Page 6 of Rough Love

"How old are you now?" he asked.

“Thirty. We just celebrated my 25th birthday before we were deployed," she said. A smile lit up across her face. Again, she was right. He had tried to make it the best birthday party he could’ve. It was hard being away from family during that time and he wanted her to still be happy even if it was away from everyone she loved.

"What was the name of your first dog?" he asked. Sage knew it was a trick question; he needed to see if she slipped up with her story.

"I've never had a dog. I've never been a fan of them. I've always wanted a cat," she replied.

However she had gotten her information, she had made sure to learn everything she could. It was almost scary when Sage thought about it.

She had a look of triumph on her face as she saw the look on Sage’s face. She could tell she was getting all the questions right and the chance of her lying seemed to be fading before them. Sage didn't want to believe it and there was one last thing he could bring up that could make or break everything. There had been a mark on Laura's stomach, a brown blob that was about an inch wide. It was a birthmark and although she had always hated it, Sage had found it different.

"Can you show me your birthmark?" he asked. He didn't say where because she should know but at the mention of it all the blood in her cheeks disappeared.

"Haven't I done enough, Sage?" she asked angrily.

"Just show me your birthmark and then it's all over," he demanded.

“No, I won't show it to you. You loved me so much once, you don't love me now? Why can't you accept that it's me? I love you, Sage, you're what brought me back. Please, don't do this," she begged. The warning bells in his head went off. He couldn't let it go.

"Show it to me," he demanded again. She puffed air angrily out of her mouth before lifting up her top. Her stomach was clean, with no birthmark in sight. Something like that couldn't be removed so easily though, again there would be some sort of visible scar to show it had been removed.

"I hated it so much, I got it removed," she admitted. He didn't believe her. All of her lies had finally caught up with her and there was no way she could get out of them.

"I don't believe any of your lies. The only way I would believe you is if you give me your fingerprints so I can test them, then you'd have nothing to hide," he said. He could see tears forming in her eyes as she realized she hadn't won him over yet.

"Sage, please," she whispered. He wasn't having any of it. He wanted her fingerprints so he could only then know for sure if she was truly Laura.

"If you want me to believe you, you have to give me more proof," he replied. Begrudgingly she stretched out her hands so Sage could take her fingerprints. He had thought about it beforehand and had brought a small stamp and a blank sheet of paper so he could make sure he got a good print. He placed three of her fingers in the ink and blotted them on the paper. He took three samples just to make sure that if one didn't work properly he would have more to work with.