Living Free {Hold}

II

Chapter II

"Okay kiddos. What is one plus one?"

One plus one? I had already learned that so why should I have to learn it again?

"Laura do you know the answer?" 'Mommy' asks.

I just sit there and look down at the wooden desk before me. I hear a sigh come from her before I hear the door open behind me. I didn't even have to look up to know who it was. I could hear him slowly shut the door behind before he slowly came and stood next to me.

"Oh it's a good thing you're here Junior. I think.. Laura needs some help. Would you mind helping your sister out just a bit?" she asks.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Brother James visibly stiffen and shift uncomfortably. "Eh... sure I guess."

"Great. While I take your brothers out for recess please help her with her addition and subtraction. I don't think she quite gets it," she said as she began walking towards the door. "Come on boys!"

As the boys filed out the room Brother James crouched down right beside me. For a moment nobody spoke. I sat there looking down at the wooden desk thinking about my family. Were they looking for me? Why haven't they found me yet? Will they ever find me?

"So one plus one."

I slowly look up at him with a frown on my face. "Can I go back to my room now?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You don't just get to go back to your room anytime you want Laura. You have to finish what gets done before you can move onto something else-"

Then came the waterworks.

This wasn't fair and I didn't deserve this.  I just wanted to go home and snuggle into Liam's side as we watched Christmas movies in the middle of summer. I wanted to go home and here my mothers melodic laugh sound throughout the house on a cool Saturday morning. And I just wanted to play baseball in the front of the house with my father. 

Before I could register what was happening I felt a pair of arms lift me out of the chair and out the room. I began squirming and screaming all kinds of coherent things through my tears once the stairs that led to the basement came into view. As soon as his foot hit the first step a chill ran down my spine and instantly knew this was no place to be. I kept screaming for Brother James to put me down but he just continued on until he reached a brown door at the bottom of the steps. He swung the door open  and quickly walked into the room stopping in front of a dusty wooden chair that sat in the middle of the room. He dropped me down in the chair before bending down down and tying both my arms and legs to the chair.

"Now you are going to sit here in timeout until you learn how to act correctly." And with that he turned around and headed towards the door. I called his name over and over again but he didn't pay me no attention. He slammed the door shut behind him leaving me down here in the cold darkness...

I quickly sat up on the bed and tried to catch my breath. Once I realized it was only a nightmare I placed my hand over my heart as I tried to calm down my heart rate. I wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead before swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I sat there for a moment just looking at the floor before getting up and heading for my teal fuzzy robe hanging on the closet doorknob. I opened the bedroom door slowly and peeked my head outside and saw nobody but heard voices coming from the kitchen. I slowly headed into the kitchen and found Ariel sitting at the table laughing at Liam as he tried to flip a pancake. They both looked over at me and smiled.