Theories and Guesses

Chapter 13 - Reunited(Ish)

For some reason, the room she was being kept in was actually fairly nice; the same smooth white walls as in Matt's room, also on the floor and ceiling. There was a simple folding table in one corner, with two folding chairs on either side. In one corner was a white twin-sized bed with a pale blue blanket. There was also a long, full-body mirror hanging from the wall, and a dresser against the wall. The room had two doors on either side, one that clearly had a million locks on the other side, and one that just had a handle. Matt decided that it lead to a bathroom.

Steph was asleep on top of the blankets, laid sideways across it, as if she had just fallen onto it that way. She had also changed clothes, (maybe in the dresser,) Now wearing a comfortable long-sleeved green top, and a pair of jeans. But the worst thing was her feet. She was wearing sneakers, but there was a long chain around her ankle, bolted into the floor. It was long enough to get anywhere in the room, including the bathroom, but not to escape.

Matt slammed on the plexiglass with his uncuffed hand, trying to get her attention. "Steph! Stephanie!" She slowly started to wake up, clearly groggy, but she snapped to attention when she saw Matt. 

"Matt." She tried to shout, but she was so shocked she could only let out a gasp-like whisper. She rushed over to the window, falling onto the ground almost instantly, and just as quickly picking herself up. She pressed her hand against the window, leaning on it slightly. She looked so groggy. 

"Stephanie, are you okay?" He asked. 

Stephanie, on the other side of the glass, started talking, but her voice was confused and stuttered too easily. "I-I um..." Despite her confusion, Matt could hear her loud and clear, through a speaker in his own room. "I can't hear... hear you. She-Valerie, it's-it's soundproof, so... there's a button she usually pushes."

Matt looked back at the speaker that Steph's voice was coming from, there was a red button beside it. Matt pressed it, turned it, and locked it in place. 

"Can you hear me, Steph?" He asked. 

"Yes, Yes! I can hear you!" She sounded so happy. "How did you get here? Are you okay?'

"I'm fine, you're the one who's been missing. What happened to you?" 

Stephanie did her best and tried to snap to attention. "I went to this café after the meeting. A man I had seen before, recording me, warned me that this woman, Valerie, had been staring at me. I went to the bathroom to get away from her, and peaked out the door. I saw the man drinking his coffee, and then he passed out. And Valerie just shoved him off of his chair. So I climbed up on the toilet to get out through the window, but it was too small, and then before I could get back down, someone, Valerie I guess, pulled me down. I hit my head on the floor and blacked out."

Matt rested his forhead against the glass. "I'm so sorry." 

"Matt, she's been drugging me." Stephanie said. "With sleeping pills. I might have died of an overdose if it wasn't for all the water I've been drinking." 

"Thank god you're okay then." He said. Matt looked back up. "Stephanie, listen. The police have investigated the case. They think that Valerie is in love with me and wants you out of the picture."

Stephanie stepped back slowly. She shook her head, eyes wide. "What? No, those are fake leads." 

"What are you talking about?" 

They started to hear the door on Stephanie's side unlock. She pressed up against the glass, both of them wanting so badly to get to the other. The door finally unlocked, and they saw Valerie step into Stephanie's room. 

"Get away from him!" She shouted. Valerie bent over and picked up the chair attached to Stephanie's foot, pulling on it and sending Steph falling to the ground. She started to pull it until Stephanie was close enough to grab. Valerie lifted her up by the arms and wrapped her arm around her neck. 

Matt pounded on the glass. "What are you doing!? Stop!" 

"That's enough out of you." Valerie pointed a remote towards Matt's room, sending the signal bouncing off the back wall and into the mic, somewhere in the room. "Okay, not full mute, but pretty good." She said. She grabbed one of the chairs with her feet and forced Steph into it, taking the excess chain and wrapping it around her and the chair, occasionally passing through a loop or two to make it harder to escape.

"What did you do?!" Matt shouted. On the other side, his voice had become muted and muffled by the glass. The pounding was still loud though, and Matt could hear Valerie and Steph perfectly. Valerie pulled out a small grey case, and took a syringe out. She pushed Steph's neck to the side and inserted it. In only a few seconds, Steph was groggy again. 

"And they say you're the smart guy." Valerie chuckled. "Idiot. I was never in love with you. The one I really wanted..." She kneeled down next to Steph and gently lifted her head up under the chin. "Was Stephanie."