Rewritten Fates

Chapter 3

"Layla's POV"

The rain came out of nowhere, drenching Layla as she sat helplessly on the sidewalk. The concert had ended, and waves of people flooded the streets, all of them caught up in the aftermath of the night’s excitement. Layla had tried to find Natania, but her wheelchair made navigating through the crowd impossible. She was jostled and bumped from all sides, and with her phone dead, she had no way to contact her friend.

Her frustration, already at a boiling point, overflowed as she wheeled herself to the edge of the road, trying to get out of the way. The tears she’d been holding back all night finally broke free, and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. The rain soaked her to the skin, chilling her, but she didn’t care. It all felt like too much, like the universe had conspired to break her down in the cruelest way possible.

Lost in her despair, Layla didn’t notice the car approaching until the rain suddenly stopped pounding on her head. She looked up, confused, and saw an umbrella hovering above her. She blinked through her tears, her breath hitching as the person holding the umbrella bent down, revealing a face she never thought she’d see in real life.

It was Rowan.

For a moment, Layla could only stare, unable to process what she was seeing. Rowan was here, crouching beside her, his expression soft with concern.

“Hey,” he said gently, his voice barely audible over the sound of the rain. “What are you doing out here? Are you okay?”

Layla tried to speak, but the words were trapped in her throat. Her chest tightened as fresh tears welled up in her eyes, and she shook her head, unable to hold it together any longer.

Rowan’s brow furrowed, and he reached out, lightly touching her shoulder. “Did I make you cry? Was it something I did?”

Finally, Layla managed to choke out a few words, her voice broken. “No… it’s not you. It’s just… everything.”

Understanding flickered in Rowan’s eyes, and he nodded. “I get it. Sometimes it all just feels like too much, huh?”

She nodded, biting her lip to keep from breaking down completely. The warmth of his presence was grounding, and for a moment, she felt like maybe things would be okay.

"I am such a huge fan, I still can't comprehend the fact that you are right infront of me!" Rowan smiled and touched her wristband, "I can tell"

Layla turned bright red immediately, "why exactly do you like me or my music?"

.

"You saved me", Layla said, looking up at him, for a quick moment, she sensed a shift in his emotion but brushed it off as nothing.

With an akward chuckle Rowan glanced around, noticing the downpour. “Listen, why don’t I give you a ride home? You shouldn’t be out here in the rain.”

Layla’s heart skipped a beat. The thought of being in a car with Rowan, her idol, was unreal. She nodded eagerly, feeling a small spark of happiness amid the chaos of the night.

But just as Rowan stood up to help her, a car screeched to a stop nearby. Natania jumped out, her face a mix of panic and relief. “Layla! Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Her voice was frantic, and as she hurried over, she suddenly froze, her eyes widening as she recognized Rowan.

“Rowan?” Natania gasped, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rowan gave her a small smile and a nod, but Layla’s moment of joy quickly turned to frustration. Of all the times for Natania to show up, why did it have to be now?

Natania quickly recovered from her shock, rushing to Layla’s side and scolding her. “You can’t just disappear like that! I was so worried!” But even as she spoke, she couldn’t stop stealing glances at Rowan, clearly starstruck.

Layla, feeling a pang of annoyance, let Natania help her into the car. As she settled in, she glanced back at Rowan, her heart sinking a little. She had been so close to spending just a few more moments with him.

Natania, finally finding her voice, looked at Rowan and said, “Thank you so much for looking after her. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here.”

Rowan waved it off with a humble smile. “No problem at all. I’m just glad she’s safe.”

Natania gave him a grateful nod before sliding into the driver’s seat and pulling away, leaving Rowan standing in the rain.

Layla got home and plugged in her phone and quickly went to bed, exhausted from the day activities.

..................................................................

Layla awoke to the sound of her phone buzzing incessantly on the nightstand. Groggily, she reached out, still half-asleep, her mind hazy from the events of the night. The screen lit up with countless notifications—missed calls, messages, and news alerts.

She squinted at the bright screen, her heart beginning to race as she scrolled through the notifications. A headline caught her eye, and she blinked, trying to make sense of it through her sleepy daze.

"Rowan, Lead Singer of Eclipse, Dead at 27."

Different news flash was plastered everywhere on how the famous musician suffered from depression-

Layla bolted upright, her breath catching in her throat. "He was just here... How?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she stared at the words on the screen, unable to comprehend what she was reading. The man who had been so close, who had crouched beside her in the rain just hours before, was now gone?

Her hands shook as she fumbled through more messages, her pulse quickening with each new piece of information. A rumor about the hospital Rowan had been rushed to flashed across her screen. She didn’t stop to think—her mind was racing, her thoughts a chaotic blur of disbelief and panic. She had to get to that hospital, to see if it was true.

She threw on her jacket, barely registering what she was doing, and wheeled herself out of her house, the urgency driving her forward. The streets were damp from the rain, the night’s events still fresh in her mind. Everything felt surreal, like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

The city seemed to blur around her as she navigated through the streets, her wheelchair moving faster than it ever had before. But as she neared a busy intersection, she hit a bump in the pavement, and suddenly, everything went wrong. Her wheelchair jolted, tipping forward, and Layla was thrown from her seat.

She landed hard, skidding across the slick pavement before splashing into a shallow fountain. The cold water soaked through her clothes, snapping her back to reality. She struggled to push herself up, gasping for breath as she looked around, disoriented.

And then she saw it—a massive billboard towering above her, broadcasting the news in bold, unmissable letters: "ROWAN—DEAD AT 27." His image loomed over the city, a stark contrast to the vibrant life he had exuded just hours ago.

A single tear slipped down Layla’s cheek as she stared up at the screen, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces. "No," she whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief and pain. "No, no, no..."

The city moved on around her, oblivious to the girl in the fountain, but for Layla, time stood still. She was frozen in that moment, in the heartbreaking realization that she had lost something irreplaceable. And as the billboard continued to flash the devastating news, the only sound that escaped her lips was a silent, heart-wrenching, "No."