Free Between by Mary Ting

ceiling. Feeling tired and weak, I didn’t want to move, but I needed to know where I was.
    Lying there, I reassured myself that everything was fine and that I had nothing to worry about. As I turned my head, hesitant to see my surroundings, I noted that I was lying on a canopy bed. Anxiety rushed through, knowing I didn’t have a canopy bed. My dream told me Michael wasn’t with me, but then could I be sure? I turned my head slightly to the right and I could see through the sheer, white drapes that enclosed the bed. It reminded me so much of the fairytale stories we’d read when I was a little girl, a princess in her tower waiting for her prince to come rescue her.
    When I didn’t see anyone in the room, I carefully sat up. I skimmed the room one more time and placed my feet on the cold marble floor. My boots were set to the right of the bed. Someone had taken them off–or I did–and I couldn’t remember how I got here. As I shivered from the coldness, I heard the sounds of waves crashing on the shore. Then I knew one thing for sure; I wasn’t at Halo City. Curiously, I walked to the double doors as I noticed there were no windows.
    “ Good morning,” a male voice spoke.
    Shaken by Austin’s voice, I turned. Why was he here? Austin was leaning against the wall, by the entrance door to this room. I didn’t want to admit it, but my heart skipped a beat, happy to see him. A familiar face brought me comfort. His face looked paler than usual and drained, as if he hadn’t slept in days. “What are you doing here? No, I mean, where am I? Where is this place? What’s going on?” I asked frantically.
    “ You can ask me one question at a time, please,” he said in monotone.
    I was taken aback by his tone, and now I was mad at him and I didn’t know why. He seemed different, and that frightened me. Clearly, I had to remain calm if I was to get any answers to my questions. “Where am I?”
    “ I can’t tell you.”
    “ What? You just told me to ask you one question at a time and now you’re telling me you can’t tell me?” I ask furiously.
    “ Ask another,” he said, passively.
    “ Why am I here?”
    “ Ask another.”
    “ Are you serious?” I found myself walking, almost running towards him, wanting to push him, fight him. Looking straight at him, inches from his face, I said, “Why can’t you tell me? What are you hiding?”
    “ I’m not.”
    I backed away, pacing back and forth, something I often do when I get nervous. This was Austin, Patty and Andrew’s friend. If they trusted him, shouldn’t I be able to trust him too? But chills ran down my spine and the floor felt even colder on my bare feet. I kept my eyes glued to the floor; I didn’t want to look at him. I was too embarrassed and fuming inside with anger. But soon I realized that in order to get the answers I needed, I would have to swallow my pride.
    “ Why aren’t you telling me anything? Did you kidnap me?” I finally got the nerve to ask that dreadful question.
    “ No.”
    Then I remembered drinking hot cocoa and everything came back. “You…you drugged me!” I said, feeling worried and panicking at the thought that Austin may be a serial killer or something.
    “ Technically, I didn’t. I just told you to go to sleep and you did.”
    “ You’ve got to be kidding. How did I get here?”
    “ I brought you here after you passed out.”
    “ I can’t remember. What I remember is drinking the hot cocoa you gave me. That drink made me pass out.”
    “ Not exactly.”
    I ignored him. “You put something in my drink. Then you kidnapped me.”
    “ If you want to think that’s how it happened, then fine.”
    This was getting nowhere; we were talking in circles. “Okay, if you didn’t kidnap me then I can walk out that door?” I asked, pointing to the double door behind me.
    “ No.”
    “ Austin, stop playing games with me. I need to go home. My mom will be worried.”
    “ Your mom is out of town.”
    How did he know? He