Your SOS Belongs In Trash

It was only on my deathbed that I learned the truth: my wife hadn't perished in that tragic shipwreck after all. Instead, she had slipped away across the ocean, living a golden life in a foreign land and growing old with the only man she had ever truly lovedher high school sweetheart.

And the boy I had raised as my own, spending every penny of my meager savings to put him through school? While I lay there hooked up to a squeaking monitor, wasting away, he quietly opened our front door and welcomed his mother and her "first love" inside.

When I gathered the last of my strength to demand an explanation, my son turned on me with cold indifference.

"Ive always known Mom was alive," he sneered. "Honestly, you were just suffocating to live with. If you hadn't forced her to marry you back then, she wouldn't have had to fake her own death to escape you."

Chloe looked down at me, her eyes holding nothing but a cool, detached pity. She reached into her handbag and pressed a yellowed, folded piece of paper into my trembling palm. It was the frantic cry for help she had written to me decades ago.

"Drew, Brody wrote this on your desk as a stupid prank," she said softly. "I never actually expected you to be foolish enough to throw away your SATs and your scholarship just to come rescue me."

She sighed, a small, weary sound. "But I made it up to you. I married you, didn't I? I even let you keep Toby with you. Even though he isn't your biological child, I always believed you were too good of a man to care about that."

With those words, she turned and took Brodys hand, her fingers sliding effortlessly into his.

"If you hadn't been so self-righteous back then, Brody and I wouldn't have had to suffer through three years of separation before we could finally be together. If there is a next life, Drew... I hope you have the sense not to pick up that letter."

The sheer, suffocating betrayal stopped my breath. My heart gave out right there in that sterile hospital room, drowning in my own silent rage.

But when I opened my eyes again, the smell of antiseptic was gone, replaced by the scent of old floor wax and cheap pencil lead. I was sitting at my old high school desk. It was the afternoon before the big scholarship exam.

Staring down at the wrinkled envelope resting on the worn wood, I didn't hesitate. I picked it up and threw it straight into the metal trash can at the front of the classroom.

Chloe didn't know the truth. Brody hadn't been playing a harmless joke. He had actually hired those local thugs to corner her in that alleyway and ruin her exams.

But this time, I wasn't going to be the martyr. Without me playing the fool, I wanted to see exactly what kind of fairytale she would build out of the wreckage.

"What's wrong, Drew? Zoning out? Didn't you see the letter on your desk?"

Brodys smug, mocking voice broke through my thoughts.

My eyes snapped fully open. The afternoon sun was spilling across the linoleum floor of our senior homeroom. It was indeed the day before the state scholarship exams. Sitting on my desk was the envelope with Chloes name scrawled across the front.

In my previous life, under Brodys watchful, sneering gaze, I hadn't hesitated to tear it open.

Inside had been a frantic, tear-stained note from Chloe. She wrote that Brody was planning to corner her in the alley behind the old diner on the morning of the exam, threatening to ruin her reputation and strip her of her dignity.

Before I could even process the words back then, Brody had leaned over my shoulder, flashing a cruel grin.

"Hey, Drew. Your family is so dirt-poor you probably share a single pair of jeans. You always act so high and mighty just because you get top marks. Let's see what you care about morethe girl you're obsessed with, or your precious future."

He had chuckled, tapping his knuckles on my desk. "Tomorrow morning, I've got a dozen guys waiting for her in the alley. If you don't show up to play hero, Chloes going to have a very, very rough morning."

In my past life, those words had sent me into a blind rage. I had lunged across the aisle, throwing punches directly into Brodys face. But before I could land a decisive blow, Chloe had rushed through the classroom door. Shielding Brody, she had pulled me back, allowing him to land several heavy hits. I had ended up black and blue on the classroom floor.

Once Brody swaggered out, Chloe had offered me nothing but a brief, annoyed apology.

I had thrust the letter into her hands, pleading, "Chloe, we have to go to the police. With this note and your statement, we can stop him before tomorrow."

Chloes face had gone rigid. When I practically dragged her to the steps of the local precinct, she had yanked her arm away, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Drew, no! If we go to the police, everyone will find out. My reputation will be ruined before I even finish high school. Besides, the exam is tomorrow. I need to go home and study."

