"So deep... Just like that. Don't stop."
Tyler froze mid-step in the hallways, mouth agape in shock and bewilderment.
He thought he misheard—maybe the alcohol was messing with him—but the moaning behind the closed door left no doubt. Worse, he recognized the voices.
His shock slowly turned into anger, but he couldn't controlled himself. He sighed, smiling ruefully.
"What right do I have to be angry? Why act like I had no idea why he decided to hold the party at his place? And why should I waste emotions on someone who never cared about me in the first place?..."
With a tired sigh, he turned back toward the living room. The party was still in full swing.
As for the people doing the deeds behind that door, it was his boss, the girl he had been seeing for the over a month now, and his boss' secretary.
How did he end up in this situation? Tonight was the company's end-of-year party. Tyler hadn't planned to attend—until he heard it was being hosted at his boss's apartment. That alone made it mandatory.
Worse, Iris had personally asked him to come. Now, standing in that hallway, it all made sense.
Maybe she wanted him to catch her.
Still, Tyler wasn't as affected as he thought he'd be. He never took the relationship too seriously—and Iris never treated it seriously either, even though she was the one who had pursued him.
"Women," he muttered, shaking the thought from his head.
Back in the living room, most of the staff were now wasted. The music was louder. The energy had shifted into something wild, messy, and unhinged.
He grabbed his briefcase and walked toward the front door of the luxurious apartment. There was no hesitation in his steps, as quietly opened the door and left the apartment.
He made his way down the hall to the elevator and hit the button. He was on the 17th floor of a 46-story building, so he knew it'd take a while.
While waiting, his mind wandered—as it often did—back to the mess that was his life.
If someone had told him he'd be 38, working like a dog, living in a shoebox apartment in New York, and still nowhere close to his dreams... he would've laughed back then.
Now? Nothing about it was funny.
He'd worked hard, followed the rules, made sacrifices. And still, here he was—paying nearly $2,000 a month for a glorified closet, drowning in what felt like generational debt, and questioning every decision he'd ever made.
Each day, Tyler always wish that some miracle could happen, so that he can escape his current situation of things.
The truth is that Tyler just want everything to end. He just wished there was a way that he could return to the past with his current knowledge and use of it to create something for himself.
Tyler smiled at his wishful thought and sighed tiredly. He can continue to think about it all he wants but nothing's ever going to change, as everything is simply that... Wishful thinking.
As for blaming the world for his current situation, as he has the right to, but Tyler no longer felt the need for it.
He didn't blame the world anymore. There was a time he did—spent his twenties shouting at the unfairness of it all. But that time had passed. The truth was harsh but simple:
The world owed him nothing. He made his choices. And now, he was paying the price.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
Tyler stepped in. And as the doors began to close, a foot wedged between them, stopping them.
The doors reopened and a man entered. The man—tall figure was dressed in a dark hoodie, his head down, hands in his pockets, causing him to look shady as hell.
Tyler instinctively straightened, subtly shifting to the side. Maybe the guy was harmless. Still... better to be cautious.
The elevator started descending and Tyler did what everyone in NYC does best, minding their own business. But he was still cautious of the man beside him.
The ride down was silent and slightly uncomfortable. The elevator had gone down ten floors, with seven more to go.
The next moment, Tyler saw the shady man made a sharp movement and the next moment, something sharp pierced his side.
He instinctively reached towards it and looked down, and he was shocked to find a dagger sticking out of his stomach, his blood beginning to stain his white shirt.
He had been stabbed!
Tyler was still in shock, as he raised his head to look at the shady man and he saw the face behind the mask. But he was shocked even more to find out that it was an unfamiliar face.
He felt very confused and wanted to ask the man, "why", but he wasn't given a chance to, as the man pulled out the dagger and stabbed him again.
The man stabbed him a total of seven times in multiple places, before pulling out the dagger.
Tyler lay on the elevator floor, his blood pooling around him, gushing out from multiple openings.
He tried to speak, to get an answer to the one question that he can't get out of his head, but he could only gag on his blood.
He tried to raise his hand to the shady man who was still standing beside him, but his body had become weak from losing a huge amount of blood.
His face had paled and his sight were starting to blur. And in just seconds, he had lost all the strength in his body.
As he took the last of his breathes, Tyler inwardly prayed that he can be given a second chance at life, so that he can right all of his wrongs.
He prayed that he can be given a chance to see his sweet mom again. He prayed that he can be given a chance to right things with his younger brother, and not be such a jerk to him.
Mid prayer, he took his last breath, his eyes closing for the last time.
_____
"Mr. Reyes!"
Tyler jolted awake.
He looked up in confusion. A familiar face loomed over him—middle-aged, stern, eyes sharp with frustration.
"Mrs. Grant?"
Her voice was stern.
"Falling asleep in my class again? Am I really that boring?"
Tyler blinked. He looked around.
He saw wooden desks, a chalkboard, teenagers and the whole place buzzed with Laughter.
He knew that this wasn't a boardroom, neither was it the bank's hall. This was a classroom.
High school...?
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Grant," he said slowly, still unsure if he was dreaming.
She sighed. "I know your family's going through a lot, Tyler. But you have to focus. Education is your best shot at changing your future."
Tyler frowned slightly when at Mrs Grant's words. But his frown wasn't because of Mrs Grant's misleading words but because he remembered hearing them before.
The next moment, his frown was immediately replaced with a smile.
Her words were just the confirmation be needed. He had really regressed to the past, to his high school days and the year that the world started spinning out of control.
Year 2010.