Annabeth likes being alone. She doesn’t trust people, and she doesn’t have much reason to. Her life feels like a string of disappointments: a father who clearly loves his new family more than her, a stepmom who’s made it clear she’s not welcome, and Luke Castellan—her ex-boyfriend, a selfish, greedy liar who cheated on her.

Most days, she feels like there’s no escape from it all.

She went to bed one night wishing time would stop, so she could heal before something else happened to ever. but.. it worked. like literally.

It didn’t take long to realize she was stuck—living the same day over and over again. A time loop.

At first, Annabeth panicked, trying to break the cycle. She tried everything she could think of, but no matter what she did, she always woke up at the same time, in the same place, with the same people around her

Eventually, she accepted it. If the world wouldn’t move forward, she would live how she wanted—no consequences, no judgment. She tried walking across rooftops just to feel the rush, slapped strangers on a whim, said whatever she wanted without caring how people reacted. She did things she never dreamed of doing before.

But no matter what she did, everyone stayed the same. They didn’t change. Only she did.

On the 30th day—or maybe the 31st; she’d lost count—she went about her usual routine. One of the first things she always did was stop a puppy from running into the street, a small act of kindness she couldn’t ignore, even now. But this time, something was different.

Someone else stepped in.

Before Annabeth could move, a stranger appeared and scooped the puppy out of harm’s way. A stranger she knew she had never seen before.

Her heart raced. This wasn’t possible. Everything in the loop was always the same. Every person, every detail, every second—unchanging.

But now, standing before her, was someone completely new.

What? That—that can’t be.