The Backtrack

Life,rewound… Nearly twenty years agoSam Leto left her small hometown of Tybee IslandGeorgiato pursue her wanderlust dreams of becoming a pilot. And while she’d prefer to keep flying away from her painful childhood memoriesher beloved grandmother Pearl decides it’s time to sell the family home. ReluctantlySam is summoned back to pack up the house. The 2000s nostalgia from Sam’s childhood bedroom hits immediately: Fall Out Boy postersdrawers of roll-on body glitterand even her favorite CD player with a mixtape from her best friendDamon Rocha. Damon was always a safe place and Sam has often wondered what if her teenaged self had admitted her feelings for him instead of turning him down in fear of ruining their friendshipthough of course that happened anyway. Sam is deep in her emo-feels when she discovers the CD player still works all these years later. But it holds more than the memories of her favorite music–the CD player has the power to show Sam an alternate version of her life. Song by songSam receives flashbacks from her past–senior promgraduationleaving home. But the memories aren’t as she remembers them. They show an alternate life. What could have been. SuddenlySam knows exactly how everything would have worked out if she’d taken a chance with Damon–and she can’t help but wonder if she made a terrible mistake leaving Tybee all those years ago. \