chest and cries

01:00:13until her voice

01:00:14gives up.

01:00:17In that letter, I

01:00:18beg her to let me

01:00:19go, beg her not to

01:00:21look back, beg her to

01:00:22chase her dreams and

01:00:23finally become the free

01:00:24person she deserves to

01:00:26be.

01:00:27But staring into my

01:00:28empty room, something

01:00:30reignites in her hollow,

01:00:31lifeless eyes.

01:00:35a fire, a stubbornness

01:00:38stronger than grief

01:00:39itself.

01:00:41Valerie whispers

01:00:43hoskily into the

01:00:44darkness.

01:00:46You silly girl, how

01:00:49could a mother ever

01:00:49stop loving her child?

01:00:51She can't do what I

01:00:52ask, because she had

01:00:56already told me once

01:00:57before.

01:00:59I will never let you

01:01:01go.

01:01:03You are part of my

01:01:05body, part of my

01:01:06life.

01:01:10A few days later,

01:01:12Hector and his mother

01:01:13help my exhausted

01:01:14grandparents finish

01:01:16arranging everything.

01:01:25Then, carrying unbearable

01:01:27grief with them, the

01:01:29entire family leaves

01:01:31Texas for Boston.

01:01:38The day the bus pulls

01:01:40away, kicking up yellow

01:01:41dust behind it, Valerie

01:01:45stands by the window and

01:01:47takes a deep breath of

01:01:48cold New England air.

01:01:52This time, she isn't

01:01:54running as a victim

01:01:55buried under shame.

01:01:57This time, she's a

01:01:59mother determined to

01:02:00rewrite fate itself and

01:02:02bring her daughter back

01:02:03into the world with

01:02:04every ounce of love she

01:02:06has.

01:02:09Time moves quickly

01:02:10beneath Boston's blue

01:02:12skies.

01:02:14Valerie throws every

01:02:16ounce of grief and

01:02:17pain into studying.

01:02:21Fueled by the determination

01:02:22of two lifetimes, she

01:02:24works through endless

01:02:26nights until she's

01:02:28accepted into Harvard

01:02:29with near-perfect scores.

01:02:33And Hector, the boy who

01:02:35once cries for me at that

01:02:36Texas bus station, finally

01:02:39achieved his own dream,

01:02:40too.

01:02:42Earning a place at one of the

01:02:44country's top medical schools.

01:02:48Textbooks become Valerie's

01:02:49shelter, and the child

01:02:51growing inside her.

01:02:52The child once used by

01:02:54monsters as black man, is

01:02:56finally being nurtured and

01:02:58warmth and love.

01:03:00The following autumn, beneath

01:03:02golden maple leaves and the

01:03:04bright lights of a Boston

01:03:05maternity room, a baby girl

01:03:08enters the world with a loud,

01:03:09healthy cry.

01:03:12Valerie lies exhausted

01:03:13against the hospital bed,

01:03:14tears blurring her vision as

01:03:16she smiles wider than she ever

01:03:17has before.

01:03:18With trembling arms, she holds

01:03:21the tiny newborn against

01:03:22her chest and kisses her

01:03:24forehead gently.

01:03:25Noah, welcome to the world,

01:03:28baby.

01:03:29This time, there's no moldy

01:03:31trailer park.

01:03:32No violence.

01:03:33No shadow left behind by

01:03:35monsters.

01:03:35Sunlight pours through the

01:03:37hospital windows onto a warm

01:03:38nursery crib.

01:03:39Grandpa and grandma show up

01:03:41crying and carrying brand new

01:03:42Barbie dolls.

01:03:44Hector adjusts his glasses and

01:03:46smiles softly beside him.

01:03:48And this version of Nora is

01:03:50finally born into life.

01:03:53After that, life slowly finds

01:03:56its way onto the right path.

01:03:58Without the suffering and

01:03:59burdens of the first timeline,

01:04:01Valerie and Hector both reach

01:04:02the futures they are always

01:04:04meant to have.

01:04:04Hector becomes one of the

01:04:07country's leading surgeons,

01:04:08saving countless lives.

01:04:11Valora becomes a legendary

01:04:12attorney known across America,

01:04:15dedicating her career to

01:04:17protecting women and children

01:04:18through civil rights law.

01:04:20And the new Nora grows up in

01:04:22Harvard's golden autumn trees,

01:04:24surrounded by love instead of

01:04:26fear.

01:04:27She is bright, confident,

01:04:30happy.

01:04:32The cancer that once destroys my

01:04:35body, never appears in

01:04:38hers.

01:04:42As little Nora grows up, she

01:04:44watches Valerie and Hector

01:04:46eventually fall in love and

01:04:47build a quiet, beautiful family

01:04:49together.

01:04:50Their life isn't glamorous, but

01:04:53the love they give her overflows

01:04:55far beyond what most families

01:04:57could ever offer.

01:04:58And somewhere inside the golden

01:04:59evening light, the version of me

01:05:02that crosses time itself, the

01:05:04wandering soul, carried away by

01:05:07the wind, finally smiles.

01:05:09At the end of her autobiography, my

01:05:11mother writes one final dedication.

01:05:14Every achievement and honor in my

01:05:16life belongs to a girl named Nora.

01:05:18My daughter once tears open the

01:05:20darkness with her own life, and I

01:05:22spend the rest of mine bringing her

01:05:24back into the light.

01:05:25I lean quietly against my

01:05:27mother's knee in that final

01:05:28memory, and whisper softly in my

01:05:31heart, dearly tears.

01:05:33Mom, this time, you get

01:05:35everything right.

01:05:36And at last, those two wounded

01:05:38souls walk hand in hand towards

01:05:40the endless stars waiting beyond

01:05:41the clouds.

01:05:42I'm calling you

01:05:44them.

01:05:44You

01:05:44X

Cutting the Cord: Reborn as My Mom's High School Frenemy - Full EP

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