#crying tears and always missing Bartosz but also I really need ideas

[nikkzwrites]

Yesterday Once More | Dark Fix-It Fic Series | Chapter 5

A/N: This fic is one that I started with my OC because honestly, I personally didn’t like how season 3 ended. So I am rewriting all of Dark with my OC Annalise Dahlheim. I hope you all like it. Some things will be expanded more on just for more depth to Dark that season 3 kinda skipped over so…. yeah.

CW: Canon Typical Triggers: Smoking, Sex, Language, Drugs, Drinking, Death, Violence, Suicide Mentions, Cutting, Violence.

Word Count:  7.4k

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Everything for the adults was just as it was 33 years ago. For them, there was a feeling of hopelessness. Trapped in a cycle they didn’t know how to remove themselves from.

Jonas lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. He really didn’t have the energy to get out of bed at all. He didn’t hear the now normal chipperness of Annalise getting ready for the morning nor did he hear his mother making breakfast or having Ulrich over. Everything felt drab without some semblance of happiness in the house. His phone vibrated on his nightstand causing him to snap out of his thoughts. He reached over to it to reveal a text from Martha saying that they needed to talk. He put the phone down and rubbed the red string in his hand.

Martha, on the other side of town, awaited his answer. She sighed as she waited. The girl just wanted to clear the air and have everything work out. She wanted this tension to go away.

Bartosz dialed his girlfriend’s number hoping she was finally going to pick up. His face dropped as he just got sent straight to voicemail.

Annalise lay outside. She looked dirty and covered in morning dew. Her hair tousled, tangled with leaves, sticks, and matted from not drying properly. She picked up her phone to write a text to Bartosz about Martha and Jonas from last night. She ended up deleting it before her phone died. Better off, Annalise reasoned, there was no reason to worry Bartosz more than he was doing already. Her heart ached. She dropped her phone onto her chest as she looked up at the canopy of branches above her.

Charlotte had a sit down with her youngest daughter trying to question her about what she knew about the boys that had gone missing. Ever since Elisabeth had told her about Noah, she had a bad feeling. She tried to push her daughter for information by telling Elisabeth that it had also happened to Yasin now. All this did though was made her daughter start to cry frustrated and upset. Elisabeth couldn’t believe that this had also happened to her Yasin. She started to slowly open up by telling Charlotte what he looked like prompting Charlotte to start to arrange a sketch artist to head to the house so that Elisabeth could help give an idea of what Noah would look like. As Charlotte tried to leave Peter confronted her only for Charlotte to snap at him telling him that she knew he was hiding something from her. Then she stormed out of the house to get back to her job.

In 1986, Ines tried to give Mikkel a present. It was wrapped in yellow paper that reminded him of Annalise, yet he still refused to take it. Ines sat down next to him and asked, “Don’t you finally want to talk to me?” She sighed and asked, “Is there maybe someone I should tell that you’re okay? Your parents, they...They must be worried. You don’t have to say what happened to you if you don’t want to, but… If you want, no matter what it is, you can tell me.” She tried to comfort him, “It’s safe with me. I promise.”

Back in 2019, The stranger looked at his board of connections. He pulled off another day from the calendar and packed up his suitcase as if he was going to go somewhere.

It started to rain across Winden. Bartosz thought maybe now Martha would finally answer him. He tried one last time before reaching her voicemail again. He tossed his phone to the side and stared at Erik’s burner phone. He also tossed it aside right before it started to ring. Bartosz turned his head then reached to answer the call.

Hannah stood outside the Nielsen’s door. She was greeted by the sight of Martha. She showed the girl a dish she had made as an excuse to see Ulrich and lied, “I wanted Katharina to have…”

Katharina walked over and stared at the woman. She looked her up and down for a second and greeted her, “Hannah.”

Hannah shrugged and tried to laugh it off, “I...I figured you weren’t in the mood to cook right now… With all of this… And I thought…”

Katharina quickly took it from her and thanked her. She offered the other woman to come inside. She really didn’t want Hannah there, but she really couldn’t be rude to the woman.

Hannah looked over to the blonde and asked, “How’s Martha and Magnus?”

Katharina didn’t know how to verbalize anything so she just shrugged and shook her head.

“And Ulrich,” Hannah tried to pry.

Katharina shook her head again and said, “I don’t know.” She felt so defeated. She was trying so hard to be strong. To have the perfect family she never had, but here she was. She felt like the failure her mother always called her.