She had fled before I could stop her. Back then, I thought she was just terrified of Brodys rich, influential family. So the next morning, when I saw Brody and his crew actually cornering her in that damp alleyway, I had swallowed my fear and thrown myself into the fight.

I took the brunt of the blows, shielding her with my body while screaming, "Chloe! Run! Get help! Call the school!"

She was trembling, but she didn't look back. She just ran. I took a brutal beating for over an hour, waiting for the police or the school principal to arrive. No one came.

Brody eventually broke my arm and my leg, leaving me bleeding on the gravel. He had spat on me and laughed. "You really thought she went to get help? Shes already in the exam hall, taking her test." He left me there, broken and discarded like a stray dog.

It wasn't until the testing blocks were completely over that my uncle found me and took me to the emergency room. Chloe showed up hours later, offering tears and excuses. She claimed she was too paralyzed by fear, and she simply couldn't bear the thought of missing the test that was her only ticket out of this town.

Stupidly, I forgave her. But I pressed charges against Brody anyway. His fathers connections couldn't fully bury the blatant assault, and he was sentenced to three years in a state penitentiary.

The day his sentence was handed down, Chloe asked me to be her boyfriend. I thought it was love. I spent the next decade working double shifts to pay for her college tuition, eventually raising the baby she brought home.

It took me a lifetime, lying on a sterile hospital mattress, to realize the agonizing truth. Chloe had known Brodys plan all along. She had willingly played her part, viewing me as a pawn Brody used to crush my academic dreams.

What she hadn't realized was that Brodys malice spared no one. He envied my academic brilliance, but he also resented her. He wanted both of our futures ruined.

When Brody went to prison, Chloe married me under the guise of "making amends," turning me into her personal ATM and a surrogate father for Brodys child. And when Brody was finally released, she staged her own disappearance at sea, slipping away to rejoin him.

Not this time.

In this life, I stared Brody dead in the eye, took the letter that had once destroyed me, and dropped it into the trash can.

Brodys brow furrowed, his cocky expression faltering. He knew how hopelessly in love with Chloe I wasor at least, how much I used to be. She was supposed to be my Achilles' heel.

"What's the matter, Drew?" Brody taunted, stepping closer. "You're just going to let her get ruined? Or do you prefer your girls a little damaged?"

I didn't let the bait take. I kept my face blank, calmly sliding my exam prep books into my backpack.

In my previous life, missing that exam had been a phantom limb that ached every single day. I had kept those old study guides, staring at the practice questions late at night in our cramped apartment, wondering what could have been. I had dreamed of going back to school, but I had always sacrificed my ambitions to support Chloe and Toby.

Never again. Nobodys drama was going to stand between me and my future.

I looked up, meeting Brodys gaze with absolute coldness. "Whatever you do to her is your business. It has nothing to do with me."

His eyes flashed with pure malice. Realizing his leverage was gone, he grabbed a heavy wooden chair, swinging it directly toward my arm.

He wanted to break my hand so I couldn't write the exam.

Adrenaline surged through me. I dodged the swing, lunged forward, and tackled him to the floor. I pinned him down, raising my fist to strike, when the sharp whistle of rushing air cut through the room.

A heavy blow crashed against the back of my skull. Warm, sticky blood immediately began to pour down my neck.

I whipped my head around, my vision swimming in red, to see Chloe standing there, panting heavily, a broken wooden chair leg in her hands.

She shoved me off Brody, instantly kneeling beside him to check his face for bruises, completely ignoring my bleeding head. When she finally looked up at me, her eyes were filled with disgust.

"Drew, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you hurting him?"

I wiped the blood from my brow, pointing a finger at Brody. "He swung first."

A brief flicker of guilt crossed Chloes face when she saw the blood dripping down my cheek, but her brow quickly furrowed again. She scanned the messy classroom, her voice tightening. "Where is the letter?"

I froze, studying her face. The defensive posture, the panic in her eyes...

It hit me. She had returned too. And the very first thing she wanted to do was reclaim her evidence.

