CHAPTER 5
SECOND LIFE

"I HAVE TO LEAVE this room," Tabitha said bluntly, standing up from her chair and heading for the sliding door. "I need time to think."

Her brain felt like it had been turned on its head after all the information he had given her. She knew about all the lies ... her own suspicions ... and they were both now burdened with the fact that they were stuck here with each other. Until Kento figured out a solution, that was. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. But most of all – despite her own judgment – she just wanted him to hold her and beat her fists against his chest.

Right as she reached the door, she felt his large hand wrap around her elbow. Her head whipped over her shoulder, taking in the terrified look in his eyes. He hadn't even looked this way the day she ended their engagement. "Let's talk this out, Tab," he muttered. "Don't leave angry."

"Why not? You let me walk out before." The words were venomous, burning on the tip of her tongue. She almost felt bad when she saw the flash of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly returned to feigning nonchalance.

"That was different," he finally replied, his hand slipping off her warm skin.

Tabitha walked to where her heels were waiting by the deck door and stepped into them. "This is no different, Kento." She looked up, watching the way he hung near the frame of the sliding door, reminding her of that last night she asked him what was wrong, and all she could see was his silhouette against the bright light of the bathroom. Bile rose in her throat. "I need to leave. I need time to think after all that and process the fact that our entire relationship was a lie."

"It was not –"

"Yes, it was!" She hissed, getting up in his face. With her heels on, she was still a few inches underneath him, but her stare held an intense fury. She inhaled the smoke lingering on his collar, the whiskey wafting off his mouth. His signature scent was too much for her; she was attracted to him even when he aggravated her. "Maybe not the lie I assumed, but a lie nonetheless."

Her heel turned, spinning in the direction of the door. She heard his footsteps behind her though, and as her hand wrapped around the doorknob, she found him perched near the edge of his bed. "If we're in this together," he said softly, gently, "we should talk things out and not leave angry."

Tabitha frowned. "Maybe you should've thought about that before you decided to keep an entire second life from me."

She quickly stepped out of his hotel room and slammed the door before she could think against it. Walking back to the event tent, Tabitha crossed her arms and tried to contain her insatiable amount of rage. In a way, she did feel bad for the things she said, and the last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt him, but she couldn't hide her anger. She didn't want to be in that hotel room for a minute longer "talking it out." Fuck that. She was done talking to him.

What killed her the most was how minuscule the concept of him cheating felt compared to what had been happening. Not only had he kept a second life from her, but a whole second world that she couldn't even see. How many times had he left their apartment on a mission? How many times had he woke up early in the morning, gone to work, not knowing if he'd come back? How many times did he plead with her to forget his strange actions, and she let him kiss it better? She was second-guessing everything in life. It made her scared to even exist. And now, she was stuck in this loop with him, so close to one of these spirits that it made her want to crawl out of her skin.

There was a side of her that empathized with him, that knew – secretly – he could never really tell her about this all those years ago, but her fury outweighed it tenfold.

When she entered the event tent, she immediately found Hina, who was being escorted to the head table. Just seeing her best friend made her want to pour out everything to her, despite the situation they were in, or the fact that she wouldn't remember it tomorrow. She had to tell her. She had to get it out, even if it would go poorly. The reception was just starting and people were trying to find their tables, but Tabitha was pushing through the crowd like her life depended on it. She pushed Aki out of the way to get to Hina, and her best friend looked up at her with a raised brow.

"Tabby, why are you out of breath?" Hina asked, squeezing her mother's arm before walking over to Tabitha.

The second Hina grabbed her hands, she felt more at peace. "I need to talk to you."

Hina sighed but granted the request anyway. She threw up a finger at her parents, signaling to give them one minute, and tugged her friend behind the barrier of the tent. Tabitha could see the annoyance in her eyes – I mean, she did interrupt her wedding reception – but she hoped Hina would take this seriously. She had to. She needed someone to listen.

Tabitha took a deep breath in, and then said outright, "We are in a time loop."

Hina's chin jutted out, a deadpanned expression on her face. It took her a few seconds to finally ask, "Did you take some mushrooms or something?"

"No," she replied immediately, "why would you ask that? I'm being serious."

Hina shrugged. "I thought that was the most rational response, rather than cussing you out."

"Please, Hina, I need you to listen to me." She squeezed Hina's hands in her own. "I know you might be irritated with me and you won't remember this tomorrow, but I've experienced this entire day yesterday. I quoted Ren's vows today word-for-word. I know that Izumi is going to make a horrible, offensive joke during her speech. I know that the band is going to play our favorite song tonight just because you asked them to. I know everything because we are in a time loop."

Hina blinked again.

