Forlot: Welcome to the Dummy House - Book Forty-One

Chapter Seventeen

I never got the chance to see who was standing behind me because I woke up. A gasp escaped my mouth, and my eyes fluttered open. I had to shield them until they adjusted to the lights. The yellow lights hanging on the gym ceiling. I had returned. Returned to Forlot. Thank gosh that I was out of that place.

But the girl. I had never seen her before. Who was she? Why was she at that place? Why was she handcuffed to a pipe? So many questions. So little time. I brushed the strange dream aside because I thought that was what it was. A strange dream. But where did she come from? I could not understand why I dreamt of that girl.

"Dreams sure are weird," I said.

I was about to sit back up when I felt something heavy. It was on both my chest and my stomach and weighing me down. I could only imagine what it was. I lifted my head and saw her. I was unsure whether to be in shock or laugh. It was Olive. It was my sister.

"Olive," I said. "You were the last one whom I expected to see. What are you doing? How did you get here?"

Olive was lying on me and kicking her legs. She was on her stomach and looking at me and smiling. She has to be the cutest baby that I have seen. I would go as far as to say that she is the cutest human on the planet. I just do not know what I would do if she never existed - or if something bad happened to her. I cherish her and only want the best for her.

When I saw her, Olive covered her eyes and cooed. She always does that when she is caught in the act. I picked her up with the strength that I had left and set her next to me. I sat up and looked at her. She still had her eyes covered. I giggled and started playing with the hairs on her head. She laughed and fell on her side.

"Owie!" she said.

"Owie is right," I agreed. I helped her sit back up. "You are not hurt, are you? You did not break any bones."

She uncovered her eyes and grabbed her precious feet. "Yes!"

"You broke a bone?"

"Yes!"

I eyed her suspiciously. It was obvious that she was not telling the truth. She was lying through her teeth. Well, if she had teeth. Either that, or she was teasing. Gosh. I wish that she would not play with my emotions. Where is she learning it from? Alexis? I hope not.

I took her tiny hand and massaged the top. "Has Alexis been teaching you to toy with my emotions, Olive? I do not know how she would do it because she never wants to spend time with you."

Olive pouted and shook like a milkshake. "Alexis bad!"

"You can say that again."

"Alexis bad! Bad Alexis!"

I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Do not tell her that. I do not want her to hurt you. Trust me on that. She will hurt you when she has the chance."

Olive placed her little hands on the gym floor and tried standing. I put my hands on her hips to make sure that she did not fall. She stared at her tiny feet and clapped. She loves standing on her little feet. It is why whenever she is upset, I make her stand. I want her to be joyful. I do not want to see her sad. I want to see her smile.

Olive reached for me. "Love!"

I picked her up and set her in my lap. "I love you more. I love you more than you love me!"

She pouted again. "No!"

"Is that who I think that is?" a voice spoke.

I looked up, and my cheeks grew hot. It was him again. It was Jack. He stood in front of said doors and had his hands on his waist. I had forgotten that he was coming back. My lips trembled. I did not know how to reply.

"I need to respond fast, or he will know that something is up," I muttered. "He will know that I have a crush on him. Then things will be awkward." I gulped and gazed at Olive before gazing back up at Jack. "Welcome back. Welcome back, Jack. What took you so long?"

Jack scurried towards me, his arms swinging back and forth. His eyes were burning into mine like that he was sucking out my soul. Sucking the life out of me. I could not move. I could not move any part of me. I wanted to move, but I found it difficult. It was as if he had magic. He was keeping me in place.

"What do you mean, Janice?" he asked. "I was gone for only two minutes. I told you that I would be right back. I did not want to leave you, but it needed to be done."

"Where did you go?"

"I will tell you later. I want to know how you are doing. You look better. You look like that you are getting your strength back."

I massaged the back of my neck. "I guess that catching up on my sleep did the trick. I feel like that I can stand and walk around."

"Good." He sat across from me and crossed his legs. "I see that you have a visitor."

"Yes." I kissed Olive's head. "I do not have the slightest clue how she got here. I do not even know how she was able to find me."

"Maybe Olive missed you soooooo much that she could not wait. She picked up your scent and crawled here. Is that correct, Olive?"

She panted like a dog and held up her little feet.

I brushed my hair back. "Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love Alexis?"