"Come in."
"Hello."
A woman's voice caused me to turn around. She looked familiar. Her hair was a pale blond; I was not sure if it was white and tied back. Her face was round, and she couldn't have been much taller than me. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Do I know you?" I asked.
I withdrew my legs and placed the soles of my feet onto the carpet. The woman laughed.
"I'm Beth. I'm Dr. Green's wife."
"Oh."
She walked across the room until she was standing next to me.
"I doubt they've told you much by the look on your face."
I shook my head.
"I'm going to be coming to you and help you finish your high school education."
I nodded. It was official I was cut off from the outside world. Part of me knew this would happen one day, but I prayed it was my anxiety.
"I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll miss your friends."
My eyes watered. "Mostly just one. I don't have many. It's hard to be friends with anyone when you're not allowed to hang out."
She raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I thought you were raised to have a regular life."
The lump in my throat returned. "Dr. Vodola wouldn't let me out of the house. I couldn't hang out with anyone. I couldn't go to the movies or birthday parties."
I couldn't stop the words just continued to pour out of me. I hadn't been around a woman except for teachers and the few female scientists. I was going to get him in trouble, but I couldn't stop. The truth was released. What else could he take away from me?
"I'd never been to the mall when one girl kept inviting me. If I did anything, it was when Sawyer snuck behind his dad's back and took me. I miss Sawyer."
Beth embraced me. "I'm sorry, Madeline. I am."
My arms wrapped around her as I cried into her shoulder. If I had a mother growing up, would this had been what it would've been like? Emotions swirled around me as the contact of her arms embraced me close to her. Her one hand stroked my back.
"Maybe when you're better, I can sneak you out of here, but until then, we'll make the best of what we got, okay?" I nodded as Beth pulled away. "We can start today. I used to work in the high school, but since I retired, I am a substitute. So, you're pulling me out of retirement."
We both laughed. Beth got back up and walked over to the small bathroom on the same side of the room as the bed. She came back holding some toilet paper and handed it to me.
"I do bring good news. The team is planning on turning that small half bath into a full bathroom for you so that you'll have a shower of your own."
I dabbed my eyes, and a small smile formed. Yeah, no freedom, but here is a shower. That canceled everything out.
Life became pretty routine. I'd wake up, go downstairs to the cafeteria and eat—shower in the lab. Then go back upstairs to my room where Beth and I would spend our days with her lessons. Sometimes she'd bring us food for lunch other times, and we ate downstairs. Mostly Beth would bring us something even if it was a sandwich. She brought me an old microwave to put on top of the mini-fridge. Beth would leave, and I'd have dinner then come back up here. Beth even would occasionally bring me food she cooked at her house to store in the fridge. I had a few books and an old TV in my room. The rest of the night was quiet until I went to bed.
"Gees, I feel like I have to study the night before I come here," Beth commented as I was working on a math assignment for her. "You could probably take the exam and be done with high school altogether."
I smiled as I finished up a problem. I rested my head in my hand to look at her.
"Do you have any kids?" I blurted out.
She grinned. "Yes. I have four kids and three grandbabies."
Dr. Green would sporadically mention having kids but never said their names.
"What do they do?"
"Our oldest he is a financial person in New York. Our daughter is a nurse. The next son is an electrician. Then the youngest is a mechanic. We joke that we have our bases covered if we need anything."
She laughed. Beth's laugh was light and made me smile.
"What was it like having a full house?"
"Never a dull moment, that's for sure. The boys would start wrestling, and someone would ask how our daughter handled it. Then I'd tell them that she held her own. When she was pissed off enough, she would hit them too. Even when she started to date, her brothers would laugh, saying they felt bad for the guy who tried to mistreat her. With them being gone, the house is tranquil."
Beth stroked the top of my head.
"It was just you and Sawyer, wasn't it?"
I nodded. Beth shook her head.
"Melanie wanted to have a big family. It's so sad what happened."
I raised an eyebrow. "Who's Melanie?"
"Dr. Vodola's ex-wife. Sawyer's mom."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Dr. Vodola told us that Melanie just got up and left them one day. I didn't believe it, honestly. Sawyer was her whole life. I still remember when she found out she was pregnant with him. Melanie was always glowing. Melanie didn't have a family; most had died, and she was
