Chapter 2: The Day I Came Back
1236 Words
Darkness should have been the end.
After the poison spread through my veins and my heart slowly stopped beating, I expected nothing else to follow. Death was supposed to be quiet and final, like a door closing forever behind a long and painful life.
Instead I woke up.
At first the world felt strange and distant, as if I was floating somewhere between a dream and reality. My head felt light and my thoughts were tangled together like threads that refused to separate.
Then sound returned.
Voices.
Laughter.
The low hum of conversation around me.
My eyes slowly opened.
Bright sunlight spilled across my face, forcing me to squint as my vision struggled to adjust. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, yet something about it made my heart jump violently inside my chest.
I sat up quickly.
The sudden movement made my head spin for a moment, but I ignored the dizziness as I looked around.
I was sitting in a classroom.
Rows of desks filled the room, each one occupied by students chatting excitedly with one another. Papers rustled and chairs scraped against the floor while teachers moved around handing out documents.
For several seconds I simply stared.
My heart began pounding harder and harder as realization slowly crept into my mind.
This place.
I knew this place.
No.
That could not be possible.
My hands trembled as I slowly looked down at them.
They were small.
Young.
Soft and unscarred.
The thin hospital bracelet that had been around my wrist before I died was gone. The faint marks from the needle Ethan had pushed into my arm were gone as well.
My breathing became uneven.
This was not the body of a woman who had just given birth.
This was the body of a teenage girl.
My heart dropped violently.
A thousand memories suddenly rushed through my mind like a flood that refused to stop.
High school.
The final semester.
The day universities sent their admission choices.
The day students chose where they would spend the next four years of their lives.
My fingers slowly tightened around the paper resting on the desk in front of me.
I remembered this day clearly.
Too clearly.
Because it had been the day that changed the direction of my entire life.
My chest felt tight as I forced myself to read the document lying before me.
It was a college selection form.
My name was printed neatly across the top.
Aria Lancaster.
Seeing my own name felt surreal.
I lifted a shaky hand and touched my face, almost afraid that everything around me would vanish if I moved too quickly.
My skin felt warm.
Alive.
A quiet laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it.
It sounded broken.
This was impossible.
I died.
I remembered everything.
The hospital room.
The pain.
The syringe.
Ethan standing beside my bed with eyes colder than winter.
My chest tightened painfully at the memory.
I should be dead.
Yet here I was.
Alive.
Young.
Back in the past.
My heartbeat quickened as a terrifying thought slowly formed in my mind.
Had I returned?
Had fate given me another chance?
Before I could process the idea completely the classroom door suddenly opened.
My body froze instantly.
A group of students walked inside, laughing and talking among themselves as if nothing unusual had happened.
Then I saw him.
Ethan Blackwood.
For a moment the entire world seemed to stop.
He looked exactly the same as he had years ago.
Tall.
Confident.
Carelessly handsome in a way that drew attention wherever he went.
My heart reacted instinctively.
But this time the feeling was not love.
It was fear.
Cold and sharp fear that spread through my chest like ice.
Memories of the hospital room flashed violently across my mind.
The cold needle piercing my skin.
His voice telling me that my purpose was finished.
My fingers tightened around the desk until my knuckles turned pale.
He was alive.
Standing only a few feet away from me.
As if he had never murdered me.
As if my death had meant absolutely nothing.
Ethan glanced casually around the classroom before his gaze landed on me.
For a brief moment our eyes met.
My entire body stiffened.
I expected to see the same cruel indifference that had been in his eyes during my final moments.
Instead he simply looked mildly surprised.
Then he smiled.
The same charming smile that had fooled me for years.
"Aria," he said casually as he walked closer. "You look nervous."
The sound of my name coming from his lips made my stomach twist violently.
In my previous life those words would have made my heart flutter with happiness.
Now they felt like poison.
I forced my expression to remain calm even though every instinct inside me screamed to run away.
"I am fine," I replied quietly.
My voice sounded steady.
It was the only sign that my years of suffering had not been completely useless.
Ethan studied my face for a moment as if trying to understand something.
Then he shrugged lightly and leaned against the desk beside mine.
"You still have not chosen a university yet," he said, glancing at the form in front of me.
I followed his gaze slowly.
The paper felt heavier than it should have.
In my previous life I had not hesitated even for a second before writing the name of the same university Ethan chose.
I thought that if I stayed close to him then one day he might finally look at me with affection.
What a foolish dream.
A quiet voice suddenly called from the doorway.
"Ethan."
My entire body tensed again.
I knew that voice.
Slowly I turned my head.
Sofia Lancaster stood at the entrance of the classroom.
Sunlight from the hallway framed her figure beautifully, making her look almost radiant. Her long hair rested neatly over her shoulders and her gentle smile drew the attention of nearly everyone in the room.
My elder sister had always been beautiful.
Even now it was impossible to deny it.
Ethan’s entire expression softened the moment he saw her.
The warmth in his eyes was something he had never shown me.
"I was looking for you," Sofia said sweetly.
Ethan straightened immediately.
"I will be right there."
He glanced at me once more before stepping away from my desk.
As he walked toward Sofia I noticed the way his posture changed slightly, as if he were unconsciously trying to impress her.
The sight felt painfully familiar.
In my previous life I had watched that same scene repeat itself countless times.
I lowered my gaze to the paper in front of me.
My heart felt strangely calm.
The pain was still there.
The memories were still sharp.
But something inside me had changed.
I was no longer the foolish girl who believed love alone could change someone's heart.
My fingers slowly picked up the pen resting beside the form.
This time I would not chase after Ethan Blackwood.
This time I would not sacrifice my future for someone who saw me as nothing more than a tool.
This time I would live differently.
I placed the tip of the pen against the paper.
And for the first time since opening my eyes in this new life, I allowed myself to truly believe it.
I had been given another chance.
And I would not waste it.
- Writer
