Flashing lights illuminated the inside of the limousine as the driver pulled up to the driveway, aligning the back door to the red carpet on the ground. A path was made ready down through the cheering crowd into the newly opened art gallery. I’m here… I finally made it. Victoria could almost cry. But she wouldn’t. Not now, enough tears have been shed getting to this moment. It would be here name in there, and the recognition would go to and her alone. The name Max Caulfield no longer bore any weight to her, the stupid hipster from high school that always grabbed everyone’s attention. It no longer mattered what she was doing, because the Queen Bee of Arcadia Bay was here with her own works in an art gallery. Not even Mark Jefferson could see this coming.
The photographer’s sleek and pristine black shoes hit the carpet as she stepped out onto the carpet. The scene was surreal as she surveyed the crowd, they were all looking at her. Scores of men and women against the red rope trying to get her autograph, begging for her attention. As she approached the entrance she noticed something odd. Where are my parents?
A flash of light distracted her gaze and stars shined bright in her eyes as she blinked to remove them. Everything was dark as she got her bearings, the scene had changed. A broken window. A television knocked off its stand. She could smell alcohol filling the room. She could taste it. It made her want to vomit.
Where the fuck? Victoria stumbled, turning too fast. Apparently she’s a little drunk. Light. She stumbles and trips over something, nearly falling. But she grips the wall in time, stepping over the object. Splash. It felt like she stepped on something liquid. She could hear the crunching of glass under her feet. Great, I must’ve dropped a bottle or something.
The light flicks on and her face grows pale. There’s dried blood on her hands, her shirt, her shoes. My shoes? The same ones she wore on the red carpet. “Where the fuck am I!?” The scene didn’t hit her, she couldn’t recognize it. A tuft of blonde hair was sticking out from the other side of the couch. Victoria reflexively touched her head. Not mine… She slowly walked over to the pile of hair. The figure comes into view, it wasn’t a pile of hair, it was a blonde women. She was on the ground, her abdomen was crimson. Mom?
Red and blue lights pull up to the driveway, she’s blinded again. Rubbing the second round of stars away from her eyes she’s in another place, The walls are white. The light too bright. She tries to get up but she can’t her hands are strapped to her sides. “What the fuck?” Panic is swelling up inside her, her hair is mess and it’s in her face but she can’t move it away. “Is someone out there?” Victoria looks towards the door on the other side of the room. It’s made of metal, a viewing glass at the top. “Hello!?” She struggles to get up and makes her way to the door, pressing her face against the glass and looking out. Across she can see the same exact door, and half a dozen other lining up and down the hall.
Nurses walked to each door with a cart, handing out medicine through the compartments underneath the window. The nurse stops by her neighbor, out of sight. “Come now, get your meds.” She hears an ungodly scream, but not from the nurse. Someone is shrieking hysterically. Victoria can hear very physical struggling as some burly male nurses rush in. The yelling stops.