Backstitch

Chapter 10

"Daddy promised me you wouldn't be alone," Lexi whispered to him. Lou didn't have to verbalize his desperation for her to feel it. The way he clung on tightly. He never realized how suffocating he could be if he allowed himself to attach to someone. It scared him. He was afraid of doing the same thing to Nolan and Mandy. They had already broken through some of his walls—Nolan moreso than Mandy—and Lou was scared that he would suffocate them by trying to hold on. By being too afraid to let go. But they hadn't left yet. Lexi, too, held onto him tightly. Not so much that he couldn't breathe. It was strange when he thought about it. Feeling trapped was a fear of his. Tight spaces. No way out. But this felt nice. Being trapped in someone's arms induced a feeling very opposite of fear. He didn't want out of this situation.

Lou mumbled into her shoulder, "He promised me that too." Greyson had vowed many things to the blonde, and very few of them that benefited Lou actually came true. Ox was no different. Nolan had to be the first doll who'd ever promised him anything and came through with it. "It didn't scare me before...b-but now...."

"I'm sorry, Lou," she rubbed her thumb across his back. Her father had denied her every request to reach out to the doll again. Apparently, Greyson saw a danger in growing attached that she didn't. An understanding was starting to dawn on her now. Her father didn't want Lou to disregard his responsibilities. After all, who would willingly confine themselves if there was a better life for them? Lou would have easily chosen her over training. And Greyson couldn't have that.

He felt her move as she stood up. Lou was just thankful she didn't let go, and he didn't want to. The affection made him feel warm. Not bad warm, like anger, he reminded himself. Good warm.

Love.

Like when Nolan had hugged him and when Ox had hugged him. Like when Mandy had played with his hair or when Nolan had pulled him into the brunette's lap.

Was this feeling better than those? Was Lexi's affection somehow more pure...stronger...than what he'd received from the dolls?

That thought...for some reason, was accompanied by a sharp pain in his chest.

Guilt. He had become familiar with that sensation not long after he sent Ox into the pipes.

Lexi didn't think anything of Lou initiating the separation between them. He pulled back a bit to see she had kneeled down beside her dresser. The other dolls were beckoned over, and she pointed at the small door painted over in white. "I've kept this hidden from Daddy. It's a door that leads straight to the Institute if you follow it the whole way."

"Really?" Mandy ran a hand along with it, eager to open it immediately and go back home. "How is that possible?"

"There are pipes that run all throughout the office. I've asked Daddy if we could live in a real house, but he likes to stay close to the factory, and it's easier to keep an eye on everything."

"Or everyone," Ox bit out, glancing at Lou.

"You guys should be safe to go through," she continued, "I don't know where in the Institute you'll end up, but I'm sure you'll be able to find your way back from there."

Luckily, this door was easier to open. Babo and Mandy twisted the wheel, and it swung open. Just a little bit of paint chipped off. They assumed the door hadn't been opened since it was painted over. Nolan paused at the door, peering into the dark pipe. He turned to Lou, "Did...you want to stay?"

The question caught him off-guard, "Huh?" Lexi had set him down.

"Did you want to stay with Lexi? I mean...this is what you've always wanted, Lou. You wanted to have a kid." He tried to ignore the way his eyes burned. It would be selfish of him to try and keep Lou from the one thing he's dreamt of all these years. And for what? To have someone to talk to? Someone who actually understood him? No...he loved seeing Lou happy. And Lou looked happy being in Lexi's hands.