Celeste’s POV: I didn’t know what to feel. Angelo’s words barely registered through the haze of fear and anger clouding my mind. I wanted to scream, to demand answers, but the urgency in Briar’s face stopped me. “We can figure this out,” I said slowly, trying to steady myself. “But no more secrets. If there’s something I need to know, you tell me. All of it.” I didn’t know what the truth was anymore, but one thing was clear:
we weren’t just dealing with past lives and dreams. Something much more dangerous was unfolding, and we were all trapped in the middle of it.
Setting: After the shocking phone call, Angelo, Briar, and Celeste decide to meet later that evening to try and piece together what’s going on.
They gather at Briar’s apartment, the air thick with tension as they begin to dig into the mystery. Angelo’s POV: The whole thing still felt like a bad dream—unreal, like it couldn’t be happening. But as we gathered around Briar’s small coffee table, the weight of the situation was settling in fast. I could feel the anxiety creeping up my spine as we stared at Briar’s phone, trying to figure out who had called and why. “We need to trace the number,
” I said, my voice sounding more confident than I felt. “Whoever this is, they’re playing games with us, and I’m not about to let them mess with our lives.” Celeste nodded, but I could see the worry etched in her face. She hadn’t spoken much since the call, and I could tell she was struggling to process everything. I wanted to reach out to her, to reassure her, but I didn’t even know what to say.
Briar’s POV: My hands were shaking as I handed my phone over to Angelo. The unknown caller’s voice still echoed in my head. You need to tell her everything. She deserves to know the truth. What is the truth? What were they talking about? And how did they know about Angelo and me? My mind raced as Angelo began typing in a website to trace the number. I could barely focus, my thoughts swirling in a chaotic mess of fear and confusion. “This has to be connected to the dreams, right?” I said, my voice sounding small. “I mean, how else would they know about us?”
Celeste glanced at me, her expression hard to read. She’d been quiet, too quiet. I didn’t blame her—it was a lot to take in—but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else she wasn’t saying
Celeste’s POV:
I wanted to scream. I wanted to demand answers, but every time I opened my mouth, the words died on my tongue. Angelo and Briar kept talking about the dreams, the call, but all I could think about was how everything I thought I knew was slipping away.
I didn’t believe in past lives. I didn’t believe in fate. But how else could I explain what was happening? And now, someone else was involved—someone who seemed to know more than any of us.
“Do you think this has anything to do with your families?” I asked suddenly, breaking the silence. It was the only thing that made sense to me. Briar’s family had always been secretive, and Angelo’s mom was the dean of the college. Maybe there was something bigger at play.
Angelo’s POV:
Celeste’s question caught me off guard, but it made sense. My mom was connected to everyone on campus. She knew things—about students, about faculty. Maybe she had information that could help.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling a knot of dread in my stomach. “But it’s worth looking into. My mom might know something, but I don’t exactly have the best relationship with her right now.”
I glanced at Briar, hoping she’d have some kind of answer, but she looked just as lost as I felt.
Before I could say anything else, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, expecting another message from my mom or a friend, but my heart nearly stopped when I saw the name flash on the screen.
It was an unknown number.
Briar’s POV:
Angelo’s expression turned pale as he stared at his phone. My heart started racing again, and I knew—whoever had called me had just contacted him too.
“Answer it,” Celeste urged, her voice tense.
Angelo hesitated, then nodded. He pressed the button and put the phone on speaker. The room fell into a suffocating silence as we waited for whoever was on the other end to speak.
For a moment, there was nothing but static. Then, the same voice from before, low and distorted, spoke.
“You should have listened to me, Angelo. You’re running out of time.”
Angelo’s POV:
My blood ran cold. The voice was calm, calculated, but there was something menacing in its tone. They weren’t just threatening me—they were threatening all of us.
“Who are you?” I demanded, my voice shaking with anger. “What do you want from us?”
There was a brief pause, and then the voice spoke again, its words sending a chill down my spine.
“I’m not your enemy, Angelo. But if you don’t tell her the truth—if you don’t remember—there will be consequences.”
The line went dead.
Celeste’s POV:
My heart was pounding. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, and one wrong move could send everything crashing down.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Tell who the truth? What are they talking about?”
Angelo looked at me, his face pale. He didn’t have an answer, but I could see the fear in his eyes. He was just as lost as I was.
Briar’s POV:
I couldn’t take it anymore. The weight of the secrets, the dreams, the phone calls—it was all too much. I stood up, my legs feeling weak beneath me.
“We need to figure this out,” I said, my voice barely steady. “There has to be a connection. Between the dreams, the calls, everything.”
I looked at Angelo, then Celeste. “We can’t keep ignoring this. We have to face whatever this is. Together.”
Celeste’s POV:
For the first time in what felt like hours, I nodded. Briar was right. We couldn’t keep running from this, whatever it was.
But deep down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the truth, whatever it was, was going to change everything. And not just for Angelo and Briar. For all of us.