Forlot: The Mom Who Lives Next Door - Book Twelve

Chapter Thirty-Three

"The Lubriem? What is the Lubriem?"

"It is not what she was. It is who she was."

I suggested that we take this to my room, and Jade agreed without any protest. We got up from the couch, and she held out her hand. I noticed it right away and stared at her palm, wondering what she wanted from me.

"Uh..."

She giggled. "I would like you to hold my hand, silly."

"Uh, why?"

"It is just..." Her face saddened. "...nobody has held my hand for years. If...if I felt yours against mine...it would bring me so much comfort."

"Ah. I see."

"Pretty please, Jackson? But if it bothers you, you do not have to. The last thing that I want to do to my hero is force him to do something that he does not desire to do."

I blinked once. Twice. "Your...hero?"

"You are my hero, you silly goose. You helped me and the other dolls escape the basement and repaired me." She reached out and took my hand into hers. "You are a blessing in disguise, Jackson. You really are."

When I felt her holding my hand, my cheeks were so very hot. And when she rubbed her thumb on the top of my hand, I wanted to melt. Melt into a puddle of...well, me.

I informed her to keep quiet because the others were asleep, and we tiptoed up the stairs, down the hall, and into my bedroom. I slowly closed my bedroom door, praying that the hinges would not make any annoying, squeaky noises. But they did. Fortunately, nobody else overheard them.

Jade was surveying my room and asked, "Where should I sit?"

"Not to be a jerk or anything, but you had better sit on the floor," I insisted. "We do not want our fellow readers to get the wrong impression, now do we?"

"What wrong impression?" She slid to the floor and crossed her legs.

"You know. That thing."

"What thing?" She let out a gasp. "Oh! You mean that secret that all parents keep from their kids?"

"Whoa. Not that far and serious. Besides, we already know where babies come from."

"Yeah. The aliens send them."

"Um, let us move to another subject." I sat next to her and stared at my thumbs that I was fiddling. "You have nice flats."

"Oh. So you like my shoes."

"Of course. They look good on you."

"Does the rest of me look good?"

I was trying to avoid eye contact with her, but somewhere in the back of my mind, something told me that I had to look at her. So I did. And smirked.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "In fact, you are mighty fine."

I gasped and covered my mouth. I was embarrassed and even ashamed at myself for saying that and thought that Jade would get mad at me and slap me.

Surprisingly, she did not. She was not even upset. She had on such a big smile, and her cheeks were both as red as...well, the color red.

She giggled again. "Are you flirting with me, Jackson? 'Cause if you are, I like it."

My eyes widened. "You...you do?"

"Actually, let me rephrase that. I love it!"

I could not believe the words that were coming out of her mouth and uncovered my mouth. "Seriously? 'Cause all the girls at my schools hate when boys flirt with them unless they are their boyfriends."

"Is that so? I guess that makes me special. Maybe that is why I was kidnapped and turned into a doll."

I wanted to know as much as you do, readers, about her past. Who she used to be before her horrible transformation and why she had to be a doll.

"Do you mind me asking you about yourself? Like...the events that led up to your demise and who might have turned you into a wooden doll."

That nice smile of hers turned upside down, and I could tell that a shiver shot down her spine.

"Jade, it is okay. If it makes you uncomfortable, then you do not have to tell me. At least, not now."

I waited for her to respond, but she never did, so I continued.

"To be honest, I do want to know, however, you do not have to spill the beans to me now. I will be patient until you are ready, evens if it means that I have to wait for years on end."

Again, I waited for an answer from her. And again, she stayed silent.

I squinted at her and examined her.

Jade was staring straight ahead. Staring at my wall that was across from us.

"Jade? Is something the matter?"

Let us say that I was not prepared for what occurred next.

Still not saying a peep, the girl slowly climbed to her feet and moved towards the wall that her eyes were locked on.

I quickly jumped to my feet and grabbed her wrist. "Jade, snap out of it."

Using her other hand, she pushed me, pushed me hard, and I stumbled back, but managed to stay standing up.

"Jade?"

She stopped in front of the wall, raised her arm, and put a hand on it. Her thumb and fingers spread out, and she stayed in that position for about a minute.

"What are you doing, Jade? Do...do you sense something that I do not?"

The hand that was on my wall clenched into a fist, and before I could say or do anything, Jade pulled back her fist and slammed it into the wall, creating a hole.

It was such an impact that I was surprised that nobody was woken up by it.

"Jade," I hissed. I grabbed her and spun her around. "Look at what you have done. My wall now has a hole in it."

She still did not say a word. Instead, she opened her mouth wide - and screamed. Screamed like a monster would.