I waited {L.S}

1.2

It was a couple of hours until we got to my house. Their house? I hadn't been there in.... how long was I gone exactly? I picked at the skin around my nails as I thought about it, trying to remember, but he made it impossible to actually know how long I was there. Sometimes I would sleep days on end and wouldn't know unless he told me.

We stopped at a store and my mom said I could get something to eat. I had no idea what to get. I mostly only had bread and some meat if I was really lucky. All the candy and sweets seemed extreme, so I went to the drink section and pulled out a water. I clutched it tightly in my hands while I slowly walked to the front where my mom was. 

I set the bottle on the counter and she turned to look at me. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

I nodded, looking down at my hands. She walked away for a second before placing something on the counter that I didn't catch. I looked at the man behind the counter and swallowed thickly, stepping closer to my mom. The beeping sound from the machine was weird. She paid for the things and took the bag the man handed her. He nodded at me and I just followed my mom instead.

When we got in the car and I put my seat belt on, my mom handed me the water and a bag of Goldfish crackers. "You don't have to eat a lot, but please?"

I nodded but didn't make a move to open them right there. I waited for a while, eventually opening them and eating a small hand full over the course of the rest of the ride. I started to recognize things the closer we got to the house.

When we pulled up in front, I was scared. I was going to be different. They weren't going to get the old me back either. Even if they wanted me to, I wouldn't be able to. They were going to hate me. They would get mad at me.

"Hey, the girls know that you're coming back and that you need space, okay? They're going to be gentle with you," my mom explained. I wanted to ask how she talked to them, but the words still wouldn't form. Instead I nodded my head and slowly climbed out of the car and made my way to the front door.

Lottie opened the door and grinned widely when she saw me. Fizzy popped up next to her and bounced lightly on her heels. "Louis," they both greeted happily. 

I found myself smiling a small bit. I waved at them, keeping my hand close to my body. They both stepped backwards and my mom and I walked into the house. "Where are the twins?" Mom asked.

"They needed their nap. We tried keeping them up but they weren't having it," Lottie explained. 

My mom nodded, then patted my back. "I'm gonna go check on them, okay?"

I nodded, looking at my sisters as she climbed the stairs behind me. I looked around the house that I remembered, but I didn't remember.  It was the same house, just there were new things and new pictures. I walked over to a group of them on the wall and stared at the girls, pausing when I realized how big the twins were. I turned around and pointed at the picture, confused.

"Those are the twins." I nodded, then found another picture that I remember them taking when they were only a year old and pointed at it, then held up one finger. Then I pointed to the other picture and motioned at it, hoping they would realize what I was asking. "Are you trying to ask how old they are?" Fizzy asked. I nodded again, letting out a small breath of relief that they had gotten it right.

"They're seven, Louis," Lottie answered slowly. I paused and stared at her, shaking my head slowly. 

I was not gone for six years. There was no way I had been gone for six years. I was still eleven, I wasn't seventeen. I couldn't have been.

He locked me away for six years?

With no one but him consistently? 

It happened for six years?

I continued to shake my head as I stepped backwards. Tears filled my eyes as everything that happened to me played over, adding in the fact I had been stuck there for six years. I wrapped my arms around myself as I pushed my back into the wall. My breathing was getting harder to control as it felt like I was getting pulled back down into the memories.

I faintly remember someone yelling for my mom, then arms around me. I thrashed and shook my head, wishing I could scream and get away from whoever finally grabbed me.

"Louis, its Mom. It's okay, you're safe. You're safe, baby. You're okay now."

I whimpered quietly but stopped fighting, shaking instead. I was gone for six year. Six years  that I could never get back. My mom held me tightly to her chest and combed her fingers through my hair. "You're okay. You're at home now."