Pizza Delivery

"Mario's Pizza," said a bored voice on the other end.

"Is there someone working there named Vanessa? A delivery girl."

"Yeah, she's just ended her shift."

"Can I talk to her? It's important."

"Yeah, hold on..."

A few moments later, I heard someone else over the phone. "This is Vanessa. Who is this?"

"This is John Doe. You delivered a pizza for me earlier."

"Uh huh.... Wait, you were the guy Sarah was with!"

"That's why I'm calling. We're over at a friend's place and I need to shed some light onto this mystery."

"Give me the address and I'll be right over!" I gave her the address and went back inside where poor Suki looked like a badgered witness in a trial.

"Who are you really?" Louise asked. "Where are you from? Is Suki even your real name?!"

"That's enough for now," I said as I sat down next to Suki and held her hand. She looked to be on the verge of tears. "Suki, you trust me, right?"

"Of course," she replied.

"And you promised to always tell me the truth."

"Yes, I did."

"If you could answer these questions, you would for me, wouldn't you?"

"...Yes."

"Now, you've told me about your time at the institute but always asked me to not ask about your past before that. Could it be that you won't answer questions about your past because you don't have the answers?"

"I... I...." Then, she started crying and I held her close.

"There, there. It's okay. No matter what happens today, nothing will change between us."

She looked up at me. "You promise?"

I kissed her forehead. "I promise. Okay guys, no more questions till the person I called gets here?"

"Oh yeah," Louise said. "Who did you call?"

"You'll see. She should be here soon."

We sat in an awkward silence watching TV for around 20 minutes before we heard a knock at the door. Louise got up to answer the door. "Huh? We didn't order any--"

"Sarah, are you here?!" Vanessa shot past Louise still in her uniform.

"Please, have a seat," I said. She sat down on the couch next to me so that I was between her and Suki. Louise sat back down looking torn between annoyance and curiosity.

"Another one?" Calvin asked. "Was it a two for one sale or something?"

"Shut up, Calvin. Vanessa, please tell us about yourself and your cousin Sarah."

"Okay... This is really strange. Anyway, my name is Vanessa Nakamura. I'm originally from New York and I moved down here for college. My cousin, Sarah Kobayashi, has been missing for four years. She was 14 when I saw her last. And I'm telling you, that's Sarah!"

"Four years...." Suki said distantly.

"Do you have any proof?" I asked. "Like pictures or something?"

"Oh, I do!" Vanessa said excitedly as she pulled her phone out of her pants pocket. After furiously scrolling for awhile, she handed me her phone. "Here! This is me and Sarah!" On her phone was a selfie with what looked to be younger versions of Vanessa and Suki with Vanessa smiling widely and Suki looking annoyed.

"Oh my god, is that...me?" Suki looked at the picture with wide eyes.

"Don't you remember? I had just gotten this phone for my birthday and I wanted to take a selfie to try out the camera. You were so jealous that I had an iPhone and you didn't."

"iPhones suck. ...Why did I say that?"

Vanessa looked at me with a worried expression. "What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure but I have a theory," I said. "I think that her memories of her past have been erased. Or at least blocked. I don't think she remembers anything before the institute."

"Institute? What institute?"

I looked at Suki and she nodded. Then, I told Vanessa everything. Except the sexual stuff, of course.

"Oh...wow. Wait, she was 14 when she disappeared. And there's no way Sarah would sell herself into slavery."

"I think she was kidnapped. And brainwashed. I doubt there's anything left of Sarah Kobayashi."

"Nothing left? She's right here!"

"Vanessa," Suki said slowly. "I know this is very upsetting for you. Your story sounds so crazy and yet I think it might be true. But even if it is, I really have no memory of being Sarah Kobayashi. I don't remember you. I don't remember my parents. I don't remember the first 14 years of my life. For the past four years, all I've known was the institute. I don't even remember how I got there. My earliest memory is being in the institute. Like I had always been there. I didn't have a name. Just a number. 8438. Every day was the same. Eating, sleeping, watching porn, exercise, and being trained in fellatio, housework, and etiquette. Once a week, someone would come and update my measurements. And besides that one trainer getting in trouble, every day went like that. I had no sense of what day it was or how long I was there.

"One day out of the blue, I was told that someone had bought me and that my name was now Suki Smith. Then, I was dressed in that schoolgirl uniform and blindfolded. I was lead to a car and after a long drive, the blindfold was taken off and I was in front of John's house. After having me give him one last blowjob, the trainer who drove me took off my collar and gave me my bag. And that's when I started my new life with John."

"This is so strange. You look like Sarah. You sound like Sarah. You probably act like Sarah. And yet, you're not Sarah. Not anymore. It's like those people killed my cousin and replaced her with you. How are you okay with this?"

"Because I have John. And I can't miss a life I never knew I had."

"What about your parents? You might not remember them but they never forgot you! Do you want me to tell them that you'd rather live with the one who enslaved you instead of going home?"

"Vanessa, it's not like that. You have no idea how lucky it was that John picked me!"

"Actually," I began, "you going home might not be a bad idea."

"You're...sending me away?"

"Of course not! I'm going with you. Your parents deserve to know that you're alive and well. And maybe going there will jog your memory."

"Maybe I was wrong about you," Vanessa said. "If you're serious, then we can catch a flight once I'm on Winter Break."

"That should give me some time to earn enough money to pay for plane tickets. But anyway, what do you want to do Suki?"

She was quiet for awhile. Then, she said, "I'll go but I want more outfits. I hated being seen in this two days in a row."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Calvin said.

"These are literally the only normal clothes I have right now. My only other outfit is a slutty schoolgirl outfit and I doubt my parents would want to see me in that."

"I wouldn't mind seeing you in that!"

"Shut up, Calvin," Louise said. "Suki, I'm sorry I was so mean to you. I was worried for John. I hope we can still be friends."

"I forgive you, Louise," Suki said. "It's because of you that I have the answers to these questions."

"I think we'll be heading home now," I said. With that, we got up and Suki hugged everyone one at a time. Calvin hugged her a little too long which got him a slap upside the head by Louise.

"Okay, I have to ask," Vanessa said. "Are those implants? No one in our family has boobs that big."

Suki giggled. "No, they're not implants. I don't know for certain, but I think they put hormones in my food to make my breasts grow."

Vanessa looked down at her own chest. In her loose shirt, I wouldn't make out how big her breasts were but Suki's were way bigger. "Lucky you!" Then, she laughed.