Strings of Fate: The First Loop

CHAPTER 19

Bright light.

It pierced through my eyelids, warm but blinding, like it didn’t belong in the same world I just came from.

I blinked. Once. Twice. My throat burned like something had clawed through it. My lips were dry, tongue caked with the bitter taste of salt and metal.

Where—
Where am I?

A sterile, quiet room. White walls. Green curtains that swayed slightly, caught in the hum of a ceiling fan. A single monitor beeped beside me. Slowly, I noticed the murmur of voices beyond the curtains—muffled, yet familiar. Inez. Tim. Drake. Corey. Matt.

I felt warmth wrapped around my hand.

James.

His grip was tight, like he was afraid letting go meant I’d disappear again.

I tried to make a sound, but only a hoarse grunt left my throat.

James looked up.

His eyes—wet, red-rimmed, terrified and relieved all at once.
“Betty,” he whispered, like my name was a prayer. “She’s awake.”

The curtains pulled back. Light footsteps shuffled in. Inez reached me first, brushing hair from my forehead with trembling fingers. “You scared us,” she said softly.

Tim stood behind her, nodding, lips tight. Drake and Corey lingered near the foot of the bed. Matt hovered at the edge, arms crossed, eyes softer than I’d ever seen them. I could barely hold their gazes.

“I—I’m sorry, guys,” I managed, my voice brittle. “I ruined everything.”

“No,” Matt said, voice low but certain. “We were just worried, B. You gave us the biggest scare of our lives.”

James’s hands cupped my face then. “I-I thought I lost you,” he breathed. “God, Betty…”

I remembered fragments—his voice cutting through the rain, the taste of seawater, his arms pulling me back from the waves. I remembered thinking he shouldn’t have.

“I was so scared,” he said, his voice cracking. “Don’t ever do that again. Please.”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.

Because I had let go.
Underneath the waves, I’d accepted it.
And now I was here—dragged back into a body that ached and a mind that didn’t want to be inside itself anymore.

I shifted, pain flaring across my ribs. I clutched my side, wincing, and then—

My wrist.

Empty.

My heart stilled.
I turned it over, once, twice. Nothing.

No butterfly charm. No gold chain.
Gone.

A sob caught in my throat.

I turned away from them all, curling slightly toward the wall, hiding my face as I gripped my wrist with trembling fingers. “Mom…” I whispered, barely audible.
It wasn’t just a bracelet. It was her. The last piece I had left. The thing that grounded me.

Tears slipped down my cheek and soaked into the pillow. I didn’t want them to see.

Matt cleared his throat gently. “Come on, guys… let’s give her some space.”

They left one by one, soft footsteps retreating behind the curtain.

Except James.

He stayed.

I felt the mattress shift as he sat on the edge, his hand resting on my shoulder. His presence was solid. Warm. Steady.

And completely powerless.