A bitter laugh bubbled up in my chest. I pointed toward the trash can in the corner.

She stared at the bin, disbelief washing over her features. But then relief took over. She fished the crumpled paper out and tore it into tiny, irreparable pieces.

When she looked back at me, her expression was laced with that familiar, patronizing pity. "Drew, this letter was never meant for you anyway. It was just a joke Brody was playing. Don't go making a big deal out of nothing and ruin our lives."

I let out a dry chuckle. "The only person ruining your life is standing right next to you. But as long as you're willing to pay the price, I won't interfere."

Chloe mistook my warning for jealousy. She tilted her chin up, adopting that high-and-mighty tone I had endured for decades. "Drew, I know you have feelings for me. But you and I are from different worlds. I only love Brody."

Without waiting for my reply, she helped Brody to his feet and guided him out of the room. Before they crossed the threshold, Brody threw a smug, triumphant grin over his shoulder.

He didn't realize that his taunts had lost all their power.

Back at my tiny, rented apartment, I was sitting at the kitchen table, pressing a damp towel to my head, when the front door was kicked open.

Brody swaggered in, with Chloe trailing right behind him.

Seeing the open textbooks on the table, Chloes eyes flickered with a brief hesitation. But she quickly straightened, speaking with absolute entitlement.

"Drew. You can't take the exam tomorrow. In fact, you shouldn't take it for the next two years."

A chill ran down my spine. Did she know I had returned?

"No way," I said, my voice hard.

She waved her hand dismissively, as if my consent didn't matter. "Brody doesn't want you taking the test. He has weak lungs, and stress makes him sick. Just do this for me. Skip the exams."

Then, she added, like she was offering a grand prize, "If you do this, I'll let you keep taking me out. Even when Brody and I are officially together, you can still be in my life."

Brodys grin widened. "Yeah, Drew. You're obsessed with her, aren't you? Prove it. Throw away the exam for her."

I let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Chloe, what makes you think your presence in my life is worth my entire future?"

Chloe sighed, looking at me with disappointment. "Drew, in our last life, you got Brody sent to prison for three years. His health was ruined in there. You owe him this."

She said it so casually, laying bare the truth of our past timeline. My chest tightened. But I quickly masked my shock with raw anger.

"I don't know what kind of delusional garbage you're talking about," I growled, pushing Brody toward the door. "Get the hell out of my apartment. I don't owe him a damn thing!"

Brody resisted my shove, his sneer turning vicious. "You're just a parentless piece of trash, Drew. You belong in the gutter. You honestly think you're going to use some test to climb out of it?"

The red mist descended. I lunged, slamming my fist into his jaw. Brody went down, his face twisting with fury.

"You worthless bastard!" he screamed, spitting blood onto the linoleum. "You think Chloe actually respects you? Shes nothing but my pet. I'm going to make sure you get thrown in a cell, just like your deadbeat father. You'll die in some federal penitentiary, just like him!"

That was the breaking point. I threw myself onto him, raining punches down. Suddenly, a stinging slap caught me across the face.

Chloe threw her weight into me, shoving me back. As I went to lunge forward again, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small pocket knife, holding it tremblingly in front of her.

"Drew, stop it!" she screamed. "Everything Brody said is true! You don't have parents. Your father died in a federal prison because he was a criminal!"

I froze, the air leaving my lungs. I stared at her, utterly shattered.

She known my father had been set up. When they dragged him away years ago, Chloe had been the only one who held my hand, whispering that she believed in his innocence. That was the exact reason I had fallen for her. That was the reason I had once been willing to destroy my own life to save hers.

Taking advantage of my shock, she pulled Brody up, shielding him behind her. She caught the look of absolute betrayal in my eyes, and for a fraction of a second, her hand shook. But she hardened her heart.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Drew. Even if you take the exam, a kid like you isn't going to get into a good school. You're better off giving up now. My uncle can get you a shift hauling crates down at the shipping docks. It's stable work."

I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached. In my past life, when she "died" at sea and left me with Toby, I had ruined my spine working those exact docks, hauling heavy cargo for twelve hours a day just to pay for her sons formula. I had destroyed my health for her.

