Hearts Remember What Minds Try To Forget by Rex Wilder 42

The days that followed, I was back to my routine, diving deep into music and prepping for the upcoming competition. 

Ethan didn’t bother me again. It was almost like he’d vanished. 

I breathed a sigh of relief. My tense nerves slowly unwound, and I focused completely on my music career. 

But that calm? Just the quiet before the storm. 

One ordinary evening, I finished practice and headed home alone. 

The apartment building was dead quiet. Just streetlights flickering. 

The second I stepped through the main door, a big hand shot out from the shadows, clamping over my mouth and nose. A sharp, chemical smell instantly filled my lungs. I barely managed a choked whimper before darkness swallowed me whole. 

I woke up again to find myself on a cold, metal bed. A wave of pure dread washed over me. Before I could even make a sound, a deep, familiar voice whispered in my ear: 

“Awake?” 

I whipped my head around. Ethan was standing right by the bed, still in that white suit. His eyes held a look of obsession and madness I’d never seen before. 

“Ethan! What the hell do you want? We’re divorced! This is kidnapping!” I snapped, furious. 

“Shh, Ella, don’t be scared.” Ethan leaned closer, reaching out to touch my face, but I flinched away, my head jerking back in terror. His hand froze in mid–air. A flicker of hurt crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by even more obsession and resolve. 

“Ella, I just want us to start over. Forget all that stuff. We can be like we were before!” 

I stared at him, disbelief flooding me, but Ethan turned away and nodded at a man in a white lab coat standing nearby. Fear washed over me, a terrifying tsunami. 

“Let go of me! Ethan, you’re crazy!” I thrashed, desperate, but my wrists and ankles were clamped tight to the bed. 

Before consciousness fully slipped away again, Ethan’s voice, laced with madness, echoed in my ears: 

“Ella, forget those bad memories. This time, I’ll never let you leave me again.” 

15.