Hollow

Chapter 10

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I woke up with the sun shining through the window next to my bed. The digital clock on my bedside table told me that it was 7:03, exactly one hour and three minutes later than I'd woken up every morning of my life before arriving here.

I stood up and smoothed the blanket down over the mattress and adjusted the pillow on top of it. I changed from my light blue pajama pants and matching t-shirt and into a pair of jeans and a white tank top. I'd also slipped into a bra, which I'd never worn before coming here.

Miranda had been teaching me everyday terms, like the different names for clothing and modern lingo that people spoke with.

Today marked two weeks that I had been with Miranda and Victor and they'd been more than hospitable. Not only did they fill my closet with clothes, but they showered me with more attention than I'd ever been given before.

This life was so different. Never before had I known such gentle and kind individuals. -Well, I supposed I did know them, but I still had no memory of that.

A lot had happened in the two weeks that I'd been staying here. Samantha and Angela were frequent visitors here, even more so than Liam. I had yet to meet his fiancé as she was out of state for work, but he assured me that he would bring her to the party being thrown for me.

The party planner, Carol, who was also my grandmother, had come to visit just days after I'd come. She was in hysterics, nearly hyperventilating at the sight of me. She came every few days to drop by, and luckily, she was slightly more calm with each encounter.

Along with the many family visits, I'd also taken my intelligence assessment. Vanessa, the FBI agent that had helped me, handled everything. She scheduled everything. I was tested a few days ago and was told that we would need to wait for the results.

I made my way down the stairs, letting my eyes roam over each picture hanging on the walls. I found myself doing this often. At the base of the stairs there was a small table standing along the wall, it's surface covered with picture frames and knick-knacks. I would stop in my tracks and look over each photo.

I was in a lot of them; a younger version of me. In one I was smiling widely into the camera dressed as a princess. In another I was standing next to Liam at one of his soccer games. In another I was sitting on the front porch with my parents. I felt a dull sadness when I found that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember any of these moments.

I moved out of the hallway and into the kitchen. I knew that Miranda would be up soon as she was naturally an early riser.

Just as suspected, Miranda entered the kitchen not even ten minutes after I had. She smiled as soon as she saw me.

"Good morning." She said, coming over to my place at the table and hugging me. I'd become familiar with her physical contact and I didn't mind her hugging me anymore.

"Good morning." I responded.

She pulled a tray of dough from the refrigerator that she had prepared the night before and set it on the counter. She had decided that today would be a nice day for her homemade cinnamon rolls and I was eager to try them.

She was a very talented pastry chef, from what I could tell. She made sure to make something new with every meal. She'd said that she was making up for the fact that I'd never indulged in such pleasures.

She dove into preparing breakfast and started up light conversation, asking me how I'd slept. I stood next to the counter and watched her work as we talked.