Headache

 

Chapter 10: The Interrogation

 

It felt like I fell and bumped my head. I leaned my forehead down into my palm to massage my temple. There was a small swell right there, like I was growing an egg under the skin. 

I remembered now. I was knocked the fuck out by my own weapon.

Lowering my hand, I felt the ground beneath me. It felt funny. Looking down, I wasn't sitting on the ground, but in a seat. A car's seat.

Trying to hold in my rising panic, I looked and saw the door to my right, then to my left the rest of the car's interior and the driver himself. Kidnapped. ’I've been kidnapped!?’

He hadn't noticed me being awake and aware yet. ’At least, I don’t think so?’

Hold up. There was a near confirmation that this was Jeremy. If he knows Kim, which it seemed he was more familiar with her house than I was, then he might not be a real bad guy I assumed he was. ’Maybe he took me because he's aware I'd be -- well, we probably both be in trouble with my family if he took me inside, knocked out, and a bump on the head?’ If that were the case, we'd be in deeper trouble driving out and away from the house.

Now that I was awake, I needed to start thinking of a way to get back.

’Should I jump out when I have a chance or chance speaking with Jeremy?’ If I did tried to escape, a moving car would make me look and feel like a hamburger. ’Maybe if the car came to a stop?’ Looking out the window, the city at night was a whole new world to me. It was flashy during the daytime, but at night was like entering a tunnel-like nightclub with every kind of radiance illuminating the darkness was in a radical way. One blink and the atmosphere of the city changed with the passing.

I gulped and took a breather. There was no way I could find my way back home without help. Speaking with him was my only option.

I noticed that he had put in me in a seat belt. That was considerate of him. ’That or he anticipated me panicking and jumping out the door at any moment?’ Either way, my safety was being taken into account.

While I was chilling out, I took the time to inspect what this Jeremy looked like. Before I got clocked in the head by the pool stick, he appeared to be a really tall guy. He wasn't quite as formidably built as Greg, but to judge them by looks alone was a little unfair. His shoulders were postured differently then Greg's little hunch from, what I guess, was lifting weights far too often. Jeremy had a straight back with his shoulders properly pulled as if anticipating a drill sergeant to tell him to stand up straighter.

Red hair. Dark, rich red hair laid on his shoulders. It was so wildly everywhere that it had to be like that from just waking up. ’Did he jump right out of bed or was he never bothering to fix his hair?’ That lion’s mane of red went everywhere except over his face.

Since he was sitting up properly, Jeremy's chest had looked like one of those barrel chested guys. ’Might be his posture that was giving me that impression?’ Despite him wearing a shirt, I could see through its outline that he had solid and dense muscle packed lean beneath there. He was still very strong looking, if not quite equal with Greg. 

I wouldn't have stood a chance and certainly didn't when I attacked Jeremy. Those arms, while stretched out to reach for the wheel, rippled with tightly stretched cords of steel strong muscle. He had a sure grip secured on the wheel and only dropped his hand when reaching to shift gears.’Was he tense about something? Upset?’

Drifting away from that hand on the gear shift, I glimpsed at the bulk of thick muscles in his thighs. He wore shorts. I think he was the first person I’d seen and met wearing something that fit this weather and environment. Wait. ’Is he wearing boxers? Did he jump straight into his car without care for what he wore?’

Like I was one to judge. Me in Pajamas.

I lifted my gaze back up to his face. He had a clean, but lean and tired looking face. ’Perhaps he was exhausted?’ Those dark circles under his eyes suggested -- to at least me -- he didn't sleep very well. There was also the corners of his mouth that made me think he didn't smile too often. Like, if he did smile, it would lift from a perpetually expressed frown into a straight lipped display of neutrality. Stoic type.

Right at this moment, to keep quiet or not, that was the question. I knew we were going to be talking sooner or later. ’But was it a good idea to begin conversation in the car or when we reached whatever our destination was?’ Might be a good idea for me to at least ask him where we are going.

