The Stolen Mind

Chapter 7

             It had been about two weeks since Ashton snapped. He was still refusing to talk to me. He was eating meals in his room and isolating himself from everyone. I wasn't sure what was happening with him but I didn't like it. I wanted to talk to him but knew that's not what he wanted. If he wanted to talk, he knew where to find me. Dr. Daring didn't talk to me much and was in his office for most of the time. I didn't socialize with a lot of the other patients, not wanting to get attached to anyone. Most of them probably thought I was crazy. Yesterday was the first day I didn't take my medication. The nurses stopped checking that I swallowed my medication so when they turned their backs, I took the pills out and tucked them safely away in my pocket. After meals, I'd go and flush the medicine down the toilet. I didn't make it obvious, so I'd head to my room at different times after meals so no one would get suspicious. I really wanted a friend to talk too but Ashton wasn't there. So much for helping me through this. I was on my own and for the moment, I was doing okay with that.

           I slowly started to remember events in my past. The first thing that returned was my family. My mother, father and younger sister, Amy, lived in a small house out in South Carolina about 15 miles from Myrtle Beach. As soon as I turned 18, I decided to move to Myrtle Beach in an apartment so that I was closer to the ocean. I loved the beach and found a cute apartment with an ocean view. I worked as a waitress at a local restaurant while going to school to be a nurse. I was only one year into the program before I was kidnapped. I was still active in my families lives. They had to be worried sick. I wondered if they had given up looking for me by now. Did they assume I was dead?

            Despair struck me as I started to remember more and more about my life. It didn't come back all at once, only in small pieces. I wanted to remember it all right now but sadly, that's not how it works. For the past few days, I remained in my room for a good period of the day. I didn't go to group which I'm sure angered Dr. Daring. I hadn't seen him in several days which was fine by me. I knew he was a criminal and the less interactions I had with him the better.

             I was laying on my bed after breakfast, closing my eyes trying to remember more. I found it better when I was alone in a quiet room for my memories to return. It funny how my memories work, they just randomly appear, shocking me every time it happens. This recent memory made the hair on my arms stand up. The day of my kidnapping.

            Today was terrible. It was a Saturday night and I had just finished a ten hour shift at the Pier. It was a nice restaurant that was right on the beach, perfect for tourists. The only downside was that tourists tend to not tip well. Putting up with needy customers all day and having to close the restaurant was a nightmare. My feet were aching and my clothes smelled of fish. I went into the bathroom and changed out of my work clothes since I had managed to spilled a full glass of Coke on me as I was cleaning up the last table of the night. I always brought extra clothes with me because I knew that I wasn't the most steady waitress and it wasn't a rare occasion to spill food and drinks on myself. It was something I was working on but it seemed impossible. I just accepted the fact that this was temporary until I became a nurse and would never have to balance a tray of food anymore. That day couldn't come soon enough.

            It was nearly one in the morning and the cool night air gave me goosebumps. I only had a tank top and shorts to wear home. I had changed into a pair of flip flops to let my feet cool off from wearing gym shoes all day. Thankfully, I didn't live that far away, only about a mile away. It wouldn't take me that long to walk home. I didn't own a care due to being a broke college student so I had to put up with walking to work and my best friend giving me rides to school. Everything else I needed was in walking distance which was fine. I enjoyed the exercise I got. Sure, it sucked after a ten hour shift of non-stop walking but I'd get over it.