Chapter 3

Ava woke up the next morning feeling a hollowness in her chest.

It was a familiar ache, even without the specific memories of Ethan' s betrayal.

It was the feeling of something vital missing.

She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

The world outside her window was bright with sunshine, birds chirping.

But inside her, it felt gray and silent.

She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to face the day.

What was the point?

Then she heard her mom moving around downstairs, humming softly.

Her dad's deeper voice, a quiet rumble.

They were trying so hard. For her.

She couldn't let them see her like this. So lost. So empty.

She forced herself out of bed.

She splashed cold water on her face.

She looked in the mirror.

The girl staring back at her had tired eyes, pale skin.

Who was she?

She used to be Ava Miller, aspiring journalist. Editor of the high school paper. Full of dreams and ambitions.

Then she became Ava Miller, Ethan Reed's girlfriend. His supporter. His shadow.

Now?

Now she was just... Ava. Amnesiac Ava.

She took a deep breath.

She could do this. She had to. For her parents. For Chloe.

Maybe, eventually, for herself.

She put on a smile. A fake one, but a smile nonetheless.

She went downstairs.

"Morning, sunshine!" her dad said, his voice a little too cheerful.

"Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom," Ava said, trying to match his energy.

Her mom was making pancakes. Ava's favorite.

"Sleep well, honey?" her mom asked, her eyes scanning Ava's face.

"Like a baby," Ava lied.

Her mom smiled, but Ava saw the flicker of doubt in her eyes.

She knew. She always knew.

They ate breakfast together, making small talk.

Ava felt like an actress playing a part. The part of the recovering daughter.

It was exhausting.

After breakfast, Chloe called.

"Hey! Wanna go for a walk? Get some fresh air?" Chloe's voice was bright, full of energy.

"Sure," Ava said. "Sounds good."

Anything to get out of the house, away from her parents' worried eyes.

They met at the park.

The sun was warm on Ava's skin. The air smelled fresh, clean.

It should have made her feel better.

It didn't.

"You okay?" Chloe asked, after they'd walked in silence for a while.

Ava shrugged. "I don't know."

She stopped walking. She looked at Chloe.

"Chlo, I feel... I feel like a fraud," Ava confessed, the words tumbling out. "I'm pretending to be okay, but I'm not. I'm so lost. I don't know who I am anymore."

Her voice broke. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Chloe pulled her into a hug. A tight, strong hug.

"It's okay not to be okay, Ava," Chloe said softly. "You've been through something traumatic. It's okay to be lost. It's okay to be scared."

Ava clung to her, the tears finally falling.

"I don't know what to do," Ava sobbed. "I feel so empty. Like there's nothing inside me."

Chloe just held her, letting her cry.

"You're not empty, Ava," Chloe said, when Ava's sobs began to subside. "You're just... resetting. And that's okay. We'll figure it out. Together."

Chloe pulled back, wiping Ava's tears with her thumbs.

"One step at a time, okay?" Chloe said. "Today, we walked in the park. That's a step."

Ava nodded, taking a shaky breath.

"What's the next step?" Ava asked.

Chloe grinned. "Ice cream. Definitely ice cream."

Ava managed a small smile. "Okay. Ice cream."

As they walked towards the ice cream shop, Ava felt a tiny flicker of something.

Not hope, exactly. But maybe... the possibility of hope.

She looked at her reflection in a shop window.

The girl staring back still looked lost.

But maybe, just maybe, she wasn't entirely broken.

That night, Ava sat at her desk.

Her old laptop was open. A blank document stared back at her.

Writing. It used to be her passion. Her escape.

She hadn't written anything personal in years.

She had been too busy writing papers for Ethan, editing his essays.

She put her fingers on the keyboard.

What could she write? About her amnesia? About the void?

It felt too big. Too raw.

She closed the laptop.

Not yet.

She stood up and went to her bookshelf.

Her old journals were there, tucked away in the back.

She pulled one out. High school. Before Ethan.

She opened it.

Her handwriting was different. Younger. More optimistic.

She read about her dreams of becoming a journalist, of traveling the world, of making a difference.

A pang of something sharp went through her.

Regret? Loss?

It wasn't the blankness she felt about Ethan. This was different. This was about her.

The girl in the journal, full of hopes and dreams.

Where had she gone?

Ava closed the journal.

She went back to the mirror.

She looked at her reflection. Really looked.

The tired eyes. The pale skin.

But underneath, she saw a flicker of something else.

A spark. Faint, but there.

The girl from the journal wasn't gone. She was just... buried.

"I'll find you," Ava whispered to her reflection. "I'll bring you back."

It was a promise.

To herself.