Childish

11

The next few days went without a hitch. Kelsey injected the medicine each morning before she woke me up so I didn't remember what was going on. I woke up thinking Kelsey was my mommy and wanting to play all day. Aside from the inability to remember who I truly was, it wasn't such a bad life.

But it wasn't the life I wanted.

The following Monday I woke up earlier than usual. I rolled onto my side and stared through the bars of my crib. The room was dark due to the curtains being pulled shut but the light that was able to break through was gray.

I glanced around the room as everything came to the front of my brain. I remembered the appointment with Dr. Owens, the medicine he gave me, forgetting everything...

I couldn't let them get away with it.

I had one shot to fix this and I wasn't going to mess it up.

The door opened and I quickly shut my eyes. I tried stilling my breath so it wasn't obvious that I was already awake. I didn't want Kelsey to notice anything unusual until it was too late.

Kelsey walked over to my crib and lowered the bar. Just as she reached in with the syringe, I opened my eyes. I reached out for her hand and twisted it back toward her. The syringe and needle were long enough that I was able to prick her arm with the needle and push the medicine into her.

She stared at me in shock as she realized what had just happened. The syringe fell to the floor and she quickly grabbed her arm. She pressed on the wound but it wasn't going to do any good. The damage was done.

"You little bitch. Owens should have killed you when he had the chance."

I threw my bear at her and stuck my tongue out.

She started walking towards me with a look that could kill. Just as she reached my crib, she blinked and her expression changed. She stopped and looked at me with her eyebrows pulled together. "I... What was I going to do?"

I smiled at her. "Mommy! We have to go to the doctor today, remember?"

She shook her head. "I-I don't."

"I can help, mommy." I reached out to her and squeezed my fingers to my fist.

She lifted me out of my crib and held me in her arms. "I suppose we should get you dressed first."

I nodded and pointed to my changing table. "I wanna wear a dress."

She smiled, some of the confusion on her face disappearing. She laid me down on the changing table and removed my dirty diaper.

I watched as she changed me. She found a light pink dress and pulled it over my head. She didn't seem as tense as she usually did and there was an ease to what she did that she didn't normally have. Though it probably helped that I wasn't fighting her as she got me dressed.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and watched her clean up the room. She was quick, knowing we had somewhere to be, and put things back in their place. She put my blanket on the chair instead of in my crib but I knew with her limited memory, she wouldn't know how to do everything like she used to.

She lifted me into her arms and held out a pacifier for me to take. "Do you know where your diaper bag is, sweetie?"

"It's downstairs by the door." I stopped her as she headed for the door. "Wait, mommy, my bear."

She gave me a sheepish smile as she walked back to my crib and handed over my stuffed teddy bear. "How silly of me."

I clung to her, wanting to stay on her good side in case the medicine wore off. I didn't want her to remember wanting to kill me. That was the last thing I wanted.

We got into the car and Kelsey didn't put it into gear to start driving. She stared at the steering wheel, her head cast down.

"Mommy?"

"I don't know how to get there."

"Mommy, I help. I can GPS it for you."

She handed back her phone to me. "How did you get to be so smart, baby?"

"I got it from my mommy."

---

When we got to the facility, Kelsey paused as she approached the front doors. "What's your doctor's name again?"

"Monica. You really like her, remember?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure why I don't. Did I hit my head or something?"

I looked at her and decided to play dumb. The less she thought I knew, the better. "I don't know, mommy."

She rubbed my back. "Well, we better get inside. I don't want to keep Monica waiting." She opened the door and we stepped into the warm waiting area.

Immediately, I recognized Naomi behind the desk.

Kelsey walked up to the desk and smiled at Naomi. She looked between the two of us apprehensively. "Hi, I'm Kelsey Cameron. We're here to see Monica for a check-up."

Naomi hesitated before lifting the phone to her ear. She waited until someone answered the phone. "Monica, Lyla is here to see you."

I swallowed hard and tried my best not to appear nervous. This was the very last shot and if it didn't work, I was screwed. There were absolutely no other options if this didn't work out.

Naomi nodded as she hung up. "Monica will be right out. Please have a seat."

Kelsey sat down and let me crawl onto the seat beside her.

Naomi picked up a set of keys from her desk and stepped through the door. She walked down the hallway for a few seconds before she took off into a full sprint. She made a right turn and disappeared from sight.

---

Looks like something's going down. What do you think is going to happen next?