That morning felt different.
Heavier.
Quieter.
Elara stared at the ceiling of her room, feeling a throb in her temple something not born from lack of sleep, but from losing something that never actually happened.
Aiden died last night.
She felt it.
She missed him.
She feared believing it.
The stupid thing is… the human body is honest about the kinds of pain the mind can't explain.
She drew a long breath, trying to swallow the bitterness suddenly crawling up her throat. "This is insane." Her voice cracked more fragile than she expected.
But saying it didn't help.
It didn't erase the image of Aiden's hand pushing her away, forcing her to run.
Her fingers clenched the blanket as if gripping it could keep reality from breaking again.
Wednesday never happened.
Aiden never died.
But the memory… flowed through her like she'd watched it unfold right in front of her.
Cold.
Clear.
And painfully real.
And when she closed her eyes
she could still feel his touch.
"Elara…"
The voice echoed in her mind.
Aiden's voice low, strained, pleading.
She grabbed her phone, swallowed hard, and with trembling fingers typed:
Why do I remember something that didn't happen?
She didn't send it.
No sane person could receive a question like that.
She sat up, hair messy down her shoulders, staring at the floor. "If I keep this up, I'm going to lose my mind."
With a long exhale, she forced herself to get up.
Today, she needed one thing:
Confront Aiden.
Or prove he… was still alive.
The Elevator Third Déjà Vu
The apartment elevator smelled like metallic pheromones mixed with cheap cologne from the 12th floor. The neon lights flickered once exactly like the last two loops.
When the doors slid open at the lobby, Elara was ready.
Ready to see Aiden.
Ready for that cold, knowing stare.
The doors fully opened.
Empty.
No Aiden.
No one at all.
Her chest tightened.
"No way…" she whispered.
Aiden always appeared in the first two loops.
Always standing in the corner of the elevator.
Always saying her name in that too-consistent tone.
Today nothing.
A chill swept up her spine.
There were only two possibilities, and both were bad:
— The third loop had changed.
— Aiden didn't "reset" the way she did.
She swallowed hard, controlling her breath. "Okay. Relax. Just a small anomaly."
But her gut screamed:
Elara. This isn't small.
This is huge.
At the Office Someone Is Watching
The office felt unusually loud. Printer noises, coworkers chatting, soft laughter everything sounded like a recycled recording.
Elara sat at her desk, staring at her blank monitor. Her fingers tapped rhythmically, trying to map it all out:
— Loop 1: she died.
— Loop 2: Aiden died.
— Loop 3: Aiden… vanished?
She inhaled deeply.
"If you keep tapping like that, the desk might file a complaint."
The voice came from the next cubicle.
Jonas.
The guy who joked too much but somehow looked… different today.
He wasn't joking.
He was staring at her too seriously, too long.
"What's wrong?" Elara asked carefully.
Jonas leaned in. "You look like someone who woke up on the wrong day."
Elara froze. "What do you mean?"
Her voice almost cracked.
Jonas glanced around, making sure no one was listening, then whispered:
"Elara… today isn't Tuesday."
Her whole body went cold.
"What… did you say?"
Jonas swallowed hard, face pale with fear.
"I know you think it's Tuesday. But… I remember Wednesday. I remember yesterday."
Elara's lungs emptied.
Completely.
Jonas continued, voice trembling:
"Something's wrong. Everyone else forgot. But I…"
He gulped.
"…I remember that day."
Her fingers began to shake.
This was the first time besides Aiden that anyone showed signs of awareness.
"Jonas…" her voice cracked.
"…what do you remember about Wednesday?"
Jonas looked at her with raw, human fear.
"I remember… a loud sound. Lights going out. Someone screaming your name."
Elara covered her mouth.
That was impossible.
He couldn't remember that.
"I remember someone yelling, 'Elara! Run!' and"
"Elara."
The voice behind her cut through everything.
The voice she feared and longed for.
Aiden.
He stood by the doorway of the office.
Pale. Eyes red. Like he hadn't slept in days.
His gaze locked onto hers.
And in that gaze
something she hadn't seen in the last two loops:
Recognition.
As though he knew something had leaked out.
As though he saw Elara and Jonas as anomalies too dangerous to leave unchecked.
"Can you come with me for a moment?" Aiden's tone was flat but tense.
Corporate phrasing wrong pressure.
Jonas stiffened.
"Elara, don't go," he mouthed silently.
Aiden's eyes flicked to Jonas, half-threatening, half… afraid.
Elara stood. "I'll go."
She had to.
Because Aiden was the only one who held the answers.
As she walked past Jonas, he whispered very quietly:
"If he tells you not to go home late… don't believe him."
Elara shivered head to toe.
She followed Aiden out.
Today had shifted.
And not in a comforting way.
The Meeting Room The First Crack of Truth
Once the door closed, she felt the change in Aiden's gaze.
No longer cold.
No longer guarded.
But like someone trying to hold a storm inside his chest.
"Elara."
He didn't sit.
He stood at the end of the table, both hands braced as if the room itself were spinning.
"You remember something, don't you?"
Elara swallowed. "I… remember something. Yes."
Aiden shut his eyes for a moment.
As if her answer hurt him.
"What exactly do you remember?"
Elara chose not to play the interrogated subject.
"You answer my question first, Mr. Vale."
His eyes opened sharp.
"Which question?"
"How long have you been stuck in this loop?"
Aiden froze.
His lips twitched denial on instinct.
But he knew it was pointless.
His silence was the confession.
Elara's chest tightened. "You don't reset, do you?"
Aiden finally spoke voice low, raw, breaking.
"Elara… I've lived through Tuesday for… too long."
He didn't say a number.
He didn't have to.
Her heart twisted not from fear.
From pity.
"And you…" Aiden's gaze changed.
Like someone seeing something he thought he'd lost in thousands of Tuesdays.
"…you're the only one who's ever remembered."
Elara's knees weakened.
Aiden continued, voice trembling slightly:
"The loop wipes everything. Memories, feelings, pain. But you…"
He stepped closer.
"…you return with tears."
Elara froze.
"You remember me dying last night."
He didn't ask.
He stated it.
Her eyes welled up instantly. "Yes."
Aiden inhaled sharply, gaze darkening.
"Elara… you weren't supposed to remember that."
He lowered his head slightly.
Voice cracks threatening to escape.
"I didn't want you to feel that pain."
The word you fell from his lips with no formal distance left raw, human.
Elara's voice shook:
"Aiden… if we both remember… does that mean the loop is breaking?"
Aiden's eyes hardened.
"No. Not breaking."
He locked eyes with her.
"The loop is choosing."
Elara's blood ran cold.
"Choosing… what?"
Aiden drew a breath the kind taken before revealing a truth that could shatter worlds.
"Elara… this loop "
THUD.
A violent crash in the hallway.
Closer than before.
The meeting room lights flickered.
22%
37%
15%
Dark. Then on again.
Aiden grabbed Elara, pulling her behind him.
"Elara, cover your ears."
"Why?!"
"Just do it. Cover them."
He covered her ears with his own hands warm, trembling.
The footsteps approached.
Familiar.
Slow.
Patient.
Elara wanted to scream.
Aiden whispered:
"Elara… listen. If we make it through tonight…"
He turned slightly, eyes meeting hers at a distance far too close to be appropriate.
"…I'll tell you everything."
The lights died.
Cold air surged.
Her phone screen lit up.
23:59.
And the world
swallowed them into darkness again.