"Uh, hi?" I watched him for a reaction. He gave me a glance, which in turn gave me a glimpse at his sleepy emerald-green eyes. The way he was breathing definitely gave me the impression he was exhausted in some way. ’Not physically, but maybe in a mental manner? Emotionally, maybe?’

"How bad is it?" He let go of the wheel for a second to rub his eyes and then tap his own forehead to indicate my bump on the head. Blinking, he righted the wheel and I felt a little jerk in our car's continual motion.

"Headache and I've a bump. Not feeling sick or anything, so probably not concussed." ’Should I ask him where we are going?’ Couldn't hurt. "Where are we heading?"

"My place." It wouldn't have mattered if I asked where that was with my incredibly limited knowledge of the area.

"Okay." I supposed now was a good enough time to jump him with questions. "So, you're Jeremy?"

"That's right. Jeremiah Celosia Kegan." Now I knew where the online abbreviation came from and I was thankful he kept JC short and sweet.

"Look um... when you called, I expected us to have a conversation over the phone. I didn't expect you to come..." ’...And kidnap me?’ With a raised brow, he glanced at me quickly and returned to watching the road.

"You're going to answer my questions." That could have been done over a phone, but it was me with the questions here. ’What did I know?’

"Can we make this mutual? I have questions of my own."

He shrugged. "Maybe. If you answer me honestly, I don't have a problem with that."

I leaned back in the passenger seat and waited for him to ask a question. When he didn't speak, I spoke up. "Uh, you going to ask me anything?"

"At home."

"Why? We could save time in the car and then you could take me back to my home before I get into deep shit with my family."

"Keep quiet until we get there." I could here a little anger rising in his voice. Taking my lower lip between my teeth securely, I kept silent.

It took a minute longer before we pulled up to a speaker box at some gate. At first, I thought he was going to press a button to start talking to some security guard. He did press a button, but the gate just swung open. With him shifting gears rapidly, the car went into reverse at a perfectly smooth angled backup, then did a furiously fast wide turn to make it into the expansive opening beyond the gate and headed for a large and dark building. ’It might have been a mansion?’ I couldn't tell in this dark. The city was bright and flashy. This place was dark and gloomy.

Compared to where I've been so far, I didn't like how welcoming this home was. When we parked, I changed my mind. "Look, I -- what I did was stupid. I shouldn't have contacted anyone. Please just take me back home."

"We can agree on that. You're stupid." I jumped like a scaredy cat at how hard he slammed his door shut. My hands fumbled to unbuckle myself and had miraculously managed by the time he opened my door. "Get out."

I returned to nibbling on my lip and took care to slowly stand as I got out of the car. Knowing how I was, I didn't want to end up tumbling out with a black out from getting up too fast again.

Apparently Jeremy was impatient.

He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me the rest of the way out of the car. "Hey! Hold it --"

"I've been holding it long enough. Let's go." I didn't tumble, but I certainly stumbled out of the car and tripped over my feet trying to stand. He spun me around and had gripped my shoulders to begin pushing me towards the front door to his home.

"Wait. WAI-- Fuck! What's your problem?" Being shoved at the door, I turned back to face him as I leaned against the doorframe.

He grabbed me again and commanded me to, "Move," as he opened the door. Nearly tripping over my feet again, I moved.

They were a dim glow right now, but lights were gradually brightening and revealing the inside of the home. It was a close to endless void of space through the door. Towering tall windows were lined up high to either side along the walls until reaching up to the top where the lights slowly came to life. Just like those lights in my family's basement, they were a LED-like rope that traveled the outline of the window embedded inside their windows’ frames. I guessed that was meant to keep the light in and not flashing and disturbing the outside world.

At the furthest end of this opening, which I'd supposed was called a grandhall for this palace, was a large table. There were items on the table, but the light wasn't bright enough yet for me to tell what they were except to see the dark shaped outlines on the horizontal length of the tabletop. Drifting my gaze to the left of the table, I saw a pair of doors. I wasn't sure where they went, since it looked almost as if they would lead right outside, but that didn't make sense. ’Why would two doors, side-by-side, lead straight outdoors?’

