“
Yes, just talking. I’ll
see if I can get you in this week.”
Twenty-Seven
P
resent day . . .
A two hour crying jag mingled with dry
heaves left Katie’s body exhausted. Her head felt like someone was
taking a sledge hammer to it with every heartbeat. After pulling
into Gram’s driveway, she put the car in park, and eased out of the
car. Usually she would skip up the stone path to the porch, but
today she walked slowly, shoulders slumped, until she reached the
door. Suddenly feeling like a stranger in the home she thought
she’d spent her life in, she wasn’t sure if she should knock, ring
the bell, or just walk in like she’d always done.
Using the last bit of strength from
her body, she opened the door, walked through the foyer and down
the hall, following the sound of laughter until she reached the
kitchen where her grandmother was. She was sitting at the table
with someone—a man.
When Gram saw Katie standing there,
she jumped up. Instead of the usual ecstatic look that would spread
over her face, she looked worried. “Katie, love, what’s happened?
Why are you so upset?”
Katie moved closer and watched the
strange man stand and turn to face her.
Gram introduced him. “Katie, this is a
friend of mine—”
“
Pete.” Katie
interrupting. The look of shock and sadness on both their faces
confirmed Katie’s nightmares were true. “Gram, we need to
talk.”
“
Yes, we do.” Gram’s eyes
filled with tears as she turned to Pete. Everything she was
thinking and feeling was portrayed on her face.
“
I’ll call you tomorrow,”
Pete said. “I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.” He turned to Katie, nodded
his head, and took the side door out.
Katie took a seat across from Gram and
waited for her to sit. “Please, tell me I’m wrong—or help me
understand. A flood of memories assaulted me this afternoon—I
remember details of a life that I didn’t live. How is that
possible? I also have clear memories of a childhood with you. I
remember playing one-two-three-kick up the driveway, and songs we
sang together. What about all of the pictures and toys?”
Gram tried to interject,
“Katie—”
“
How could all of those
things have happened to me? And what about Branson? He thought I
was—oh, God! We want children—can I even carry a child after
everything my body endured? My whole life has been a lie. He has no
idea who he’s marrying.”
Katie was spiraling out of control,
and Gram needed to get hold of the situation. “Katie, listen to
me!” She commanded her attention. “You don’t have to tell him
anything. Just go on like none of this ever happened. Don’t you
know that’s what I’ve always wanted for you?”
Katie’s phone buzzed with a text from
Branson:
Where R U?
Katie ignored it and shut her phone
off when it began to ring.
“
You should at least let
him know that you’re okay.” Gram pressed.
Katie stayed focused on the reason she
had come—for answers. “Am I crazy? Do I have an alternate
personality or something?”
“
No, honey.”
Gram and Katie sat for hours detailing
Katie’s past. Gram told her of her parents’ death and finding out
that she had a granddaughter. “When I found out about you, I asked
Pete to find you. We’re old friends, and he has powerful
connections.” Gram started a pot of coffee and sat back down. “I
was so happy when he found you, but you were in a terrible
situation. When he brought you to me, you were so frightened and
lost. You’d been through hell and were shaken by horrific
nightmares nearly every night. I thought my love for you would be
enough, but it wasn’t.” Gram wiped the tears from her eyes. “So, I
took you to a hypnotherapist and had your memories altered. I
thought it was for the best—you would only have happy memories of a
full life and be able to live the life you were
intended.”
Gram stood to pour coffee. Katie went
to the liquor cabinet, poured some brandy into her cup, and sipped
the hot, spiked coffee.
“
How could you do that?
What right did you have to try and control my life?”
“
I didn’t know what else
to do,” Gram said, her voice cracking as she pleaded with Katie.
“Please believe me, I only wanted what was best for you. I just
wanted you to be happy.”
“
I’m not sure how I’m
supposed to live now.” Katie’s eyes became distant, contemplating
her new situation. “I don’t know who I am.”
“
You bloody well
do
know who you are.
You’re Katie Harrington. You’re smart, compassionate, funny,
beautiful, talented . . . shall I go on, or are you getting the
point?”
The front door swung open, startling
the two women. They watched as Branson rushed into the kitchen,
relief washing over his haggard face. “Thank God.” He exhaled. “Why
didn’t you answer my calls? I was worried sick.” Noticing Katie’s
puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks, he rushed to her side. “What’s
happened? Are you all right?”
Katie was tipsy from two cups of
liquored-up coffee. “I’m . . . okay. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your
calls, I-I just needed to see Gram.”
Branson was confused. It wasn’t like
Katie to be gone when he got home from work, and it was definitely
out of character for her not to phone or leave a note if she was
going to see Gram. The way she’d been acting the past few weeks had
him worried that something might seriously be wrong. He looked to
Gram for any sign of what he should do or think.
“
Branson, would you like
to stay here tonight? Katie’s had too much to drink to drive
herself.”
“
I’d like to take her
home, thank you. Of course, if you want to stay . . .” He waited
for Katie’s answer.
She shook her head slowly, feeling the
effects of the alcohol. “No. We need to talk.”
The drive home was silent,
and Branson’s mind roamed. He thought about every circumstance that
would have Katie acting this way.
Is she
having a breakdown? Maybe she’s too stressed out? I knew the
emergency room was too much for her. What if it’s an
illness—something incurable? Oh God, does she want to break our
engagement?
He shook his head and looked
over at Katie sitting in the passenger seat. Her eyes were puffy
from crying.
It’s bad, whatever it
is.
When they arrived home, Branson sat in
the dark leather high back chair across from where Katie sat on the
couch. “Katie, please tell me what’s going on.”
