CHAPTER 8: THE SECOND VERSION
1463 Words
The room felt different after that message.
Not quieter.
Heavier.
Like the truth had finally entered the apartment and decided it wasn’t leaving anymore.
Rain kept falling outside, hitting the windows softly, but inside everything felt painfully sharp.
My breathing.
My heartbeat.
The silence between Adrian and me.
I was still staring at my phone.
> Ask him about the second version of you.
The words sat there like a knife someone had pushed into my chest and forgotten to remove.
Slowly, I lifted my eyes toward Adrian.
He was already looking at me.
But this time, there was no control left in his expression.
No coldness.
No carefully built walls.
Just exhaustion.
The kind that comes from carrying something too painful for too long.
“What does that mean?” I asked quietly.
Adrian didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned away from me.
That hurt more than it should have.
Because people only look away when the truth is worse than the lie.
“Adrian.”
Still nothing.
I felt anger rise inside me so suddenly it surprised even me.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t get to do that anymore.”
He finally spoke.
“Lena—”
“Stop saying my name like everything’s normal.”
My voice cracked at the end.
I hated that.
I hated how emotional I sounded while he still stood there trying to stay calm.
But maybe calm was the only thing keeping him together.
The storm outside flashed white through the windows for a second.
Lightning.
For a brief moment, I saw his face clearly.
He looked terrified.
Not of me.
Of the conversation.
“Talk to me,” I whispered.
He exhaled slowly and rubbed his hand over his face.
“You’re remembering things too fast.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Should I slow down while finding out my entire life might be fake?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
He looked at me carefully.
And when he finally spoke again, his voice was softer.
“Some memories are dangerous.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You keep saying things like that, but you never explain anything.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
That question stayed in the air.
Adrian looked toward the window again.
Then finally:
“From becoming unstable.”
The word made my stomach twist.
“Unstable?”
He nodded once.
“The brain can only survive so much memory conflict before it starts breaking down.”
I crossed my arms tightly.
“You talk about me like I’m some machine.”
Pain flashed in his eyes instantly.
“You think I want to?”
The way he said it made my anger hesitate for half a second.
Half a second was enough for the fear underneath everything to return.
I looked down at the phone again.
Second version.
The words wouldn’t leave me alone.
“What is the second version?” I asked.
Adrian stayed quiet.
Then he said something that made my chest tighten immediately.
“You weren’t supposed to know about that.”
My throat went dry.
“Know about what?”
He hesitated again.
God.
Every important answer in my life seemed trapped behind his silence.
Finally, he looked at me.
“There was another transfer before this one.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“What transfer?”
His eyes stayed locked on mine.
“The first attempt to restore you.”
I blinked.
Restore?
The word echoed painfully inside my head.
“Restore me from what?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
And somehow, deep down, I already knew why.
Because the answer was death.
I could feel it.
Like my body had heard this truth before.
“You died,” Adrian said quietly.
My heartbeat stopped.
Everything inside me froze.
The rain.
The room.
Even my thoughts.
“No,” I whispered instantly.
Adrian looked like saying it out loud physically hurt him.
“Yes.”
I shook my head hard.
“No. No, you’re lying.”
“I wish I was.”
The words hit me harder than I expected.
Because he didn’t sound manipulative.
He sounded broken.
I stepped backward slowly.
Nothing around me felt real anymore.
Not the apartment.
Not Adrian.
Not even myself.
“How?” I whispered.
Adrian swallowed once before answering.
“The accident.”
That word again.
Always the accident.
Every terrible thing seemed connected to it.
I closed my eyes tightly.
And suddenly—
A flash.
Rain against glass.
A road disappearing into darkness.
Headlights.
A scream.
My scream.
I gasped loudly and grabbed the table beside me.
The memory vanished instantly.
Adrian moved toward me immediately.
“Lena—”
“Don’t touch me.”
The words came out faster than I expected.
He stopped immediately.
And the look on his face almost made me regret saying it.
Almost.
“What happened after the accident?” I asked.
Adrian’s silence stretched too long.
Then finally:
“They tried to save you.”
“Who?”
“The organization.”
I laughed softly in disbelief.
“The same people treating me like a science experiment?”
“They thought they could preserve emotional memory.”
“That doesn’t even sound human.”
“It wasn’t.”
The honesty in his voice scared me.
Because for once, it didn’t feel like he was hiding behind pretty lies.
It felt like he was finally too tired to lie at all.
I stared at him carefully.
“And the second version?”
Something changed in his expression immediately.
Guilt.
Real guilt.
My stomach tightened.
“What happened to her?”
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
My voice became quieter.
“She died too, didn’t she?”
The silence confirmed it.
I felt suddenly sick.
“How many times?”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
“Lena…”
“How many times did I die?”
When he opened his eyes again, they looked completely exhausted.
“Twice.”
The word shattered something inside me.
Twice.
I couldn’t even process it.
People only die once.
That’s how life works.
So how was I standing here?
What was I?
The thought terrified me more than the answer itself.
Then another memory hit.
Harder.
A hospital room.
Machines beeping loudly.
My body weak.
Adrian sitting beside me.
Holding my hand so tightly like letting go would kill him too.
And then my own voice.
Weak.
Broken.
> “If this version fails too… promise me you’ll stop trying.”
I gasped sharply as the memory disappeared.
My knees nearly gave out.
Adrian caught me before I hit the floor.
The second his arms wrapped around me, another feeling crashed into me unexpectedly.
Warmth.
Familiarity.
Love.
Not new love.
Old love.
The kind that survives even after destruction.
I froze against him.
And for one terrifying second…
I wanted to stay there.
That realization scared me more than the memories.
Because my mind was confused.
But my heart?
My heart already knew him.
Adrian slowly loosened his grip when he realized I’d gone still.
“What did you remember?” he asked softly.
I looked up at him.
His face was so close.
Close enough to notice the exhaustion under his eyes.
Close enough to see how terrified he really was.
“You loved me before all this,” I whispered.
Something painful moved across his face.
“Yes.”
Not hesitation.
Not denial.
Just truth.
And somehow truth hurt worse.
I swallowed hard.
“And I loved you too.”
He looked away immediately.
That tiny reaction broke my heart for reasons I still didn’t fully understand.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said quietly.
“What wasn’t?”
“You remembering me emotionally before your memories stabilized.”
I laughed softly through tears.
“Maybe love is harder to erase than you thought.”
The room went silent.
Adrian stared at me like I’d just said something dangerous.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it was true.
Then my phone vibrated again.
Both of us froze.
Slowly, I pulled it from my pocket.
Unknown Number.
Another message.
This one shorter.
More terrifying.
> “He still hasn’t told you who caused the first death.”
My chest tightened instantly.
I looked up at Adrian.
His expression changed the second he saw my face.
“What did it say?” he asked.
I couldn’t answer immediately.
Because suddenly I was scared of the answer.
Scared that the one person I was starting to remember loving…
might also be the reason I died in the first place.
chapter 9 coming soon.........
- Writer
