Memory Risk

Chapter 9

     Without any locks on the door, it wasn't hard for Vivienne to barge into Trent's room. Stacie and Trent shot up out of bed at Vivienne's entrance. She closed the door behind her, and looked Trent dead in his eyes.

      "If you don't want me to say, what you know I want to say," Vivienne began, "tell me what you know about Aiden. What's his relation to Jordan?"

      "You're crazy Vivienne," Trent replied. "This is what we were talking about Stacie. She's off her rocker."

      "Do you really want to bring Stacie into this? Because I can bring her into this if you want me to."

      Trent shook his head and closed his eyes. He placed both hands over his temples and pressed his fingers into his skull. There wasn't any leverage that Trent had. Wanting to extend the moments that he had with Stacie, Trent told her what she wanted to hear. "He's the cop that killed Jordan's son. I was there when it happened. These kids were giving the cops a hard time. Mostly, they were giving Aiden a hard time. He started arguing with the kids. He wanted to arrest the kids. There was a struggle. A kid ended up getting shot...I saw the whole thing...The cops covered it up, making Jordan's son out to be a bad guy, when, in actuality, Aiden is the one that provoked it. Aiden got off, became a hero, and Jordan's son died a villain...Can you please leave now?"

      Vivienne backed out of the room without saying another word. Trent was stressed and dropped back down into the mattress. Stacie rolled over, and gave Trent the comfort that he needed. Aiden exited his room, and caught Vivienne standing outside of Trent's room with a shocked look on her face. There wasn't any denying that she knew his secret. When she made eye contact with Aiden, Vivienne strutted over to him, never taking her eyes away from his. He fought hard to swallow past the lump in his throat.

      "What you said at breakfast," Vivienne started, "was uncalled for. The way that you tried to use my demons to discredit me, was hurtful. I now have the upper hand here. I know your secret. I'm going to wait to see how this plays out. I'm not sure what I want to do about all of this. I just want you to know that I'm ready to bring your whole world down...I'm excited to see what Jordan does to you."

      Vivienne walked away and Aiden stood there, not saying a word. He stared off into space, swaying on his heels. Aiden knew he was in trouble, that his security was fading, and there was no way out. Quickly, he returned to his room to dispose of the dinner that was rapidly escaping his stomach.

      The main room was quiet, and empty when the main door unlocked to let Jordan return. All of the pain from his loss had crippled him, and he didn't want to move. He sat in the chair, with tears streaming down his face, unwilling to comply with any request. An opportunity for him to see pictures of his son was the only thing to motivate him to leave the confession room.

      On the screens in the main room, the experiment directors, put a slideshow of Jordan's son, on a loop. Wanting to see more pictures of his beloved little boy, Jordan slid out of the chair, and crawled out into the main room. Sitting on the floor, he watched as the pictures cycled through. Getting to his knees, Jordan touched the screen longing to hold his boy one last time. In his anguish, there was never a moment that he regretted getting his memories back.

      Jordan's commotion out in the main room gained the attention of the others. Stacie was the only one to leave from the doorway of her room. Feeling terrible for Jordan, Stacie rushed over and gave him a hug as tight as she could. Trent and Vivienne both stared at Aiden, who watched Jordan dropped back down to the floor in Stacie's arms. Maddy didn't know what to do. She stood still, taking in everything that was happening.

      For fifteen minutes the slideshow rotated on the two screens before it faded out. Maddy had returned to her room. Aiden waited outside, wondering what Jordan's next move was going to be. Trent sat on the couch, biting his nails, fearing how this was going to blow back at him. Vivienne waited at the table for Jordan to compose himself. Stacie stayed with Jordan, holding him, as he watched the slideshow. When it was over, Jordan jumped up from the floor.