Page 14

"I figure she ain't through with me," he says, his voice flat and resigned.

I let out a small humorless laugh.

"Yeah, you're probably right," I agree because really, what else is there.

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I’m not as comfortable with change as I thought. I’m uneasy with this change of demeanor of Jane’s victim and wonder what’s changed the last few years.

“How long have you been here?” he asks randomly. I dart my eyes back over to the table for a moment, thinking about if I should answer before deciding there’s no harm.

“About fourteen years,” I tell him. At that, he snaps his head toward me, abject fear in his eyes. The contrast to a moment ago is startling.

“What did she do to you?” I ask in a whisper. It's the first time someone has acted more scared of being where I am than being on that table. I empathize, but wonder what the fuck Jane did to him if he’s already figured that out.

He looks at me a minute longer before turning back around. I get the sense he’s thinking of how to answer so I stay quiet.

“I-I woke up in her bed,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “I was just down at the Subway hanging around with friends and went to take a piss and woke up there. At first when I woke up and saw her, I actually laughed.”

“Laughed?”

“Well, I wasn’t afraid when I saw it was a girl.”

A foreboding shiver runs up my spine.

“Girl?”

He ignores me, apparently lost in recollection. “She didn’t like when I laughed. Sh-she cut me and then…”

“And then?” I urge him on, needing to hear it as much as I dread it.

“Fuck, she started dancing and shit and then cutting me. Sh-she got mad when I couldn’t... get h-hard and she… she….”

I interrupt, swallowing deeply. “This girl,” I ask, “Was she young?”

“She was barely more than a child,” he says, though I don’t think he’s answering my question or even listening to me. My heart crashes at his words. Mia did this. No, Teddy.

“She practically fucking raped me!” he cries out suddenly. “I couldn’t help it. She just kept rubbing blood on me. I couldn’t help it! Then when I couldn’t do it anymore, she cut me and sent this crazy fucker to take me away!” He’s frantic by the time he finishes, and I regret asking. I feel myself pale as a wave of nausea rises. The cuts all over his body make infinitely more sense now.

“Did….”

Before I can finish, a voice carries down the gallery corridor. My eyes widen.

“Ring-a-ring-a-rosies,” she sings, “Pocket full of posies!”

The door slams open and Amelia steps in. I can’t breathe, taking her in for the first time in years. She’s so grown up. So… beautiful.

The homeliness of her as a child has fallen away to reveal a beautiful young woman, though she’s still wearing a ridiculous frilly dress, much like when she was younger. Long blonde hair falls around her face and she looks at the boy on the table with a manic grin. My heart beats fast as I watch her, willing her to look at me.

“A-tishoo, a-tishoo we alllll falllll down!” She finishes on a shout, jumping and falling flat like a rag to the ground in front of my cage. Her eyes are closed for a moment before they open wide and the grin reappears.

“Just kidding!” she shouts, jumping up with a ‘ta-da’ motion. “Y’all can’t get rid of me that easy!”

When neither of us respond, she scoffs.

“You guys are boring,” she says. “Let’s have some fun.”

She walks over to the cupboard and starts rifling through, and my voice finally comes back to me.

“Mia?” I manage to croak out, trying to come to terms with this crazy young woman in front of me, so at odds with the girl I knew. Her back straightens and she turns slowly, a scalpel in her hand as she makes her way over to the cage in front of me.