In a few seconds, still being pushed forward, I saw another revelation above me. There was an indoor balcony beyond the window walls, before the end of the grandhall continued up unto another floor, right above and roofing where the great table was located at the far end. Beyond the balcony, I had a glimpse of stairs leading further up someplace, but lost sight of its destination as I continued to be forced walking forward.

Up to the table, he pulled out a chair and told me to, "Sit." I gave the chair a glance, then glared up at him.

"What did I do to piss you off?" In the corner of his jaw, I saw the muscle there twitch as his teeth clenched in restrained fury to shout at me. He reached out and pulled me to sit down into the seat. After a single attempt to struggle out of his grip, he simply yanked me down into the chair and held me there.

He leaned down to my ear. "Please, sit." I was momentarily stunned.

Another chair was grabbed and turned around to face its seat openly towards me before he sat down in it. Facing me, we locked eyes for a minute in silence until I couldn't take this anymore. Immediately, I tried to stand back up. With a swift grab, I was pulled back down into my seat single-handedly.

"Let me go!" His grip on my arm tightened into a vice until it became painful. "Please let me go!" I grabbed his hand and sunk my nails into his skin while attempting to dislodge his grip from my arm. "Please!"

He’d finally let go. I held my arm and sank a little further back into my chair.

"Try leaving again without my say so and it will be worse." I wanted to retort, but my teeth were chattering and I didn't want to display my current fear of him. "Do you remember my name?" I nodded silently, trying to calm down. "Say it."

Closing my eyes, I swallowed and then took a deep breath. I waited for a few seconds before letting it out. It helped a little, but I began to shake. Frowning, I let go of my arm and held a hand up to gesture for him to wait. I took another deep breath.

Viciously, he grabbed my arm again and furiously yelled in my face. "Say it!" I flinched at his roar more than from the bruising force around my arm.

“Jeremy!” I had cried out his name twice in terror. "Jeremy!"

That anger in his voice had toned down as he specified how I should say his name. "The full name."

I grabbed his hand again while saying his name. "Jeremiah Celosia Kegan." He let go of my arm.

"Wrong." I shot him a look of disbelief.

’It was what he said in the car, right?’ "What? But you said --"

"Quiet." Shutting my mouth, I stared at him like he was crazy. ’Maybe he was?’ His green eyes roamed of me for a few seconds. "What's my name."

"I told you, but not I don't know."

"Say it." ’What should I do? Repeat the name I was told, even if it was wrong?’

"Jeremiah Celosia Kegan." I couldn't keep my teeth from chattering anymore.

"That's right." I dropped a little in my seat. ’Really?’

"What the fuck is wrong with your hea-- STOP!" I screamed out for him to stop. If before was painful, the grip on my arm became an agony I’d never experienced until tonight. He twisted his grip around my arm to dig the tip of his thumb in until I could’ve sworn he was stabbing me with it.

"If you speak out again, I will break this." He held my arm up as I relentlessly broke the skin on his hand scratching and scrabbling to remove it from my arm. I was nearly thrown to the floor when he violently threw my arm down. "What is your name."

"Keh-- Kim." I righted myself in the chair and kept my gaze down. My shaking was becoming much worse and I probably wouldn't be able to calm down at all tonight.

"Look up." I raised my eyes to him. "Keep that up. Don't look away when I speak to you." I nodded. "Please, say it again."

"Kah--”

“Clearly!” His voice had raised, but it wasn’t a shout. “Please, again.”

I closed my eyes a moment and wiped the tears from them before I tried my name again. “Kim."

He stared at me for a few more seconds before he asked me a odd question. "Are you in pain." I quickly nodded. "Say that you are in pain or not."

"I am."

"You are what?"

I nodded to my arm while frowning up at him. "My arm hurts." Again, he just stared at me, but in an observing manner. His eyes kept looking over me as if he was searching for something.

"When I brought you here, did you tell me your name?" I thought about that for a second, then shook my head.

"No."

