Nursery

10

Alex stopped at the top of the steps and looked down at me. "Are you coming?"

I stared at the steps, extremely intimidated by the daunting task in front of me. I wasn't sure I'd be able to go up them on my own.

"You're going to have to get used to them. You're not getting any bigger."

I sighed though it came out as more of a huff. I was mad at him for ruining my life and making me a baby. An actual baby. Not just a normal teenager who acted like one.

He sat down on the top step. "This isn't reversible, Lyla. I know you don't want to hear that but I don't want you to have false hope that things will change."

I couldn't figure out why but since I woke up in that bed, I knew my old life was gone. I wasn't ever going to grow up and be an adult. I wouldn't get to have a life and a family. Someone was going to have to take care of me until I died.

But his words still stung.

"I know."

"This is meant to help you have an easier time getting used to the rules here."

I frowned. "Just call it what it is: a punishment. I rebelled against the rules and now I'm being punished for it."

"I'm glad you can see that what you and your parents did was wrong. Now we won't have to worry about it happening again."

I rolled my eyes.

He stood back up. "You need to get some sleep. It's getting late. And you need changed out of your diaper."

---

Alex walked out of the bathroom and stopped when his eyes landed on me. "Why are you still awake?"

I shrugged from under the blankets. I'd gotten myself comfortable in his bed while he was showering. It felt better to be in clothes that didn't smell like the hospital even if they were Alex's.

"I have to work in the morning which means you have to come along."

"I can't stay here?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Lyla, you can barely make it up the steps. I'm not letting you stay here all by yourself."

"I don't like it there."

"You can't take care of yourself."

It felt like the more we talked and the more he explained the situation, the worse things got for me. I knew that my life was over, ruined, but it still hurt to hear him explain more and more of what was going on with me. I needed to know so I could adapt and adjust but the sadness that overwhelmed me felt like it was just growing and growing.

I sighed. "I'm not a baby."

"You're not an adult either."

I hated that everything was either baby or adult. There should have been an in-between. Normally, there'd be infant, toddler, kid, teenager, and adult with some variant involved in between. Alpine didn't seem to feel that way.

He flipped the light off to the bathroom and walked into the bedroom. He started to pull the blankets aside on the bed but stopped when he saw the look I was giving him. "What?"

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you."

"There's nowhere else to sleep, Lyla."

I narrowed my eyes. "You can sleep on the floor."

He sighed before picking up one of the pillows. He tossed it onto the floor, sent me one final look, and went to the closet to get another blanket out. He shut off the lights before laying down on his makeshift bed. "Didn't take you long to get your attitude back."

I rolled so I faced away from him and pulled the blanket up over my shoulders. "Just because I'm small and vulnerable doesn't mean I'm not going to stand up for myself."

He was silent for a minute before he spoke. "Don't let anyone take advantage of that."

"You have. Ever since you found me at that motel, you've been pushing and pushing me. Testing me to see when I'd mess up."

"This is how I stay alive, Lyla."

I swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"There's a lot you don't know about Alpine. There's a lot no one knows about Alpine."

A chill ran down my spine and I squeezed my eyes shut. When I was little and afraid of something, I'd shut my eyes. When I shut my eyes, the scary thing would disappear and I'd be safe. Nothing could touch or hurt me if my eyes were shut.

"You'll find out eventually."

---

I wanted to share more details but I didn't want to ruin the book by giving things away too early. Just know that the juice IS coming!