Chapter 3
[This is sick. Exploiting Simon's childhood trauma for views. Cancel her immediately.]
[Poor Alice. Having to deal with this toxic psycho.]
The abuse rolled across the screen in an endless wave.
Simon was practically screaming at the control booth to cut the feed, but the image on the screen seemed glued in place. No matter what they did, it kept playing.
The camera violently shook, adopting the shaky, terrifying perspective of the kidnapper.
A rough, gravelly voice echoed through the speakers, "Tough kid, huh? Break his legs!"
The sickening thud of a steel pipe connecting with bone echoed through the studio.
You could hear the exact moment Simon's leg snapped.
The teenage Simon let out a muffled groan. The veins bulged against the side of his neck, but he bit down hard and refused to scream.
Using every ounce of strength left in his shattered body, he threw himself forward to shield a tiny, terrified figure huddled in the corner behind him.
You couldn't see the girl's face. But looking at that faded, oversized school uniform and the sharp angle of her narrow shoulders, I knew immediately.
It was me.
Meanwhile, another camera angle quietly surfaced in the corner of the screen.
It was the security feed from outside the warehouse.
Alice was hiding behind a large tree, clutching her phone and trembling uncontrollably.
She really had called the police.
But she certainly hadn't "rushed in recklessly to take a fatal blow for Simon" like she had always claimed.
From beginning to end, she hadn't taken a single step anywhere near those warehouse doors.
The live chat went dead silent.
The hateful comments tearing me apart just seconds ago hit a wall. Then, a few question marks trickled in.
[What is going on?]
[Wait, I thought Alice ran in to save him? Why is she hiding outside?]
[Who is the girl he is protecting? It is blurry, but her build looks like Sadie.]
[No way. Did someone else save him?]
The doubts multiplied. The color drained from Alice's face.
She clawed at Simon's arm, her nails practically piercing his skin.
"Simon, it isn't what it looks like. Let me explain. The kidnappers had guns, and I was just so scared." She babbled incoherently, massive tears spilling down her cheeks.
Simon looked just as grim. He stared at his younger self on the monitor, watching his own leg snap just to protect another girl.
Then he glanced at the sobbing Alice. A crushing wave of absurdity washed over him.
"Shut up! It is fake!" Simon erupted, roaring at the screen. "It is CGI. It is edited. Sadie doctored this video to frame Alice!"
His voice shook with a near-hysterical fury. The live studio audience was so terrified by his outburst that you could hear a pin drop.
But on screen, the bloodied teenage boy seemed to hear that voice from ten years in the future.
He jerked his head up. His eyes, previously glazed over from blood loss, suddenly sharpened with terrifying intensity.
He glared at the camera like a cornered wolf, piercing right through the lens.
He asked, "Who is that? Who is talking?
"Did you take Sadie? Give her back!"
The boy struggled wildly. The ropes bit deeper into his flesh, but he did not care.
His eyes held nothing but towering rage and bone-deep panic.
His raw love and desperate need to protect Sadie bled through the screen, searing everyone watching.
It was an agonizing contrast to the cold, disgusted adult Simon standing in the studio today.
The chat lost its mind.
[Omg. What kind of twisted time-warp love triangle is this?]
[Past Simon loved Sadie to death, but present Simon treats her like garbage?]
[What the hell happened over the last ten years?]
[I actually feel bad for Sadie.]
A deathly silence blanketed the studio. Everyone was too stunned to speak.
Simon froze, looking like he had been struck by lightning.
He stared at the screen, watching his younger self go insane over the mere mention of Sadie's name. His mind went blank.
I leaned back in my chair. Agony radiated from my stomach, feeling like a dozen knives twisting inside me.
Looking at that familiar yet foreign boy on the screen, my eyes welled up.
The tears I had fought so hard to hold back finally slipped free.
I tried to wipe them away, but I barely had the strength to lift my arm. I just let the scalding drops track down my freezing cheeks.
I turned to look at the man beside me. Through the blur of my tears, I spoke softly.
My voice was so hoarse it did not even sound like me. "Simon, you used to really love me."
Those words hit Simon like a sledgehammer. He snapped his head toward me.
His eyes were wide with shock, confusion, and a trace of something he hadn't even recognized yet. Pure panic.