It was spring break, and we were on a road trip. My girlfriend, Samantha Rivers, got distracted chatting with her childhood friend, Kyle Larson, and missed the highway exit. To save time, Kyle suggested we put the car in reverse on the highway and backtrack to the missed ramp.

I shut that down immediately, pulled up a graphic highway crash video on my phone, and showed it to them to scare them straight.

Eventually, after enough pushback from me, Samantha caved and took the long way around, exiting the legal way.

But because of that detour, Kyle missed the influencer autograph session at the Great Plains Music Fest.

He lost it and stormed off in a rage, wandering alone into the Badlands, right into a pack of wild wolves.

They tore him apart.

Samantha fainted on the spot, holding what was left of him in her arms. When she came to, she buried his remains herself and then turned around and proposed to me.

I thought that was the start of something real.

Instead, on our wedding night, she drugged me, bound me, and traveled hundreds of miles during the night—taking me back to the same place where Kyle died.

And when the wolves showed up again, Samantha opened the door, shoved me out, and looked me dead in the eye.

“You’re the genius who gave that shitty advice and got Kyle killed. So go die with him in that wolf’s belly, Henry!”

And just like that, I was torn apart alive.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the highway.

Back on the very day Kyle first suggested reversing to reach the missed exit.

——

"Take the detour? Are you out of your damn mind? Do you even realize how many miles that adds? If we wait and try to get in later, the autograph session will be over. What's the point of going at all then?"

The moment my eyes opened, Kyle was already leaning over from the passenger seat, shouting at me. His face was twisted with frustration.

I blinked and glanced out the window at the traffic flying past us.

Then it all clicked. Realization hit me.

I'd been reborn.

I was transported back to the exact day Samantha missed the exit, and we pulled over into the emergency lane, trying to figure out what to do.

"If we drive in reverse from here, it's barely twenty miles," Kyle was saying, his eyes fixed on Samantha now. "If we go fast, we'll make it in fifteen minutes tops. Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

He added, "Samantha, trust me. Just go for it. If anything happens, I'll take the fall."

When I didn't jump in or argue like I did the first time, Kyle didn't even look at me. He turned right back to Samantha and kept pressing her to move onto the highway.

She had always listened to him without question or hesitation. But driving the wrong way on a highway was a serious matter.

She looked over her shoulder at the rest of us in the backseat, silently asking for confirmation.

There were five of us total in the car.

Initially, only Samantha and I were meant to go on a romantic road trip through the Badlands Desert.

But halfway through, Kyle called her out of nowhere and said he wanted to catch the Great Plains Music Fest. Samantha ignored every protest I made, drove over a hundred miles off-course to pick up Kyle and his two rowdy buddies, and totally hijacked the trip for the festival.

Initially, I was driving with Samantha as the passenger. Then she suggested taking a break and offered to drive, but she ended up letting Kyle sit up front so they could 'catch up,' leaving me in the backseat with Kyle's two irresponsible friends.

They were just as reckless as he was, and of course, they supported his brilliant idea without hesitation.

Reverse-driving on a crowded highway? No problem.

In my past life, I was the only one who pushed back. I pulled up a handful of brutal car crash videos, made them watch, and almost bullied them into thinking clearly.

I used reason, common sense, and sheer stubbornness to stop these idiots from getting themselves killed.

And for all that effort?

I got tied up, thrown to the wolves, and torn to shreds.

But this time?

This time, I wasn't going to stop them.

Let the fools court death on their own. Let them all die.

I just needed to get far away before the inevitable crash caught up with me.

I gave a faint smile and said coolly, "I was being short-sighted earlier. I didn't think about the timing. If you all think reversing on the highway is no big deal, go ahead. I'm not gonna stop you. But…my stomach's acting up. I need to step out for a minute."

I reached for the door handle, already preparing to get out.

"Don't you dare!"

Before I could open the door, Kyle spun around and slammed his hand down on my shoulder, pinning me to the seat.

"Who's got time to wait for you? Just hold it in. We'll be there soon!"

