Bode's chest burned as he sucked in a ragged breath. He blinked, his vision blurry and his body heavy, like a lead weight pinned to the concrete beneath him. A distant voice pierced through the haze, pulling him back to consciousness.

"Come on, man, stay with me. Breathe."

Bode's eyelids fluttered open, and he saw a familiar face hovering above him. Diego. But this wasn't Diego in a crisp suit at the altar—it was Diego in his paramedic uniform, kneeling next to Bode with a syringe of naloxone in his hand.

"What the..." Bode gasped, trying to sit up. His head pounded, and his throat felt like sandpaper. The acrid taste of vomit clung to his mouth, and the world around him was spinning in slow motion.

"Easy," Diego said, his voice calm but firm. "You overdosed. You're lucky we got to you in time."

Bode's heart skipped a beat as he glanced around. The alley was grimy, the air thick with the stench of garbage and decay. His hands were trembling, his clothes dirty and torn, and his body ached in ways he hadn't felt in years. But the worst part—the part that truly made his blood run cold—was the gnawing hunger clawing at his veins. The familiar, insidious craving.

He knew this feeling. He'd lived with it before, long ago, before Lompoc had beaten it out of him. And as the fog in his mind began to lift, the pieces fell into place.

Ruby. The crash. The strange surge of energy that had thrown him into another reality.

And now... this.

He hadn't gone to prison. He hadn't served time. Instead, he'd been swallowed by addiction.

Bode stared up at Diego, his stomach twisting with dread. Diego had no idea who he was—not in this life. He was just another junkie saved from the brink. Just another nameless face.

"What... what year is it?" Bode croaked, his voice barely a whisper.

Diego shot him a confused glance, clearly used to the disorientation that came with reviving an overdose victim. "2024. You're lucky, man. You've got another shot at life. Don't waste it."

It was still the present day. But everything was different. His entire life had taken a drastically different path.

Bode tried to stand, but his legs buckled beneath him. Diego caught him, steadying him with a strong arm.

"Take it slow. You've been out for a while."

As Bode leaned against the alley wall, his mind raced. This was wrong. This wasn't what he wanted. He'd wished to avoid prison, to avoid the regret of pushing Gabriella away. But this—this life was far worse. The craving for drugs still gnawed at him, the desperation clinging to his every thought.

He thought about Gabriella. Was she still married to Diego in this version of his life? Or had he never even entered her orbit? He had no idea. All he knew was that this version of reality wasn't any better than the last. If anything, it was worse.

Bode's eyes locked with Diego's, the man who had once stood at the altar beside Gabriella, the man Bode had envied. In this reality, Diego had saved his life. But for what? To go back to the streets? To drown in addiction again?

"I can't... live like this," Bode muttered, his voice shaking.

Diego's brow furrowed in concern. "You need help. There's a clinic not far from here—"

But Bode shook his head, his gut twisting with the certainty that he needed out. Out of this version of his life. Out of the choices that had led him here. He'd thought avoiding prison would save him, but now he realized prison had been his salvation. It had forced him to confront his demons, to get clean, to rebuild his life. Without it, he was just a hollow shell, chasing the next fix.

Ruby's voice echoed in his head again: If you could change one decision, just one...

"This isn't better," Bode whispered, almost to himself. "I need... to go back before the drugs."

Diego watched him with pity, not understanding the full weight of what Bode meant. But Bode felt it deep in his bones.

He needed another chance. A different decision to change. This time, he needed to get it right.

As his vision dimmed, Bode felt a strange surge, like the ground was shifting beneath him once more. Everything around him blurred, and he braced himself for whatever reality Ruby would send him to next.