Hannah looked down the back at the other woman, “Where is he?”

“In the shower,” Katharina answered honestly. They both sat in silence as they heard heavy footsteps walking towards them knowing exactly who it was.

Ulrich popped his head in looking for Katharina. When he saw Hannah, his heart dropped. He greeted her simply by her name, “Hannah.” He, then, asked, “What are you doing here?”

Seeing Hannah struggle for words, Katharina interrupted and said, “Hannah brought us some food.”

Ulrich walked deeper into the room to check the validity of the statement, seeing that she was telling the truth, he looked back at the two women. He stated simply, “I have to go to the station.”

Desperate, Hannah asked, “Can you give me a ride? I came by bike. It’s raining so hard. Only if...”

Katharina nodded, “Of course Ulrich can give you a ride.” She stared at her husband knowingly.

Ulrich walked to his wife and kissed her head gently before starting to lead Hannah out.

“Hannah,” Katharina interrupted. She walked over to the brunette and hugged her. She held her close. Even if she suspected her, Katharina appreciated that Hannah had even pretended to show empathy. Katharina was craving any sort of empathy for her situation despite trying so hard to push people away and keep her walls up for no one to see her crying, “Thanks for the food.”

“And, really,” Hannah said embracing the other woman as well, “if you need anything, call me.” Then she left with Ulrich.

Seeing Jonas’s bike gone, Annalise decided it was safe for her to sneak back inside the house. She climbed the siding, shimmied across the house, then opened her cracked window to let herself in. Sadly, she had no idea how creaky her window actually was. When she opened it, the entire house echoed with the noise.

Surprised and trying to get ready to go to Bartosz’s to play video games and hang out, Jonas walked to Annalise’s room. This was the first noise he had heard all morning so he assumed maybe she was just trying to get some fresh air into her room, like one of those princesses in the movies. When he walked in though, Jonas was greeted with the sight of her sneaking back in. The boy studied her. She seemed ragged. He snapped himself out of it so that way he could help her get in. “Hey,” He greeted her once she was fully inside and looking at him.

“Hey.” She replied abruptly. She really had hoped he wasn’t home. What was she going to do to explain why she was outside. Annalise wasn’t privy to lying. She couldn’t even look the boy in the eye right now. She was almost frozen, yet she couldn’t stop fidgeting. 

Jonas smiled gently. He gently took her phone from her pocket and placed it to charge. Jonas knew this reaction well. After what happened to his own father, he often had these moments while in the hospital so he thought he knew exactly what to do. He, then, took her arm and walked her to the bathroom so she could freshen up. “Having issues,” He asked gently.

Annalise started to cry. The dirt on her cheeks falling with the tears. She nodded not knowing how to tell him what she was feeling.

He gently wiped her tears away. He gently cooed, “It’s okay. I know. I miss mine too. I also know you and Mikkel were very close.”

Annalise wanted to scream at him. She wanted so badly to push him away and scream. How was he so dumb, she thought. She couldn’t though. Her voice couldn’t find itself. She just kept crying. Her weeping becoming louder.

Jonas tenderly pet her head, “It’s okay… It’s okay Lise. Why don’t you take a shower? I’m sure you’ll feel a bit better after you clean up.”

Nodding feverishly, Annalise shakily rubbed her face and walked into the bathroom to clean up. She just wanted to put them at a distance from each other. The girl wanted to escape from what she understood was pity. It was very clear to her that Jonas had no idea that he was actually part of the problem.

With the door between them, Jonas called, “I am going to Bartosz’s. Why don’t you head over if you are feeling up for it?”

“Can’t,” Annalise’s trembling voice told him, “I’m meeting up with Martha.”

Jonas smiled with tears forming in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, “See. You’ll feel better in no time then.”

He, however, did not know that Annalise was actually dreading seeing her friend again. That she was not going to be feeling better soon and that actually going to be at Martha’s side would make Annalise’s life even more miserable.

The bearded stranger walked up to the main front desk. He gently placed a box on the counter and placed his key on top. He politely requested, “Could you deliver this for me? Here, locally.”

“Are you leaving us already,” Regina asked a little relieved.

The man replied, “I have to go away for a few days.” He bowed his head politely, “But I’d like to keep the room if I can.” He looked up at her pleadingly.

Regina answered him, “Certainly, that’s no problem.”

“It needs to be delivered by this evening,” the man explained, “It’s important.”

Terrified, Regina nodded, “Yes, of course.”

