It was Friday, the rest of the week had gone by without much event. Not even Remy the bloodhound could sniff out another clue or lead. It seemed like our investigation was doomed.
I was wandering the halls aimlessly, just trying not to run into anyone. I had no sense of direction anymore—mentally; my physical sense of direction never existed to even be lost. I wondered if I should let it all go and live the rest of my life as if none of this ever happened. Maybe I could?
"Hey Elora. I have a date with Harper tomorrow, so I was thinking of coming over tonight instead."
I took a moment before I responded, partly because I was shocked Kevin had a date with Harper, but mostly because I forgot that he was coming over this weekend.
"Harper? Why are you going on a date with her? She totally used you at homecoming." I replied. My response was cold, but I was worried about him getting hurt.
"That was a misunderstanding. We made up. Anyway, here are some peach candies. We only have a few periods left so hang in there!"
I took the gummies and walked off, dropping them inconspicuously into the nearest trash can I could find. I meant it when I told Remy I'd never be able to eat these things again, but I also don't want to hurt Kevin since this is sort of our thing, or was our thing.
At the end of the day, Kevin drove me home.
"Elora, go sit at the kitchen table and roll up your sleeve."
"What?" I turned to face him but he remained nonchalant.
"Go sit at the table and roll up your sleeve. I'll be there in a minute." Kevin turned to face my mother as she walked in.
"Did she eat them? She's acting more lucid than usual." My mother said meeting Kevin's eyes.
"She's a glutton, of course she ate them." Kevin laughed.
"When did you give them to her?" My mother asked, looking back at me.
"A few hours ago so they should have kicked in. Don't worry, she's probably just developing a tolerance for it. I'll up the dose next time. It should still be effective in wiping her memory, but we might need to be a bit more aggressive when taking the sample."
"I'll take care of that."
My mother pulled a roll of duct tape out of the kitchen drawer and confined me to the chair. She stuck another piece over my mouth, all while Kevin started prepping a needle and specimen tubes from a little box in a safe under the sink that I've never seen before.
"Do you need any help finding her vein? You should do the left arm this time and I know it's a pain." Kevin commented over to my mom.
"I'm good, but thanks." She replied, barely sparing him a glance as she got to work.
This had to be some sort of joke. Kevin and my mom weren't really going to draw my blood. For what purpose? Kevin wouldn't just drug my peach gummies like that. How would he, they come prepackaged?
My blood? MY BLOOD! What? What the heck was going on! Resistance? The gummies were drugged? How long have they been drugging me and taking my blood for? What do they even need my blood for? They have to have a camera up. Maybe this is for one of those prank videos or something?
Kevin wiped the inside of my left elbow with a cold alcohol wipe and then pushed the needle inside of me. I was tied too tightly to move or resist, but I certainly tried. They were taking my blood.
Tears streamed down my face. How could they do this to me? Why? What were they going to do with my blood? I tried to scream but I couldn't. I sat there, helplessly, until I lost consciousness.
I woke up in my bed with a raging headache. The same headache I had last time Kevin visited.
I laid there in tears. How long have they been drugging me and taking my blood? Why? Does my mom want to kill me like she killed my uncle? Did she draw his blood too? Is that how he really died? What was happening.
I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Then I searched the house for my phone. It was left in the pocket of the clothes I wore yesterday. They changed my clothes? They took my blood and then they changed my clothes?
I dialed Remy's phone.
Brriinng...
Brriinng...
Brriinng...
"Hello?" He answered.
"Remy." My voice cracked.
"Are you crying? Are you okay?" Remy's voice sounded hurried.
"No. Please help." I begged through my sniffles.
I don't remember much from there. All I know is that I woke up the following morning in a warm memory foam bed with a giant duvet and Remy's mom, Linda, by my side.
"Good Morning, Sunshine! Let's get you some breakfast, okay?" She reached out her hand and began to stroke my hair, which was down and flowing over my face.
I didn't reply, I just sat there dazed.
"Elora, sweetie? Remy will be here in  just a moment. You are safe now. The boys got your things from that place and are setting you up a nice room down the hall. You can stay here as little or as long as you want, okay?"
"Okay."
Mrs. Smith got me dressed and Remy came in immediately after. His timing was lucky considering the fact that he didn't knock, but I didn't quite have the mental energy to scold him about it either.