Page 50 of Watch Her Bleed
No matter how you look at it, Enzo is fucked in the head. He either raped his little sister at thirteen, then for eleven years to follow, or raped someone who pretended to be his sister. What kind of fucking world do we live in that people just run around raping the others that they are supposed to love and protect? What I would give to have a normal family?
We pull into the station parking lot and I am suddenly dizzy. I had coffee, but I haven’t eaten yet. They tried to get me to eat before, but I am far too nervous for that. “I need to eat something,” I say.
“Check your blood sugar?” Kaia asks.
“I don’t need to. I know it’s low,” I say.
“I’m sure they have a vending machine. We can find you something for now and go get real food after we leave here,” Matt says, and I nod.
We get out and Matt comes around to walk with me, likely in fear of me falling over. When we get inside, we tell the woman at the front that we are here for the detective. Luca sets off to find a vending machine so I can sit. As soon as I do though, Detective Josh Fairfield comes and gets us from the waiting area.
“Aurora. Good morning,” he says kindly.
“Morning,” I say. “We brought something for you all. I don’t know if you can use it, but…” I hand him the file and he waves us along to follow him. He looks through the folder as we walk through the station to a conference room. Luca comes in behind us and hands me a bottle of apple juice and a protein bar.
“Thanks,” I say.
“No problem. Eat,” he says before sitting with us.
“Her new doctor called me this morning and said that the bloodwork they sent off is showing that her blood type is different than what her old doctor has had on file for her.,” Kaia says.
“I see that here. Have you ever had surgery, Aurora? That should be something they notate.”
“I had my wisdom teeth out at sixteen, but they only talked to Mom and Dad, so I don’t know if it was asked,” I say.
The door opens and a woman comes in. She has her dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and she is wearing a black pantsuit. “This is my partner, Detective Celina Baros,” Josh says.
“Nice to meet you,” I say politely.
Josh sighs before sitting back in his chair. “So… I’ll start here,” he says. “Celina and I will always keep you updated on things we are allowed to tell you. Some things we can’t, but we will tell you as much as we can.”
“Okay,” I say, confused.
“So, all of the records of your supposed existence before the age of two are fake. They are all signed by the same man and he is confirmed to have passed years prior.” Josh says. “Your birthday is April 12th, 2000, correct?”
“Uhm… Yeah…” I say.
“There is a girl that went missing from a grocery store when she was eighteen months old. She was born on October 21st, 2000.
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
“Her name was Aurora,” Celina says. “She was wearing a pink onesie, white pants, and pink shoes. She had dark brown curly hair. The only other thing that she had when she was taken was a pink blanket with her name stitched in white.”
“Oh my God,” Kaia says.
“Do you have a picture of the blanket?” I ask. She nods and takes a photo from her file and slides it over to me.
“The Mom made the blanket and took a picture for a scrapbook,” Josh says. I look at the photo and see my blanket, but I am in denial. There is no way that this is real. I hand the photo to Kaia and her mouth falls open in shock.
“Do you recognize it?” Celina asks softly, and I nod. Somehow I knew I needed to bring it. I look at Kaia and sigh before grabbing my bag. I pull the small worn baby blanket out and set it on the table for the detectives.
Detective Fairfield grabs the blanket and spreads it out. “I have a call to make then,” he says. “We will do DNA to confirm for you all.”
“How long does that take?” I ask.
“We can have it back in a few hours,” Josh says. “Do you want to meet them?”
“Are they good people?” I ask.