Finally arriving at his best friend’s Jonas collapsed on the sofa. He sat and took a hit off his friend’s bong to help himself relax. As he was lighting it, Bartosz turned and asked, “Where were you this morning? I tried to reach you all morning. Don’t tell me you and Anna-”

“Therapy,” Jonas quickly interrupted.

Bartosz turned away from his friend and nodded. He asked, “Have you heard from Martha?” Jonas looked back at his friend panicked. He wondered if he knew. Did Lise talk to him? His mind started to race. “She’s not calling me back and... ” Bartosz trailed off trying to explain why he asked Jonas, “I don’t know what she needs, the whole thing is so fucked up.” Bartosz lamented to his best friend unaware of Jonas’s own stake in the game.

Jonas tried to play it off and comforted the boy, “She’ll get in touch when she’s ready.” He wondered if he should ask about Annalise though. Regardless of all of their arguing, he could tell Bartosz really cared and probably would have better insight into the girl. Bartosz just had a strange way of showing kinship.

Bartosz stared at Jonas for a second and nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably right. Come on, let’s play.” They picked up the controllers and tried to ignore the tension in the room by playing the game. He asked while playing, “Can I trust you?” This made Jonas extra paranoid now. Annalise must have talked to him. Maybe that’s why she was so upset and wasn’t talking to him this morning. Maybe- Bartosz interrupted Jonas’s thoughts and clarified, “If I tell you a secret. Can I trust you not to tell anyone else?”

Jonas’s face showed his confusion for a split second then he turned to his friend, “Yeah, sure.”

“I’m in contact with Erik’s dealer,” He commented not taking his eyes off the game. Jonas let out a laugh thinking his friend was joking, but Bartosz continued, “And I’m meeting him tonight.”

Jonas laughed and asked, “You’re doing what?”

Bartosz still focused on the game, scolded, “Watch it! Shoot! No!” Irritated that he lost, he tossed the controller to the side and looked at Jonas, “I’m going there tonight in any case and I want you to come along.”

Jonas looked at him like the boy was crazy. DIdn’t Bartosz know people were going missing?  Did he have a death wish? Maybe this was a death wish and he wanted to take Jonas down with him.

“Can I count on you?” Bartosz interrupted Jonas’s thoughts.

Jonas stared at him, he studied the boy. There was no way he knew. Bartosz wouldn’t have gone through all of this if he had known what was going on. Instead, Bartosz would have stormed into his house and just decked him. Jonas forced a smile and a small shrug, “Yeah, sure. Always.”

Charlotte tried hard to make all of the connections while in 1986, Noah walked up to a small boy named Mikkel in the hospital.

The pastor introduced himself, “I’m Noah. I’m a priest at St. Christopher’s Church. Ines called me.” Mikkel just stared at his Future Man comic book. Noah then asked, “Do you believe in God?” Mikkel shook his head at the man. Noah then asked, “How do you believe the world came to be? Who created all the beautiful things?”

“The world came to be through the Big Bang,” Mikkel explained to the man, “13.8 billion years ago. That’s how space, time, and matter came to be, and Earth as well. The rest is evolution.”

Noah asked trying to retort, “And what was there before the Big Bang? Nothing can arise from nothing. Maybe the Big Bang is nothing more than God’s act of creation.”

“My father says religion is the brainwashing of the masses,” Mikkel told the man matter-of-factly.

Noah nodded. He commented back, “I’m sure your father knows a lot, but he does not know everything. It’s good that he raised you to question things. But every now and then, it’s good to question those who question things. God has a plan for every human being, including you.”

In 2019, Ulrich sat in the car with Hannah annoyed as the rain thrashed his car. He turned to her and said, “I want you to stop calling me. Okay? Just stop. I can’t do this anymore.”

Hannah looked at the man and asked, “Is that what am I to you? Some damn affair? It’s not something you can just switch off. I can’t and neither can you.” Ulrich turned away from her. “Look at me,” she demanded, “Look at me! And now tell me there’s nothing there. That this doesn’t mean shit to you. No matter what you need, I’m here for you.”

Ulrich leaned over towards the woman and asked, “What I need?” He leaned forward to open her door, “Don’t call me. Don’t come by. Just leave us alone. Okay?” He laid it out as if he was talking to a child. Hannah sat there frozen. She had no idea it was going to turn out like this. Ulrich, annoyed, lost his temper, “Get lost!”

