Marie
"Please help me," the skinny girl whispered, "my name is Isabella Swan. I was taken from my family a long time ago. I want to go home."
The woman's mouth was agape and her eyes wide. She took in the girls state and skittish attitude. She was silent for a moment and then said, "say that again."
"My name is Isabella. That's all I know. He took me a long time ago and I escaped. Please don't send me back… " Marie's voice broke at the end.
She was desperate. She wanted the woman to believe her. She felt that everyone could see through her lie. She had to be strong. Her eyes flashed around the room taking in all the commotion. People rushed around the room, answering phones and combing through stacks of paper. But all the girl was focused on was the police officer. She hugged herself tighter if that was even possible. Another officer noticed them and walked over. Marie's eyes became even more fearful. She tried to calm her breathing.
(They can't find out. They can't find out. Don't be weak. This is my chance to get away. Don't be a coward.).
"What's going on, here?" He asked.
"The girl claims that she's Isabella Swan," The woman whispered to the fellow officer.
The man looks her up and down for a few seconds and turns back to the woman. His lips are pursed and takes a look at her again. They have some kind of unspoken communication going on. Marie looks at the floor and vigorously sucks on her lip until he finally says, "follow me."
The officers lead her out of the crowded lobby, around the corner, and into a private room. The walls were just a plain grey and alone sat a metal table and four chairs. The door slams shut and it's just her and the woman.
Marie knows that what she's doing is bad. Impersonating another person is a crime and she could go to jail. She knows that she'll be punished if she's found out. She'll be punished badly. It's what James said would happen. She saw how badly the police messed him up when he was arrested for a minor offense. He took out his anger on her. Marie doesn't want to even know what they would do to her. She just has to stick to her story. It's too late to turn back now.
Her heart pounds against her chest and sweat gleams on her forehead. She tries to conceal her shaking hands but the officer notices. She doesn't say anything.
"Take a seat sweetie, I'm Officer Graham," she says, "Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Marie knew that if she ate anything, she would probably just puke it up. She said no and the officer relaxed into the chair fiddling with a pen. A few moments later the man from before walked into the room. Marie jumped in her seat and stared at him as he walked over.
"This is Private Investigator Wayland," Graham said. Wayland sat down in a chair and held a manilla folder in his hand and placed a recording device on the table. It was pointed at her.
"We would only like to ask you some questions, are you alright with that?" Graham asked her. Marie nodded her head and looked her in the eye. She watched as the two of them glanced at each other and gave a little nod.
"So, Isabella- you told Officer Graham that you were taken. Are you saying that you were kidnapped?" Investigator Wayland questioned.
Marie felt a shudder go through her body. She looked down at her shaking hands and said, "yes, I was kidnapped."
"By who?" He demanded.
"James Hunter. I was always kept in the attic," she whispered. Marie was telling the truth. The painful truth. Nobody could have made this up.
"He kept me locked inside this cage," her hands gripped the sides of the chair. "It was always cold. I could only lay on my side or kneel. It was a cage made for dogs. That's all he thought I was… an animal," she laughed without any humor. "He only let me out when he wanted to do stuff-"
"What stuff?" The Wayland quickly asked.
Marie looked at him with tears in her eyes. "He liked to touch me. He would put himself inside me. I didn't like that. He also would hit me and kick me. He was always so angry." It started to become hard for her to speak and her voice trembled but she continued. "The other times, he would let me out to use the bathroom or to give me a bath. But I was never left alone out of the cage, he was always there."
(Girl, shut up. Don't you dare say another fucking word. I'll know if you disobey).
His voice was in her head. He never went away. She yanked at her straggly mahogany hair and tried to ignore her mind. Marie knew that she was doing a bad thing. She didn't need him to tell her that.
"He didn't trust me, I had tried to escape to many times. He eventually got fed up and locked me up. There were almost no windows in the attic except for one in the ceiling. That's the only way I'd know what time of day it was. I liked to look at the moon. It gave me comfort, it was so beautiful."