All the color from Katie’s usually
rosy cheeks vanished. “There are things about me that you don’t
know—things that I have recently learned about myself—things that
will change everything.”
Twenty-Eight
Katie inhaled deeply, trying to find
the courage to speak. She twisted a strand of hair around her
finger and held onto it tightly for security. “I don’t even know
where to begin.”
“
Whatever it is, we’ll
work through it together. Just spit it out, Katie.”
She took another deep breath and blew
it out audibly through pursed lips. “Apparently, Gram found me when
I was sixteen. She had my memories altered to believe I had a
wonderful childhood, but I didn’t,” she said, tight-lipped. “It all
began when I was seven. My parents were heroin addicts, and I was
forced into foster care. My foster parents were cruel and unloving.
They beat me and Ally regularly.”
“
Ally, she’s the girl from
your dreams?”
“
Yes, we were raised
together as sisters.” She took a moment to catch her breath and
swallow back the growing lump in her throat. “When I say they beat
us, you have to understand—it wasn’t a spanking with a belt. They
used wire hangers until our legs bled, or an extension cord. Once
Rick, my foster father, got so mad he locked me in the basement for
two days with no food and no electricity.”
She left out the part about how he
backhanded Ally for trying to get him off of Katie. He hit her so
hard, she was unconscious for about ten minutes. Katie shivered
when she thought about Rick’s intentions. How could someone be so
twisted and perverted?
Katie wiped the tears from her face
with the back of her hand. She felt a massive migraine coming on,
but ignored it. If she didn’t get this all out now, she might lose
the courage. She wanted Branson to have the chance to let her go
before the wedding date got any closer. They would only have a few
wedding gifts to return if they ended things now.
“
Ally and I couldn’t take
it anymore, we feared for our lives. She came up with a plan to run
away, and I agreed to go with her. She had a grand scheme worked
out and made me believe the too-good-to-be-true plan. She met
someone that promised to take us far away. He had jobs set up for
us and promised we would never be without food or water again. I
was too desperate and too young to see any fault in the plan, so I
packed my bags and went with her.” Katie had to take a moment. Her
body was consumed with the shakes and she was finding it difficult
to continue.
Branson stood and wrapped a blanket
around her shoulders. “Are you okay to go on?”
Katie nodded her head diffidently. “We
drove at night, and I think I must have been asleep when we arrived
in California. When I woke up . . .” Tears began to stream down her
cheeks and Branson handed her a tissue. “They drugged . . . and
raped us.” Katie refused to look at his face. She was sure he would
be disgusted and would never have the desire to touch her again.
Their love had been so perfect and pure, and now it was a
lie.
Katie felt Branson’s arms around her,
pulling her in tightly to his chest. “My God, Katie. How could this
have happened to you? I’m so sorry.”
“
My head is killing me.”
She rubbed her fingers deeply into her temples, trying to relieve
the pain that throbbed through her head with every
heartbeat.
Branson quickly returned with a glass
of water and Motrin. Katie stood to swallow the pills and took the
seat across from the couch, afraid to be so close to him when she
shared the worst part of her past—the part that would have her
returning his engagement ring and packing her bags. She began to
cry at the thought of losing him, he had become her world and she
had never loved anyone or anything so much.
“
There’s more.” Katie
paused to wipe her nose and swollen eyes. “I tried to escape—I did
escape a few times—but was always caught. Each time they would rape
and brutally beat me. Twice I thought I would die, and begged for
the freedom of death, but he wouldn’t kill me. One time I got away
. . . I was gone for a couple of weeks, maybe. I stayed in an
abandoned house. When he found me, he let one of his buddies handle
me. I remember it so clearly now. He said,
‘Do whatever you want, just don’t mark up her face.’
None of them had a conscience.”
Katie gulped each breath as the tears
flowed. Once she could manage to speak again, she resumed the story
she needed to tell. “As horrible as it was, nothing compared to
watching one of the other girls get beaten because of me. He said
every time I disobeyed him, he would make sure she suffered more
than I did. He chose a girl named Piper. She was sweet and always
kind to me. He forced me to watch her being beaten and raped. After
that night, I knew that I would never try to escape again. I did
what he asked of me . . . and sold myself to strangers.”
Katie searched Branson’s face, unable
to read his expression. His lips quivered as he tried to contain
his emotion. Tears pooled at his eyelashes, but she wasn’t sure if
he was angry, disappointed, or disgusted. She stood on wobbly legs
and walked over to where Branson was sitting. His hands were
clasped and his forearms rested on his knees. He wouldn’t look at
her when she approached, he remained still and tears spilled down
his cheeks, leaving a pattern on his slacks.
Katie inhaled sharply and tried to
swallow the sob that escaped as she removed the ring from her
finger. “I’m so sorry.” She placed the ring in his hand and ran out
of the room to pack a few things, hoping to hear him behind
her.
Nothing.
Katie packed enough to live off of
until she could have someone retrieve the rest of her things. Her
body moved mechanically, placing clothes and toiletries into a
duffle bag. She was no longer able to cry as her body grew numb, a
temporary defense from the overwhelming pain of
heartbreak.
She couldn’t bear passing
him in the hallway as she left the house, but had no other choice
except climbing out the window. When she returned to the living
room, Branson was still sitting there in a daze.
I’ve ruined his life,
she thought. Without speaking, she walked through the room,
into the garage, and stood there.
My damn
car is at Gram’s!
Katie sat on the steps,
not able to think straight. She was alone and had no one to turn to
for help at this late hour.
She walked outside and made her way to
the end of the driveway. She pulled out her phone and dialed Gram.
“Gram,” she sniffled. “Can you come get me?”