All weekend, I spent my time devising a plan to escape. I knew that probably wasn't the best solution for how crazy everything was but I had to get out somehow.

I'd thought about it all weekend and tried to think of where would be the best spot to leave town. There weren't any gates or fences trapping us in the town, taking away what I always envisioned a cult town would look like.

For some reason, Alex wasn't there when I got to school. Usually, he was there before me. I hated having to wait on him to have someone to talk to but I didn't trust anyone else in the class.

I kicked my shoes off under the table and pulled my legs under me, not caring that I was in a dress. The stupid diaper I had to wear all the time was big enough that no one would see anything anyway. And I wasn't sure any other boys understood anatomy enough to get turned on by seeing me anyway.

I had the crayons out and was drawing a map of the town, hiding it under a piece of paper with crappy flowers. I couldn't let Ms. Diane or Ms. Maggie know what I was up to.

A shadow cast over my drawings from behind me and I glanced to my right to see Alex sit down beside me. He winced when he sat on the chair, like it hurt to sit on it.

I scrunched my eyebrows up at his reaction. "Why are you acting weird?"

"I yelled at my mom this morning."

A grin spread on my face. "So she spanked you?"

His eyes narrowed at me. "Don't make me hit you."

I turned back to my picture, picking up a green crayon. "You wouldn't hit me."

"Keep taunting me and I just might."

I pushed the map of the town toward him and started coloring grass on the flower one, hoping to throw Ms. Diane off. She eyed us as we talked, making sure we weren't going to throw crayons again. I didn't blame her for watching us but it was annoying, to say the least.

"What are you thinking?"

I glanced at Ms. Diane and my shoulders relaxed when I saw she was talking to a girl further away from us. At least we'd have a little privacy. "I want to try to leave."

He looked at me, stone-faced. "What's your plan?"

I looked down at the picture and pointed to my house. Then I drew a line to a road that led out of town, one that looked like a dirt road. "It has to be in the middle of the night. I'm gonna go this route and call a friend of mine from a store in the next town over."

"It won't work."

"Okay, um, why not?"

He turned to face me, wincing at the pain of doing so. "First off, the neighboring towns will know you're from here. They can spot us a mile away. They'll call the town sheriff and he'll bring you right back here. Second, your friend and her parents won't believe your story about this place. You probably didn't believe it when you first moved here. You'll get locked up in an insane asylum for sure."

I covered my face with my hands, feeling my skin get hot. I felt defeated. I felt like everything I was thinking of wasn't a good option. I needed something, some sort of hope that things would get better and wouldn't be so... messed up. "I can't just sit here and take this. I have to get out of here."

"Lyla, I don't want to see you get hurt. I don't want to see you end up like Megan."

"Why? You won't get in any trouble if I go alone."

He pulled my hands away from my face. "I really care about you. I'd feel guilty if you got into trouble. I mean, I'm the one that told you about all of this in the first place."

"It's my decision."

He frowned. "Don't be stupid."

"Don't tell me how to live my life." I pulled out of his grasp and grabbed both pictures. I crumpled them into a ball and threw them away before going to a different part of the classroom. I knew Alex cared about me and was only saying things to protect me. But I needed out before I went insane. Before I ended up like the rest of the kids in the town.

---

I was in a bad mood for the rest of the afternoon. I hated feeling so helpless and defeated. I was trying to do something. I was trying to save myself from getting sucked into the lies that the town was spewing. Even though Alex told me that things in the town weren't right, he had no motivation to do anything about it. And that infuriated me.

I sat on my cot, waiting for mom to pick me up. I wasn't able to sleep at all that day. My mind was racing too much. There was too much to think about.

Alex slept like he'd been used to this his entire life. And he had. Maybe that was the reason he didn't want me to try to escape. Maybe he'd seen enough to know that this wasn't the worst thing in the world. I couldn't just sit by while knowing something was wrong. But if it kept me alive and unharmed, it couldn't be the worst plan.

But I was never going to tell him that.

The door opened and mom stepped inside. She was wearing her raincoat and there were little dots of rain that peppered it.

I got to my feet and walked past the sleeping kids as I headed for the cubbies. I pulled my shoes from their spot and sat down beside them, waiting for mom to slip them on my feet.

"Did you have a good day today?" She asked as she knelt down in front of me.

I hadn't. I was still pissed at Alex but it wasn't like I could tell mom why. I didn't know what would happen to me if I tried to escape but Alex made it seem like it'd be bad. So I didn't want mom to know I had plans of running away.

I nodded, seeing Ms. Diane walking over to us.

Mom put my second shoe on before going to get my coat.

I pushed myself to my feet. My stomach was starting to hurt, giving me the feeling that something was going to happen. Was I in trouble over something? I had no idea what I could have done. I hated not knowing what I did wrong

Mom nodded to Ms. Diane before she went to the door. Ms. Diane followed and my worry started to grow. I followed them out into the hallway and waited for what was to come.

Ms. Diane sighed before she spoke. "Lyla-"

"Am I in trouble?" I blurted out, my worry starting to get the better of me.

Mom gave me a soft smile. "No, you're not in trouble. We're just worried about you."

"Why?" What did they have to be worried about me? I hadn't done anything wrong. I was following the rules like I was supposed to. I hadn't complained in... well, it had been a long time. Still, I didn't like the pressure on me in the moment and it was making me too nervous.

"You've been hanging around with Alex a lot lately and while we're really glad you're trying to make new friends, we don't think he's someone you should be friends with." Ms. Diane said.

I didn't want to seem like I was suspicious of anything so I tried to not let my mind wander too much. At least not until they told me enough. "Is this about my bunny?"

Mom tightened her grip on my backpack. "No, sweetie. It's a bit more than that."

I still wasn't quite getting what they were trying to tell me.

"Alex is known for getting into trouble a lot and doing things he shouldn't be doing. I don't want to see you end up like that." Ms. Diane said.

"Oh."

Mom nodded, looking at Ms. Diane before speaking again. "I think it's best if we move you to a new classroom."

A deep frown settled on my face. "Why do I have to go? Why can't he go?"

"We think you'll have an easier time making new friends, Lyla. This will be good for you."

How was I going to figure out how to run away if I didn't have Alex to help me? I didn't think there'd be anyone else who would know as much as he did without risking getting into some serious trouble. It made me wonder how he hadn't been in any trouble over it.

"When do I go to the new class?"

"On Monday. It'll be easier to transition you that way."

I frowned. "I guess I don't get a say in this."

Mom rubbed my arm. "We're doing this to help you, sweetie. You'll like your new class."

I sighed and my shoulders dropped even more. I hated being the new kid and now I had to do it again. Things couldn't possibly get any worse.