Hannah’s devious smile grew across her face as she laughed, “Don’t think that I’m just going to let you go.” She got out the car to see Annalise standing outside looking rather pretty. She laughed and asked, “Going out?”

Annalise nodded, “Martha told me that her dad was coming drop you off so I can grab a ride with him to the school to help her get ready and watch her dress rehearsal.”

Hannah nodded and said, “Ah.” She walked inside and said, “Well you didn’t need to get all dressed up for that, did you? Anyway, don’t be too late. Jonas will worry.”

Annalise nodded, “Yes, ma’am.” She took her small umbrella and walked over to Ulrich’s car getting in. Hannah watched as Ulrich smiled as if looking at his own daughter. He wrapped an arm around her for a quick greeting hug before Annalise put on her seatbelt and drove off with the man.

Hannah then thought back to a memory of 33 years prior. 

Ulrich was telling her about an interest he had. He explained, “And then she says, ‘When you grow up, your heart dies.’ That line hits you, bam! Right in your face, you know?” He hopped a bit in the school hall, “And in the end, you think they’ve become friends because that created a bond between them. But in the end, they’re all stuck in their little pigeonholes.”

Hannah asked, “Maybe you want to see it again with me?” Ulrich got lost looking at Katharina across the hall. Hannah hit his shoulder to get him to pay attention to her again, “Hey! Are you even listening to me?”

“Y-yeah,” He stuttered shaking it off. He gently touched Hannah’s shoulder and walked to go see Katharina. Hannah sighed as she watched him go and ask, “Hey, girls, what are you up to? Wanna go out for a smoke?” She watched as he let his hand rest down near Katharina’s to signal her to take his hand and interlace his fingers with hers.

Back in the real world, Hannah turned and walked back into her house.

Katharina sat as she remembered the first time she should have known Hannah would try and rip Ulrich and her apart.

33 years ago, Ulrich and Katharina had decided to have sex in the gym equipment closet. They talked it out so that they agreed to both the act and to use protection because in her words she wanted to, “never have kids.”

At the same time 33 years ago, Mikkel was taken under child protective services. They wanted to put him into a children’s home, but this made Ines feel uncomfortable. The social services representative tried her hardest to calm Ines about the situation, but the nurse didn’t know about it. She had until Wednesday to devise a plan for what she was going to do.

In 2019, Ulrich explained why he decided to become a police officer to Charlotte as they tried to piece together who would do this. He was just s angry after Mads disappearance that he wanted to make sure that those mistakes were to never happen again. He relented about how he actually instead became nearly exactly like the man he was trying to never be.

“Have you ever heard of the 33-year cycle,” Charlotte asked. When Ulrich shook his head, Charlotte explained, “Our calendars are wrong, a year isn’t 365 days long. We’re always a bit ‘out of sync,’ so to speak. But every 33 years everything is just like it was. The stars, the planets, the whole universe returns to the exact same position. The lunar-solar cycle. My grandpa was obsessed with such things, the Big Bang and the Big Crunch. Nietzsche’s eternal recurrence. When I was little, I always felt that something was wrong with Winden. I have that same feeling again. That everything’s repeating. That this has all happened before. Like a massive deja vu.”

Jonas sat on the bench at the graveyard. He stared at his father’s grave in contemplation. He really didn’t know what he should do. He was waiting for a sign to give him the right path. That was when the bearded stranger walked and sat next to him. “You look like him,” the stranger commented, “Your father.” He nodded towards his grave.

Jonas looked at the man confused. “Do we know each other,” he asked angrily.

The man looked at the boy. He shook his head and whispered, “No, but I knew your father. It was a long time ago, but I remember him well.” Jonas looked toward his father’s grave as the man continued, “He saved my life and introduced me to the girl who loved me more than anything back then, but I only understood that much later. Life is a labyrinth. Some people wander around their whole lives looking for a way out, but there’s only one path and it leads you ever deeper. You don’t understand it until you’ve reached the center.” Jonas swallowed hard thinking on his own life. The man looked back at the boy and advised, “Death is incomprehensible, but you can make peace with it. Till then you should ask yourself each day if you’ve made the right decisions.” The man stood up and walked away to start his work once more. Leaving behind a befuddled Jonas staring at his father’s grave for answers.

It was at this time in 1986, that Hannah met Mikkel for the first time at the hospital. Her father had brought her with him while he was working. He warned her that it was going to be a while and he watched as his daughter nodded at him. He asked if she was okay seeing her so upset. Hannah lied to him telling him that she was. Soon after he left, she noticed the boy in the mirrors.

