Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Fifteen

Chloe gasped for air as she sat up and looked around her room. Sweat was pouring out from every inch of her body. She glanced down at her wrist and then looked away after she discovered the X on her wrist, it wasn't something she wanted to be reminded of. It took her a minute to realize that the room with all the guards, with the woman, with him, had just been a dream, but then again, was it just a dream. There was no possible way she could've made something up on her own like that. It must've happened before she was in the white padded room, or they might've drugged her, whichever one, she knew it had actually happened. And she had remembered it, which meant there might be more to remember. What else was locked in a vault in the back of her mind? An entire life's memories, all of the ones that had been taken from her. The name of her best friend, whether or not she had a pet, her parents jobs, her schooling, her job, her far away relatives. What would it take to get them all back?

"Go take a shower," The voice in her ear told her as she cringed her face. His voice was the last one she wanted to hear, at least he wasn't actually in the room with her though. Chloe swiftly looked around the room to make sure he hadn't decided to visit her, and she was relieved to find the only living thing in the room was herself.

Chloe hopped off of the bed and put her shoes back on her feet. Apparently she needed them more than she thought, during her trips through the halls, she had managed to scrape the bottom of her feet a couple of times. It hadn't cut deep but it wasn't something she wanted to go through again. She never wanted to go to that tiny dark room again. After her shoes were on and her mind was in the right place, Chloe exited her room and entered the bathroom without even glancing at any of the doors. She wanted something in this house left as a surprise to her. It wouldn't be easy getting used to these new people, but she needed to gain their trust. She didn't want what happened to Rachel to happen to anyone ever again. It wasn't fair, it was cruel. Rachel hadn't really done anything wrong, disliking someone wasn't a crime worthy of death. It was a part of human nature. He was the inhuman one; he deserved to lose his life.

After Chloe grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the camera hanging in the corner of the shower, she removed her clothes and entered the small glass doored room and washed herself clean. She hadn't taken a shower since she was escorted from her last assigned family, and the water felt delightful as it flooded her skin. She dried off and then wrapped the towel around her before she cautiously journeyed back to her room; then she threw her dirty clothes into a hamper and slid on a light pink dress that was hanging in the closet. A package of hair ties sat on the table beside her bed, so she grabbed one and blindly, yet perfectly, put her hair into a ponytail. The window was so tempting, Chloe couldn't bear to waste another minute without checking it again. A brick wall was in place just on the other side of the glass. She considered breaking it but then decided against the action, it wouldn't have done her any good.

She sat down on her bed and stared at the wall and she pondered her choices. Stay up in her room or go downstairs and meet the new family. Chloe couldn't decide which one scared her most, but there was only one choice that would give her any form of accomplishment and it would eventually happen whether she wanted it to or not. It was best to face the beast head on and try her best to put on a show.

Chloe looked at the door one last time before opening it up and strutting down the hall. The stairs were just as easy to pass. Once she reached the living room, Chloe noticed the presence of another person, but she wasn't ready to meet someone new. To go through all the introductions again. To feel scared out of her mind. She wasn't ready to face any of it again. Chloe turned around and stomped up the stairs; then she raced into her room and shut the door behind her. Luckily she found a lock, so she clicked it into place and plopped herself criss cross onto her bed, hoping no one would bother to knock on her door. Surely they would understand her lack of cooperation; they should know exactly what she's been through. Except now Chloe had been through more than them, she had gotten her first strike wide awake. All because she was special, all because he wanted her to learn a lesson, the kind she wouldn't forget in a million years.

Chloe stared at the brick wall on the other side of the window and tried to remember as much as she could about her life. About her family. About her house. About her friends. Anything at all to give her some piece of mind, but she couldn't recall anything more than she already knew. Her families and friends faces, but not their names. To her they were almost just strangers with familiar features, but she knew they were really much more than that. They were the only memories she had left, without counting the recent realistic surreal dream.

Even though she couldn't remember anything about her family or friends, she still wanted to be at home with them. And eat dinner. And play games. And be a normal family. Chloe wanted to be safe and sound, in the comfort of her home, her real home with her parents, and her two siblings. She wanted to fight with them and tease one another. Play fetch or chase around their pet, if they even had one.

She had all the time in the world to think, at least she did until the knocking at her door came. Chloe didn't move; she didn't want to meet them, not yet. The knob jiggled and then someone cursed before giving up and walking away. Chloe waited a few minutes and then checked to make sure the hallway was empty through the small keyhole in the door. Luckily, whoever it was had really left, so Chloe tiptoed back over to her bed and jumped onto the mattress. She closed her eyes and sighed. This was it. This was her life. Imprisonment and rules. Plus the punishments on the side if she was bad. This was no life for a person, this was no life for Chloe.