The second those words left Kyle's mouth, something snapped inside me.

I jabbed a finger in his face and said sharply, "Is this your car? You even got the right to talk to me like that?"

His eyes went bloodshot.

He jerked toward Samantha, his voice hard. "Sam, tell me. Do I have the right to say that or not?"

She hesitated just for a second, and then turned to me, her expression tightening with irritation. "Kyle and I grew up together. What's mine is his. Of course, he has the right to say that!"

Even though I'd already given up on her in my heart, watching her take another man's side right in front of me still stung.

All the sacrifices I made for her and every time I put myself in danger of protecting her on camping trips, risking my life from wild animals, didn't mean anything. All it took was a few gentle words from Kyle, and she was his again, just like that.

Right then, all I felt for the years I'd wasted on her was regret.

I shook my head, keeping my tone steady as I stared her right in the eye. "If that's how it is, don't wait for me. I'll find my own way back."

At that, Samantha's lips trembled. Panic flickered across her face. "Henry… I'm sorry. Please don't be mad, I—"

I didn't want to hear another word.

I reached for the handle, ready to open the door and get out.

"Don't move!"

Before I could open the door, Kyle grabbed my arm and snapped at his two sleazy friends, "Watch him. Don't let him get out."

That was the last straw. I yanked my arm free and glared at him. "What the hell is your problem? I can't even get out of the damn car now?"

He sneered, his tone dripping with arrogance. "Don't play dumb. I know exactly what you're thinking. You get out, and the first thing you'll do is call the highway patrol. The second they show up, we're screwed."

I was furious, but I knew picking a fight wouldn't help, so I forced myself to breathe and turned to Samantha.

"Samantha, talk to your friend. Tell him to let me out. I swear I won't call the cops."

Before she could say anything, Kyle jumped back in.

"Don't even think about it. Who's gonna stop you once you're out there? You'll make a call and throw all of us under the bus."

Seeing how stubborn he was, Samantha started trying to smooth things over.

"Henry… I get it. You're mad I didn't take your side. I'm sorry. I really am." She gave me a pleading look. "But can you just let it go? For Kyle's sake? He has to make it to the music festival on time."

Before I could respond, she turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. With a forceful yank of the steering wheel, she spun the car around and drove straight onto the highway, which was the wrong way.

The doors locked automatically.

Even if I wanted to get out now, I couldn't.

Outside, the white directional arrows on the pavement blurred past in reverse. Cold sweat formed on my forehead, and a chill ran up my spine.

These idiots were actually doing it and driving backward on a highway.

Thankfully, this stretch of road wasn't too busy. At first, everything seemed fine.

And that made Kyle even bolder.

"Faster!" he shouted from the passenger seat. "There's no one out here. Floor it! The sooner we get off this road, the better. I'm getting Sweetie's autograph today, no matter what!"

I tried to get a word in, told Samantha that if she was really going to pull this stunt, she should at least stick to the emergency lane and stay out of the main flow of traffic.

But before I could say much more, Kyle and his two friends lunged forward and covered my mouth with their hands, silencing me by force.

"Shut up," one hissed. "You'll jinx us."

We then sped down the road, and a few minutes later, cars began appearing ahead, coming straight toward us. Luckily, those drivers had quick reflexes, swerving at the last second and just narrowly avoiding head-on crashes.

Each time we made it through without crashing, Kyle's confidence ballooned.

"See?" he yelled. "Didn't I tell you it'd be fine? Even if someone's coming, they move out of the way!"

But before he could finish gloating, a black sedan shot out from around a bend up ahead, barreling straight toward us at full speed.

Samantha didn’t even have time to react.

Her face went pale as she screamed, “Oh no!”

A deafening crash shattered the silence.

Both drivers had slammed on their brakes with everything they had, but the momentum was too much. The two vehicles collided in a brutal crash.

Because of the angle of impact, the black sedan coming from the opposite direction tipped sideways and rolled onto its side.

For a second, none of us moved.

We just sat there, frozen.

