Episode 6: The Memory That Shouldn’t Exist
1033 Words
Claire’s First Nightmare
The dream came in pieces.
Flashes of a life Claire didn’t recognize.
She was in a white dress—a wedding dress.
She was standing in front of a man.
But she couldn’t see his face.
His voice was soft, almost pleading.
"Say it again," he whispered.
Claire felt her own lips part, her heart swelling with unimaginable love.
"I love you, Ethan."
Her eyes snapped open.
Claire bolted upright in bed, gasping.
Her skin was damp with sweat.
Her hands trembled.
What the hell was that?
A dream?
No.
It felt too real.
Like a memory.
But it couldn’t be.
Could it?
The World Feels… Off
Claire couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.
Her head ached with glimpses of that dream.
Why did it feel like she had already loved Ethan before?
But she had never been with Ethan.
She was with Ryan.
Ryan.
Her boyfriend. The man she should be thinking about.
But when she kissed Ryan the next day, trying to push away the unease in her chest—
It felt wrong.
His lips didn’t feel like the ones from her dream.
His touch didn’t make her skin ignite the way Ethan’s had.
A chill ran through her.
This wasn’t normal.
And she was starting to feel like her entire life was a lie.
Ethan Knows She’s Breaking
Ethan saw it immediately.
Claire was unraveling.
Her smiles were forced. Her hands fidgeted more than usual.
And when she looked at him—there was fear in her eyes.
Good.
She should be afraid.
Because once she started to remember, she wouldn’t be able to escape it.
She wouldn’t be able to escape him.
Ethan leaned against the doorway of the lecture hall, watching her.
Waiting.
And when she finally walked past him, he whispered:
“You dreamt of me, didn’t you?”
Claire froze.
Her breath hitched.
And that was all the confirmation Ethan needed.
He smirked. “I told you, Claire. You know me. Even if you don’t remember why.”
Claire’s heart pounded.
How the hell could he have known that?
She turned to look at him, her pulse racing.
Ethan took a slow step forward, lowering his voice.
“I can help you remember,” he said softly. “But you have to trust me.”
Claire swallowed hard.
She didn’t trust him.
She shouldn’t trust him.
But the problem was—she wanted to.
And that was the most terrifying thing of all.
Ryan Feels the Shift—And He’s Not Happy
Ryan wasn’t stupid.
He saw the way Claire looked at Ethan.
The hesitation in her eyes. The way she flinched when Ryan touched her now.
It wasn’t just Ethan chasing her anymore.
Claire was starting to chase him, too.
And Ryan wasn’t going to let that happen.
That night, he cornered Ethan outside the dorms.
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?” Ryan growled.
Ethan smirked. “Oh, I know you see it.”
Ryan’s fists clenched.
“You need to back off.”
Ethan tilted his head, pretending to think. “Hmm. No.”
Ryan shoved him—hard.
Ethan barely stumbled. He laughed.
“You don’t understand,” Ethan whispered, stepping closer. “Claire was mine long before you ever touched her.”
Ryan’s face darkened. “You’re insane.”
Ethan’s smirk didn’t fade.
“Maybe.”
Then he leaned in and whispered—
“But she kissed me first.”
Ryan’s entire body went rigid.
Ethan patted his shoulder and walked away, grinning.
He had already won.
The Night That Changed Everything
Claire sat on the rooftop that night, staring at the city lights.
She felt like she was losing her mind.
There was something wrong with this world.
She felt it in her dreams. She felt it in Ethan.
And deep down, she was terrified she was starting to feel it in herself.
Footsteps approached behind her.
She didn’t need to turn around.
She already knew who it was.
Ethan.
“Tell me what you want,” Ethan murmured, stepping beside her.
Claire’s chest tightened. “I don’t know.”
Ethan exhaled.
Then—he reached out, his fingers tracing her jaw.
Claire froze.
“Liar,” he whispered.
Claire shuddered.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She wasn’t supposed to feel this.
But when Ethan’s hand slid to the back of her neck, tilting her face up toward his—she didn’t stop him.
His lips hovered over hers, teasing.
Testing.
“Say it,” he whispered.
Her breath hitched. “Say what?”
“That you don’t want this.”
Silence.
Claire’s hands trembled as they gripped his shirt.
She should say it.
She should push him away.
But she didn’t.
And when Ethan finally crushed his lips against hers, she didn’t fight it.
She sank into him.
Into the heat, the hunger, the undeniable force pulling them together.
Ethan’s hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer.
Her fingers dug into his skin, her body burning under his touch.
It was too much.
Too familiar.
And for a single, shattering moment—
Claire remembered.
A wedding dress.
A kiss like this one.
A love that had once been real.
Her eyes snapped open.
She stumbled back, gasping.
Ethan reached for her—but she ran.
Again.
The Truth Comes Crashing Down
Claire locked herself in her room, panting.
What was that?
What was happening to her?
She had never been with Ethan before.
Had she?
But then why did her body react like it had?
Why did that kiss feel like it belonged to another time?
Another life?
She turned toward the mirror—her reflection pale and wide-eyed.
Then—her stomach dropped.
For a split second, in the glass…
She saw herself in a wedding dress.
Her hands shook violently.
No.
No, no, no.
This wasn’t real.
This couldn’t be real.
Then—her phone buzzed.
A text.
From Ethan.
“You’re remembering, aren’t you?”
Her heart stopped.
She dropped the phone.
And outside her window, Ethan stood on the sidewalk—watching her.
Waiting.
For her to finally understand the truth.
(To Be Continued…)
- Writer