"Kento told me everything," Tabitha continued. "He explained to me why this was happening, and he went into why we broke up in the first place. He hadn't been cheating on me. He had a completely second life, and this time loop is all the work of these cursed spirits he's hired to kill, and I just can't –"

Hina took a deep breath. "Tabby, you're my best friend –"

Tabitha's crossed her brows. "Why are you looking at me like that? I know this sounds crazy, but just give me a moment. Let me explain more and hear me out –"

"It is my wedding day."

"I know," Tabitha replied, not sure what her friend was getting at. Adrenaline was pumping in her veins, so much that she didn't notice Hina's jaw set. "It's beautiful, and it turns out beautiful. And we're going to experience it again tomorrow, and I just need you to hear me out."

Hina slipped her hands out of Tabitha's grip. "I don't understand why you're doing this right now," she muttered, shaking her head and trying not to get too upset. "Reception speeches are gonna start in two minutes. You're supposed to give a speech, but instead of being out there, you're babbling some nonsense about being in a time loop. Do you get how insane this all is, especially on my wedding day?" Hina searched her friend's eyes. "I just ... have you had too many sake shots? Is that what's happening?"

Tabitha shook her head. "What? No. I'm sober. I get that this isn't the best time, but I need my best friend to listen to me –"

"Are you going crazy because Kento's here?" She narrowed her eyes. "Come on, Tabby, let's be serious for a sec."

"What the fuck?" Tabitha blinked. Hina was blaming her panic ... on an ex. "Why would you ever say that?"

Hina sent her another deadpanned look. "Do not play dumb with me, Tabitha. You were nervous all morning because you thought he might be here, and the second you see him in the crowd, you start panicking and coming up with this crazy story that we're in a time loop, that your ex-boyfriend was never cheating on you, that he was killing things called ... cursed ghosts? Whatever." She waved her hand. "I was there when the breakup happened. He's a cheater. End of story. Let's not make up stories and freak out just because he's at the same wedding as you. You need to calm down."

Tabitha could physically feel her heart break in two. Did her best friend really think that low of her? That she would make up some ludicrous story just because of Kento's presence at a wedding? She understood that this was a high-stress event for Hina, that maybe she didn't mean it, but Tabitha didn't think she'd ever acted like this before. It hurt to think that Hina thought of her that way, and wouldn't even listen to her. Not even for a second.

And to hear her throw their breakup right in her face ... she had no words. Her mouth was sealed in a straight line. All those nights that she had been staying at Hina's place, crying in her arms on that old pink sofa ... The days when she struggled to not call Kento and Hina had to take her phone away ...

This was a strange situation to be in, but she did believe Kento. That was the only explanation for why she was experiencing this day all over again. She believed his story; she believed he never cheated. The puzzle pieces of his story connected, and he was the only other person aware of the situation they were in. She had to believe him. She just had to.

"That was cruel, Hina," she finally whispered.

After a moment, Hina's expression softened as she recounted the words in her head. Someone inside the event tent tapped their knife against a glass. Ren could be heard asking where Hina was. Speeches were starting.

"We'll continue this conversation tomorrow, okay?" Hina replied in a soft voice, giving Tabitha's arm a quick squeeze. "Let's forget about this and try to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night." She gave her friend one last smile before rushing inside the tent. Ren let out a sigh of relief.

Tabitha stood outside, heels sinking into the sand. The ocean breeze was salty, hitting her face and making strands of hair stick to her forehead. There would be no time to talk about this tomorrow. Tomorrow would be today, and then again, and again, and again. If this was how Hina was going to react, it was best not to have this conversation with her ever again.

Deep in her heart, she knew Hina didn't mean to hurt her. It was Hina's wedding day, and she was stressed, and sometimes people say mean things without thinking. But Tabitha couldn't help but wonder if Hina had been thinking this about her all the time, if she always thought her to be crazy when she panicked. They had been there for each other since she moved to Tokyo; they had seen each other through the good and the bad. Hina helped Tabitha through that breakup, and Tabitha coddled Hina every time she and Ren had an argument.

Words were just words. They couldn't erase the years of friendship between them. But that didn't mean they didn't hurt.

After taking a deep breath, Tabitha headed back inside the tent, walking around the back side of the crowd so she didn't disturb Hina's mother's speech. As she rounded the corner to her table, where Aki was trying to subtly glance her way, she spotted Kento waiting near the entrance. His eyes were pinned on her, hoping she'd come his way so they could hash it out. Tabitha met his stare and shook her head, plopping down in her assigned seat. She crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the feeling of his eyes still on her. It wasn't the time to talk again, especially after that horrendous conversation with Hina. Besides, she had a speech to repeat in 5 minutes.

A/N: me every chapter: guys I swear this will get fluffy soon!
also me: keeps delivering angsty ass chapters