Solitary Confinement

The Awkward Encounter

Clearing his throat, Alfred made his way towards me with his hand held out for a handshake. When he stopped in front of me, he spoke, "It's so nice to finally meet you, Olivia." The way he said the word 'finally' caused me eyebrows to furrow in confusion. What does that mean?

"We uh. We've sort of bragged about you to Alfred since the day we met you back at Cloverfield. Uh. He seemed to be just as excited as us to get you home," Mrs. Monroe stuttered out, and I glanced toward her direction. Her eyes were scolding the side of Alfred's head. Man, if looks could kill. I looked back at Alfred who had now plastered a stiff smile on his face.

"Why don't you cook up something for dinner, Alfred?" Mr. Monroe broke the silence between the three of us. I'd never been more confused in my life than I am right now. Maybe I'd been overthinking this.

Mrs. Monroe looked at me in expectancy and began to open her mouth. "That sounds like a great idea. What would you like to eat for dinner, Olivia?" She asked me, putting the spotlight on me once again.

"I'm not really picky. Anything would be good," duly came my reply. Didn't we just have this conversation upstairs?

"You heard her Alfred. Whip up something, would you?" Mrs. Monroe questioned their butler, but it came out as more of a demand. Alfred nodded his head stiffly, smile still dressing his face. Mrs. Monroe cleared her throat and turned to her husband. A few hushed words were exchanged between the two before Evan made his way out of the kitchen.

Maria turned to me. "So uh, Olivia. You've got one year left of school. Are you excited?"

"Not really. What's a few hours a day sitting in front of a computer learning useless information?"

"A computer?" Maria replied, clearly confused by my retort.

"I'm home schooled. All of the kids at Cloverfield were. They provided us with everything we'd needed."

"Oh, well. I guess I'd missed that when I read."

Rolling my eyes, a sigh breathed through my lips which caused my shoulders to slump down. You'd think that they'd study the girl they're planning to adopt a little bit more. Seriously.

"If you'd like, you could tour the rest of the house while Alfred makes your supper. The back yard has always been my favorite since we moved here."

"Uh, sure. Thanks." I spoke, interested in seeing the rest of this house.

Just as I turned on my heals, a whine sounded from the corner of the room. A newborn's cries filled my ears as they made their way through the baby monitor that sat on the counter.

"I'd better go check on her. What's ours is yours. Feel free to roam, and make sure you check out the tulips in my garden. They're just gorgeous," Mrs. Monroe spoke as the corners of her mouth pulled back into a sincere grin.

She stepped away and made her way up the winding staircase in the foyer. Taking her advice, I wandered around the side hallways connecting the foyer to the rest of the house. Two hours later, my body felt drained from all of the walking I'd just endured. I found myself at the foot end of my bed. Taking off of my shoes, I flopped down on my bed and allowed my eyes to close and for sleep to envelope my mind.