Ivy

When I leaned at the counter, ordering a shot of whatever the person handling the bar was serving, I could feel Ethan's gaze on my face and his warmth weaving its way around me like a warm blanket. I sucked in a breath, waiting for him to break the silence between us, and almost like he heard my thoughts, he spoke.

"It's different." He said, and I turned to look at him, his familiar green eyes accessing, questioning, and shudder-igniting.

"What's different?"

"Our connection. I feel it with the other superiors, but with you, it's different, overwhelming in a way."

"Is it?" I asked, turning to take the shot glass, bringing it to my lips as I watched him.

His eyes searched my face as he leaned on the counter, watching me. "Yes, and I think I know why."

I raised my brows, nodding for him to enlighten me. "We used to know each other, didn't we? I used to know all your friends, Fiona, Caramel, and Roman. We all were friends, weren't we?"

I blinked at him, stunned to silence because never in a million years did I think that was what he wanted to say.

"Ethan—"

"Don't lie, please. Everyone's been lying to me. It's fucking annoying."

I downed the drink, dropping the shot glass on the table, before turning to face him fully. "Okay, what do you wanna know?"

His eyes widened, almost like he didn't believe I'd say that. "What I don't know."

"There's the thing. You know everything already; you just don't remember it. I'm willing to tell you, but it wouldn't be the same as remembering everything."

He nodded. "I know, but—I can't live knowing I'm missing a huge chunk of memories. The accident took—"

"There was no accident, Ethan. That's a false memory. It's implanted in your head. A bunch of lies fabricated to make you—this person before me."

He frowned, the confusion in his eyes expanding by the second.

I sighed, giving him my hand. "Come with me?"

He eyed my hand briefly before dropping his atop mine, and then I led him up the stairs because the house was indeed the same layout as his place back at the Inc dimension. When I found the room I was looking for, I opened the door and led him inside before softly closing it behind me.

I looked around the room, and yes—I was right, it was there, the same wallpaper, his tracings, his touch, the same paint, same desk at the side, same everything.

Glory was prepared to make this seem like his normal.

He stood there, watching me take in the room, the familiar smell of his hair wash, the familiar smell of him, washing my senses into a puddle.

I exhaled, walked to the wall, and traced the drawings with my fingers. "Almost looks the same as the original one," I whispered.

"What?" he asked confusion in his voice.

I turned to him, smiling sadly. "She tried replicating your old room back at the Inc dimension." I let out a mocking laugh. "She tried to replicate the whole house...to give you a sense of familiarity. Did it work?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He just looked at me, this time, not with confusion but with realization, acceptance, and defeat.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Ethan. We underestimated her, and you didn't tell me about her visit to you before the move; you didn't confide in me; you wanted to protect me—to protect us all, and it ended with Glory finally getting what she wanted."

He swallowed. "So, it's not in my head. Something is missing."

I walked towards him until we were only a foot apart. "Your whole life's missing, Ethan."

He let out a breath, shaking his head.

I gulped down, hugging myself. "I don't even know if that's a good or bad thing. A lot of fucked up shit happened in the Inc dimension just before the move, and maybe Glory was right; maybe you needed to forget everything because that was the best thing for you."

His eyes hardened. "Bullshit."

"I know it's bullshit, but if there's one thing Glory and the inner circle Rebel-lions have in common, it's the fact that we care about you, and we'd do anything to ensure you were okay. But in Glory's case, she manipulated the situation to make you not okay, so she could make you okay. And now we're here."

"I don't understand." He said, "I don't get why she would do this to me. I know she left some things out when I was recovering, and I know the Rebel-lions are somehow part of what she left out, but—you make it sound like it was done on purpose."

"Because it was. There was no accident, Ethan. It was the day of the move, and she somehow tricked you into staying back."

He shook his head, wincing as he stepped back. "She would never purposefully hurt me. She's my only family, literally the best person I know. Yes, she can be overbearing and guarded most of the time, but she loves me, and I love her. I can't think she was some villain in a life I know nothing about."

I closed my eyes, grinding my teeth together, before opening them back up. "This is why you must remember; simply telling you has no effect."

He walked towards the bed and plopped down with a sigh. "I want to believe you, Ivy. I know—I feel something is wrong, but—if—if whatever this thing is—if it threatens the relationship I share with my mother, I don't know if I want to remember."

I wanted to cry right here and now, fall to my knees, and cry my eyes out.

I knew his feelings were real because even back at the Inc dimension, despite all Glory had done, he still cared for her, still hoped for the woman who had once told him he could call her mom. He finally had that, and even though it was achieved the worst way possible, I still didn't want to take that small happiness from him. But fucking hell—do I have a choice?

I walked towards him, gently kneeling in front of him, between his legs, holding his face in my hands. "Hey, look at me."

His gaze met mine.

"I understand, Ethan. You love her, and she loves you. You think she's your Mom, but she's not. At least not biologically. She adopted you after the fire at your house when you were little. You have a twin brother named Nathan, and he's also a superior like us, but we decided to refrain from contacting him because he had a normal life, and we didn't want to disrupt that. We had been so fucking close to getting out of this situation, but we were played, and we were betrayed, and we—we lost Edith and Ralph, and then I lost you because you sacrificed yourself for me."

His eyes searched mine.

"It's difficult to believe. But the best way to remember is to make her help you remember. Give her no choice. I know it might seem as though it's not worth it, but Ethan, trust me when I say what we had—no—what you shared with Rebel-lions is worth remembering. You deserve to have your life back. And for the hell of it, you can still love her despite it all; you can still call her mom, but—you need to know the kind of role she played in your life before The New Earth."

