Going once Going twice Sold

Piper

We stood staring at each other, my mind racing with excitement at the sight of another person in the house. The room was silent for what felt like an eternity as we just stare at each other, before I was able to speak.

"What are you doing here? Are you being held as well?" My words spill out in a jumbled mess.

Piper's eyes widen at my sudden barrage of questions.

"Held? What do you mean held?" She looked around, clearly confused by my question.

My stomach dropped. Does she not know who I am, or how I got here? Has she not seen the news or heard about my friend's disappearance?

"Harry! He's holding me here against my will. You have to help me escape." She was taken aback by my ecstatic behavior, then she softened.

"Oh, sweetie. It's going to be okay. You aren't being held here against your will. Has Charles given you your new medication? I step back in panic and confusion.

"Harry told me about the accident. You're going to be okay." Fear flooded every part of my body as the words left her mouth.

"Accident?" What was she talking about? The only "accident" was that I was kidnapped, and I'm pretty sure that happened on purpose.

"What are you talking about? There was no accident. I was out with my friends and I was kidnapped, along with one of my friends and we were sold as part of a human trafficking ring, to be used as a sex slave. I need to get out of here and get back home. Please. You have to help me." My voice trembling as the volume increased.

"Shhh." She says trying to soothe me, "it's going to be alright. I know it's hard to remember. The doctors explained that your amnesia was severe. We can go speak to Charles and Harry about it if that will help." I was now on my feet, backing away from her, hysterical at the lies she was telling me.

"No. You don't know what you're talking about. I don't have amnesia. Harry is a criminal and Charles is in on it too. They are lying to you. Please. You must believe me." I say with desperation in my voice. My eyes start to sting and my vision becomes blurred with the tears that are now welling up.

But before she had a chance to go anywhere I grabbed her arm. "Please, tell me what you were told about this supposed accident," I ask in a calm voice.

"I should go and get Harry so he can calm you down. Please, wait here. Don't go anywhere." She says, looking worried.

Piper gestures to a couple of chairs. I turned mine around so it was facing her, I sat, waiting for her to begin.

"Okay, so, not so long ago you were with Harry, driving somewhere, and there was a car accident. You guys were okay, but you hit your head. At first, there didn't seem to be a problem. About a week after being discharged from hospital you started to lose your memory. You'd be doing something then all of a sudden you would forget where you were or why you were there. It got worse when one day you went to go shopping, you got into the car and ended up 600 miles down the highway with no recollection of how you got there. From then on it got worse. You would wake up and not know who Harry was or even who you were. I sit silently, absolutely dumbfounded as she recalls the lies that Harry had fed her. "As your memory began to worsen, he didn't know what to do. He checked you into a hospital, to get help. They found a legion on your brain tissue, which they said was the source of the amnesia. While they were able to prevent you from forgetting everything altogether, they were unable to fix your long-term memory."

When she finished, she reached out to take my hand, I pulled away from her looking at her in shock. I stood up, pulling at the roots in my hair. "It's not true. None of it. It's all lies. I looked at her and all I got was a sympathetic look. "Piper, please you must believe me. I don't know Harry. None of what you just said happened. I've only been here a couple of days. He kidnapped me. If it were true about the amnesia, it doesn't explain why I believe I was kidnapped." I look into her eyes, for any indication that she believes me.

She continues with her explanation of events. "The lesion wasn't the only thing the doctors found. Before doing the brain scan, they screened you for multiple psychological disorders that could possibly have been the cause of your amnesia. They concluded that you also suffer from false memory syndrome. You believe this memory of being kidnapped to be true for almost a year. The doctors say it might go away." Again she came and tried to hold my wrist. "You will be okay."

I became extremely overwhelmed by emotion. I wanted to shake her and scream at her and tell her how crazy she was for believing what she had been told, but I can't. I don't want her to think that I'm crazier than she already thinks I am. I definitely didn't want her to take me to Harry. I can't let him know that I know about this lie he has told everyone.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get upset. It's just a lot to take in. Thank you for explaining everything to me. I can just imagine how many times you've had to explain it to me." I reached out to hug her and she smiled.

"Of course. It must be so scary for you. If you need anything at all just let me know, but for now I must get back to work." She broke our embrace and walked out of the room. Leaving me alone in the massive kitchen. I really don't know what I'm going to do, but I do know one thing, that he is going to do everything in his power to keep me here.