Miracle picked up one of the kitchen knives and walked back into the bedroom. Corey was sleeping on his stomach. The duvet was pulled up to cover half of his naked ass. Under the bed there was a cheetah printed thong sticking out that matched the bra she had seen earlier.
She was drunk. Not too drunk to stand or walk, but drunk enough to not think sanely about what she was about to do. She wanted to cut out his heart and show it to him. Break his heart the way he had broken hers. She placed the knife between his shoulder blades. The tip was touching his skin. It would be so easy to plunge the knife down and let him feel all the pain he had caused her.
Go back.
Miracle put her empty glass down on the table and looked at the man sitting next to her. She had gone to the bar to get drunk and try to forget what she had just witnessed. This man had been chatting her up. He had been more than willing to pour more alcohol into her. He probably thought it would be easier to convince her to go home with her that way.
"I love how your hair and eyes match," he said.
She didn't care. Dark brown hair, down brown eyes. Normally she would have curly hair but she had straightened it this morning before going to work. She worked in theater and the role she was currently playing required her to have straight hair. Normally they would hang back and talk for an hour after work but something had told her to go straight home tonight. Straight home and into a living nightmare.
"What do you say we get out of here and find somewhere else to have some fun?" He asked.
"I have a boyfriend," she said. "Or soon to be ex. He's cheating on me."
"What a shame," he smirked. "I can make you forget all about him though."
She looked at him and started laughing. He kept smirking. He didn't even realize she was laughing at him and not because she liked the idea of hooking up with him.
"Do you even have a name?" She asked.
"John," he answered.
"John?" She snorted. "Sure, John. I'm Jane."
"I see what you're doing. You're trying to go with the whole John Doe and Jane Doe thing. My name really is John. John Morrison."
"And my name is Jane," she said. "Jane Doe."
He chuckled and moved a hand forward to touch her face. She slapped it away and stood up.
"I gotta go," she said.
She walked outside in the cold weather. She had to go back home. Back home to Corey and figure out where to go from there.
Go back.
Miracle opened the front door. On the entire ride home from work she had a bad feeling inside. She just felt like she had to get home fast. The first thing she noticed was the red high heels among their shoes. They weren't hers. She didn't own any red shoes.
She moved further into the house and heard the moans. Corey and someone else. Some other woman who apparently owned a pair of red heels. She walked into the bedroom where a red dress was on the floor along with Corey's clothes.
He was on his back in bed with a woman still in a cheetah printed bra on top of him. They were both so lost in pleasure that they didn't see her standing there watching them. She knew that woman. Carmella from Corey's work. They had met at a company gathering once. Back then Carmella was dating some rich guy. Carmella had made her feel anxious inside and now she knew why.
She had to get out. She couldn't stay and watch. She couldn't breathe. She needed air. She backed out of the bedroom, spun around and hurried back outside. Away from the ugly image of her cheating boyfriend. She gasped for air and started sobbing. She needed to get away. Find a bar somewhere and get drunk out of her mind.
Go back inside.
Everything around her seemed eerily quiet for a moment. As if she was standing at a crossroads and had to made the right choice. She dried her eyes, took a deep breath and walked back inside. Their moans reached her again as she walked back into the bedroom. She didn't say a word. She walked over to the closet and opened it. That sound suddenly made the two people in bed aware that they weren't alone.
"What the fuck?" Carmella asked.
"Get off me!" Corey growled.
There was a small shriek coming from Carmella. Corey had pushed her off him.
"Miracle?" Corey asked nervously.
"Don't mind me. I'm just packing a bag and then I'll be out of here," Miracle said.
"It's not what it looks like," Corey said.
"Excuse me?" Carmella asked.
"Shut the fuck up!" Corey hissed. "Miracle. Look at me, honey. Let me explain."
"I'm not interested in hearing your lies, Corey," Miracle said.
Miracle stuffed some clothes down in a backpack and zipped it. Apparently Corey had left the bed. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She threw her elbow backwards with as much force as she could. A crack was heard and he howled in pain. Her elbow was throbbing but she wasn't about to show him she was in any type of pain. She turned around and saw him with his hands placed over his nose.
"You broke my nose!" Corey yelled.
"It was either a broken nose or a blade between your shoulder blades," Miracle said.
"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Corey asked.
"You're insane," Carmella said. "She's insane, babe."
Miracle wasn't about to explain to Corey how close she had been to killing him a couple of hours into the future. Instead she looked over at Carmella, eyed her up and down in disgust, and shook her head no.
"You can have him, darling," Miracle looked back at Corey. "I'll be back tomorrow for the rest of my stuff. Spend the day with that thing on the bed."
"Hey!" Carmella yelled.
Miracle turned around without another word and walked out of the house. She got back into her car and drove straight to her twin brother Seth. She sighed in relief when she saw the light was still on in his house. She knocked on the door and he opened 30 seconds later with a concerned look on his face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.
