Chapter 2

Cold sweat. I gasped, sitting bolt upright.

My apartment. My old apartment.

Sunlight streamed through the window.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. A calendar notification: "National eSports Championship Finals - TODAY."

No. It couldn't be.

I scrambled out of bed, heart hammering.

The mirror showed me. Younger. No scars from the online hate, no haunted look from betrayal.

It was the morning of the finals. The day it all went wrong.

The day I died.

A sob escaped me, raw and painful.

I was back.

I had a second chance.

The memory of Brittany, her sweet smile as she held out that laced drink to Jake, burned in my mind.

"It'll help you focus, sweetie," she' d cooed.

The memory of Jake' s hand cracking across my face.

The memory of the team' s silent condemnation.

The memory of the car.

My hands clenched.

Last time, I tried to save him. I tried to protect them.

They destroyed me for it.

A cold calm settled over me.

This time, I wouldn't intervene.

This time, they would make their own choices.

And they would face the consequences.

My phone buzzed again. A text from Jake: "Morning, babe. See you at the venue. Ready to win this thing!"

I stared at the message.

A bitter smile touched my lips.

"Oh, Jake," I whispered to the empty room. "You have no idea."

My resolve hardened.

This life, I would save myself.