Rescue Nova

Jealous II

Nova sat alone in the dining room sobbing. She'd just received her very first punishment from Kimberly, and she was devastated. She was also confused. She wasn't even sure how it had come to this or why she'd acted the way she had.

The evening had been going as usual. She and Kimberly had finished dinner, and Nova had taken her shower. Afterwards, Nova and Kimberly played. All was well until Kimberly announced that it was time to clean up and go to bed.

"NO!" Nova yelled. It was the first time she'd ever spoken to Kimberly like that.

What Kimberly didn't know was that Nova had been dreading the end of their play time this evening. She knew that bedtime was one step closer to having to return to a place where she shared her caregiver with other children. She really didn't want to do that.

Nova, who still hadn't emerged from headspace since Leila's arrest, had been in Kimberly's class for almost a week, and she was not enjoying it at all. Spending all day festering with jealousy was not Nova's idea of a good time. She was never really the jealous kind, even after coming to Kimberly and Leila, but Leila's absence was a tremendous loss, and little Nova was desperate to cling to the last caregiver she had left. That desperation made her quite resentful of anyone even somewhat infringing on her territory, that territory being Kimberly's love.

But, of course, Kimberly knew none of this, so she was taken aback by Nova's out-of-character response. "Nova, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to go to stupid school tomorrow!"

"That's okay, you don't have to go. You can play at Emily's instead."

"No! I want to stay here with you!"

"Well, first of all, I need you to stop yelling. It's impolite. Secondly, I know you want me to stay home with you. I wish I could, but I have to work. I--"

"No more work!"

"Nova, calm down. Yes, I have to work. But not until tomorrow. So how about you help me clean up this mess, and I'll read you a story?"

"NO!"

"Nova, if you don't stop this behavior, I'm going to flip your sunshine and put you in timeout."

Overwhelmed by frustration, Nova stood up and threw the toy in her hand across the room. That was Kimberly's last straw. She carried Nova to her bedroom, where Kimberly flipped her sunshine into a cloud. After flipping the sunshine, Kimberly brought Nova to the dining room and sat her at the table, the place Kimberly and Leila had previously decided would be their home's timeout spot if ever they needed one.

"You are going to sit here in timeout and think about why we don't yell at each other or throw things in this house. Stay here, and I'll be back in ten minutes."

Terror gripped little Nova as Kimberly left the room. She'd been bad, and at the worst possible time, too. Now that she was no longer the perfect girl she'd been these past few months, would she lose the only caregiver she had left? The thought terrified her as much as it broke her heart. Racking sobs followed.

•••••••••••••••

Sitting in a pod in the county jail, Leila busied herself writing a letter to Kimberly. Since Nova had been unable to be any distance away from Kimberly lately, she'd been present for every phone call Leila and Kimberly had had together. There were a few things that the women had not been able to discuss, so they would be telling each other those things via mail.

Dear, Kimberly,

I hope this letter finds you and Nova doing well. I, on the other hand, am not doing okay at all. I hate being here. All I do is worry constantly. What if I don't get out? What if I get out, but stand trial, get convicted, and have to come back?