Mikkel sat on the bench finally opening the present. He had decided to try and pretend for a second that it was actually a gift that Annalise had given him. He tried to keep the paper pristine so that he could keep it to remember his friend. When he turned the gift over, he realized it was a book. A book titled, ‘I am not Afraid.’ 

While the boy looked at his book, Hannah walked and sat next to him. Mikkel ignored her at first until Hannah spoke up and asked, “Do you think I’m pretty?” When the boy only looked at her she sighed, “Well great.” She sulked then told the boy, “Know what I sometimes imagine? That I can do magic. I imagine that I want something. Really badly. And then it happens, because I imagine it. Like moving that bottle cap.” She motioned to it.

Mikkel looked down at the cap then up at her and asked, “Do you know Houdini?”

“Who,” Hannah asked.

“Harry Houdini,” Mikkel explained excitedly, “one of the world’s greatest magicians.” Hannah shook her head. Mikkel shrugged then picked up the bottle cap. He explained, “There is no such thing as magic, just illusion. Things only change when we change them.” He closed his fist around the bottle cap and sleight of hand it to the next while Hannah was looking in his eyes while talking, “But you have to do it skillfully, in secret. Then it seems like magic.” He passed his fists over each other, then hit them together to reveal that the bottle cap had moved.

Hannah impressed with the boy, asked, “Where did you learn that?”

“I’m from the future,” Mikkel explained.

Hannah laughed and said, “You’re cool.”

Mikkel smiled and joked, “No, I’m Mikkel.”

“Hi, Mikkel, boy from the future. I’m Hannah,” she extended her hand to shake his. 

Mikkel took it and shook. He looked back down at the book and paper in his lap.

This was when Ulrich and Katharina had snuck into the gym closet to start their activity… only for Hannah to spy them when her father took her to the school to take care of some of the linens there.

Martha, in 2019, stood on stage in her costume reciting, “My mother told me about the old world. Before the flood. She said it had been of a different kind. Foul. She would braid my hair and recount harrowing tales, of my father and of the demons from the underworlds.” 

As Martha said her speech, Jonas walked to the school. He stood in front debating if he was making the right choice before barreling through it. At the same time, the stranger walked away with tears in his eyes knowing exactly what he had done and that this was all going to play out the exact same way as it did previously. 

“She said all is forgiven, but nothing is forgotten,” Martha’s speech continued, “Then the darkness in her eyes was greater than usual. And her words flowed like waves. She said all was well now the way it was.” 

Annalise sat forward in her seat. She was on edge. It was as if she could feel this was important. Something deep inside almost screamed at her to take this message and run.

The play continued, “That all occupied its own space, in the past as in the here and now. When she spoke in this manner, something would overcome her. She would pull my braids tightly as if to punish me for something that dwelled in a place deep within her.” 

Jonas stared at the girl from the doorway as Martha continued, “Something that tugged at her from the center, like a hunger that could never be satisfied. She spoke of yesterday as though it were before her every eyes. As if today was but a veil that shrouded in shadow all that was real to her. The old world came to haunter her like a ghost that whispered to her in a dream how to erect the new world stone by stone. From then on, I knew that nothing changes. That all things remain as before. The spinning wheel turns, round and round in a circle. One fate tied to the next. A thread, red like blood, that cleaves together all our deeds.”

Annalise’s heart raced as Martha spoke, “One cannot unravel knots, but they can be severed. He severed ours, with the sharpest blade.”

Martha looked out into the audience and saw Jonas sitting there. She slipped up for a split second before being able to continue one more, “Yet something remains behind cannot be severed. An invisible bond.”

Bartosz started to call his friend wondering where he was. Jonas had said he was going to meet him. Why wasn’t he there yet? When he got sent straight to voicemail, he cursed aloud. 

Annalise blinked. There was a long pause there that Martha normally did not do. Her face mapped her confusion as she tried to read her friend, but it was almost as if she wasn’t there to Martha anymore.

“On many nights, he tugs on it,” Martha started the next phase of her monologue, “And then I wake up with a start, knowing that nothing ceases to be. That all remains.”

Bartosz tossed his bike down then jogged into the forest to go and meet up with Noah.

After the rehearsal, Annalise smiled and hugged Martha. She giggled and said, “You did great! I have some critiques for you, but we can go over those when I get back.” Annalise grabbed Martha’s empty water and shook it, “I’m going to go fill this up for you.”

