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A "It’s official There’s two of you" She pointed to the door "I’ inside The dinner smells delicious, even from out here"

Andrea smiled "Yeah Okay I’ll tell the cook I don’t knohat my mother would do without Nor inside

Once ere alone, Andrea let out a sigh "Down to two, huh?" She flinched "I’ like an idiot I’ in there--witha fool I, just… My dad’s an ass hat he did, and I’ her "No That’s not why I was in the car for so long"

"Oh?" She leaned toward me

"You were kidnapped"

Her head bent down "Oh"

"They had you for so long, and I know you were tortured I sahen I untied you"

She stood there, frozen, like she wanted to disappear

I could feel tears building I could barely speak around them "I aht? My face That’s why she’d been taken "I can’t o away I--"

Andrea’s head came back up Her eyes were stricken "My dad left you behind That’s been eating ht He’s been telling me more about our mom, and she sounds horrible No wonder you can’t reot you away frorew up in the foster systeo away"

My voice was soft "You were tortured"

"Not that much"

"Andrea--"

"I wasn’t Really They left me alone most of the time Yeah, they hit me sometimes, but they said it was for effect They took a bunch of pictures, but then they leftbreath "They were angry every day I could hear the ‘it wasn’t working’--whatever that meant Sohting back They kept saying I was their ‘only leverage’ I knew right away they thought I was you I never told them I wasn’t"

"You didn’t?"