A shudder runs through me, and I push my face into his neck, not wanting to look at anything. One little glance behind him and I’ll see the window where I puked. How am I going to survive here with the big windows?
“Anything worrying?” Yamal asks. “Anything we need to worry about?”
Absolutely somethingIneed to worry about. Just the one glance outside and I knew we were surrounded by skyscrapers.
I’m not going to survive on this planet.
“She is extremely afraid of heights,” Daddy says.
“Did you get her to try to look out the window and show her that it’s not scary? That the window won’t break,” Yamal suggests.
I grip onto Daddy. “No. Please. No,” I beg.
I can’t go through that again. My whole body starts to shake as I think about Daddy walking to the window and telling me to look out.
“Shhh, we aren’t going back to the window.” Daddy bounces me up and down, attempting to calm me down.
My heart rate spikes, and I shake my head. “Please,” I beg again. “No punishment.”
I gasp and clutch onto his neck tighter. I shouldn’t have said that, but I couldn’t help myself. I need him to know I can’t do that as a punishment.
“Do you have something that can calm her down?” Daddy asks. “Her heart rate is way too fast for my liking.”
“No,” I yell. “Please, no.”
“This is fast-acting,” Yamal says, and before I know it, I’m crying out as I feel a prick in my arm.My whole body goes limp in Daddy’s arms after a couple of seconds.
SIX
What did Yamal do to me?
“You’re okay,” Daddy whispers in my ear. “Daddy’s got you. Nothing is going to happen. Yamal just gave you something to calm down. You may not be able to move much, but you are safe.”
What is he talking about that I may not be able to move much? I can’t move at all. Is this some type of sick torture? Is he going to bring me to the window and force me to look out?
“I’m going to hold you and let your mind calm down some more, and then we’ll go through with the check-up.” Daddy holds me impossibly closer to him. “And that will never be a punishment. You throwing up because you are so scared is not good, and we are not going to make that a habit at all.”
My mind slowly starts to relax with that information. I would not have been able to survive this if he had put it as a punishment.
“Has she been this nervous the whole time?” Yamal asks. “Or was it just about heights?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him pulling out a notepad. What is he doing?
“She was nervous when I set her down to do something. But it hasn’t been this bad. I think she was nervous that it would be a punishment, like you saw, and needed reassurance that it wouldn’t be. I’ll be keeping the curtains closed so she doesn’t have to see,” Daddy explains.
“She won’t get her sun or get accustomed to the brightness,” Yamal points out.
“Then we will go outside more often where we are closer to the ground,” Daddy replies. “I will not have her throwing up every single time we are close to the window. She is already small to begin with. I will not have my Little companion losing weight and getting sick.”
“I wasn’t implying that.” Yamal raises his hands in the air. “I was just trying to figure out if I needed to prescribe anti-anxiety suppositories.”
“We will take some. Just in case you aren’t in the building and I need to calm her down,” Daddy nods.
“They will take several minutes to work, but they are pretty fast-acting. Put one into her and keep your finger in there for a couple of minutes to make sure that she doesn’t push it out. If one doesn’t work, you can give her a second one. If two don’t work, call me and we will figure something else out,” Yamal explains as he writes something on the pad. “I’ll have the suppositories delivered this afternoon. The shot should work for another several hours.”
Suppositories? What is Yamal talking about? He can’t mean…
“Yes, Little companion. These pills will go up your bottom. it is the only way you will be taking medicine. Unless it’s an emergency like now.” Daddy pulls me back slightly and holds my head up.
