Chapter 8 - A Day Unrewound

Chapter 8: A Day Unrewound

He could have reached for it.

The phone was still there, screen dim, the app pulsing faintly in the corner like a dying heartbeat. One rewind remaining. One more chance to reshape a moment.

But he didn’t reach for it.

Instead, Julian slipped the phone into the drawer and closed it without ceremony. No words. No farewell.

He left the apartment just as the sky turned amber.

The bar hadn’t changed.

Same hum of low voices. Same buzz of flickering neon above the door. The walls still carried the scent of stale beer and memories. The amplifier crackled softly as he plugged in.

No setlist tonight. No plan.

He stepped up to the mic and said nothing. Just let the quiet stretch until it settled.

Then he began to play.

It wasn’t a practiced piece. It wasn’t even a full song—just a tangle of melody and breath, a thread pulled loose from somewhere deep.

His voice faltered once. He let it.

And somewhere in the middle, the music stopped trying to say something and simply was.

He didn’t notice her at first.

But when the last note faded, he looked up.

Siena was in the crowd.

Not alone.

She stood beside someone new—taller, maybe. Kinder, maybe. Their hands brushed once, briefly.

She clapped.

Not loud. Not showy.

Just… present.

When their eyes met, she offered him a soft smile. The kind that held no weight. No question.

Just the quiet recognition of something once real.

Back at home, Julian opened the drawer.

He took out the phone.

The screen lit up.

“One rewind remaining.”

He held it for a long time. Long enough to feel the temptation rise again, curl into his chest like smoke.

Then, with a breath steady and full—

He deleted the app.

No flourish. No drama. Just the soft click of letting go.

He stood there for a moment, watching the emptiness where it used to be.

And then he smiled.

A real one.

You can’t love someone into the past.

But you can remember the time you were loved.