“I feel the same way,” she admitted. “But we can’t let this destroy everything. We need to figure out what these dreams mean and what we’re going to do about it
.”
Briar’s POV: I could feel the tension between us, the unspoken weight of everything we hadn’t said. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing that one wrong step could send us both tumbling down, but not knowing how to stop it. “Angelo, I don’t want to hurt anyone,” I said, my voice shaky. “But we can’t ignore this anymore. We need to talk to Celeste. She deserves to know the truth.”
His face tightened, and I could tell he didn’t want to face this any more than I did. But deep down, we both knew Lia was right. If we didn’t confront this now, it would only get worse. Angelo sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah… you’re right. We need to talk to her.”
Angelo’s POV: Hearing Briar say it out loud made it real. I didn’t want to face Celeste, to tell her what was going on, but I couldn’t keep lying to her. She deserved better than that. I just didn’t know how she was going to react. Would she hate me? Would she hate Briar? I looked at Briar, seeing the same fear reflected in her eyes. This was going to be messy, but there was no way around it. “Okay,” I said quietly. “We’ll talk to her. But we do it together.” Briar nodded, her expression softening just a little. For the first time in a while, it felt like we were on the same page, even if that page was full of uncertainty.
Setting: Later that day, Angelo and Briar decide it’s time to tell Celeste about the dreams. They meet in a quiet spot on campus—a secluded area of the library where the three of them often study together. The atmosphere is tense, the air thick with unspoken emotions.
Angelo’s POV: The silence in the library was unbearable. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as we sat down at one of the back tables. Briar was to my left, her hands nervously fidgeting with the strap of her bag. Celeste sat across from us, her eyes darting between us, already sensing that something was wrong. I didn’t know how to start. How do you explain to your girlfriend that you’ve been having dreams—memories, maybe—of a past life where you were in love with someone else? “Celeste, we need to talk,” I said finally, my voice coming out rougher than I intended. She frowned, her expression shifting from concern to confusion. “What’s going on? You both look like someone died.”
Briar’s POV: I felt a lump in my throat. Angelo had started the conversation, but now it was up to me to explain the rest. How do you even begin to tell someone that their boyfriend is dreaming of a past life—and that you’re in it? I took a deep breath and spoke before I could lose my nerve. “Celeste, it’s about the dreams we’ve been having. Both Angelo and I... we’ve been having the same ones. They feel like memories—like something from another life. And in these dreams, Angelo and I… we were together.” Celeste’s face paled, and I could see her grip tighten on the edge of the table. Her eyes flickered between Angelo and me, trying to process what we were saying.
Setting: Later that day, after breakfast, Briar finds a moment alone with Angelo. Lia, Celeste, are outside, enjoying the sunny day. Briar and Angelo sit at the kitchen table, the quiet between them heavier than the morning air. Briar looks down at her hands, trying to gather her thoughts before breaking the silence.
Briar’s POV:
The weight of Lia’s words from this morning lingered in my mind, swirling around like an unwanted storm cloud. I had to talk to Angelo. I had to figure out what was happening between us, these dreams, these memories... and what it all meant.
I glanced over at Angelo. He was sitting across from me at the kitchen table, his fingers tracing absent patterns on the wooden surface. He looked distant, like he was lost in his own thoughts. I didn’t know how to start, but I knew I couldn’t put this off any longer.
It’s now or never.
“Angelo,” I said softly, my voice barely breaking the silence.
He looked up, his eyes meeting mine, and for a moment, I saw that same flicker of confusion and something else—something deeper, like he knew exactly what I was about to say but didn’t know how to respond.
“I need to talk to you,” I continued, my voice a little stronger now. “About us. About these dreams… and about Celeste.”
Angelo’s POV:
My heart sank the moment she said Celeste’s name. I had been avoiding this conversation, hoping that if I ignored it long enough, maybe it would go away. But it wasn’t going to go away. The dreams, the feelings, the memories—they were always there, just beneath the surface, waiting to tear everything apart.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but I couldn’t hide the tension that was building inside me. I had to face this, even if I didn’t want to.
“What do you want me to say, Briar?” I asked, my voice sounding more frustrated than I intended. “I don’t even understand what’s happening. These dreams… it’s like they’re from another life, but how is that even possible?”
Briar leaned forward, her hands clasped together tightly. I could see the worry in her eyes, the way she was struggling to make sense of this just like I was.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, shaking her head. “But it’s happening to both of us. And we can’t keep pretending it’s not. Angelo, we need to talk about what these dreams are doing to us, to Celeste.”
Briar’s POV:
Saying Celeste’s name felt like a knife twisting in my chest. I didn’t want to hurt her—I never wanted any of this. But the truth was, I couldn’t keep ignoring what was happening between me and Angelo. The dreams had changed everything, and I couldn’t deny that they were affecting the way I felt about him.
“Do you… do you still love her?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Angelo’s eyes widened at the question, and I could see the conflict playing out on his face. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest.