The Law Of Three [ On Hold ]

XVII

word count; 1963

[ O C T A V I A ]

I was going to go insane, being stuck in a place like this. If I had to stare at the same four walls any longer, I was going to scream.

I had been here for almost a week. I found a rusty nail under my bed before I went to sleep my second night here, and had been using it to scratch tally marks into the wall. I hid the nail under my pillow when I wasn't in the room. I couldn't risk one of the 'nurses' finding it and confiscating it.

I didn't know what time it was. I didn't know how early it was or how late it was. All I know was that I couldn't sleep. Thoughts about my family ran through my mind and kept me awake. It was like this every time I tried to sleep. I would start thinking about about mum and dad, Octavien, Xavier and then I couldn't sleep. I'd be up until they left me out of my room. I would be tired all day. I don't remember the last time I got a decent amount of sleep.

I stared up at the ceiling, blinking every so often. I was exhausted, and I wanted to sleep. My body was telling me to, but my mind kept saying no. I breathed in and shut my eyes.

I didn't realize I fell asleep, and I awoke with a start as my door unlocked. I sat up, startled. My heart pounded heavily in my chest. I brushed some hair out of my face. "Another day begins." I mumbled. I reached under my pillow and grabbed the nail. I scratched another line into the wall. I then reached over and lifted the glass jar off Rosie. The jar was to prevent Rosie from wandering off in the middle of the night and getting stepped on, either by me or someone else. She climbed onto my arm.

I changed, and made my way into the hall. Andy was standing at the end of the hall. It was some sort of unspoken tradition that had been started. He was there every morning, and we walked together to breakfast. Andy and I had grown closer since I'd arrived. It was nice to have someone to talk to about my brothers. I got to here all kinds of stories about them that they never told me.

Carter and I had gotten close too. She was my first real friend. She was fun to be around. She didn't pressure me into anything and allowed me to be mopey.

Freda and I still weren't on good terms and I had yet to speak to Levi or Skittle. Neither of them really looked approachable, so I kept my distance.

"How'd you sleep?" Andy asked as we walked down the hall.

"Same as always." I replied. I yawned.

"That's not good." He mumbled. "You need your rest."

I laughed. "You sound like my brother."

"Which one?" He asked, and I could see a faint smile.

"Octavien." I said. "Xavier and I weren't as close as Tavien and I were. We had our . . . disagreements."

"Do you miss him?"

"Yes."

"Do you miss Octavien more than you miss Xavier?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I replied, staring at the ground. "Xavier can be . . . confusing at times. He's hard to read. Xavier is really good at hiding his emotions, even if we're triplets; we can never really know what's going on in that head of his." I explained.