All I Ever Wanted

Chapter One

I'm Emma Riley, eight years old and currently handcuffed to the most annoying person in the world. I generally think the best about people because everyone deserves a chance. They can't help who they are; you just have to accept them. I'm having a hard time accepting this guy though. It's not like I can walk away and never see him again. Even if I tried I wouldn't get very far. The handcuffs would stop me.

Ok, so your probably wondering why I'm handcuffed to a random stranger. It all started when my grandmother fell down the stairs. We took her to the hospital and they bandaged up her leg. Then they recommended she should stay in a nursing home with people to look after her. Being stubborn my Grandmother declined the offer. However the nurse was persistent and my Grandmother ended up in a nursing home for a trial run. Personally I think she did it for the free cookies, but whatever.

Today I came to visit her in the nursing home. I opened the front door to the building. The walls were a light green and the only furniture was a desk and a chair. Sat on the chair was a lady who looked utterly bored. I walked over to her and asked her where the nursing home was. I asked since there were also other businesses within the building. She gave me a set of complicated directions. I got a little lost so I asked someone politely for directions. Instead of telling me he didn't know, he snapped at me, "How should I know?" How rude can you get?

Unfortunately a door opened and a man in a white coat stepped out. With the evil glint in his eye I could have sworn he was a mad scientist. Apparently he wasn't a mad scientist; he was a mad therapist, which turned out to be worse. He looked towards me and the guy I just asked for directions. Smiling he grabbed our hands and pulled us into a little room. At this point I was panicking. Was he kidnapping me or something? I mean I've seen the news so I know being dragged into a small room by some stranger probably wasn't a good thing. Turns out he wasn't kidnapping me, it was even more horrifying.

He sits behind the desk. He smiles at us for a moment completely oblivious to the awkward situation he had caused. "So you must be my next patients!" He glanced at the clipboard on the table, "Rose and James Mathews!" He enthused.

I try to interject. My name isn't Rose! But he waves his hand to silence our complaints. "The first exorcise involves communication between you two. Plenty of father daughter bonding. To make sure this happens..." He held up a pair of handcuffs.

After that it was kind of a mad panic. I rushed for the door. So did the therapist. So close but I felt the cuffs click shut on my wrist. Then the other cuff clicks shut on the guy's wrist. The mad therapist sings cheerfully, "I'm going to get some tea! I'll be right back!" and he disappeared out of the room.

Now, thirty minutes later it is quite clear he won't 'be right back'. So I'm handcuffed to a guy because my Grandmother fell down the stairs and a therapist thought I was Rose Mathews. I shuffle uncomfortably. There isn't really a way to sit that is comfortable when you're handcuffed to someone.

I check the clock on the wall. I wonder how long it will be until someone realises I'm missing? My Grandmother won't because this was a surprise visit. My mother won't because... well because she's my mother. My little sister will be the one to notice I haven't returned. She'll tell my mother and my mother would... well, I'm not really sure what my mother would do. My mother's unpredictable. My mother is wild and free and doesn't have a care in the world, or so she likes people to think.

I sigh and look around the room. The carpet is cream and the walls are painted a subtle yellow. The desk stretches along the width of the room with a little shelf you lift up so you can get behind. On the desk are a set of keys. None of the keys are small enough for the handcuffs. There are paintings on the wall. All of them are modern art and not particularly famous.