Switched

Lindsey’s POV

I sat on the bed for a few moments, my eyebrows furrowed with confusion, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
This had to be some kind of a joke.
It just had to be.
I had never seen this room before.
I had never seen that woman before.
And I had never seen this dog that looks like its being swallowed by a big, black, fluffy rug before.
Never ever, ever, ever.

I assumed this was Gerard’s way of getting back at me for what I had done to him fourteen days ago on April First.
April Fools Day.
It was pretty good, if I do say so myself.
The look on his face was priceless.
I only wished I had had my camera.

It was around nine o’clock in the morning. Gerard was sleeping, his mouth hanging open, and slightly snoring.
I silently laughed to myself as I crept over to his side of the bed, trying my hardest to bypass all of the parts of the floor that squeaked, not wanting him to wake up, of course.
Slowly, I brought up my hand, which was holding a packet of Pop Rocks. I took a pinch of the candy between my fingers before steadily dropping the bit of the candy into my husband’s mouth.
I remember that nothing happened at first.
But then his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright.
His eyes were squinting, his nose was scrunched up, and he was moving his mouth a bit.
After a moment, he stuck his tongue out and picked the pink candy out of his mouth, looked at it with curiosity, and glared at me when he realized what it was and what I’d done. I on the other hand, was standing their laughing my ass off, unable to control my laughter.

Yes. That had to be it.
There was no other explanation, really.
This was his idea of revenge.
Bring me to this unfamiliar room while I was sleeping and get a strange lady to come and call me Holly.

Smiling to myself, I jumped up off the bed, startling the little, and black rug of a dog that was lying on the floor, causing her to start yapping wildly at me.
“Oh shut up.” I said to it as I walked passed and towards the door.
I yanked it open and stepped out into a dimly lit hallway. I started walking, taking in all the pictures that adorned the tan walls. Some of the pictures showed a man with dark hair standing next to the woman who just called me Holly a few minutes ago. Some were group pictures, showing what I believed to be a family, perhaps at a family reunion or something. Others were of a girl with dark hair, varying of ages with each different photo, each ranging from the age of five to around seventeen. I didn’t really stop to stare at the pictures. To be honest, I didn’t really care who were in the photos. All I wanted to do was get out of wherever I was and go home and yell at my husband for putting me here.

I came to the end of the hallway and took the stairs two at a time, coming to a stop at the bottom. I was in a family room. There was a large flat screen television hanging on the cream colored wall, a dark brown leather couch, and a glass table sitting in the middle of the room on the plush, white carpet. I could see the front door from where I stood and I was tempted to just walk out and find my way home, but I figured I’d let the woman know that I figured out what my husband had done so she wouldn’t be wondering where I had gone.
Walking to my right, I came to the kitchen. The refrigerator, microwave, stove, and dishwasher were all stainless steal. The counters, including the island that stood in the middle of the kitchen, were all made of black and white granite. The stools were black, and sitting perched atop one, sipping a cup of coffee, was the woman I was looking for. I walked forward, came to a stop behind the lady, and gently gave her two taps on the shoulder. She was obviously startled because she just about jumped two feet in the air.

“Holly!” She breathed, her hand clutching her heart. “My God, don’t scare your mother like that. You just about gave me a heart attack.”
She sat back down and took another sip of her coffee, all the while looking at me.

“And why are you not dressed?” She asked with raised eyebrows, that authoritative tone back in her voice. “Didn’t I just come up and tell you to start getting ready?”
I couldn’t help but smirk at how ridiculous this whole thing was.
Gerard was so going to hear it when I got back home.
Bringing me to some strange house so some woman could call me Holly was taking it just a bit too far.

“Okay,” I said, slightly laughing. “We can just cut the shit, alright?”
The woman’s eyes immediately narrowed and she jumped up off the stool she had been sitting on.

“Holly Brooke Warner!” She shouted, shock and complete outrage written all over her face. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

I took a small step back.
That was definitely not the reaction I was expecting, and I was a little thrown off.
This woman had to be taking this joke thing a little too seriously. Or perhaps Gerard was paying her to do this and she thought if she didn’t do a good job, he wouldn’t pay her.

“I know that Gerard set this whole thing up as some idea of a joke,” I said. “And I was just about to leave but I figured I should come and tell you that I know what’s going on.”
The woman looked at me like I had just sprouted another head.

I have to admit though. She had very good acting skills. I briefly wondered if she was actress.
“What are you talking about Holly?” She questioned. “Are you ill? Do you have a fever? Did you take too much Benadryl again?”
Oh my God. How far was this lady gonna go?

“Lady,” I said waving my hands around. “I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but the jokes over. Just stop, okay? I’m leaving. It was nice talking to you, whoever you are. I’m Lindsey, by the way, but you probably already know that… Anyway, yeah. Bye.”
I turned around and started walking back into the living room.
Well, no.
I tried to walk back into the living room, but I was stopped by the lady grabbing my wrist.
“Holly! What in the world is wrong with you?” She screeched.
Yes, seriously.
Screeched.
It honestly hurt my ears. I wanted to plug them but I refrained myself.
“I’m not Holly,” I said, snatching my arm out of the woman’s grasp. Honestly, wasn’t trying to come off as being mean, but this woman was taking this thing way, way, way too far. “As you already know, so let’s drop this already, alright? I think you’re taking this a bit too far.”

“You are Holly,” The woman said, her angry mood seemed to be turning into a sad, confused, ad worried one. I swear I saw tears forming in her eyes. If this was a movie, I’m telling you, this woman would be nominated for an Oscar. “And you’re worrying me. Why are you acting like this?”

Unable to stop myself, I shouted, “No! I’m not Holly. I’m Lindsey! What is wrong with you? You and I both know this is a joke that you’re just taking way too seriously.”
The woman grabbed me by the shoulder and forcefully started pushing me out of the kitchen, through the family room, down a hallway, and into a bathroom.
For such a small woman, she was sure as hell strong.

“Look,” She said, flipping on the lights and pointing to the mirror. “You’re Holly. Why are you saying you’re Lindsey?”

She continued to say something else, but I barely even registered her words. I was too shocked by what I saw in the mirror. I saw the woman’s reflection, but the person standing next to her where I was supposed to be, was in fact not me. The reflection moved when I moved, blinked when I blinked, touched their face when I touched my face… but the girl in the mirror was most definitely not me. It was the girl I saw in the pictures up on the second floor.

Now I definitely had no idea what was going on and was more confused and freaked out than ever.