Beyond Our Control

Chapter 30

 How does this dress look?"

Kenna sat in a bed. Or rather, a bed in her room that is now temporarily shared with Lina because Lina specially requested for them to be together. It's funny how she had always assumed that there would only be sad grey captive rooms in all of Circumstantial Captivity when there's a room with a luxury bedroom and bathrooms that she is in right now as proof that she was so wrong. Too ridiculously big of a room, with closets of clothes including all sorts of colors that is now somehow theirs. It's surprising and also not that there are rooms and places like these. Well, there are a hundred floors of who knows what!

A pair of fingers snapped in her face. "Are you paying attention? Come on, how is this dress?" Lina spun around, the yellow dress crowned with laces at the waist spun along with her.

She tried to shake herself out of her thoughts. "Y-yeah, it's great."

Lina pursed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest like she did when they were younger. "You said the same thing about the last two dresses."

Kenna forced a smile on her face. "Lina, you would look good in all of these. It's a dress after all, not plain white shirts and pants." Her voice sounded depressing at her sad attempt of sounding happy.

Lina finally lets go of her childish act and comes to sit down next to her on her bed. She took her hand in hers like back then all those times to comfort Kenna. However, it didn't make her feel better this time.

"I know you miss it back there at the dorms, but look at all of these things." She gestured her free hand at the chandelier lights that hung above, the smooth sheets on their two king size beds, the walking closet, the soft fur mat below their feet, all of it. "Isn't this what we've been waiting for? We're normal now. We're going to have real families, our family."

Kenna held in her laugh at that. Did Dr. Novak even tell Lina that she's going to live as Skyler Johnson? She didn't need to ask her other question, because it was obvious. Does Lina even know about what Kenna has gone through these past months while all of Lina's own painful memories are wiped away clean by Dr. Novak? Of course not, or else why would she be so worried about how they look right now!

"You do know that you have to look good too, right? It's not just me, it's the both of us. We're going back tomorrow to Ordinaire tomorrow, or more like I'm going back and it's your first time. I can't wait to show you everything! Like there's actual school! There's so many people that none of them can ever fit in the count of ten fingers! So please, Kenna, you have to dress yourself up!"

It's been a week since the gas was released on her friends. On Faye. Where are they now? Where did the guards take them? Where did Dr. Novak take them? She knew for certain that the gas wasn't meant to kill them since Faye was among those people. At least that information reassured her.

She hasn't changed out of the clothes she wore from that day, and even though Lina had forced her into a shower, Kenna insisted on keeping the same clothes. The blood stains on her shirt weren't too noticeable but it has turned brown and kept a metallic smell. Her tight white pants felt uncomfortable for sleep but she wore it anyway. And her tank top and underwear felt sticky and disgusting, but she wore that anyways too. She didn't want any of the new clothes that's offered up to her. She didn't want any of this. Not this over fancy room and its too good of things. None of it. And a stab of guilt overcomes her every time she wakes and finds herself in the soft smooth sheets of her king sized bed. She didn't deserve any of this. She shouldn't be here, she should be wherever Dr. Novak had put Annika and Gibson and everyone else.

A sting of pain ringed on her bare arm. She turned to see Lina pinching her.

"Ow! What's that for!" She slapped away Lina's hand.