I awake on a couch. Not just any couch though. I open my eyes and find myself having slept on the couch in my childhood living room. I wonder, as I sit on that familiar couch for a minute, if it was all just a dream, but I run up the stairs, to my small but cozy bedroom that lies just after the stairs. It feels like I haven't been in here in…eight years.

"I check the medium sized storage box that is kept in my bed, and sure enough, I find my We Three CD. It's right where Gemma said it would be, and the date on it says 2018. So I know that it isn't a dream. I mutter, "Crap."

"So, you're finally awake? You were supposed to be studying all this time, Zeke. You're lucky that I was by a phone when mom and dad called and I was able to cover for you."

I turn around to see that Chloe, my little sister, was standing in my doorway. She looks annoyed as always, but for seven years, I missed that face. She looks so much like our dad, while I look more like our mom. Although, she did inherit mom's strong features, brown eyes, and dark brown hair which she cut short on an impulse after bullies made fun of her online in her sophomore year, which seems to be this year due to time jumping back so far. She is only 2 years younger than me, but has twice the sass. She's also so caring and selfless. Before I can even think, I just run and hug her. I'm so grateful to be able to spend more time with her, but then I remember that she has no idea why I'm gleefully hugging her. I let go of the hug and just say, "Thanks Chlo."

She responds back, albeit slightly confused, "You owe me one. Anyways, the parentals are out late, so what are we going to have for dinner and do I need to go out to the store for ingredients in the next two hours or are we ordering takeout?"

Suddenly I realize that I have no idea what the date and time are. I have a calendar hanging on the wall, so I tell Chloe, "Um, let's just order takeout. Are you going to pick it up or am I?"

I glance at the wall calendar and see the latest date that isn't crossed out. April 29th. It's Michaela's prom day. I think about how much pain she was in when we met, and how much pain I was in when Chloe died. It's horrible that she has to go through that again, and so soon after we were put back and left to readjust to the world around us. I wonder if she's ok, I wonder if Angelina is with her, I wonder if I'll ever meet my supposed "guardian angel", I wonder…

Chloe snaps in my face, "Hey, weirdo, snap out of whatever trance you were in and respond to my answer."

"Sorry, I was zoned out. What did you say about dinner?"

"Yeah, I couldn't tell", she says while rolling her eyes. "Anyways, I was talking about how you just admitted that you owe me..."

"Ok, fine, I'll go. Ordering the food at 5?"

"Maybe 4:30. I've cut down my snacking, so I'm a bit hungry. Thanks."

And just as she appeared, she disappeared back into her bedroom. It's just across the hall from mine. From the outside of her room and the rest of the house it's in, you'd assume that miss Chloe Astrid Landon is the tidy and put together sort. That is further from the truth. Her room, very unlike her appearance, is unkept. She may even be messier than me. Our parents aren't a fan of our untidy rooms, but in general, we're good people and do good in school, so we don't get in trouble for it often unless it has food leftovers or broken things, on the floor, or if it looks like a tornado came through them.

Chloe presents herself to be so spunky and happy and kept together, but based on what happens later this year, she is the exact opposite. She is broken and depressed and a mess, but only on the inside. Instead, her death turned me into the person she was becoming. Even worse than some of what she did, I got into drugs. My addiction helped to numb the pain, and before Michaela, I was so close to letting it consume me. When I had Mick, it was the first time since her death that I let someone in. She got me though the pain and helped me focus on better things and change the bad habits to good ones. I wish I could've done that with Chloe.

I spend the next 2 hours listen to that We Three CD on repeat, just thinking about how much I miss Michaela and hoping that she's coping alright.

Before I know it, it's 4:30. I only know that because Chlo asks when I'm going to get the food. I order the food from our favorite place as kids for nostalgia purposes, and go out. I haven't been back to San Francisco since I left for college at NYU. Even after the weight of Chloe's death made me drop out, I still stayed in New York because going back home was just a reminder of the pain and what I could've done to help her but didn't. It feels nice to be back for a couple months. I forgot how much I loved this place. I miss it, and if I didn't have a purpose and a fiancé waiting for me in New York, I think I'd stay here forever.

I pick up the food, brick oven pizza, and head home to Chloe. As we're in the middle of eating and talking about college and the future and her new crush at school who I will most definitely be talking to tomorrow for Chloe, our parents arrive back. Our mom, Priscilla, has a full face of makeup on along with her semi formal work outfit. She works as a chef, but she worked early today so her and our dad, Gordon, could have a small date night. In that small moment, I think that maybe Chloe does look like mom. I certainly got my smarts and avoidance from dad. He worked as an electrician, before he left my mom. Chloe's death raddled us and tore the Landon family apart. My dad, like me, avoids pain and runs away from it. I stayed in NYC, not even attending her funeral, and my dad wanted an escape too. He left my mom, and as horrible as it is, I couldn't fully blame him. I had done the same thing, except that I was already gone but never looked back.

We spend the night playing games as a family. For the first time today, I see a genuine smile on Chloe's face. I almost forget all of the pain that we all either are going through or will go through. I glance at the clock. It's 8:05 pm. I know that time is significant, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

I listen to Fairytale one more time after game night. It was then that I remembered that 8:05, 11:05 in New York time was when Evie and Lourdes got hit by the train. I hope that Michaela is ok, but if it took a song for me to remember that, I must be totally exhausted. I lay my head down and go to sleep dreaming about a future with my family intact and Chloe alive at the end of these eight years. It pains me to even imagine it, but sometimes it's fun to dream.