CHAPTER 14: The Rain We Forgot
1887 Words
The rain started before I could even leave the classroom.
I stood beside the window, staring at the dark clouds.
My fingers were still holding the piece of paper.
REMEMBER THE RAIN.
Three words.
Three words that had somehow unlocked something inside my mind.
Ezekiel stood beside me.
He hadn't said anything since I told him what I remembered.
He was staring at me.
“Say something,” I whispered.
He looked away.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don't know.”
I folded the paper.
“I just remembered someone.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I know.”
He sighed.
“Elle…”
“I heard his voice.”
“What did he say?”
I closed my eyes.
I tried to remember.
The rain.
The darkness.
Ezekiel.
My hand.
Someone behind us.
A voice.
You can't change the equation.
I opened my eyes.
“He said the equation couldn't be changed.”
Ezekiel's expression darkened.
“That's what he told us.”
I froze.
“Us?”
He nodded.
“You don't remember everything yet.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because some memories aren't meant to be remembered all at once.”
I became frustrated.
“Then when?”
“When you're ready.”
“I hate that answer.”
He smiled slightly.
“You've always hated it.”
“Because you always say it.”
“Because you always rush.”
I looked at him.
“Maybe because I don't want to lose you again.”
He went silent.
I realized what I had just said.
My cheeks became warm.
“I mean…”
“I know what you mean.”
He smiled.
And somehow, that was worse.
---
We waited until the rain became lighter.
Neither of us wanted to leave.
Not because of the weather.
Because we both knew that once we walked out of that classroom, things would change.
The truth had started coming back.
And truth never came alone.
It brought consequences.
Finally, Ezekiel stood.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“Home.”
I looked at him.
“You're walking me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it's raining.”
“I can walk alone.”
“I know.”
“Then?”
He shrugged.
“I want to.”
I smiled.
“Fine.”
We walked out together.
The hallway was empty.
The rain outside was getting heavier again.
Ezekiel opened his umbrella.
I stepped underneath.
Our shoulders touched.
Neither of us moved away.
For some reason, it felt familiar.
Too familiar.
I looked at him.
“Did we do this before?”
He smiled.
“Many times.”
“Under the same umbrella?”
“Sometimes.”
“Together?”
“Yes.”
“Did you always walk me home?”
“Whenever you let me.”
I smiled.
“I don't remember.”
“I do.”
His voice became quiet.
“I remember everything.”
I looked at him.
“Even the bad parts?”
“Especially the bad parts.”
“Why?”
“Because the good parts are easy to remember.”
He looked ahead.
“The bad ones are the reason we're here.”
---
We reached the gate.
The rain became heavier.
I looked at him.
“Ezekiel.”
“Hmm?”
“If I really loved you before…”
He stopped.
I continued.
“Why don't I feel the same way now?”
He looked at me.
“You do.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He smiled.
“You're just scared of it.”
“Maybe.”
“You don't have to love me.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You don't have to feel what you felt before.”
He stepped closer.
“I don't want your old feelings.”
My heart skipped.
“I want whatever you feel now.”
I didn't know what to say.
He continued.
“If you hate me, hate me.”
I smiled.
“If you want to beat me, beat me.”
I laughed.
“If you want to leave, leave.”
His eyes softened.
“But if you stay…”
He paused.
“Stay because you chose to.”
I looked at him.
Not because of the equation.
Not because of the past.
Not because of a magical notebook.
Not because someone told me I loved him.
Just because I wanted to.
My heart felt strangely calm.
“I'll stay.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
---
That night, I couldn't stop thinking about what he said.
I don't want your old feelings.
It was different from Josh.
Josh had always felt like a memory.
A crush.
A possibility.
A love story that might have happened.
But Ezekiel—
Ezekiel was becoming real.
Not because of the past.
Because of the present.
I opened my notebook.
The page was blank.
I smiled.
“Finally.”
Then the ink appeared.
WHY ARE YOU SMILING?
I frowned.
“Seriously?”
The notebook didn't answer.
I wrote:
Because I want to.
The words disappeared.
Then:
GOOD.
I stared.
“That's it?”
YES.
I smiled.
Maybe even the notebook was tired of being dramatic.
Then another line appeared.
BUT YOU STILL NEED TO REMEMBER.
My smile disappeared.
“Remember what?”
The page changed.
THE NIGHT YOU CHOSE HIM.
---
The room disappeared.
I was standing somewhere else.
Rain.
Again.
But this time, it wasn't a memory.
It was me.
Older.
I knew immediately.
This was the previous timeline.
The timeline where Ezekiel and I had been together.
I looked around.
A street.
A convenience store.
