Nursery

2

I didn't wake up when we got back to Alpine. I slept the several-hour car ride there and then some. When I did wake up, I was in a small room, lying on a bed in the corner. The mattress laid on the floor with a thin blanket and pillow for me. My bunny laid beside me, thankfully. There was a tray of food beside a door to my surprise.

But I wasn't complaining because I was starving.

I crawled to the tray and took it back to the bed, wanting to be as far away from the door as possible. I didn't know who would come through it. Or when.

The food looked bland and dull, just like the room I was in. I picked at the ham and cheese sandwich slowly. My stomach was in knots just thinking about what had happened. Alex was back again but he was on the wrong side, fighting the wrong end of the fight. I wanted to believe he was a good person. I wanted to think everyone could be good. But he tricked me into thinking he was looking out for me from the start and I couldn't forgive that.

His intentions were bad from the start.

The door buzzed before opening. A woman I'd never seen before with short red hair and freckles on her face walked in. She had scrubs on and white tennis shoes. She had several things in her hands, one being a diaper.

I pushed the tray of food off the mattress and laid down. I didn't like the thought of this strange woman changing my diaper but I didn't have much of a choice. It was either get changed or stay in a dirty diaper.

She pulled the tapes away from the diaper I had on and started cleaning me up. I hated that I had become so dependent on using a diaper. Even when my life was going back to normal, mom still had to change me and put me in diapers. I wanted to grow up and move past it but it felt like something that would take a while to get over. All of this would.

When she was finished, she gathered up the dirty diaper and folded it in on itself. I noticed the door was open, leading into a dimly lit hallway.

I stared at her for a few seconds before I jumped to my feet and headed for the door. I ran out into the hallway and immediately took a right. I had no idea where it'd take me but I didn't have any time to decide. I needed to find at least a hiding spot before anyone caught me.

The woman didn't follow me which was a really bad sign. She had to have had a radio on her or something to call for help in finding me. She wasn't going to just let me run unattended and unwatched.

I rounded a corner and saw a man in a grey suit walking in my direction. His hands were in his pockets and he seemed totally at ease being there. I, however, was about to lose my mind.

"Help! Help me!"

The man didn't react and it wasn't until it was too late that I realized why. He walked up to me and immediately grabbed my arm. He pressed his finger against his ear. "I've got her. I'm taking her back now."

I tugged on my arm. He wouldn't budge. "Let go of me! I need to get out of here."

"Lyla, we're here to help you. You're not adjusting well to our rules and we'd like to see that you grow accustomed to them."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I tried to plant my feet down but it was no use. He was too strong for me. "I'm not staying here."

"I know this can be difficult to grasp but with a little work, I think you'll find that having someone take care of you is-"

"I'm not a baby. I don't need someone to take care of me. This place is screwed up. You're screwed up if you think this is normal."

His lips curved up into a smile. "We put these rules in place here at Alpine because children like you think that they can be in control. I found that children need guidance and purpose. This is the best way for them to serve their purpose without... getting in the way."

My heart stopped at his words. The only way he knew this, the only way he was saying what he was saying, was because he created the rules. He was the one behind all of this. He was the reason so many kids in town were screwed up.

"My parents didn't want this for me. We... we were just trying to forget and move on."

"I'm afraid that cannot happen. You've already regressed too much. It wouldn't be healthy for you to be put back in society and expected to function as you used to."

I pulled on my arm, tears filling my eyes. "Please. Just let us go. We won't say anything. To anyone."

He pressed his finger to a small black pad beside a door and it opened, revealing the room I'd woken up in. "You're never leaving, Lyla." He pushed me into the room and the door closed, separating me from the man that ruined my life.