"Tell me your full name." That took me a moment. I knew my name was Kim Ondine, but I wasn't sure if I had a middle name or if I was actually a Kimberly. Dr. Anstone was the only one to call me Kimberly, but that might have been her pet name for me.

I shook my head a little and gave it a whirl. "Kim Ondine."

His eyes stopped and stared at me. "Say it again."

"Kim Ondine." After repeating myself, he smiled, and his smile was exactly how I thought it would be. A straight line, but with a little grinning curled up at the corner of his mouth to identify he’d smiled.

"Now I know when you're lying." If I didn't have a headache from being knocked out earlier, I would have now. He didn't make sense. I opened my mouth to protest, but instead I shutup and gripped my arm more securely from his reach. "Do you know Kim?"

"I'm her." He lost that little smile.

Like a frightened rabbit spotted out on the open lawn, I felt the need to bolt from the chair when I saw his look. I turned away from him in my seat before he would grab me again. Before I could stand, he stood too quickly and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"Don't. I'm not going to break your arm for lying. I said if you spoke out, I would." He kept his hands on me until I cooled my jets. "But, please, stop lying to me." Sitting back in his chair, he gestured for me to speak while he repeated the question. "Do you know Kim?"

’What should I say? That I am Kim and not at the same time? That I'm actually a guy trapped in this mixed body?’ If I said that, he'd think I was crazy. No, he'd think I was lying and my situation could become worse than it already was.

I shook my head again and repeated, "I'm Kim."

Watching him, he closed his eyes for a brief moment and exhaled slowly. When he looked at me again, he spoke slowly. "I'm very tired and not in the mood to play games. If you lie to me again, I will make this the worse night in your life."

That made me laugh, "You've never been struck by lightning." His brow rose at that.

"Didn't expect that, but okay." He looked me over again, then nodded. "I see." Then he shook his head. "One more time, do you know Kim?" I shut my eyes and shook my head again in frustration.

"I --" I didn't want to finish it. Opening my eyes, I looked at him and said, "My body is Kim, but my mind is not anymore." There was a look of confusion on his face.

"Say that again?"

"I'm Kim, but not up here." I let go of my aching arm to point at my head. "Not since the storm."

"You can't be." He looked me over again. "Close resemblance, maybe, but you're not Kim."

"You get bolted in the face sometime and see how you look." He shook his head.

"If it was just your face, I could believe it." Shaking his head again, he continued. "Kim had -- lightning doesn't take away height. I could believe you lost weight, but your shorter than her. No -- ha, you’re younger." At least I wasn't the only one who thought that.

"I have been told multiple times I'm eighteen." He shrugged.

"I guess, we all mature differently." He shook his head again. "That doesn't excuse you. You are not her." His hand shot up to forestall me from speaking out. "Stop. I still have my questions." Dropping his hand, he resumed. "Kim disappeared a month ago and no one has been able to get in touch with her. I asked her family and they said she was fine. Out on vacation." He pointed at me. "You're telling me you're Kim and that things were far from okay. Is that it?"

It was delayed, but I digested what he told me. Someone was lying, but I understood why. If the hospital, the State, had told my family to not say a word, then they did what they could. The more Jeremy knew, the greater trouble I was getting my family in. I vowed not to place a burden on them and now my stupid actions tonight was probably turning into the worst case scenario.

With a single sigh, I bit down on my lower lip and hanged my head low.

"Look up at me and answer my question. Was what happened true?" ’Do I tell him that Kim really had experienced a near fatal injury and survived against impossible odds?’ That wouldn't be true because I wasn't exactly Kim. I wasn’t Chase anymore either.

Lifting my gaze back up to him, I didn't have an answer. ‘What should I tell him?’ I couldn't risk the trouble going beyond these doors. "I can't tell you."

"Can't?" Watching him nodding at me, he appeared to become more upset, but also had this look like he concluded a decision. "Fine. You won't be leaving until you can." My eyes widened in fear.

I quickly explained. "If I don't go back home, my family will come looking for me and we all will be in trouble."