A broken streetlight.
And then—
I saw myself.
Standing under the rain.
Crying.
Ezekiel was in front of me.
He looked devastated.
“What happened?” I whispered.
The memory continued.
My older self spoke.
“I can't do this anymore.”
Ezekiel grabbed my hand.
“Elle, please.”
“You know what happens every time.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
“I love you.”
She cried harder.
“I love you too.”
My heart broke.
Then she said something that made me freeze.
“But loving you is killing everyone else.”
Ezekiel shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do.”
She pulled away.
“Josh is gone.”
Ezekiel froze.
“Michael doesn't exist.”
I covered my mouth.
“And every time I choose you…”
She looked at him.
“Someone disappears.”
Ezekiel shook his head.
“Then choose yourself.”
She laughed through her tears.
“I tried.”
“And?”
“I couldn't.”
He stepped closer.
“Then choose me.”
She looked at him.
And for one second—
she smiled.
“I already did.”
Then the world around us began shaking.
The rain stopped.
The lights flickered.
The notebook appeared in her hand.
She opened it.
The same equation appeared.
JOSH
EZEKIEL
MICHAEL
ELLE
Then a fifth name appeared.
THE OBSERVER
I froze.
The memory continued.
My older self looked at the fifth name.
“Who are you?”
A voice answered.
The person making sure you never finish the equation.
I couldn't see him.
Only his shadow.
Then he said:
Every time you choose love, I reset the world.
Ezekiel stepped in front of Elle.
“Why?”
The voice laughed.
Because love is the only variable I can't control.
The memory started fading.
I reached toward it.
“Wait!”
But everything disappeared.
---
I woke up on my bed.
My face was wet.
I was crying.
The notebook was open.
The fifth variable was written clearly.
THE OBSERVER.
Underneath it:
OBJECTIVE: PREVENT THE EQUATION FROM BEING SOLVED.
I stared.
Then I realized something.
The person wasn't trying to make me forget Ezekiel.
He wasn't trying to make me choose Josh.
He wasn't trying to make Michael disappear.
He wanted the equation to remain unsolved.
Forever.
Because if I solved it—
the resets would stop.
I grabbed my phone.
I called Ezekiel.
He answered immediately.
“Elle?”
“I remember.”
Silence.
“What?”
“The Observer.”
He stopped breathing.
“You remember him?”
“Yes.”
“What did you see?”
I told him everything.
When I finished, he was silent.
Then:
“Now you understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Why I was afraid.”
I frowned.
“Of what?”
“Of you remembering everything.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment you remember…”
His voice became quiet.
“…he knows you're getting closer.”
I looked at the window.
The rain had started again.
“Ezekiel.”
“Yes?”
“What happens when I solve the equation?”
He didn't answer.
“Ezekiel?”
Finally, he said:
“The resets stop.”
I smiled.
“Then let's solve it.”
His voice became shaky.
“Elle…”
“What?”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“The equation doesn't end when you solve it.”
I froze.
“What happens?”
He whispered:
“It chooses who gets to stay.”
---
I couldn't breathe.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“Ezekiel.”
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you scared?”
Silence.
Then he said:
“Because the last time we solved it…”
He paused.
“You were the one who disappeared.”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
My heart felt like it had dropped into my stomach.
The last time the equation was solved—
I disappeared.
And if the Observer was trying to keep the equation unsolved...
then maybe he wasn't the villain.
Maybe he was trying to prevent something worse.
I looked at the notebook.
The equation changed again.
JOSH — 57%
EZEKIEL — 65%
MICHAEL — 0%
ELLE — UNKNOWN
Then the fifth variable appeared.
THE OBSERVER — 100%
I froze.
The notebook closed.
A voice came from behind me.
“You finally remembered.”
I turned around.
Nobody.
My door was still locked.
My window was closed.
I stood slowly.
“Who are you?”
Silence.
Then the voice came again.
“You keep asking the wrong question.”
My heart pounded.
“What should I ask?”
The voice answered:
“Why did you create me?”
I froze.
The room went silent.
The notebook opened.
One final sentence appeared.
THE OBSERVER WAS NOT CREATED BY THE EQUATION.
Then:
THE OBSERVER WAS CREATED BY YOU.
My blood ran cold.
I stared at the words.
“No…”
The page changed.
YOU ASKED SOMEONE TO PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR OWN LOVE.
I couldn't breathe.
And suddenly, the truth became more terrifying than the reset itself.
Maybe the person who had been ruining my life wasn't trying to stop me from solving the equation.
Maybe he was simply keeping the promise I had once made.
A promise I had completely forgotten.
A promise to protect me—
from myself.
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