“Emma, please listen to me,” Alice was trying to console me in her own way. James, on the other hand, continued to glare at me.

He didn’t even look sorry for what he had done.

I never thought I would find myself in such a situation. But there I was.

“Emma, calm down, honey. Let’s talk, okay?”

Alice looked at me warily. She then moved a slow step forward.

My gaze shifted to the table, where I discovered a dining knife conveniently lying within reach.

I grabbed it without hesitation. James attempted to approach me while this was going on.

“James!”

“No!” I yelled, causing the couple to stop in their tracks. “Nobody move!”

I swung the knife dangerously in front of them.

“Don’t touch me!”

James looked angrier, if possible. 

“Let’s calm down, everyone. Can we all just have breakfast--”        

The woman went to console me.

“I said, don’t touch me!” I yelled at Alice, turning the knife toward her.

“Emma…”

"Is that how you should talk to your mother?" James's voice rang out in the kitchen.

I had momentarily forgotten about him, what with everything that I had experienced and was processing being too much.

I warily stared back at him. My gaze then shifted between my supposed mother and James.

Then I saw something behind them.

There was an opening, a gap between them.

I took the chance.

James seemed to notice at the last minute where I was looking because he tried to come for me.

I immediately swung the knife toward him, slashing against his arm in the process and getting a pained scream out of him.

“Emma!” Alice yelled as I ran past them.

I moved out of the kitchen area, hurriedly looking for a door. Fortunately, I discovered one that appeared to lead outside. I dared to look back, but was filled with dread when I saw James running towards me.

I quickly swung the door open and took off.

“Emma!” Alice yelled for me once more, but I did not dare to stop. I did not dare look back for fear of being stopped and dragged inside the house.

I kept running for a while. Only a few minutes later did I dare to stop. A quick glance behind me revealed that neither James nor Alice were coming after me.

They must not have bothered chasing me after I left the house.

"Fuck," I exclaimed out loud, relieved. I was so glad I had gotten well enough to run.

I closed my eyes, panting, trying to catch my breath.

“What the actual fuck?”

I found myself in a suburb of some kind. And as I considered it, I realized James and Alice lived in the suburbs.

‘So I was here all this time?’

It was good to finally know what it looked like outside Emma’s house after all that time I had spent in it.

That was nice and all, but…

‘Where do I go from here?’

I did not know anyone besides Emma's parents. I didn’t even know her neighbors or anyone else because no one bothered visiting when I was with them.

Seeking help from ordinary people wasn’t going to do me any good, especially with what I was dealing with.

So I had no choice but to go to my alternate resort.

After asking around for directions from wary suburbanites, and after walking for another couple of minutes, I arrived at a police station.

I came across a flyer that began with, "Rollinsville Police are dedicated to helping you..." and stopped reading it.

‘Rollinsville?’ the name sounded familiar to me.

Anyway, I went inside the police station. By then, the swelling had numbed my cheeks, so talking would not be a problem. 

At that moment, I was relieved that I had gotten away from James before he could put me in the state I was in when I awoke as Emma. Who knew if I could have gotten out of that house if that were the case.

"I need to make a report," I informed the available officer. The person gave me a quick glance.

"Go to the office on your right," they instructed.

About a minute later, I found myself seated in front of an officer who was busy writing something on their computer.

The person did not acknowledge me for a while, having said nothing for a couple of minutes.

It was beneficial to me because it allowed me time to think. I came up with an arrangement of words I would say in case the officer turned their attention to me.

“... Hello?” I spoke after the silence lasted too long.

The officer raised his head to face me. He then sighed, stopping with whatever he was doing.

“What is it this time, Emma Kinsley?”