The Bounty Hunter

Chapter Eighteen

My eyes fluttered open and I felt something weighing me down. I slid my eyes up to find Hailey on top of me, sound asleep. I huffed as a smile grew on my face. Hailey slept like a baby last night, even though the storm never came. I had a feeling the storm would hit later in the day, so I mentally prepared myself to listen to Hailey's complaints before she vanished. I slowly lifted myself up, gently pushing her off of me and sat up, stretching my arms over my head. I smiled to myself as I remembered this was the day they were going to try to make me 'happy' again. I wish you guys luck, I know it's not going to be easy. And I knew I wasn't going to make it easy. It just wasn't that simple. Nothing ever was anymore. I threw my legs over the side of the bed when Hailey threw her arms around my neck and pulled me back down.

"Where you going?" she said sleepily, her words slurring as she snuggled up against my neck. I rolled my eyes.

"To my room to get changed," I chuckled.

"Wait for me and I'll go with you." Hailey was instantly awake. She got off the bed on the other side and rushed to get changed. I watched her, raising my eyebrow in a arrogant way.

"I already said I'll participate today. You don't have to follow me around." Hailey didn't seem to hear me, or she chose to completely ignore me as she continued to carry on. As I watched her throw on a shirt, I noticed she seemed more relaxed and carefree here, which made me feel better. Once Hailey got dressed, she walked with me to my room, gripping my arm tightly. She released me when we reached my room, and I hurriedly threw some clothes on, consisting of sweats and a loose fitted T-shirt. Hailey giggled, covering her mouth. 

"You look like a twig."

"At least I'm not fat, then I'd be having some major problems." Hailey giggled again and I smiled at her. We walked downstairs together to be greeted by Caleb and Luke, but I didn't see Lloyd anywhere. I stopped in front of the coffee table, watching them with curiosity as they shuffled through piles of paper. Hailey climbed over the back of the couch and peered over Luke's shoulder.

"What's all this for?" she asked.

"It's that time of the year when we have to vaccinate every person here, and give them physical exams to test out their health state. It's required by law, but we do it because we don't want anyone getting sick," Luke explained. "These tests also help us determine who's weak and who's not, which is vital for our estate.

"That sounds tiring," Hailey stated as she leaned back.

"You can say that again." I turned to see Lloyd walk into the living room. His shirt was soaked at the top, and the bottoms of his pants were dripping. He eyed me as he walked right past me. "The physicals are going to have to wait until tomorrow after the storm. It's already raining outside, and it may end up getting worse."

"I hate storms," Hailey bitterly added in. I chuckled at her pouting face.

"Got it. It's a good thing we got up early enough to give them their shots or we'd be sitting in the rain for quite a while," Luke said putting the files into a large box.

"Shots?" Hailey and I said at the same time. My blood turned cold.

"Yes, you two will be receiving one as well. It'll protect you from various diseases. We just won't give you a physical exam. It's all part of the procedure," Caleb said as he set a box on the table. He opened it up and I could see various tubes inside the medical box. I started backing up. 

"You know, I'll take my chances with the diseases. I've been healthy for years, so I'll pass on the shot." Caleb looked at me and Lloyd raised an eyebrow as I continued to back up. Hailey got one of those stupid smirks on her mouth as she watched. She covered her mouth with her hand and started giggling, her shoulders shaking. I shot Hailey a nasty look. "Stop laughing, Hailey. You know this isn't funny."