"I just found Corey in bed with another woman," she said.
"That piece of trash!" He growled.
"I need your couch tonight," she said.
"Of course," he said.
He stepped aside and let her in. She kicked off her shoes and walked to the living room with him right after her. She dumped her backpack on the floor and sat down on the couch. He sat down on the other end and looked at her.
"It happened again," she said.
"He cheated before?" He asked.
"No, not that," she said. "It."
"Oh," he grinned. "Miracle baby."
That had been his nickname for her since they were children. They were twins but only he was meant to live. He was born alive. She was a stillborn. The nurses tried to bring her back but gave up. Their mother asked for her. For some reason no one was able to explain, she started breathing again when she put next to Seth in their mother's arms. Their mother always said that Seth brought Miracle back when their hands touched. That was why she got that name. Miracle. And Seth started calling her Miracle baby.
"Why me?" She asked.
"You died," he answered. "I think while you were dead, you went down in the underworld and came back with some magic skills. You can rewind."
"Go back," she said.
"Rewind," he smirked.
They would never agree what to call it. She lived something and then went back in time to fix what had happened somehow. Choose another path to make everything better.
"I hear a voice in my head when it happens. It always tells me to go back. It's like there's someone else living inside me, and it's trying to make me fix things. It's not sure where exactly to go. I have to go back several times until it finds the one place where I can choose another path to make it alright. Or as alright as things can be in a shitty situation," she said.
She ran a hand down her face and sighed.
"I almost killed Corey," she said.
"Oh shit," he said.
"And then I went back a couple of times and left him instead. What a fix, huh? He still cheated and I just walked away without hurting him," she said.
"He's hurting," he said. "He can't afford staying in that house without you paying half the rent. And it's his fucking house so he'll be stuck with it. You're gonna stay here until you find somewhere else to live. He's gonna hurt really soon unless his new found lover wants to move in and pay for him."
"I doubt it. She only dates rich men. He told me that before. She jumps from one rich guy to the next as soon as they stop buying her gifts. He's gonna stop now when he no longer has my money to count on," she said.
"See!" He giggled. "He's hurting. You're hurting him the way he hurt you. Take the win."
He got up from the couch and walked over to his liquor cabinet. He poured her half a glass of Jack Daniels, handed it to her and sat down again.
"Thanks," she said.
"Do you remember the first time it happened?" He asked.
"How can I forget?" She sniffled. "It was the most horrible experience in my life. You died, Seth. I saw your corpse. I'll never be able to get that image our of my head."
"And then you rewound," he said.
"I went back," she said.
"Rewound," he said.
"Went back," she said.
They looked at each other and started laughing. She needed this laugh after the night she had had.
"We were on the phone together. You were driving 30 minutes behind me. Suddenly in the middle of the conversation you started yelling about me not going into the elevator. You kept yelling the wire would snap and I'd crash to my death," he said.
"I remember," she said.
"I didn't believe you. I thought you were dehydrating or something. And then you told me what I was wearing, all the way down to my new shoes that I still hadn't shown you. You were late that day so I left 30 minutes before you. I was looking forward to showing you my new shoes. So I took the stairs, and the elevator crashed when it was called to the top floor. Luckily with no one inside it," he said.
"There were police and medical staff when I arrived. They were digging out your corpse. I was told to identify you. I've never felt that type of pain before. And then that voice came inside my head. Go back, it said. And I did. I went back twice. I pulled into the parking lot and I was told to go back again. And then I went back to the phone call," she said.
He reached over and patted her hand.
"You saved my life that day," he said. "That voice in your head isn't bad. I don't know what it is or where it came from, but it's a good voice. Always listen to it."
"I always have," she said.
"Miracle baby," he smirked. "That's truly what you are. You came back to life with a savior inside you. Since then you've fixed a lot of bad situations. You won't be able to save the world, but all the small bits and pieces still count. I'm proud of you."
She smiled at him and emptied her drink.
"Bedtime," he said.
"You're gonna go with me tomorrow for the rest of my stuff," she said.
"Uh, can I beat him up?" He asked. "Please, pretty, please."
"If he's there," she laughed. "Yeah sure, you can beat him up just a little. Don't go crazy on him because I won't go back to change that part. I'd like for him to feel that pain for several days."
"You got it," he grinned. "Only a little bit."
"I broke his nose, by the way," she said.
He burst out laughing again. He laughed so hard that tears formed in his eyes.
"I would have loved to see that," he said. "Okay, nose is off the table. I'll break something else if he's stupid enough to be home tomorrow."
"Both of his pinkies," she laughed. "This feels good. Laughing feels good. Thank you, Seth. I love you."
"Just doing my duty as your one minute older big brother," he said. "Now go to sleep, Miracle. Everything will look a bit brighter tomorrow."