Page 130 of Amnesia

I patted his leg. “It’s fine,” I murmured over my shoulder.

“Like hell it is,” he muttered back.

“Please continue.” Another officer urged.

I nodded and went back to what I was saying. “Earlier tonight, Eddie and I were in bed sleeping when there was a loud knock at the door.”

“You and Eddie are in a relationship?” The officer cut in.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Doug! You know we are!” Eddie snapped.

I winced. “He hit his head. They had to shave his hair. He’s had a bad night.”

A few people in the room snickered. Eddie growled.

“Anyway…” I went on before anyone else could make him angrier. “Eddie answered the door, and it was Mrs. West. She claimed she needed help, that she’d been trying for hours to get back out to her island.”

“We have witnesses that she was in town today at the general store.”

Eddie nodded.

“She came inside, and Eddie offered to help her. We left the room for a minute, and when we came back, she attacked us.”

“Knocked me out and kidnapped Am,” Eddie corroborated.

I nodded. “She knocked me out, too. Next thing I knew, I was on her not-damaged boat in the middle of the lake.”

“Where was she taking you?” the officer asked.

“She said back to where I belong. She hates me.” My voice fell as I remembered the venom that spewed from her eyes. “She blames me for the injuries on her body and says someone forced her to come and get me. She said he wanted me back.”

The room fell silent as my words sank in. The entire situation was sick and twisted. “She was the one who attacked me at the hospital. She’s been watching me.”

“So you’re saying the people who kidnapped you and held you prisoner for eleven years wanted you back?”

I nodded.

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t remember.”

The officer shifted, glancing up at me. “What do you remember?”

I told them about the first memory I had when I fell in the shower, how I was certain I’d been physically assaulted and abused. I talked about my hair and what I’d done to it, and then finally, I told them about the night I’d somehow gotten away and ran into the hunter’s stand.

My voice trembled, my body shook, and horror made me want to vomit.

“And…” I said, stopping to take a deep breath, groping behind me for Eddie’s hand.

“We can be done,” he whispered, rubbing my back. “I’ll tell them to go.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s been nearly twelve years of mystery. I don’t know much, but I can at least tell what I do.”

I felt the attention of every single person in the room. Everyone hung onto every horrendous word. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I said it out loud. “That night Eddie found me, no one tried to drown me. I jumped off that platform. I tried to kill myself.”

Fat tears slid over my cheeks, and my shoulders shook as I began to cry. Eddie wrapped himself around me from behind, whispering in my ear it was going to be okay.

I felt everyone’s eyes avert, an uncomfortable wave going through the room. Everyone pitied me in that moment; no one knew what to say.

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