Tick Tock Boom

My body lay on the ground, completely shattered and looking nothing like me anymore.Meanwhile, my soul floated mid-air, looking down at my body from above.I didn't feel sad or any sort of anguish, moreso a sense of release.After floating in the air for god-knows how long, Jamie arrived at the scene of the explosion along with a team of police officers.One of them said, "We discovered some gunpowder at the scene, so it seems like the perpetrator made the bomb themselves, but we still can't lock in on the identity of the victim."Jamie furrowed her brows tightly as she stared at my body, and at that moment, a strange sense of anticipation welled up within my heart—would she recognize me? And if she did, would she feel any sort of regret?I stared at her eyes, wanting to see the slightest flash of recognition, but she stood up the very next moment without any sort of notable change in expression. "Seems like it was a man. From what's left of his clothing, he was probably between

I froze, and tears started flowing down my cheeks before I even realized it.'Sorry Mom and Dad, I couldn't be a good son to you in this life…'After burning the midnight oil for several nights in a row, Jamie was already too aggravated to keep up any pretense of cordiality. "Go find your son yourself, don't bring this onto me! I'm working now!"My father was far too worried and anxious to care about Jamie's annoyed tone. "Aren't you a medical examiner who works for the police, Jamie? I'm making a report right now, so please go find Caleb! He's disappeared for days by now, and he hasn't even picked up a single call!"The elderly man's pleas didn't seem to rouse any patience within Jamie's heart, and her expression remained dark. "I'm not in charge of carrying out searches! Besides, that precious son of yours messaged me right before he went missing and told me that he never wanted to see me again! If that's not a petty case of hide-and-seek, then I don't know what is!"Besides, I'

Tears streamed down my face nonstop.In that moment, regret consumed me.I regretted meeting Jamie, regretted everything that happened, and most of all, that I quarreled with my father just before my death.All because we'd been dating for years, and Jamie still refused to get married to me.My father advised me to break up with her, and we had a giant argument over it.They had never meant me any harm, yet I was intent on pushing myself into the flaming pit.Seeing my parents hunched backs disappeared into the distance, bitterness consumed me. I hated Jamie, I hated Wilson, and most of all, I hated myself.After closing the door, Jamie seemed to contemplate for a moment, brows furrowed, before calling my number again. Naturally, it didn't go through, so she sent me a voicemail instead."Caleb, stop being such a child! Do you know what your parents are going through because of you? Where's your conscience?"Then, she hung up and stormed to the police station without any hesita

Jamie's eyes were unfocused, as if she wasn't even processing what was going on in front of her. At that rate, she was going to beat Wilson to death.It was Lucas's shrill scream that finally snapped her back. "Jamie! There's only five minutes left on the bomb—forget him, save me!"Only then did Jamie stagger toward Lucas, fumbling to dismantle the device strapped to his chest.But then, Wilson sat up and gripped the remote controller in his hand, smiling as blood trickled from his lips. "Let's all go to hell together."At that split second, armed officers burst through the door, and Wilson was struck down on the spot.Other officers rushed forward, hands flying to detach the bomb from his body, and the moment Lucas was freed, he bolted for the warehouse door, running for his life.Truman grabbed Jamie's arm. "Jamie, move! We've got three minutes before it blows!"Most of the squad scattered, retreating fast. But Jamie stood rooted, staring at the bomb as if her soul had left he

Jamie lingered for a long moment before finally rising, phone in hand, and walked toward the restroom.I breathed out in relief. If she learned the truth, maybe I'd be able to go free.The bridal shop's restroom wasn't gendered, so anyone could enter without any restrictions.Inside, Lucas's voice rang out loudly, "I only meant for Wilson to blow Caleb up and blow off some steam, but it didn't work! Caleb was too useless of a man to even get Jamie to care about him, so Wilson ended up kidnapping me instead, because I'm the one Jamie loves!"I described it really well for him too, what a shame…"Jamie froze in the doorway, standing there for a long moment before turning around and going back to the showroom.Then, shockingly, I realized that I was no longer bound to Jamie—I was now bound to Lucas instead.When he and his friends returned to the hall, Jamie was waiting by the gowns. She looked up at him with a smile, gesturing at one of them. "I want this one."Lucas blinked in s