Episode 2 — The Things I Forgot
1329 Words
AND THIS TIME, AMELIA WILL REMEMBER WHO KILLED HIM.
I stared at the message until the words began to blur.
My fingers were cold.
Across the room, Elias stood completely still.
He had stopped looking at me and was staring at the phone in my hand instead.
“You’ve seen that before,” I whispered.
His eyes slowly lifted to mine.
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
My stomach tightened.
“Before I forgot?”
He nodded.
For some reason, that frightened me more than the message itself.
“So you knew this was going to happen?”
“No.” His voice softened. “I knew someone was threatening us. I didn't know you'd wake up unable to remember me.”
“Us?”
He took a step toward me.
“I've been trying to protect you, Amelia.”
I almost laughed.
“Protect me from what?”
His expression changed.
“From the people who want you to remember.”
I stared at him.
That made no sense.
If someone wanted me to remember something, why would that be dangerous?
Before I could ask, my mother appeared in the doorway.
Her eyes immediately went to Elias.
The fear on her face was unmistakable.
“Get out.”
Elias didn't move.
“Mrs. Hart—”
“I said get out.”
“Mum,” I interrupted. “Why do you hate him?”
She looked at me.
For a moment, she seemed unable to answer.
Then she said quietly, “Because you were happier before him.”
Elias looked away.
I noticed.
That tiny movement told me there was something neither of them wanted me to know.
Later that afternoon, I sat alone in my bedroom with the black notebook open on my lap.
I turned to another page.
Most of the handwriting looked like mine.
But some entries were so emotional that I couldn't believe I had written them.
Elias made me laugh today.
I hate how easily he knows when I'm lying.
He held my hand when I was scared.
Then another:
I think I'm falling in love with him.
I stopped breathing for a second.
I read it again.
And again.
I had apparently loved Elias.
Not casually.
Not secretly.
Deeply.
There was another entry beneath it.
We danced in the rain tonight. He said he'd marry me if I remembered tomorrow.
I smiled despite myself.
Then I saw the next page.
Several pages had been torn out.
I flipped through them quickly.
More missing pages.
“What happened here?”
My mother appeared behind me.
I nearly jumped.
She looked at the notebook.
“You shouldn't read those.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because sometimes forgetting is kinder than remembering.”
I closed the notebook.
“What does that mean?”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she walked out.
That night, at exactly 2:17 a.m., my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
YOU WERE HAPPY THEN.
Another message appeared.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THIS?
My heart began pounding.
I typed:
Who are you?
The reply came immediately.
Someone who remembers what you forgot.
I swallowed.
Then another message appeared.
Ask Elias about Daniel.
I stared at the name.
Daniel.
Something about it felt familiar.
I typed:
Who is Daniel?
The response came seconds later.
Don't ask your mother.
I sat frozen in bed.
Then I heard footsteps outside my room.
“Mum?”
No answer.
I opened the door.
She was standing in the hallway.
Her face had gone pale.
“Who told you that name?”
“Who is Daniel?”
She looked at me as if I had just asked about a dead person.
“He's dead.”
“How?”
She looked away.
“You were there when he died.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“You promised me you wouldn't ask about him if you forgot.”
I shook my head.
“I don't remember making that promise.”
“I know.”
Her voice broke.
“That was the point.”
The next morning, I woke with my cheek against the notebook.
I didn't remember falling asleep.
But there was something written on the page.
Something I hadn't written the night before.
HE'S COMING BACK TODAY.
My blood ran cold.
Underneath it was another sentence.
THIS TIME, DON'T LET HIM KISS YOU.
I closed the notebook.
I didn't know why, but I went to meet Elias anyway.
Maybe I wanted answers.
Maybe I wanted to see if my heart remembered something my mind couldn't.
We met at a small café.
The waitress smiled when she saw me.
“You're back.”
I frowned.
“Have we met?”
She laughed awkwardly.
“You and your boyfriend used to come here all the time.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Elias.”
My stomach twisted.
She pointed toward the corner table.
“You always sat there. Two coffees. You'd argue, then he'd make you laugh.”
I looked at the table.
A strange warmth moved through me.
For one brief second, I could almost see it.
Elias sitting opposite me.
His hand reaching across the table.
My fingers touching his.
Then the memory disappeared.
The café door opened.
Elias walked in.
Our eyes met.
And for a moment, neither of us spoke.
He looked exhausted.
Like he hadn't slept.
He sat across from me.
“You came.”
“I need answers.”
“You deserve them.”
“Who is Daniel?”
The color disappeared from his face.
I watched him carefully.
“Daniel,” he whispered, “was my younger brother.”
I stared at him.
“You never told me you had a brother.”
“You forgot.”
“How did he die?”
Elias looked down at his hands.
“Three years ago.”
“How?”
His eyes met mine.
“You killed him.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?”
“You didn't mean to.”
I pushed my chair back.
“No.”
He reached for me.
I pulled away.
“You said you loved me.”
“I do.”
“How can you love someone who killed your brother?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because I know what happened.”
He pulled out his phone.
“I need you to watch this.”
The video showed a dark road.
Rain.
A car.
Then me.
I was standing beside Elias.
We were arguing.
Daniel appeared.
There was shouting.
A struggle.
Then the screen went black.
I covered my mouth.
“That isn't possible.”
Elias looked at me.
“Daniel's last words were…”
He stopped.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“She didn't kill me.”
I stared at him.
“Then who did?”
Before he could answer, a deafening crash came from outside.
A car had slammed into a streetlight.
Elias immediately stood.
His face changed.
“They found you.”
“Who?”
He grabbed my hand.
“We have to leave.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere they can't find you.”
He pulled a small key from his pocket and placed it in my palm.
I stared at it.
“What is this?”
“The key to the room where you hid the truth.”
“What room?”
“You made me promise never to enter it.”
My heart began racing.
“Where is it?”
Elias looked toward the café window.
Then he whispered:
“Under your mother's house.”
My phone vibrated.
One new message.
DON'T GO HOME.
Another arrived immediately.
YOUR MOTHER KNOWS WHERE THE BODY IS.
I looked at Elias.
He was staring at my mother’s house in the distance.
And for the first time, I realized something terrifying.
Maybe the person I had forgotten wasn't Elias.
Maybe...
I was the person everyone was afraid I would remember.
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