Forgotten Memories

Chapter 3: Fear's Punishment

The phone almost blows up in my hands as soon as that message goes through.

Gabe: ARIA?!

Rue: Aria?! But-she's upstairs!

Mark: What the fluff?!

Oh. It's my turn... Um...

Luke: Aria knows about this?!

I can almost slap myself. Seriously. That was the lamest thing I could've said.

Aria is typing...

I'm freaking out. Is this a hacker? Who the hell could this-

My phone.

••••••••••

Everything stops. I feel time slow down as my mind reels with possibilities. How did Luke hack my account?! Does he know my password? I mean, we dated, but does he know it?

I shove the phone in my back pocket and bolt down the stairs. "Rue!"

She appears instantly and grabs my arm. "What the hell, Aria? How'd you access your account? We changed the passwords and every-"

"It wasn't me! And what do you mean, we?"

She pales. "Me? When did I-I mean..."

I almost explode. "Who, Rue?!"

"Luke."

I groan and pull out his phone. Rue stares at it blankly for a second, then she seems to understand. If her face could get any paler, it did.

"You weren't supposed to know about this! Why do you think we changed your passwords?! Dang it, Aria-" She curses as our phones vibrate.

Incoming messages on Facebook Messenger.

Aria: It isn't Aria! I'm Luke.

Mark: Then who the hell is writing as Luke?!

I freeze. Will he betray me for them? He knows I've been waiting for this my whole life... Will he really throw that away? The phone buzzes.

Aria: It's Aria. She's not supposed to know.

The phone slides through my fingers and drops to the floor. I hear a dull crack as I stumble back. That was either the phone screen cracking, or a very amplified imitation of my heart doing the same.

Tears blur my vision. I see how it is. I knew he didn't care about me. I knew it!

I run upstairs immediately and slam the door shut, locking it.

"Aria!" Rue cries as she pounds on the door. "Aria, let me explain!"

I collapse onto my bed and sob. I thought I could trust him. They say he cared for me, but this just proves my theory.

•••••••••

Ugh. I slept right through my tantrum. As soon as I sit up, a pounding headache starts and I fall back into the bed. I cry out in pain, then start crying as I remember what happened.

By the time the shouts start downstairs, I've soaked through my pillowcase.

I bolt out my bedroom door and halfway down the stairs before I stop. I see Luke and Rue shouting right at the end of the stairs, and am about to launch myself into his arms, until I remember what happened. It's frightening how easily you can forget how someone you love hurt you-

No. I used to love him. My old self did. I don't love him. Especially not now.

It looks like Luke wanted to come upstairs, but Rue interfered. Luke almost sobs with relief as he sees me. When Rue attempts to turn around, Luke shoves past her, muttering an apology. Before he reaches me, I take hold of the railing and jump over, avoiding his grasp.

I feel like some sort of James Bond.

I land on the couch with a thud and jump off. Luke is right on my heels as I sprint out the door.

"Aria, please!"

As soon as I'm about to reach the street, a car appears around the corner. I yelp as I try to slow down, but can't. Whoever is inside honks the horn, but I freeze. I can't move. Fear races through my veins but I can't move a muscle.

I don't even scream.

The car is 50 feet away, and approaching fast.

40 feet.

30.

20.

10.

I'm gonna die.