Then, through the cracked windshield of the wreck, a woman emerged, her face covered in blood. She staggered toward us, barely able to stay on her feet.

Samantha finally snapped out of it. Her face had turned ghost-white.

She spun to me, panic rising in her voice as she kept repeating, “What do we do? What do we do?!”

Before anyone could even try to answer, the injured woman was already in our car.

She slapped her blood-slicked palm against the driver’s side window, yelling in desperation, “Please help! Someone’s still inside!”

I didn’t think twice.

“Unlock the door. Now. Let us out so we can help!” I shouted at Samantha.

Still trembling, she rolled down the window, and the doors popped open. We all piled out.

Kyle was the first one out, but instead of helping, he turned on the injured woman with that entitled, spoiled-kid snarl of his.

“Are you blind?! You saw us coming and didn’t even try to get out of the way?!”

He gestured toward the wreckage in fury as he added, “Now look what you’ve done! Do you have any idea how important today was for me?! You just ruined everything!”

The woman’s right arm hung at an awkward angle—probably broken—yet she didn’t flinch. Her voice trembled with panic as she pointed back at the car.

“Please… my mother-in-law. She’s still in there.”

That hit me like a shot to the chest.

I didn’t waste another second.

I ran over to the overturned sedan, crouched down, and peered through the busted window. Inside, an elderly woman was slumped in the backseat, unconscious. She was skin and bones, her face deathly pale, twisted in pain. The crushed frame had her pinned tight.

I dropped to the ground and carefully freed her, trying my best not to make the damage worse. She was trembling as I lay her down, her breathing shallow and weak. But even through the pain, she managed to whisper one word.

“Thank you.”

Then her eyes fluttered shut, and she slipped into semi-consciousness.

The bloodied woman rushed to my side and gave me a deep, desperate bow. “Thank you so much!”

Her voice cracked as she looked at me, pleading.

“Please… could you drive her to the hospital? She’s in critical condition, and I can’t drive like this. My arm’s broken…”

This was bad. If that old woman didn’t make it, we could all be held responsible.

I turned to Samantha without hesitation. “Help me get her into the car. We’ve gotta get her to the hospital—fast.”

But before Samantha could even move, Kyle stepped in between us, his face twisted in frustration.

“Are you outta your damn mind? Why should we take her to the hospital?”

He jabbed a finger at me, voice rising.

“If we do that, how the hell am I supposed to make it to the Great Plains Music Fest?! What about Sweetie’s autograph?!”

Then Kyle turned to Samantha, barking orders like he owned her. “Get in the car. Now. Head back to the exit. We’re already late.”

As he and Samantha started heading to the car, the injured woman suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

Her voice, once panicked, had become steady as she composed herself. “You can’t leave! My mother-in-law has serious internal injuries. If she doesn’t get help soon, she’ll die.”

Kyle didn’t even blink. His face darkened, and without a word, he shoved her hard.

She hit the ground with a dull thud.

“Your mother-in-law dying has nothing to do with me!” he snapped. “Get the hell out of the way before I really lose my patience!”

The woman paused for a second, then slowly pushed herself up with her uninjured arm. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, but her voice remained steady, and her eyes were as sharp as a blade.

“You idiots hit us while driving the wrong way on a highway. And now you’re yelling and shoving people around like you’re the victims?”

She straightened up, still trembling, but she stood her ground. Her eyes locked onto Kyle as she pointed at him with her shaking hand.

“You think I’m just some woman you can intimidate?”

Her tone dropped low. Steel-hard. “Let me tell you who I am. My husband is Dominic Graves.”

She let that sink in before continuing.

“He’s already on his way here. And when he finds out how you treated his wife and his mother…”

Her voice dipped to a near whisper, but it cut like a knife.

“You have no idea what he’ll do to you.”

The moment she said Dominic Graves of Ravenport, my heart skipped a beat.

That name was known in every shadowed alley, whispered in every corner of the city.

And now Kyle had shoved his wife and nearly killed his mother?

We weren’t just screwed.

We were dead men walking.