Chapter 1
The night after the SAT, I was dragged to the back of the school by a lunatic thug and brutally murdered.
As I was dying, I desperately called my boyfriend ten years in the future, begging him to save me.
"Joshua, I'm on Mount Eielliafor. Please, save me..."
Before I could finish, he snapped, clearly irritated.
"Are you freaking out again? Raquel and I were just talking about work. Do you really have to start drama on our anniversary?
"I broke my leg saving you ten years ago. Are you planning to hold me back forever?"
"Alice, I'm tired."
The thug pressed the tip of his knife against my throat and laughed.
"Oh, so you're her boyfriend? If you actually come to save her, maybe I'll let her live a little longer."
Joshua's voice sounded tired. "That's enough. I don't have time for this. If you're going to kill her, then go ahead."
The call ended. Staring at the thug's sick grin, I stopped struggling.
So Joshua really did break his leg for me. And our future was a total mess.
He wished he'd never saved me.
*****
I died, and my death was brutal.
When the thug said he'd let me live a little longer if Joshua actually showed up to save me, I still clung to the faintest glimmer of hope.
Maybe if I could just hold out a bit longer, the cops would find me.
But Joshua refused. His voice dripped with contempt.
"Alice, can't you just grow up? I have a job and a social life, I'm not your personal babysitter.
"What happened on Mount Eielliafor is ancient history. I broke my leg for you, wasn't that enough?
"Raquel's right. You need to start acting like an adult and stand on your own two feet. I'm not coming this time.
"Just stay up on Mount Eielliafor. When you finally come to your senses, you can make your own way back."
I frantically shook my head, tears and blood streaming down my face and splattering onto the ground.
That was not true.
I was not being dramatic. I was actually dying.
The thug felt challenged and got even more aggressive.
"Hey, you little punk. You think you can just ignore me? If you don't show up, I'll cut your girlfriend up into little pieces!"
Joshua paused, his voice flat and tired. "Do whatever you want. If you're going to kill her, then go ahead.
"I don't have time for your drama."
The call ended, and my heart grew colder with every passing second.
The thug unleashed all his rage on me.
My blood was draining away, and my soul felt weightless.
I couldn't bear to watch the thug deal with my body, so I drifted down the mountain.
At the school gate, I saw Joshua and Raquel.
"Joshua, I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?" Raquel asked.
She was holding a bouquet, her eyes sparkling with sincerity.
She was gorgeous, the prettiest girl in school, and a straight-A student.
Joshua raised his glasses and shook his head. "Sorry, I have someone I like.
"She's incredible. I'll only ever be with her, for the rest of my life."
I stood beside Joshua, my tears dropping one after another onto the ground.
When I was nine, I lost my parents and became an orphan. Joshua brought me into his home and made sure I was fed and cared for.
After that, I lived with the Thomson family.
He understood how sensitive I was about being taken in by someone else, and always introduced me to others with pride, like I truly belonged.
When my classmates called me an orphan, he stood up for me and told everyone that he was my family now.
Joshua would tell everyone I was his best friend.
When we started catching feelings for each other, he openly said I was the girl he liked.
Joshua said we'd go to the same college, have our wedding on a tropical island, and have an adorable kid.
The future looked so good.
Unfortunately, I was already dead.
Even if I'd survived, that future would never have been mine.
Joshua was too good for me. He shouldn't have had to break his leg for me.
He should've always been that guy who lights up the room, full of energy and dreams.
He didn't deserve to turn into that tired, broken man he became ten years later.
Honestly, dying today, I didn't have much to regret.
I really hoped Joshua would have an amazing future, with nothing but good things ahead.
Even if I wasn't part of it, that was okay.
My soul drifted away, and I left this world for good.
When I opened my eyes again, I was ten years in the future.
Everything around me was strange, but the faces were all familiar.
Ten years later, Joshua looked older and sharper, but there was a weariness in his eyes that never seemed to fade.
He was staring at his phone, his brow furrowed.
"Was that Alice calling?" Raquel asked, sitting across from Joshua with a cup of coffee in her hand.
Joshua sighed, his voice hoarse. "She's back at Mount Eielliafor again.
"After all these years, I've moved on, but she just can't get over it."
Raquel was quiet for a long time before she finally asked, "Joshua, do you ever regret saving Alice ten years ago?"
'Did he really regret it?' My heart raced as I wondered.
I couldn't help but wait for Joshua's answer.
Joshua didn't answer. Instead, he redirected the conversation. "Raquel, Alice's really not in a good place mentally."