Tears ran down her face and she didn't bother to wipe them away. The officers were quiet and asked another question.
"How did you escape?"
"James left the cage and the attic door unlocked. I thought it was strange because he was always so careful. He was acting kind of weird and-"
"What do you mean by weird?" Officer Graham cut her off.
"He had come up to give me food and was very unfocused. He was fidgety and mumbling to himself. I think he'd just gotten home because he still had his jacket and shoes on. I tried to talk to him but he just shouted at me. I didn't understand that because he never raised his voice. He was always so calm and planned everything out. James was only with me for a few minutes before he left the attic. I heard a car start and then the house was silent. I didn't know what I should do, I thought it might have been a trap to see if I would escape. I stayed inside the cage for about an hour or two before I realized that I was truly all alone. I crawled out, stood up and walked out," She swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering the eerie silence of the house and cold dark stairs she walked down.
"I realized that this my chance to escape so I just ran. I didn't even grab shoes or a coat. I was too afraid he would come back."
Investigator Wayland placed his hands on the table and tapped his fingers. "And you came to the station?"
Marie nodded her head. "Yes. I didn't know where else to go."
Officer Graham bit on the tip of the pen and studied her. Marie squirmed in her seat, feeling like she was under attack.
(She probably didn't believe me. Why would she? I was a nobody).
"What happened the day you were kidnapped?" the investigator asked.
Marie's mouth went dry. She didn't know what to say. She had only heard of Isabella Swan from the news years ago. Isabella's parents, Renee and Charlie were speaking. It was before James had locked her up and let her watch tv. Marie remembered that she looked like the little girl on but James changed the channel so fast, that she didn't get to hear the rest. All she knew was that Isabella Swan had been kidnapped.
"I- I don't know," Marie clenched her jaw. It was a pathetic answer. How could someone not remember when they were kidnapped?
Now both officers were staring intensely at her. Her heart raced and avoided their eyes. She was going to be found out. She knew it.
"You don't know how you were kidnapped?" The investigator's voice is hard.
"No-no, It's been a long time. James didn't like me to think about my life before. He got angry when I did. I just wanted him to stop hurting me so I didn't think about it anymore. I let him do what he wanted with me."
"So, you are saying you just forgot?" He stared at her hard.
"I- yes, I did," Marie gulped. She forced herself to stare at the officers and tried to push away the cramping she felt in her stomach.
"But you know your name is Isabella Swan? You remembered that?" The investigator asked.
"Ye-yes. I never forgot my name. He tried to make me forget. He tried to change me but I wouldn't let him."
She could feel his disbelief. Marie didn't know how much longer she could hold this out.
"How did he try to make you forget?" Officer Graham asked.
"He- he called me, Marie. James said it sounded pure and innocent. He didn't like the name Isabella."
The floor had cracks in it and she counted the number while she waited for them to ask another question. Marie was doing anything to distract herself. She needed something to convince them. She had to convince them.
Suddenly, as if she had been waiting for the moment, someone knocked on the door and walked in. it was a lady dressed in a grey pantsuit and her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She walked over to the three of them and pulled out a chair and sat in the middle of the two officers.
"Hello Isabella, you can call me, Lindsey." She said to Marie. Her voice was firm yet soft at the same time and put everyone at ease. She barely gave the officers any notice when she took the manilla folder from Wayland's hand.
"I'm a psychologist for the police department. I was called in to talk and show you some photographs," she said. "Is that alright with you, Isabella? You have every right to say no. We will understand."
Marie furrowed her eyebrows. If she said no, it would look even more suspicious, but apart of her was curious so she agreed.
"You can take your time. If you need a break or you're feeling overwhelmed just let me know." her voice was soothing as she spoke.
"Ok," Marie whispered. She straightened out in her seat and leaned forward when the woman opened the folder.
"Do you know who these people are?" Lindsey asked.