Martha nodded. “I’ll be here,” She called to her friend who went deeper into the backstage area. As she was taking off her lipstick in the mirror, she noticed the boy approach her.

“That was great,” Jonas said awkwardly, “You were great.”

Martha stared at him then asked upset, “What are you doing here?” She knew she had asked to speak with him, but not now. Not when Annalise could come back at any moment to interrupt them.

“I wanted to tell you something,” the boy explained walking closer. Jonas paused. He looked down and admitted, “I wasn’t in France. I was in the nuthouse.” Annalise had come back at this point. She heard Jonas and stayed behind the curtain and listened in peaking through a small crack. Jonas explained, “They call it post-traumatic stress.”

Martha asked, forgetting that Annalise should have been back, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was a freak,” Jonas tried to laugh through the pain he was feeling. Martha shook her head trying to process him saying that. Jonas then asked, “What happened between us last summer wasn’t just nothing, was it?” Martha shook her head trying not to cry herself. “I mean if my father hadn’t…” Jonas started to ask, “If this hadn’t happened…”

Annalise’s heart started to ache. It was being tugged in so many directions. She wanted to interrupt. She wanted to run, yet her feet stayed firmly rooted in the ground. It was as if the Earth wanted her to see this. It was her punishment for not just taking Mikkel home that night.

“It’s okay,” Martha tried to comfort him.

Jonas stared at her then asked, “Why did you call me this morning and not Bartosz?”

Martha stood up. She was having trouble finding the words. She walked over to him. Martha stared at him for a moment before grabbing his face and kissing him.

Annalise fumbled back. Her gasp left unheard to the others in the room. When she saw Jonas start kissing back though, the world decided that it was enough punishment. It released her and Annalise bolted out the door dropping the water behind her.

Hearing the clatter of everything and the rush of wind past them, the couple broke away. “Annalise,” Martha cried out. She watched as the last of her friend was out the door and going faster than she could catch up.

Jonas blinked hearing Martha call to Annalise. His head shifted from Martha to the door then back. He slowly realized what had happened and ran after her. 

Annalise ran faster than she ever did on German soil. She honed in her track skills from her school in America and just kept running nonstop. She could hear the steps of someone trying to catch up behind her, but all that made her do is run even faster to get away from whoever was chasing her. She thought of everything. She tried to remember her experiences with long-distance running with her own father. How proud he was when she won her first metal. Something he told her rang within her, “Run faster than anything even if you miss a hurdle or two, you will still get there. Just run. Use all your anger and frustration about failure and push on through.”

Jonas panted as he pushed himself trying to catch up. Just when he was getting close, she seemed to just go even faster. He tried to grab onto her, but she was always just out of his reach. Jonas couldn’t even talk or try to call her name at the speed they were running at. He ended up slowing down. He doubled over coughing. Pain filled tears gathered at the edge of his eyes. He watched as the girl ran even farther into the woods leaving him behind.

Annalise didn’t stop until she was out of the woods to the main road. She slowed her running to a light jog. She looked around. Regina’s hotel wasn’t too far, she reasoned. The girl sighed. She walked along the road heading to the closest convenience store to get something to drink.

Bartosz watched as a car drove up to him. He looked into it seeing a man in priest’s clothing. He introduced himself then entered the vehicle to speak with the man.

At this same time 33 years ago, another Kahnwald ended up betraying someone they loved dearly. Only instead of letting the truth slip out, Hannah told a lie and told the police that Ulrich had raped Katharina.

In the present, Katharina lay in Mikkel’s bed. She felt Ulrich come up behind her. While they embraced Katharina asked, “I will only ask this once. Are you cheating on me?”

“I’d never do that,” Ulrich lied to his wife after waiting a few moments.

Bartosz exited Noah’s car. He sighed and looked towards the power plant. As his eyes scanned, he noticed a figure stumbling across the street. Normally he wouldn’t think anything of it, but it looked very familiar. The beating of his heart echoed in his ears when he realized just who it was. He jogged across the street and called, “Anna.”

Annalise took another large drink of her mixed drink a very kind older man had given her. She smiled gently. It reminded her of the drinks she heard about back home. Fruit punch, Red Bull, vodka mixed in the right fashion still only seemed like fruit punch. He had given her a large bottle just with a few bucks and for “looking cute.” She drank as she made her way to the bus stop out of Winden. The burning sensation masking her heart being torn apart at the seams. 

