The Boy in my dreams

Chapter 8 : The Choice That Chages Everything

Everything went quiet.

“What do you mean… you remember?” I asked Chloe.

She crossed her arms, studying me.

“Bits and pieces,” she admitted. “Not everything like him,” she nodded toward Liam, “but enough.”

My heart pounded.

“So all of this… the dreams, the memories… it’s real?”

“Yes,” Liam said.

“No,” Chloe said at the same time.

I looked between them, frustrated. “Which is it?!”

“It’s complicated,” Liam said.

“It’s dangerous,” Chloe corrected.

I felt like I was losing control.

“Someone needs to explain before I completely lose my mind.”

Chloe sighed, then looked at Liam. “She deserves to know.”

Liam clenched his jaw. “No, she deserves to be safe.”

“Too late for that,” Chloe shot back. “She’s already remembering.”

Silence.

Then Chloe turned to me.

“There’s a reason he keeps trying to stay away from you,” she said. “And it’s not just because you die.”

My breath caught.

“Then what is it?”

Her gaze hardened.

“Because every time you get close…” she said slowly, “you choose him.”

The words hung in the air.

“And that choice?” she continued, her voice dropping, “it’s what starts everything.”

I felt my chest tighten.

“What does that mean?”

But neither of them answered immediately.

Instead, Liam stepped closer to me, his expression intense.

“Alice,” he said quietly, “listen to me.”

My heart pounded as his eyes locked onto mine.

“You need to stay away from me.”

The words hurt more than they should have.

“What?”

“It’s the only way to stop this,” he continued. “If we don’t get close, maybe this time… things will be different.”

I stared at him.

At the boy from my dreams.

At the boy who was somehow tied to my past… and possibly my future.

“You’re asking me to forget you again,” I whispered.

His expression softened, pain flashing in his eyes.

“I’m asking you to live.”

Silence filled the space between us.

Then, slowly… I shook my head.

“No.”

Both Liam and Chloe froze.

“I don’t understand any of this,” I continued, my voice trembling but firm. “But I’m tired of being confused. Tired of being scared.”

I stepped closer.

“If something is coming… if something always happens…”

My heart pounded harder.

“Then this time,” I said, looking straight into his eyes, “I’m not running from it.”

Liam’s breath caught.

Chloe’s expression darkened.

And deep down…

I felt it.

That this choice?

Was going to change everything.

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

After everything that had happened, I couldn’t focus. Not on classes. Not on people. Not even on the whispers that followed me through the hallways.

All I could think about was Liam.

Stay away from me.

I’m asking you to live.

But I had already made my choice.

And somehow… I knew it wasn’t over.

By the time school ended, the sky had darkened slightly, clouds gathering like a warning.

I walked home alone.

At least, I thought I was alone.

Halfway down the street, a strange feeling crept over me.

Like I was being watched.

I slowed my steps.

The air felt heavier. Colder.

“Alice…”

My heart stopped.

The voice was faint. Almost like a whisper carried by the wind.

I turned quickly.

No one.

“Hello?” I called out, my voice shaky.

Silence.

I let out a nervous laugh. “Okay… this is getting creepy.”

I turned back—

And that’s when it happened.

A loud screech.

Headlights.

A car speeding straight toward me.

Everything slowed down.

I couldn’t move.

My body froze, fear locking me in place.

This was it.

This was what Liam meant.

You die.

I shut my eyes—

But instead of impact…

Strong arms wrapped around me.

We crashed onto the pavement.

Hard.

My breath was knocked out of me as the car sped past, missing us by inches.

For a moment, I couldn’t process anything.

Then I heard it.

A familiar voice, breathless.

“I told you to stay away from me.”

Liam.