Yesterday Without Time in the amazing life of Kali

Chapter 3: HEARTBREAK HIGHWAY

By the time Ash disappeared down the road, I couldn’t hold it together anymore.

I stood there shaking, tears spilling freely, my chest tight like something inside me had finally cracked open. Missi and Ryan wrapped their arms around me without a word. Their hugs were quiet, heavy with the kind of sadness that didn’t need explaining.

“I’m sorry,” Missi whispered.

“So am I,” Ryan added softly.

I wiped my face, forcing a weak smile. “It’s just Ash being Ash.”

But the truth sat deeper than that.

Ash had been our ride home. Now he was gone, and we were stranded in Ludel. Teleporting was an option—but using our abilities would ruin Mom’s surprise, and somehow that mattered more than my pride at the moment.

So we called Nathan.

Our oldest brother didn’t even hesitate. He said he was on his way, like this kind of rescue mission was routine.

While we waited, Ryan looked at me differently—like he was finally seeing something he’d missed before.

“Was he ever nice to you?” he asked quietly.

The question caught me off guard.

“Yes,” I said after a moment. “He used to be… really kind.”

The words unlocked memories I’d tried not to revisit.

Back in high school, Ash had been sweet in the simplest ways. He listened. He noticed things. Talking to him had been the best part of my day. I felt safe with him in a way I hadn’t felt with anyone else.

“What changed?” Ryan asked.

I swallowed.

“A lot of things,” I said. “Mostly me.”

I told him about Ash’s twin brother, Steele—how I’d been friends with him too, before everything fell apart. About the necklace Ash had given me once, with a ring to match. It was beautiful. Thoughtful. Too much, maybe, for a girl who didn’t yet know how to stand on her own.

My friends had noticed. And they didn’t approve.

They told me if I dated Ash, they wouldn’t be my friends anymore. They called him a nerd. Said he didn’t belong. I was new then, desperate to fit in, terrified of being alone.

And I chose wrong.

When Steele cornered me in the hallway one day and asked if I loved Ash, I lied.

I said no.

Ash blocked me after that. Completely shut me out. And I learned, painfully, that some words can’t be taken back—even when they aren’t true.

Ryan listened without interrupting.

I told him about the years that followed. How Ash and I kept colliding at the worst possible moments—working at the same auto parts store, running into each other late at night, falling into each other’s arms when neither of us was whole enough to stay.

Every time, it started the same way. Familiar. Electric. Almost hopeful.

And every time, it ended with distance. Silence. Another block.

I told him about the night by the river. About the nights in my bed. About the times I reached out because I needed someone to talk to—only to be told I was “too much.”

Eventually, he stopped listening.

I stopped trying.

By the time Nathan pulled up in his SUV, I felt hollowed out. Exhausted in a way sleep couldn’t fix.

Nathan took one look at our faces and shook his head. “There is never a dull moment with you two,” he said, opening the door. “God bless whoever ends up with you. They’re going to need patience.”

Ryan snorted. “She was just tagging along with Ash. Backup plan.”

Nathan laughed as we climbed in, but the sound didn’t quite reach me.

As Ludel disappeared behind us, I stared out the window and wondered—how many times can you lose someone before it changes you into someone else?