My phone vibrates before I even open my eyes.
Once. Twice. Three times. Nonstop.
I stare at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to remember why my head feels this heavy. The answer comes way too fast.
Cursor. Voice. Name.
I turn my face slowly and stare at the closed laptop on the desk.
I don't get up.
The phone vibrates again.
Group chat.
Lucas: "Eli, a new bar just opened up here. Totally your vibe. Come by tonight." Another: "Dude, you've been ghosting hard as hell." Another: "Let's get you out of that cave for a bit."
I read everything without replying.
The laptop stays right there.
Closed. Silent. Waiting.
I unlock my phone again before I can overthink it.
"I'm in."
Send.
Only after I hit send do I realize I didn't even think about the answer. It just… came out.
—
The bar is exactly how I remembered it.
Or too close to it.
Dim lights. Music loud enough that no one has to actually talk. The smell of cheap booze mixed with fried food.
Corner table.
Lucas raises his hand the second he sees me.
"There he is! The man's back!"
I sit down. Someone shoves a beer into my hand before I even ask. I thank them on autopilot.
"You look like you died and came back to life," Lucas says, laughing.
"Routine," I answer.
He laughs like it's the funniest thing he's ever heard.
I don't find it that funny.
And then she appears.
Julia.
She doesn't walk over. She doesn't ask if the seat's free.
She's just… there, pulling out the chair next to mine like it had always been waiting for her.
"Hey."
Her voice is soft. Way too familiar.
I turn my face. Her smile comes first—warm, easy, effortless.
"You've been MIA," she says, lightly bumping her shoulder against mine. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," I answer too quickly. "Just busy."
She studies me for a second longer than she should.
Then she smiles again.
"So tonight you're not thinking about any of that. No work, no… whatever's been messing with your head."
Her hand brushes mine.
Light. Natural.
"Just stay here with me, okay?"
I don't answer.
But I don't pull my hand away either.
—
The conversation flows.
Too easily.
Jokes land at the perfect moment. Laughter hits right on cue. Someone orders another round before anyone even suggests it.
I drink. I laugh. I answer.
Everything on autopilot.
Everything… fitting perfectly.
Lucas starts telling a story.
"Remember that night at karaoke?"
I look at him.
"What night?"
He laughs.
"Come on, don't play dumb. You almost broke your arm trying to climb on stage to sing to Julia."
The whole table reacts.
"True," someone says. "Man, he was nervous as hell," another adds.
Julia squeezes my hand gently.
"You were adorable."
I stay quiet for a second.
I don't sing. Never liked it. Never would've gotten on a stage for anyone.
"It was a while ago," I say, shrugging.
Lucas keeps laughing.
"'A while ago'? That was last year."
Last year.
I try to pull up the memory.
Nothing comes.
No image. No feeling. Just an empty space where something should be.
"I must've been wasted," I say.
They laugh again. Louder this time. Like my answer was perfect.
—
Julia leans in a little closer.
"You always overcomplicate everything," she says softly, right next to my ear. "You don't have to."
Her voice is calm. Certain.
"Life here is good, Eli."
Here.
"You've got everything you need. Work, friends…"
Her hand tightens around mine.
"Me."
I look at her.
For a second, it feels true.
Simple. Easy. No noise. No… that.
I breathe slower.
My shoulders relax.
Maybe I really am just tired.
Maybe that's all it is.
—
The smell hits first.
Wood. Something sweet. Familiar.
The bar doesn't change.
But something underneath it does.
I don't see it.
I remember it.
A wide hallway. Dark floor reflecting golden light. Quick footsteps.
"Eli!"
The voice hits me straight in the chest.
"Dad's waiting! If you don't come down right now—"
Lira.
I feel my body react before my mind can catch up.
Weight on my shoulders. Anticipation. Something important about to happen. Something that actually matters.
—
"Hey."
Julia's voice pulls me back.
I blink.
Bar. Table. Beer. Her hand still in mine.
But now it's holding on tighter.
"You went somewhere far away just now," she says with a low laugh. "Where'd you go?"
I open my mouth. Close it.
I don't know how to answer.
For a single instant—just one—her smile doesn't reach her eyes.
They look… empty. Unfocused. Still.
Then they snap back.
Like nothing happened.
"You really need to stop thinking so much," she continues, as if there had been no pause. "Stay here with me tonight."
The sentence comes out clean. No stumble. No variation.
I feel a chill crawl up the back of my neck.
—
The rest of the night passes… too fast. Or too slow. Hard to tell.
Everything keeps working.
Laughter. Drinks. Light touches.
But now there's something out of place.
Small. Insistent. Like a glitch in a perfect pattern.
—
I stand up before I even realize I'm doing it.
"I'm heading out," I say.
"Already?" Lucas asks.
"Early morning tomorrow," I lie.
He accepts it way too easily.
Everyone does.
Julia pouts.
"See you tomorrow, then."
She tilts her face like she's waiting for something.
I hesitate.
One second. Two.
The idea of staying flashes through my head.
Strong. Simple. Tempting.
Staying would be easy. Staying would make sense. Staying…
I step back.
"Yeah," I say. "See you."