Bartosz easily caught up to the girl and grabbed her arm, “Anna! What are you doing, idiot?!” He kept a firm grip on her. Frustration rose into his chest. Where did she even get what she was drinking? Where was she going? Shouldn’t she be with Jonas or Martha or nearly anyone else? She never went anywhere alone.

“I’m going home,” she answered simply, “Now please let me go.” She tried to jerk away.

He shook his head, “What are you drinking? Jonas’s place is that way.” He gestured with his shoulder towards where his best friend lived. He stared at the girl floundering to get away from him. His heart started to ache. More than that. He was angry. Furious even. Filled to the brim with an anger he had never known before.

Annalise started to cry as she tried to tear away from his grip, “Let me go!” She started to yell at him. Tears built up pressure behind her eyes as she remembered back to what had driven her to this point. How she wished for the rain to finally start in this God abandoned town. The wind howled as it shook the trees awake. At least, she reasoned, that was on her side. “Let me go, Bartosz,” she repeated screaming at him with the full force she wanted to let out at everyone.

“No!” He roared back at her. He growled and continued to hold her there despite her struggle. He held onto her shoulders lawlessly despite her telling him that he was hurting her. He didn’t stop until he saw her liquid sadness drip from her eyes. His brain clicked. He pulled her into his arms. She always annoyed him because she always saw straight through him. To Annalise, Bartosz wasn’t even someone to be considered. He, and in some relation even herself, never got any of her attention unless he terrorized the girl. She never gave herself priority unless he forced her to put herself first through exaggeratedly pointing out the hypocrisy or absurdity of her actions or behavior. He wrapped himself around her. Was she always this tiny, he wondered. It was his first time ever fully embracing her. He had to bend down a bit to bury his face into her shoulder and neck. Oh, how it felt nice to finally hold someone, to hold her, in his arms, but he couldn’t dwell on his own happiness. He needed her to be happy. He thirst to see her smiling and laughing again.

Annalise beat her fists into the taller boy as the tears fell from her eyes. She continued to scream at him to let her go. The girl struggled as he just held her in an embrace. Her breathing was off. The thumping his chest made as she hit it reminded her how much she just wanted him to be someone else. She just wanted to go back home but she could never tell him that. Annalise hated every moment of this. She hated every moment of Winden. She just wanted to go back in time to right before she saw that moment and never see Martha grabbing Jonas’s face to... 

Bartosz pulled his face away. There was something he had heard Magnus mention before while Mikkel was throwing a tantrum. He needed to distract her from her emotions so that Annalise could actually TELL him what was going on. He sighed knowing he was going to hate himself later for indulging the part of him that just revealed its ugly head, but he had to do it. With one hand, he trapped her wrists from continuing to beat into his chest. The other he used to grab her face. Bartosz pressed his lips against hers. 

The girl froze. His lips were so desperate. She could feel his yearning for her to stop and think about what she was doing. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she allowed herself to kiss him back. There was a saltiness to it, yet tender and warm. Soon, she felt her wrists freed from his grip. She just gently rested her hands against the boy’s chest as his now unoccupied hand found a new home at the small of her back. Annalise forgot just who was kissing her. She was drunk, longing for love, and finally acquired a bit of that feeling of being wanted.

Bartosz pulled away gently. Annalise reached up and pressed his forehead against hers. Her eyes closed as the last of her tears drained from her. He calmed himself and asked, “Anna, what’s wrong?” He gently brushed her wild hair from her face, unstuck some strands stuck around her eyes from her tears, and put it in a place not easy to get stuck there again.

Her face contorted in agony. The fountain of sorrow slowly turned back on. Something about this moment felt as if something similar had happened before. It felt as if she, him, the moment, it was all supposed to happen. “I,” she started. She took a breath and then confessed, “I saw Martha kiss Jonas.” She choked on her words and started to cough.

Bartosz cooed at her and held her close once more, “It’s okay.” He swallowed hard and rocked with her. The boy just repeated that it was okay, that he was there with her, he wasn’t going to leave her, that everything was going to be okay until he could feel her body start to go limp. She must have been exhausted, he figured. He scooped her up and walked to his bike. He gently put the spent girl on it and lead them to the bike stop. He, then, tried to call Franziska. Unsurprisingly, she did not answer his call. He rolled his eyes and called Magnus then.

Magnus stared at Bartosz trying to call him. He never did that. His brow furrowed. “Hello,” he answered confused.

