Nursery

9

I really didn't like walking the halls. Too much bad stuff went on there for me to feel comfortable. I felt like a traitor, going against everything I hated and disagreed with.

Alex was much taller than me now. He walked the halls without any fear. As we got to a set of elevators, he pulled a set of keys from his pocket. He put one in the slot by the door and turned it. The elevator made a noise before it started moving toward our floor.

The doors slid open and he took a step back, nodding for me to go in first. Thankfully, no one else was in the elevator to make things even more awkward than they already were.

I went to the back of the elevator, leaning against the wall behind me. My head touched the bar that split the elevator in half, reminding me of just how short I was now. I tightened my grip on my bunny and stared at the tiled floor.

As we left the elevator, Alex picked me up in his arms, resting me on his hip. He pressed his thumb against a worn pad and a set of brown doors clicked open. He used his foot to open the right door and stepped out into a small lobby area. There was a desk on one side of the room, a few chairs lining the wall, and a glass door that led to a parking lot. It was dark outside, with only a few street lamps lighting the area.

No one was behind the desk. 

Alex stepped through the glass door then turned around to face it. He locked it shut with one of the keys before flipping through to a car key.

"You can drive?"

He laughed at my surprise. "Well, yeah. I live a little too far away to walk."

"But... how old does that make you then?"

"I'll be 27 in March."

I raised my eyebrows. I figured he was older than he originally said he was but I never expected him to be that old. There was definitely a lot more I didn't know about him.

He walked up to a dark blue SUV with tinted windows. He opened the back door and set me in a car seat. I almost wasn't expecting him to have one but after growing up in Alpine, it was standard for anyone under 18 to use one and he was hell-bent on following the rules.

He tightened the straps over my chest until I could barely move. I wasn't used to having so much extra space in the seat. Then again, I wasn't used to being a baby.

He got in the driver's seat and I realized I'd never drive a car again. I'd only practiced back home but I didn't have my learner's permit when we moved. Now, I was way too small to reach the peddles or see over the steering wheel.

I stared out the window as he drove, watching the unfamiliar houses pass. I didn't know anything about the side of town we were on and felt like the new kid all over again. He pulled into a small parking lot beside two other cars and shut the car off.

"I wasn't exactly planning on having you stay with me so I don't have anything set up yet. You'll have to stay in my room for the night."

I stared at the building out my window and realized it was an apartment building. From what I could see, there were only three apartments though there could have been more. The lights beside the door of apartment 3 were lit up.

Alex got out of the front seat and came around to my side. I took a quick breath as he opened the door. He unbuckled me from the car seat then lifted me out of it.

I still didn't like being so close to him but I didn't have much of a choice. I wasn't wearing shoes and I didn't like walking around on gravel without them. I figured Alex didn't want me to, either, since he carried me around when we weren't inside somewhere.

He walked up to apartment 3 and unlocked both the doorknob and the deadbolt. He pushed the door open and stepped inside the dark area. He flipped on the lights by the door before shutting it behind us.

The place was tidy and hardly looked lived in. The living room had a couch and one chair both facing a TV that sat on a stand. Connecting with the living room was the kitchen. A small square table separated the rooms. The kitchen, too, was small and barely looked used. It screamed bachelor pad.

Alex set me on my feet and put his keys on a table that sat beside the front door. He loosened his tie as he walked toward a staircase on our left. "There's nothing to get into so don't bother snooping around."

I watched him go up the steps and sighed. I wanted more than anything to be back with my parents. I wanted to watch TV with them while I played with toys on the floor or try to swing higher than dad on the swing set. I wanted my life to be normal again. As normal as Alpine would allow.