"Do Over" Short Story

'Have you ever wished you could go back and fix certain things?'

"Do Over"

Have you ever wished you could go back in time? Change things? Make something right? When I fell asleep last night I thought I understood the way the universe worked, my belief in god, the universe in general. But I woke up a stranger in a strange land. My life was pretty average compared to everyone else and there was nothing that, I thought, could be done to change the hand I was dealt.

I didn't realize how wrong I was.

My life story was basic, in 2010 I had graduated from high school, I went to college, during this time life progressed for good and for worse, my father died in a car accident, my aunt died of cancer and my cousin killed himself. I fell in love, I gained weight, my sister got married and my mother got re-married. I watched movies, witnessed tragedy, triumph, heart break and was accepting of the heartbreak and defeat but when I woke up from my sleep it was a clean slate.

My eyes opened to see my room as it was growing up, I was confused as I should have been because it didn't look like this when since 2010. I looked at the phone, which was the one also that I had 5 years ago, it read Friday August 6th 2010 8:30AM. It was like I was dreaming but this all felt like it was real, not like something weird was about to happen with a gloss over it. I got out of bed, knowing that if this was happening that it meant a lot of things were different.

My reflection in the mirror was that of a slender, pale boy, no tattoo on my arm in tribute to my father, no ear piercing I got the first year of school. I had not gained a 'beer gut' and I had no beard, not even stubble. I sat back down and thought to myself. 'Andrew take it easy' and felt my body tremble. I tried to grasp reality but it was no where to be found, I remembered the day of my fathers funeral and watched him go into the ground.

"Andy!" I heard a voice call, it was that of my mother, from there I lost it and started to cry silently. I remembered this day.

"Just a minute mom" I called back trying to fight the tears, I could hear her come and wiped away my tears, I rushed the door just before she opened it.

"Honey?" She asked as she tried to get it "Are you okay?" She asked, nervous.

"Uh, yeah mom, I just need a second... I think I'm catching a cold" I lied from the other side of the door. It was all to much for a dream to be feeling, any minute I had hoped I woke up. The day I remembered was one a few months after my graduation when my and my father had taken a trip fishing. It was the last weekend we spent together before I went off to college and the last real 'father-son' bonding we had. I knew how much it would stab my heart to ask but I had to know if this hallucination was complete. "Is dad ready?"

"Yes dear, he's in the kitchen helping me with the pancakes."

"Okay" I whispered to her from the other side of the door, she left me.

I sunk to the door and weeped quietly in rejoice to myself. After my dad died I had never dreamt about him, all I had was old movies, pictures and memories. After five years had my brain finally started to let me see him? At this point I panicked, jumping to my feet I ran into the kitchen making sure not to peek before I had him in my arms. He had just showered and smelled of Head and Shoulders, Irish Spring soap and Shaving cream. He stood there in shock as I let the tears run, hot from my eyes. My mom was startled by my entrance and for a moment I was at the greatest place I had ever been.

"Son?" he asked finally I knew it must have been a different characteristic for me seeing as I was not a hugger. I stepped away from him and there he stood before me, salt and pepper hair, 5'11' rugged but still my father. I had not seen him in almost four years. My saw the tears in my eyes, perplexed he cocked his head. "What's wrong Andrew?" his voice, all of this was too much, I was unable to speak.

In one night my whole life was undone. It was like a movie but it was happening to me, a deja-vu that I was aloud to control. It was too real to be a dream.

"You" I said to him "Y-you, I..." there were no words to describe the situation. I was spluttering trying to grasp a sentence but none formed in my head. "This happened before..." I tried to explain.

My mother finally intervened "What honey?" everyone was genuinely confused, like me. All this feeling was too much for me to explain to them but I had to try, at any cost, but why would I need to? It was a dream.

"Nothing, I guess I'm just feeling sick or something..." I said to her.

"Maybe you should go lay down? I can br..." she started

"NO!" I almost screamed, I wasn't going to let this slip away until my mind pried me away from it. During the whole conversation I stood staring at my father and he at me. Until my mother suggested this I looked at her wildly. I didn't want to upset them further. "I mean, no, uh I'm fine" I mumbled. "Let's eat!?" I said trying to hold myself together.