And she had known all along. She simply believed that the docks were exactly where I belonged.

With blood in my eyes, I pointed toward the open door. "Get out."

Chloe scoffed, tucking the knife away. "Don't come crying to me when you fail."

I let out a harsh, dry laugh. "The only one who's going to regret this, Chloe, is you."

After they left, the quiet of the apartment felt heavy. I stared down at my math formulas, unable to focus.

Then, I heard a metallic rattle from the other side of the front door.

I sprang up and rushed to the entryway, rattling the doorknob. It wouldn't budge.

Peering through the narrow gap in the doorframe, I saw Brodys grinning face. He was wrapping a heavy chain around the handle, securing it with a padlock.

"I'm not letting you get to that test site, Drew," Brody sneered through the metal. "You want to know why?"

I gritted my teeth. When we first started high school, Brody had ignored me. It wasn't until our senior year that his bullying turned obsessive and cruel.

Before I could demand an answer, he whispered, his voice dripping with venom: "Your dad found out about some of my fathers business deals. So I made a little phone call, had him locked up on federal charges. He died in that cell, and you're going to rot right here. I'm never letting you rise above us."

My breath caught. A violent shudder went through my chest.

My fathers arrest, his disgrace, his lonely deathit had all been Brodys doing.

He chuckled, enjoying my muffled gasp of horror. "And Chloe knew. Why do you think she was so nice to you after he got sent away? She pity-patronized you because she knew my family ruined yours. It was hilarious."

I slammed my fists against the wood, my knuckles screaming in pain. I wanted to tear through the door and rip him apart with my bare hands.

Every single tragedy in my lifethe loss of my father, my broken dreams, my wasted decadeshad been orchestrated by Brody. And Chloe, the girl I had worshipped, had been his silent accomplice from the very beginning.

I pounded on the heavy oak door, screaming until my throat was raw, while Brodys laughter faded down the stairwell.

I didn't sleep a wink that night. I used every tool I hada butter knife, a screwdriver, my own shoulderstrying to break the heavy padlock.

As the first grey light of dawn filtered through the hallway window, I saw Chloes shadow through the peephole. She stood there for a long moment, staring at the chained door with a conflicted expression, before turning and walking away.

She wanted me trapped. She wanted me ruined so she could play the saint who rescued me later.

With a final, desperate surge of adrenaline, I threw my entire weight against the old doorframe. The wood splintered, and the latch finally gave way with a loud crack.

Grabbing my registration ticket, I bolted down the stairs and sprinted toward the high school.

As I cut through the alleyway behind the local diner, I ran straight into them. Brody and half a dozen thugs had Chloe cornered against the brick wall.

Brodys eyes widened in sheer shock when he saw me free. Reacting instantly, he grabbed Chloe by the throat, pulling her flush against his chest.

"Drew!" he yelled, panic creeping into his voice. "You take one step toward that school, and you know exactly what my boys are going to do to her!"

Chloes eyes stretched wide with terror as she looked at Brody, finally realizing this wasn't a game. The thugs around them sneered, their eyes lingering greedily on her legs.

In my past life, I knew that stepping away meant leaving her to a horrific fate. I froze, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Brody smirked, gesturing for one of his guys to grab me.

But I didn't move toward them.

Instead, I gripped my registration ticket tighter, turned on my heel, and sprinted toward the school gates.

This time, I was running for my life. I was never letting anyone hold me back again.

Chloe watched my retreating figure, a sudden, cold hollow opening in her chest. She looked up at Brody, her voice trembling. "Brody... let me go. It didn't work. He's not coming back."

Brody didn't release his grip. He stared at the empty alley, his expression twisting into something ugly and feral.

He shoved Chloe hard into the arms of the waiting thugs.

"If I can't break him," he snarled, "destroying you works just as well."

A sharp tear cut through the quiet as one of the guys ripped her dress. She gasped, staring at Brody in utter horror as he snatched her registration ticket from her fingers and tore it to shreds.

But before they could drag her any further into the shadows, a loud siren wailed, and heavy footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley.

"Police! Step away from her and put your hands on your head!"