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The last thing I remembered was the biting cold. It seeped into my bones as I lay on the concrete floor of my unheated garage, the engine of my old truck dead. I had frozen to death, alone.
My fiancée, Jenny, had taken the last of our savings. Not for us, but for Mark Todd' s son, Leo, to go to some fancy private school. She didn' t even seem sad when she found my body. Just annoyed. My death was an inconvenience, a disruption to Leo' s birthday party plans.
I gasped, my eyes flying open. I wasn' t in the garage. I was in my bed, the morning sun warm on my face. My phone was ringing on the nightstand. The date on the screen was a full year before my death. A second chance.
I answered the call.
"Ethan? It' s Mr. Hughes."
My old auto shop teacher. The man who saw something in me when no one else did.
"I know this is a long shot," he said, his voice crackling with excitement. "But that automotive engineering program in California, the one sponsored by West-Tech? A spot just opened up. A full ride, Ethan. It' s yours if you want it."
In my first life, I turned him down. I couldn' t leave Jenny. I had to stay in our small Ohio town, work at the garage, and support her while she finished her local college degree. I sacrificed my dream for her.
Not this time.
"I' ll take it," I said, my voice firm and clear.
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Really? Just like that? What about Jenny?"
"What about her?" I replied, my heart feeling like a block of ice. I remembered the annoyance on her face as she looked at my frozen corpse. I remembered her prioritizing another man' s child over our future.
"An engagement isn' t a marriage, Mr. Hughes," I said.
He was quiet for a moment, then I heard a slow smile in his voice. "Good for you, son. I' ll send you the paperwork."
I hung up, feeling a strange sense of calm. The past was a nightmare, but it was over. This life was mine.
I got out of bed and walked into the living room. The front door opened, and in walked Jenny, followed by Mark and his son, Leo. They were coming back from a day at the amusement park, laughing and carrying cheap prizes. They moved around my small house like they owned it.
Leo, a spoiled kid who knew he could get anything he wanted, pointed a demanding finger at me.
"Ethan! Make me mac and cheese. The kind with the curly noodles."
I just looked at him.
Jenny immediately pulled me into the kitchen, her voice a sharp whisper. "What' s wrong with you? He' s just a kid. Don' t be so petty."
I didn' t say a word. I just watched her. She opened the cabinets, found the box of pasta, and started boiling water. She moved with a practiced ease, a loving smile on her face as she chatted with Mark. She made the mac and cheese for him and Leo, completely ignoring the cold plate of dinner I had made for myself earlier.
In my past life, this would have torn me apart. I would have felt a surge of jealousy and anger.
Now, I felt nothing. Just a cold, hard resolve. I was already gone. They just didn' t know it yet.