"Your family? Look at me.” He pointed at himself and said, “I can tell when you are lying. When you say, 'Your Family,' you are lying." Oh God, he was giving me such a headache!

Without thinking, I shouted at him. "They are my family! Just because I don't know them doesn't make them any less my family!" He leaned forward, rested his arms across his knees, and got too close in my face.

"True. Here is a good question. Might clear things up for me." His eyes resumed to roam over my features again. "Are you telling me that the lightning gave you amnesia?"

’How do I answer that?’ I don't have amnesia. I didn't lose any memory. "I don't kno--"

"Simple answer. Yes or no." My mouth shut when he told me that. I honestly shook my head. "That was easy. Let's start settling these answers this way. Yes or no, unless I tell you to explain."

I sobbed an, "Okay."

"To clarify, let's start over. Do you truthfully know Kim?" He watched me, his eyes looking for clues anywhere he could if I spoke the truth or not.

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. "No."

He pulled his face back away from mine. "Do you know what happened to her?”

“No.” I didn't even know what happened to me, let alone her. I shook my head again.

"Do you know who does?" My family clearly didn't and I was certain that the hospital was more confused about my case than anyone. It was possible that Kim got involved with something that caused this, but I had no clues. I could blame the government, but that was without foundation.

I shook my head. "No."

"So far, so good, but here is a tricky question." He reached out and grabbed a hand and tried to grab the other. I struggled for a second with him until he caught it and held both my hands tightly. "Do you call yourself Kim?" Those hands that held mine now were nearly large enough to envelope mine completely.

I felt a fresh prickle of fear run over my skin and lance through me. "I --"

"Yes or no?"

"Yeh-- Yes." His grip tightened.

"Does the Ondine family believe you are Kim?"

I cracked out, "Please don--"

"Yes or no?"

"...Yes." I clenched my teeth and hissed as his strong grip broke open my hurt knuckles. He didn’t stop and the grips caused my limbs to begin shivering with pain. "Please...?"

"Have you been making them believe you are Kim?" I dropped and shook my head.

"Please st--"

"YES OR NO!"

"Ye--" I couldn't finish. Silently, I screamed out a short cry and choked back the suffering I was voicing. He crushed my hands.

His brutal strength spiked around my hands when he yanked me up and off the chair. I hung off the ground in the air only long enough for him to throw me down onto the floor. Despite my knees and shoulder having banged off of the floor, my hands were free and I felt relief in that.

Curling up into a ball on the floor, I found my voice again, but kept silent as I cried.

I pulled my hands down to inside my ball, onto my lap, and tenderly held and protected them there. They shook so violently, it was difficult to hold them together and I had to keep pushing them into my lap to keep still. ’Were they broken?’ Looking down at them, I couldn't tell from their outward appearance.

"You were going to pick up where Kim left off. Was that it? Just take over her life?" I looked back up at him. For a second, I shook my head, but stopped. That was one of my plans... I had intended to be me, but to keep up the appearance as Kim with a different outlook: mine.

It was my intent with Brittany. All it would take was dressing as a guy and I'd look like a tragically scarred pretty boy. I could disguise myself going around the city this way. If no one knew who I was, then no one would care.

Except for my family. Kim's family. That was what set Jeremy off, wasn't it.

My shoulders and gaze curled more inwards. I managed to sob out a, "Yes," to him and remained silent after. I remained on the floor in this silence. Minutes passed and neither of us did anything.

Finally, he broke the silence. "You do resemble her." I looked up and watched him get out of his chair to kneel down to me. "Get up." He was careful picking me off of the floor, but still pulled me up with him to my feet and forced me to walk. My shoulders were kept securely gripped in his hands and my back was blocked from retreating by the hard wall of his stomach and chest. He plainly kept me from going anywhere than where he guided me.

We walked to those two doors off to the side. The one he opened up by reaching over my shoulder, keeping his arm pressed down on my shoulder for me to remain, and showed me it didn't go outside exactly. There was an outdoor corridor that had stairs heading up to the balcony above us, but no way to pass through the bars barring the outdoors.

Up we went...