Setting: The living room is dimly lit by the moonlight streaming through the windows. Soft snores fill the space from Lia and Celeste, who are fast asleep on the couch. Angelo is lying on the floor near Briar, both of them staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. The air feels heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Briar’s POV:
I rolled over for the hundredth time, staring at the faint shadows dancing on the walls. I could hear Celeste’s soft breathing, and Lia’s quiet snores from the couch. They seemed so peaceful. I envied them—I couldn’t quiet my mind long enough to fall asleep.
I glanced over at Angelo, lying just a few feet away. His eyes were open, and I could tell he was having just as much trouble as I was. There was something about the stillness of the night that made everything feel more intense, more exposed.
“Can’t sleep?” I whispered, careful not to wake the others.
Angelo shifted slightly, turning his head toward me. “Yeah… I guess my mind’s too full,” he said softly. “You?”
I nodded. “Same. Too much going on up here,” I replied, tapping my temple lightly.
For a moment, the silence between us grew, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the kind of silence that begged to be filled, but neither of us seemed to know where to start.
Angelo’s POV:
The darkness felt like it was holding too many secrets. I could feel Briar’s presence beside me, and it made my chest tighten. Lately, being around her brought up emotions I wasn’t sure how to handle. Especially after that dream—no, that memory—from another time.
“Hey, Briar?” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…” I hesitated, unsure if I should even bring it up. But the quiet, late-night atmosphere made it feel like the right moment. “Have you ever… felt like you’ve known someone before you even met them?”
Briar’s POV:
His question caught me off guard. My heart skipped a beat as memories of my strange, vivid dreams flooded back. Dreams where Angelo was there, but not as he was now—dreams where we were different people, living in another time. I had been brushing them off, thinking they were just my mind playing tricks on me. But now…
“I… I have,” I admitted, my voice soft, almost afraid to say it out loud. “Why?”
Angelo was quiet for a moment, as if he was gathering his thoughts. Then he turned to face me fully, propping himself up on his elbow.
“I’ve been having these dreams,” he began slowly. “Dreams where I see you, but it’s not… it’s not us now. It feels like it’s from a long time ago. I don’t know how to explain it.”
My heart pounded in my chest as he spoke, my own experiences mirroring his. I sat up, feeling the weight of his words settling over me.
“Me too,” I whispered. “I thought I was the only one.”
Angelo’s POV:
Her confession sent a rush of relief and fear through me. If she was dreaming the same things, then maybe I wasn’t losing it. Maybe there really was something deeper between us—something neither of us understood yet.
“I don’t know what it means,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “But it feels real, you know? Like we’re remembering something… something important.”
Briar’s eyes met mine, and in the dim light, I could see the uncertainty and curiosity mirrored in her expression.
Briar’s POV:
Hearing Angelo say it out loud made everything feel more real, more intense. It wasn’t just my imagination. We were both remembering something. But what?
“I’ve been dreaming of… losing someone,” I said, my voice barely audible. “Someone I loved. And you were there. It always ends the same way—with me crying, holding someone, but I can never see their face.”
Angelo’s face softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes. He reached out, his hand brushing mine lightly, almost like he needed the contact to ground himself.
“I think that someone… was me,” he whispered.
Angelo’s Internal Conflict:
The words hung in the air between us, heavy with emotion. Saying it out loud felt strange, surreal. But deep down, I knew it was true. The dreams, the memories—they all pointed to something larger than the two of us. A connection that spanned beyond this lifetime.
But where did that leave us now? And what about Celeste?
Briar’s POV:
My heart ached at his words, and suddenly, everything felt too real, too intense. I wanted to say something, to figure out what this meant, but I was afraid. Afraid of what it would mean for us, for Celeste, for everything.
I glanced over at Celeste, sleeping peacefully on the couch, completely unaware of the conversation happening between Angelo and me. Guilt gnawed at me, but so did the undeniable pull I felt toward him.
“I don’t know what to do with this,” I whispered, pulling my knees up to my chest. “It feels like… like it changes everything.”
Angelo sighed, lying back down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling again. “Yeah… it does.”
For a moment, we both sat there in silence, the weight of our shared secret pressing down on us. The night felt endless, full of questions we weren’t ready to answer.