Stolen

Chapter 1

The door swings shut behind me, making me jump. I spin in my seat to see a middle aged woman walking in, a big file in her hand. She places it down on the table and sits opposite me. 

"Kelsie Hardings?" she questions softly. 

"Yeah" I croak out.

"Okay, I'm here to run you through what's going to happen. First off, one of our detectives is going to come in and ask you a few questions, just some routine follow-ups to your statement earlier. Then we're going to run some tests and such." she explains, "is that okay?"

I just nod before asking the question I really want, "When can I go home?" 

She sighs before answering, "we're going to fly you in the morning." 

This makes me look up at her confused, "Fly me? Where am I?" I ask

"A small town called Silverton. It's on the Colorado side of the border between Utah and Colorado " she admits softly

"Colorado?" I whisper softly in disbelief, bringing my shaky hands to my mouth, "jeez"

A few beats of silence pass between the two of us, neither of us knowing what to say. I'm in Colorado. He actually managed to move me across state lines. They better catch that psycho and lock him up in an asylum. 

"Kelsie?" the woman asks, making me look up, except she's not alone now. Next to her is a middle age man, eyes filled with pity. I hate pity. It makes me feel weak, when in reality I know I'm strong. I had to be. 

"I'm Detective Wellingsworth, but you can call me Dan" he introduces himself. I stay silent. 

"Okay..." he mutters, "... I'm going to be confirming a few things from your...story"

"Story?" I ask in disbelief , seeing his hesitation, "You think I'm making this up?" 

"I see your frustration Kelsie. But you have to understand that your parents have put out a reward for anyone who can help in the investigation. There have been many people posing as Kelsie Hardings, to try and get the cash" he explains with a sigh. How many times has he done this?

My heart twinges at the thought. How can people be so sick? My parents lost their child for 7 years. They got no explanation, no closure, and selfish brats thought it'd be funny to get their hopes up, just to shatter their hearts on the table. 

"What do you want to know?" I ask, wanting to get the questions out the way

"Well..." 

****

The cold air nips my skin through the thin cotton of my shirt. After we've finished with questioning, I was taken for blood tests, health tests as well having photographs taken. They were all being locked up for evidence. 

I didn't want to do any of it. Not the blood test, not the photos, reliving the past 7 years, none of it. But I knew if I wanted him incarcerated, I needed to do it. I need to protect the next person's childhood. 

I look around the small hotel room I've been put in for the night, for once in my life feeling slightly safe. I had a cop outside my hotel door and another in the entrance to the hotel. 

I grab the bag of clothes, given to me by the station, and walk over to the bathroom to have a shower. I pull off my dirty clothes and turn to look in the mirror. My skin is pale, easily showing the specks of mud and dust on my face. My long blonde hair is a tangled mess as it cascades down my back. But its my eyes that make me unrecognisable. They're no longer the bright blue I remember, but instead a dark sullen colour, glistening with hurt and trauma. I let my eyes travel to rest of my body, letting them land on every scar, every bruise, every imperfection.