Childish

29

Alex walked out of the bathroom with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He grabbed a clean diaper and the pack of wipes and walked over to the end of the bed. "Lay down for me."

I crawled toward him from where I sat against the pillows. "You're not going to drop any spit on me, are you?"

He rolled his eyes as he grabbed my ankles and pulled me closer to him.

A scream escaped my lips and I gripped the blankets at my side to prevent him from pulling me any further.

"You're so dramatic." He said around his toothbrush.

I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Sorry I don't want your spit on me. I don't know the rules for living in a frat house."

"I wasn't in a fraternity in college." He said as he walked back to the bathroom.

I pushed myself up and let my legs dangle over the edge of the bed. "Really?"

He spat his toothpaste into the sink before rinsing his toothbrush out. "I had other things to focus my time on."

"Like what?"

"I had a neurotic father to deal with. When I wasn't studying, he wanted me to observe his work. He wanted me to learn how to be a doctor like he was."

"But you didn't."

He walked to the doorway and leaned against it. "No, and I'm glad I didn't. Taking over this job is already bad enough."

"Then why don't you quit?"

His eyes narrowed but I knew it wasn't directed at me. "I don't trust anyone else to run this town."

I didn't blame him. With how crazy his own father was, it was hard to trust someone else not to run the town into the ground and punish everyone in it. There were times I didn't trust Alex and his judgment but I trusted him more than anyone else.

"Be glad you don't have to worry about that."

"You seem to forget who I am."

His lips twitched like he was trying to prevent from smiling. He turned off the bathroom light then walked over to me. "We're going to be late."

---

"Are you sure you don't want to play with any toys?"

I sat at a small table that resembled a coffee table. I had several coloring pages laid out in front of me that Ms. Diane offered to me along with some crayons. Thankfully, all the other kids wanted to play with toys so I didn't have to worry about sharing. I wasn't up for playing with anyone else.

I shook my head as I looked up at Ms. Diane. The kids seemed to want her attention more than usual so she was busy spreading her time between everyone. Normally, I would have colored at her desk but considering I couldn't get down from her chair, I had to resort to my spot on the floor. I didn't mind but I did miss the attention she gave me when I was able to color at her desk.

She patted my shoulder. "Let me know if you need anything."

I wasn't against playing with other kids even though they were younger mentally than I was. I looked like a baby but in reality, I wasn't. It was hard dumbing myself down just to play with them. And it wasn't that I didn't want to on that particular day but rather because my stomach hurt and I didn't want to push myself and end up feeling worse.

I rested my arms on the tabletop and stared at the coloring pages in front of me. I wasn't a fan of any princesses and I didn't care for TV characters. It was bad enough having to watch the shows considering I wasn't allowed to watch anything that was actually worth my time. So I settled on animals but even that wasn't enough to keep my attention.

Mrs. Veronica, the other teacher in the room, walked up to my small table and knelt down beside it. Mrs. Veronica was short with long brown hair that was always curled. She had tan skin and dark eyes to match. I didn't usually talk to her unless Ms. Diane was busy but she was better than the previous teachers I had dealt with. "Hey, sweetie. Are you feeling okay?"

I looked up at her and shook my head. I knew playing wasn't going to make me feel any better. Coloring was the only thing I could do that wouldn't make my nausea any worse.

She put a hand on my back. "Do you want to lie down?"

I put my crayon down before reaching out toward her.

She picked me up, holding me on her hip. "Do you want a bottle?"

"Can I just get some water?"

She walked to my crib and set me down on the mattress. "I'll be right back."

I grabbed the blanket that lay beside me and pulled it over my body as I lay down. Resting seemed to be the best thing for me. The less I moved, the better I felt. Well... the pain was bearable, at least.

Mrs. Veronica came back over to me with a sippy cup of ice water and handed it down to me. "I'm going to check in on you before lunch but if you need me before then, just call for me."

I curled up under my blanket and put the spout of the bottle in my mouth. I hoped that after sleeping a little, my stomach would feel normal again and I could play like I was used to.