“Hey,” Bartosz replied. The boy looked at Annalise’s soft breathing on his bike. He shook his head. He placed his phone on his shoulder so that he could cradle her once more. “I have a giant favor to ask you.”

Magnus rolled his eyes, “Yeah? What’s that? Finally asking if you can screw my sister? Fuck off.”

“No,” Bartosz replied offended. He noticed Annalise start to stir from her slumber. He whispered, “I need to get in touch with Franziska.”

This made Magnus sit up. He growled as he asked, “Why?”

Bartosz huffed, “I have Annalise here. She’s drunk and needs a place to stay. I am very well not having her stay at my place.”

“Why didn’t you call Jonas,” Magnus asked annoyed.

“Why didn’t you call Jonas,” Bartosz mocked. He, then, angrily whispered, “Why do you think she’s drunk, asshole. They got into an argument.”

Magnus growled now more angry at Jonas than Bartosz. He sneered. He got up to start to get ready to go pick her up, “I’ll just grab her and bring her back. I’m sure Martha misses her anyway. She came home crying whimpering about Annalise.”

“No, no no,” Bartosz panicked. He nearly dropped his phone. The boy sighed and confessed, “I think it’s about her. Now can you just link me up with Franziska?”

“Okay.” Magnus simply hung up. He, then, called Franziska. He quickly explained that Bartosz needed to talk to her and that he would really appreciate it if she could do what he asked.

Franziska sighed as she called Bartosz back. “Hey,” she said disgustedly.

“Hey,” Bartosz started. He gently laid Annalise on the bench so that he could handle the phone better again, “Can you please talk your parents into allowing Annalise sta-”

“I already did,” Franziska interrupted, “Just bring her over. You better be glad this isn’t your precious Martha.” She quickly hung up with him and waited outside for the boy.

Bartosz sighed as he looked at his phone. He placed it into his pocket. He took off his outer jacket and wrapped it around the girl. He manipulated her to gently rest on his back. He then grabbed his bike and walked to the redhead’s house.

For the first time since Mikkel disappeared, Annalise didn’t have nightmares. Instead, she just floated in a dark void almost like an ocean that rocked her back and forth slowly. A small splash that resembled a groan would sound, but it only helped keep her suspended in this feeling of warmth, acceptance, and serenity. 

Franziska intervened before he got too close to her house. She helped slide the other girl off his back. “So what happened,” she asked.

“She and Jonas got into it about Martha,” Bartosz answered simply. He gently removed his jacket from Annalise and put it back on. He reached into his pockets and asked, “How much do I owe you for taking her in and taking care of her?”

Franziska shook her head, “Magnus asked it as a favor. Why are you helping-”

“How much will it take for you not to mention me when she wakes up then,” He asked. From hearing Annalise mumble in her sleep, he could already tell she was going to forget about their encounter by the morning. He clarified, “I want to make sure she doesn’t remember this unless it’s in her own will and in the cards for her to remember. Tell her whatever she needs to hear to make sure she doesn’t question too hard. This is also for you not to ask me questions.” He started to count out at least 150 Euros in his head.

Franziska stopped him, “That’s enough.” She pocketed the money and slowly brought her inside. She shook her head at the craziness that she just found herself in.

Bartosz watched to make sure they got inside before he started to walk back home himself. His heart staying behind with the drunk girl who would forget about all of this and him once again in the morning. 

Jonas ended up back home. He walked into his bedroom to find a package. He quickly opened it to find a round futuristic flashlight. There was also a letter to him, from his father. He grabbed it and quickly started to read it.

Dear Jonas,

By the time you read this everything will have happened, irrevocably. It can no longer be changed. I would have liked to explain things to you sooner, but I hope once you understand how everything is connected, you will understand my decision. The truth is a strange thing. You can try to suppress it, but it will always find its way back to the surface. We make a lie into our truth in order to survive. We try to forget. Until we can’t anymore. We don’t know even half og the mysteries of this world. We are all wanderers in the darkness. This is my truth. On November 4, 2019, I traveled through time to the year 1986. The boy from the future stayed, and in time he became a man. Mikkel became Michael, who never knew where he belonged. By the time you read this, I’ll already be gone. Both as a boy and as a man. I hope you can forgive me. Everything is connected.

Mikkel/Michael.

Jonas stared at confusion at the message. His jaw dropped as he came to the realization.

Tannhaus sat at his desk fixing his clock when a man walked in. He was ratty and dirty. There was a scar across his neck. He looked at the man and said, “I’d like to talk to you about time.”