Nursery

28

"Lyla, it's time to wake up."

I hid my face in my blanket. I wasn't ready for my nap to be over. I was still tired from my sleep schedule getting screwed up. I knew it would take a few days before I could sleep at night again.

Ms. Quinn patted my arm. "Lyla, honey, it's time to go home."

I rubbed my eyes as I rolled onto my back.

Ms. Quinn lowered the side railing of the crib and lifted me out of it. "There you go. Now, your daddy's not here but you'll see him soon."

I forced my eyes to open and turned in her arms to see a strange man standing by the door. He was wearing a dark green jacket over a black turtleneck and his dark hair was slicked back. He wore thick glasses over his brown eyes. Eyes that looked familiar.

"Lyla, your daddy couldn't come pick you up today so I came to get you."

I looked between my teacher and this strange man and gripped Ms. Quinn's shirt tighter in my hands. I didn't want to go to some man I didn't know.

Ms. Diane handed him my diaper bag. "Lyla, Dr. Owens is going to take you home today."

I hid my face in Ms. Quinn's shoulder.

She pried my fingers off her shirt and handed me to Dr. Owens. Rather than let me walk, he held me, his arms tightly holding me.

"Don't you worry, sweetie. You're in good hands." He said as he patted my diapered butt.

I pleaded with Ms. Diane to see that something was wrong. I needed her to step in and prevent this man from taking me with him. Didn't schools have rules about strangers taking kids with them?

She handed me my bear before we left, waving as if nothing was wrong.

It wasn't until the door shut behind us that I tried to figure out who this guy really was. "Who are you?"

He kept his eyes straight ahead as he walked like anything I said wasn't important to him. "I'm Dr. Owens. That's all you need to know."

I opened my mouth to talk but got the feeling that I shouldn't. This man seemed like he was being short with me like something was off. I definitely knew someone weird was going on but it seemed like he did too.

Like he knew that I knew more than I was supposed to.

I gripped my bear tighter in my hands, a pit growing in my stomach. "Where's my daddy?"

He wasn't phased. He didn't react to my innocent and childish question in surprise as I'd expected. "Your daddy asked me to pick you up. He's a little busy at the moment."

"But daddy always picks me up from school."

"That isn't happening today, is it?"

I let tears pool in my eyes. I really had to give this guy, whoever he was, the impression that I was a baby with no clue as to what was going on.

He said nothing until he was putting me in a car seat in the back of a black SUV. "This has gone on for far too long, Lyla. We're going to put a stop to this once and for all."

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Oh, boy, do I have plans for Alex and Lyla. Just wait until you see what's to come! Go add the third and final book in this series, Childish, so you don't miss the first chapter!