Nursery

4

Alex opened a door and stepped inside, turning to make sure I followed. It was a small office with a desk, a couch, a bookshelf, and a light that illuminated the room. Alex tossed bunny on the couch before going to the other side of the desk. He stood rather than sit in the computer chair. "Have a seat."

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch, setting bunny in my lap.

He flipped through a few sheets of paper before setting them on the seat of the chair and wheeling it around the desk. He pulled it up in front of me and handed the papers to me before sitting down.

At first glance, the papers meant nothing. There was a picture of a couple on the first page with the names Kelsey and Robert Martin below.

"What... Who are these people?"

Alex rested his elbows on his thighs as he leaned toward me. "We think you need someone to keep an eye on you and take care of you. Refusing food and sleep isn't healthy. Kelsey and Robert will be taking care of you."

I shoved the papers back at him. "No. Absolutely not."

"You don't have a choice here, Lyla."

"This isn't fair. This is my life."

"It is fair, Lyla. You're not eighteen yet. You can't live on your own and take care of yourself."

"Like hell, I can't."

"I think if you give Kelsey and Robert a chance, you'll like them."

"No. I'm not doing this. I'm not pretending like these people are my parents. I have parents."

"Joyce and Brian aren't able to take care of you right now. They have a bit of training to do before they're able to merge back into society."

"What kind of training?"

"That's none of your concern."

I slid over on the couch and got to my feet, stepping behind Alex so we weren't as close. "They're my parents-"

He spun around in his chair and grabbed my wrist, stopping me. "Until you can follow the rules like you're supposed to, this is how it has to be."

"Get off of me."

"They're coming to pick you up in two hours."

---

Alex left me alone in his office while he went to a meeting. Which was a really big mistake. With the mood I was in, all I wanted to do was break something. Destroy something. Piss him off.

And boy, did I have an idea brewing.

I walked over to his desk and tried the top drawer. It was unlocked. But inside only held pens and pencils, a stapler, and some pads of sticky paper. All typical office supplies. I tried the next drawer and it only held papers and I didn't care to read them. They weren't going to help me.

I tried the last drawer but it wouldn't budge. It had a special lock on it that must have been locked, containing important information Alex didn't want anyone to see.

I sighed deeply before grabbing the scissors from the top drawer. I started cutting all the cords to his computer. Since I couldn't get into it without a password, I figured taking my anger out on it would help. I then cut the cords for his phone. If Alex was going to make my life hell, I was going to make sure his was too.

I cut up a large chunk of papers, hoping they were important and would piss him off. The rest, I threw onto the floor, scattering them around the room. Even though I was pissed, I couldn't help the smile that spread on his face. The satisfaction of ruining all of his work, of ruining important documents and files, of getting a little bit of revenge made me feel better.

Then I grabbed his coffee mug and dumped the remaining coffee on the couch. I dropped it onto the floor and stood over it, my chest rising and falling deeply.

Huffing from my anger and adrenaline, I sat down at the desk in Alex's computer chair. I pulled my legs up under me and waited. I wanted him to know that I was pissed and I wasn't going down without a fight.