Marie stared at the picture. It was a photograph of a man and a woman in a backyard. The woman had shoulder length brown hair, a narrow face, and blue eyes. She was standing next to a man with a mustache, brown hair, and brown eyes. They held hands and were obviously very in love. In Between them was a little girl in a sunflower dress. She looked like an exact replica of them. They looked so a happy.
Marie wished that were her. She wanted a mother and father. She wanted a family. James told her that she had no parents. And staring at the photo, Marie knew that the smiling little girl was, Isabella. Marie whispered, "Are those my parents?"
She let her fingers run over their faces and closed her eyes. She could feel the emotions building up inside of her. She couldn't cry.
"Yes, Isabella. Those are your parents. Can you-" Marie cut her off.
"Are they coming to get me? I just want to go home. I need to see them," she pleaded. The psychologist's eyes held some sympathy.
"We can talk about that in a little bit," she said. Marie knew something was up. There was something she wasn't being told.
"I understand that you are scared and probably very tired but we need to confirm that you are who you say you are. Do you understand that?"
Sadly, Marie did. She did everything in her power not to bolt and took deep breaths to calm herself. She refused to look at the officers.
"I need you to tell me your parents names. Can you do that?" Lindsey asked.
Marie lightly scratched her wrist. She knew the answer… she thought.
"My mom's Renee and my dad is Charlie?" She said after a few seconds of thinking. Marie was very unsure about everything and she knew it showed.
All the psychologist did was nod and point at the little girl in the middle. "Who's that?"
It only took a second for Marie to respond, "it's me."
Lindsey, being satisfied with her answer turned to the next photograph and then the next and then the next. Marie had to stop a few times to regain her composure. She didn't recognize anyone or anything and by the end, everyone in the room probably thought that she was a fraud.
"Can you tell me your birthday?" Lindsey asked.
Marie said without question, "September thirteenth."
It was the one thing she was sure on. Marie remembered from the report that they had the same birthday. There was a red dot that kept flashing on the recorder. It caught Marie's attention.
"Do you know the year?"
Marie shook her head. "N-no. I'm sorry,"
"It's alright." Lindsey replied.
She never seemed to get angry about anything… or show any emotions. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
"Isabella, can you tell me your middle name?"
"I-I'm sorry," Marie stuttered. A sob caught in her throat and she could hear James's reprimanding voice in her mind.
"You don't have to apologize." Lindsey sighed.
She put away the photos and handed the folder back to Wayland. The psychologist didn't ask anymore questions. Marie was exhausted and was unaware of how much time had past.
"Isabella, the next step is having a DNA test done. Are you ok with that?"
Her head flew up and pulse quickened. She knew that she was done for once they got the results. Marie didn't know how she could get out of this one.
"Is that really necessary?" Her voice shook. "Do you not believe me?"
Lindsey meaningfully responds "It's not that I don't believe you. It just seems that you have some memory loss- which is normal for someone who has been your situation. It's not uncommon for victims of abuse to block out some of happier memories. The brain will do whatever it takes to survive. Think of it as a coping mechanism."
Marie nodded her head. Did that mean that, all she had to say was that she didn't remember? And no one would think differently?
"I'm going to go phone the hospital," The psychologist said. She paused and looked at Marie for a few seconds before leaving the room.
Marie's entire body tensed up again as she left with the two officers. She ground her teeth together and tried not to show her nerves.
James would be so angry if he could see her now. She had broken so many rules and done so many bad things. She couldn't even lie properly. Marie almost wished for James to come and slap her in the face. She almost wished for him to punish her; Marie wanted to feel reassured. She didn't like waiting for the punishment to come.
"Do you really think you are that clever?" Officer Wayland suddenly said.
Marie started at his angry face. She flinched back in her chair and her lips trembled. She didn't know how to respond.
"You and I both know that you are not Isabella Swan." He growled.
Her eyes were wide.
"Hey, calm down!" Graham told her partner.
"You can pretend all you want but I know the truth. Enjoy this while you can," was the last thing Marie heard before she collapsed to the floor.