"Okay buddy, Jan, let's eat some pancakes" my father said to my mother, and we did. I ate in silence, we all did save for the radio, playing country music which I hated but today I brought me to someplace I wanted to be. Nostalgia.

I finished my food and tried to remember what happened next. When I thought about this sentence it felt funny to say, to concentrate on the future. I was in a perpetual blip, had I been dreaming now? Was this all an elaborate fantasy my brain cooked up and at any minute I would wake up in my bed? Or was I time traveling into the past, dreaming the future? Then there was a possibility that it was vice versa and I was from the past, exceeding the present and going to the future? All three were possible.

After breakfast I remembered that we took off for the lake. He drove for 45 minutes and we put the boat in the water and i cut myself on the boat trailer crank and made my hand bleed. I fast forwarded the exact same situation. I let the universe do it's thing except that my dad and mom knew that something was up. I had altered the was the world was before.

"F**K!" I screamed as i tried to be careful but still managed to cut my hand but before it took place I pushed away my body and instead, but the skin before my fingers. The cut was more severe and we had to get it stitched at the first aid building at the lake. I ruled out immediately that it was a dream from the throbbing pain and also that I was completely insane because it was always going to happen and I knew it. This was real but how? It was impossible. I watched my dad talk to the nurse and knew I would have to tell him.

We went home without going fishing. He left the boat at the dock and we started back to the city. He called my mom because my hand was too damaged to text her with.

"What the hells going on with you Andrew?" He demanded after he talked my mom down, he was angry.

"You left us" I said as quietly as my mouth would allow but he heard me anyway.

"Leave who?"

"Me! Me, mom and Liz, you left us!" I yelled to him

"What!?"

I began to feel tears again. I was enraged, he turned onto the main road. I looked out at saw 'Max's Fishing Hut' and grabbed the steering wheel "Dad! STOP!"

"ANDREW!" he commanded but it was too late, I was already out of the truck. He got out and called after me again. When we were leaving on Sunday my dad did something he usually never did, does. He went into Max's Fishing Hut and bought a lottery ticket, the following week he got $500.00 and I picked out the numbers. They were random but after he died I played them once a month just as a personal joke to us. It was apart of a me that hadn't existed.

When you watch a film and that kind of thing happens it makes the protagonist look crazy because it's different but I hadn't stepped on any butterflies, yet. This eventuality was in no way apart of something that would change the circumstances of the lotto draw. I wrote the numbers down on the piece of lottery paper, 4, 7, 21, 22, 39, 42 and handed them to him. As he caught up to me to yell again.

"Here" I interrupted just as he started out to get mad at me

"What is this!?" He asked confused

"Please day, I'll explain later I promise, just go play this" I pleaded. He complied.

When we got back into his truck I looked at the purchased ticket and hugged him. "I love you dad." It caught him off guard

"You have to tell me what's going on Andrew, I'm worried about you." he didn't start the car yet. I thought about the whole day from his perspective. I was a mess, possibly even insane. His son, after 18 years of generally normal behavior I started getting irate and erratic. I had no choice but to tell him about what happened.

"I'm not Andrew dad, not your Andrew." It felt like an alien abduction line. "Dad, on February 10th of next year when you go out to get mom something for Valentines Day and on your way home you get hit by semi-truck and die." My heart was beating practically outside of my chest "After your funeral I started playing those numbers as a joke between me and you... I know it doesn't make sense and sounds ludicrous but on Tuesday or tomorrow night your going to check those numbers and see that you've won five hundred dollars. I'm not crazy, it's why I was acting weird this morning. I lost you four years ago and I wanted to think I was dreaming but when that crank cut me it was a wake up call. It's real, please, don't tell mom or anyone! Don't even think about it until you go on your computer and check those numbers." We sat there on the highway for a moment, he sat there looking forward ingesting what I had said to him. Finally after a few minutes he started the truck and we drove home, quiet.

End of Part 1.

Author's Note

If you want to see more then comment and tell me.

If you see a mistake or spelling error let me know as well, thanks:)

Reviews

[APHarris]

I loved it. Really good.