He looked away from me. "I don't know—I'll think about it."

Think about it?

I wanted to press further, tell him there was nothing to think about, tell him the Ethan I knew wouldn't hesitate to confront Glory. But I could only imagine what he was going through now, how messed up it was inside his head. I could only imagine how confused he was with everything he had once believed to be true and all the false memories Glory might have implanted in his head.

I sighed, taking my hands off his face, before moving to sit on the space beside him as I stared at the wall in front of us.

"We—" his voice cut off, but he cleared his throat. "We used to be more than friends, right? You and I...."

My heart squeezed at the question, but I answered anyway. "Yes," I replied.

"How um—how serious were we?"

I couldn't help but shoot a glare at him.

"Sorry, that was a stupid question." Although his eyes told me he wanted to know.

I sighed. "We were serious, Ethan—like—I love you serious. Like I would kill for you serious—I'd hurt myself if it means you'll be okay serious."

His eyes softened, and he stared silently at me, almost like he could actually remember what we had, until he said, "Yeah...that um—wow, that's cool."

It felt like he rammed a hammer right into my chest. I scoffed, but it surfaced pretty strained. "Yeah, I'm out." I stood, bolting for the door, but he quickly stopped me.

"Wait, wait—" he stopped before me—panic in his eyes and voice. "I'm sorry—that was also stupid—I didn't know what to say—I wasn't supposed to feel anything, but when you said that, I—I kind of realized the reason why I can't get enough of you, and the feelings that come with you. I know it doesn't seem ideal, but. The moment I bumped into you at that party, I knew you were important in some way. I just didn't know why, but now that I know—"

"What are you going to do about it? Say hi to me in the hallways because we used to be something you just don't remember?"

Ethan shook his head, reaching for me, but I pulled away.

"I can't do this with you, Ethan, because it might not mean shit to you, but it does to me."

He stepped closer, and my heart swelled when his warmth curled around it. "Ponytail, I might not remember it, but I won't ignore what I feel for you."

"It doesn't work like that—"

He cut me off by taking my hand, pulling me flush against him, and pressing my palm flat against his chest, where his heart was pounding crazily against my palm. "Then explain this; because this is how I lose all sense of awareness when you're in the same room with me. And this is not the fucking bond, Ivy. This is you."

My throat went dry, and I slowly watched his eyes morph from a vibrant green to an electric blue.

"Ethan—"

He kissed me, cutting my airflow temporally. His lips were soft, warm, and familiar against mine. I felt my knees weaken. My palm against his chest clutched his shirt to keep myself upright. His teeth nipped my bottom lip, and I parted my lips, kissing him back.

I was so gone. Rational thoughts escaped me. Everything I'd once considered normal was nothing now. This. Right here, at this moment, Ethan and I were the most normal thing I'd ever experienced since the move.

He broke the kiss, his eyes back to their usual color as they searched mine. He gently cupped both sides of my face in his hand, pressing his body to mine while he joined our lips again; his tongue slid into my mouth, getting familiar with me again.

My heart jumped as his body leaned more against mine, gently pushing me until my back fell against the door to the bedroom. I allowed my fingers the pleasure of burying themselves into his hair, tugging a little, so he broke the kiss. His hooded eyes met mine, and this time I initiated the kiss.

I couldn't get enough. He groaned, low and deep in his throat, and I felt the intensity of it vibrate all over me.

With one hand inside his hair, the other tugged him closer—and fuck—he tasted familiar, but the alcohol taste from his tongue made me drunk on the feeling.

I needed more.

My breathing was short and harsh when I broke the kiss. "Ethan, I—"

The sound of a glass shattering broke the moment, and when screams reached our ears, our eyes widened, the moment forgotten as we both rushed out of the room together, running down the stairs to see people rushing outside to see what had happened.

We pushed through the crowd until we were at the scene.

"Jesus—" I gasped when I saw what warranted the scream.

It was a Superior. I think Emmitt, the tracker guy. His eyes were wide open but lifeless, his chest was bare, and his white pants were stained with blood. Some of his fingers were cut off, almost like he was tortured. But then again, that wasn't even the shocking thing.

Something was carved into his skin—a message.

'Welcome back, Boss. A little gift from your boys.'

Fiona, Roman, and Caramel rushed out in time, stopping when they saw what I saw.

There was no expression on Ethan's face as he walked to the body, slowly crouching down to inspect it.

People were gathered all around us, taking pictures on their phones, and I could see some of the superiors coming out, too, their eyes all wide in shock and horror as they watched the scene but didn't go near Ethan or the body.

Silas was the last to rush in, stopping when he saw the body.

Ethan raised his head, locking his gaze with Silas. Something passed through their gazes, but it was fast, almost like they were secretly communicating.

"Fucking Lithians," Caramel muttered.

Ethan's gaze cut to mine, and all I saw was guilt—until he looked away, reaching to close Emmitt's eyes.

I might be seeing things—or I might be fucking losing it again, but—why the hell does it seem as if Ethan Murray knew precisely who was responsible for this?

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Hi everyone! Thanks for reading!

We now have a schedule. Updates will be up Wednesdays and Sundays!

What do you think of this chapter? I need to know your thoughts! It'll really aid with the next update.

Ethan and Ivy's moment?

The little scene at the end of the chapter?

Ethan's reaction to it?

SEE YOU SUNDAY!