~The Things We Don't Remember
The hospital smelled the same.
White walls. Soft footsteps. The distant beeping of machines.
Freya walked beside Theo quietly.
"How's your mom today?" she asked.
Theo smiled faintly. "She's better. She asked about you."
They visited his mother first, stayed for a while, then moved to the cafeteria.
It was almost empty.
They sat across from each other, coffee between them.
Freya traced the rim of her cup. Something had been bothering her.
"Theo…"
"Hmm?"
"You haven't contacted me much lately." She looked up at him. "And you didn't even tell me how your mom was doing."
Theo blinked, surprised. "I thought you were avoiding me."
"What? Why would I avoid you?"
He hesitated. "Because… you threw the flowers I sent."
Freya frowned. "What flowers?"
"The bouquet. I sent it to your house last week." He looked confused now. "You sent it back. Or… someone did."
Her heart skipped.
"I never threw them."
Theo studied her face carefully.
"I thought maybe I was just… annoying you."
Her chest tightened. "You're not."
There was something wrong here.
Something missing.
Before either of them could say more—
A chair scraped sharply beside her.
Freya turned.
Noah.
Standing there, eyes dark.
"You still have my umbrella," he said.
Theo straightened. "Excuse me?"
Freya stood quickly. "but I returned it already, didn't I?—"
"that wasn't me, I want it now."
Theo looked at him, clearly irritated. "Who are you?"
Noah's gaze shifted toward Theo.
Cold.
Distant.
"As I said before," Noah replied quietly, "that doesn't matter."
Theo frowned. "It does if you're interrupting."
Freya felt the tension spike.
Noah looked at Theo like he was measuring something invisible.
Like he was remembering something Theo couldn't.
"I'm not interrupting," Noah said. "I'm correcting."
"Correcting what?" Theo shot back.
Noah ignored him.
Instead, he looked only at Freya.
"You shouldn't be sitting like this."
Theo stood up. "Look, what is your problem?"
Noah's voice dropped.
"My problem is that he shouldn't be beside you."
Silence fell over the table.
Freya stared at Noah.
Theo stared at Noah.
But Theo's face showed no recognition.
None.
As if Noah had never existed in his world.
And maybe—
In this rewritten fate—
He hadn't.
Freya whispered, "Noah…"
The way she said his name made something flicker in his eyes.
He stepped closer and gently grabbed her wrist.
"Come."
Theo moved forward immediately. "Hey—"
"It's fine," Freya said quickly, though her pulse was racing. "I'll just return the umbrella."
Noah didn't spare Theo another glance.
As he led her out, Theo felt something strange.
A hollow space.
Like there was supposed to be anger.
Or rivalry.
Or memory.
But there was nothing.
Just confusion.
In the corridor, Freya pulled her hand back.
"What was that?" she demanded. "And why did Theo think I threw his flowers?"
Noah's jaw tightened.
"Did you?"
"No."
"Then someone didn't want him near you."
Her heart thudded.
"And you think that someone is you?"
Silence.
The bracelet on her wrist felt warm again.
Noah stepped closer.
"I don't care about flowers."
"Then what do you care about?" she challenged.
His voice softened — but it was dangerous in its honesty.
"I care about patterns."
She frowned. "What patterns?"
He looked at her like he was standing at the edge of a memory.
"About losing you," he almost said.
But instead—
"I won't let it repeat."
Freya felt it again.
Not jealousy.
Not possessiveness.
Fear.
Deep, old fear.
And she didn't know why—
But part of her felt like she had once watched him lose everything.
Some how grace watched them both saw the fate rewritten that wasn't her rewriting it. She did nothing but watched them and whispered that "maybe that's their destiny written."