62 Epilogue: Six Years Later

The cold feeling of handcuffs chilled my skin as they kept me restrained to my plastic chair. My hair was down to my upper back again, with the one purple strands I had gone completely. The bright color of orange stood out from the plain and simple room I was sitting in. It wasn't any jail cell, but instead a therapist's office. Every now and then I'm brought here for evaluations and exams. My most recent therapist just left, having given up on me. I'm not going to lie, it hurt to think that some guy just gave up on me and left me here to rot. The office though was a place I felt much safer in, more so than the prison down the road. Six years I've been in here, and my sentence never feels like it's going to end. At least this person isn't the worst of places.

I jumped at the sudden sound of the door opening and closing loudly behind me. I wasn't able to turn my head fully to see who was walking into the new room. I was informed today that because my previous therapist left, I would be receiving a new one. They didn't tell me who though. My eyes glanced down at the floor as I let out a long sigh of exhaustion. After seeing how successful my last therapist was, I didn't have very high hopes for this new one. Just as the footsteps of high heels approached from behind I heard a female voice speak up.

"What a mess you've gotten yourself into." She said, walking a bit past my chair and turning to look down at me. "You promised no more killing."

Once I heard that voice, I froze. Slowly, My eyes looked back up at the woman in front of me, and once they saw who she was, they started to tear up. Riley bent over and gave me a hug from my seated position. I wanted to return one to her, but the handcuffs around my wrists prevented me from moving my hands more than a few inches off the armrest.

"I- 'm sorry," I whispered, my voice shaking.

"It's okay." She wiped the tear from my eye, "I'm getting you out of here." She smiled and sat down at her own chair. Riley pulled out a small notebook and a pen before placing them on the table. She was all dressed up, wearing a nice formal suit. Her purple hair hasn't changed much, though it was noticeably longer and tied back into a ponytail.

"You're my new therapist?"

"You bet. It's taken a lot for me to get here, but I made it. That and a bit of convincing that I wouldn't illegally break you out." Riley replied with a slight chuckle. A small smile formed on my face, probably the first one in a long time. It hurt to do so, however, as the large bruise on the left side of my face only made it feel sore.

"I want to get you out of here as soon as possible Zoey, So let's start. How have you been for the last six years."

"Lonely. Tired." I looked down with disappointment, "I know what I did wrong, and after thinking about it for so long, I have come to regret what I did."

"Mhm. Have you made any friends?"

"Not really. Just people who do and don't like me."

"Do you at least try to fight back?"

"I try."

"Didn't end well?" She tilted her head, glancing at the bruise.

"No." I looked back up at Riley. She had brought a folder with her that had my name labeled on it. She was skimming through the files for some time before looking back up at me and smiling.

"So from the files, You've been kinda rebellious with the last few therapists. You know after a couple of these they'll give up and might just execute you right?" Riley said in a joking tone. I only let out a nervous chuckle and nodded. "Well, let's hope I don't leave you." She began writing in her notebook. "So... this is gonna sound really cliche but I need you to tell me where it all began. Tell me everything."

"Everything? Where it all began?"

"Yeah. Just talk to me like we're having a normal conversation. Tell me your story."

I took a deep breath and let out a small sigh before looking back at Riley. She was actually here for me, after all this time. It felt good. I don't know what she had gone through in these last six years, but even after everything she still worked hard to come here to save me. Riley still loved me, just like she promised.