The Experiment by Cassidy Shay (i can read with my eyes shut .txt) 📖

a Vipero sticks his head through the door. “Time’s up,” he says. When he sees Julie’s red, puffy eyes, his face softens. “Do you need anything?” She shakes her head, gives me a hug, and then I leave the room.
As we are walking back, I notice a tear sliding down the Vipero’s face. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Three years ago, my wife and I had a baby. She’s… she’s an Azulate. In two more years, she’ll be here. Before she was born, I never really thought about the cruelty that goes on here. But since I saw those blue eyes and the birthmark, I can’t stand being here. I know that when she comes, it will be even worse. But when they hire you, you’re on a contract for fifteen years. I’ve only been here for five.” He sighs. “For seven years, I’ll have to watch my baby girl be hurt. And after I leave, I’ll never be able to stop thinking about what goes on. I can’t sleep at night, and it just tears me apart.” He stops and leans against the wall.
“I’ve helped torture children, teens, and adults, you know that? For the first two years that I worked here, I never noticed how horrible these things are. But now…” He just shakes his head and starts walking again. I follow, a few feet behind.
When I’m back in my room, I sit on my bed. Collin and Jack show up at the table. “You know that they aren’t monsters, don’t you?” I ask Collin. “I’m so shocked. These men hate it here. They hate doing what they’re ordered to do. So why do they keep doing it?”
“Fear,” inputs Jack. “Most of these men have wives and families. If they disobeyed orders, there is the possibility that the Academy will hurt the ones they love.”
Collin nods. “Keep talking to them, when you get the chance. They enjoy company, and you can learn a lot from them.” They disappear, leaving me alone.
Chapter 5

The next two months go by rather quickly. I grow closer to Sarah and Julie, but even closer to Mathew. Although Collin is still first in my heart, by stomach is often in knots when I’m around Mathew. I’ve spend time trying to deny my growing affection for my husband, but it didn’t take long for me to decide that denying it was useless.
I’m 36 weeks along now. My belly is huge, and I’ve gained weight in other places too. My back is always hurting, and putting my shoes on has become an activity that causes me to sweat with the effort. To make things easy for me, the Academy has given me slip-on shoes, but I usually just walk around barefoot.
I’m very slow when I walk, which is a problem when I have to use the bathroom. A good portion of my day is spent trying to find the nearest restroom.
I still have regular check-ups, and I still see Julie every week. Collin and Jack show up often, but Carl rarely makes an appearance. In my dreams, I see Macy. As a child, as a teenager, and as an adult, she always has a haunted look in her eyes. Usually, after I have a dream about her, I wake up with tears streaming down my face.
I’m lying in bed crying right now. Because of my extended belly, Mathew sleeps on the floor, so I can’t rely on him to comfort me anymore. I sit up with my back against the wall. My lower back, my upper back, and my neck all ache from all the extra weight that hangs from them. Only four more weeks

, I think. Four more weeks until I can see my feet again.

I take a few deep breaths, and I am finally able to calm down enough to try to get back to sleep. I lie down, rest my head on the pillow, and wait for the cloud of unconsciousness to take over.
When I wake up again, Mathew is gone. I stand up and stretch, then head to the cafeteria.
After I get my food, I face the same problem that I always face in here. Instead of individual chairs, the Academy has tables with benches. The benches are bolted into the ground, so they can’t be scooted in or out. Because of my pregnancy, I can no longer fit on the benches if I’m facing forward.
I set my tray down and straddle the bench. Turning my shoulders toward my food, I begin to eat. I am soon joined by Sarah, and then Mathew.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him. Because of his shifts, the only meal he gets to eat with me is dinner.
He smiles. “I get the day off.” Two men walk by and give him dirty looks, but he doesn’t care. “Yesterday, the new warden took over,” he said. Of course, we all knew this. Although the Academy didn’t make a huge deal about it, everyone knows when a new warden comes in. He came by yesterday to greet me.
I bring my attention back to Mathew. “I went to clock in, and he was there, waiting.” He puts a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth, the swallows it. “He said that you and I are moving into a new room that’s bigger, and there’ll be a crib in there for Belle, and a bigger dresser with drawers for all of us. He also said that he’s having some baby clothes brought in, and we get to choose which ones we want. Then we get to paint and decorate one of the walls in whatever way we want.” He glanced at me, a twinkle in his eye.
“Wow,” I say. “This guy is way different from all the others.” Sarah and Mathew both nod. Smiling, I say, “Mathew, I think this will be our first thing we do as a couple.” In all the Memories that have to do with newlyweds, I’ve seen them doing many sappy things. Painting and decorating the nursery is one of those things. There’s also honeymoons, but couples rarely have those now. It’s a waste of time for their practical minds.
A strange expression crosses his face, and I wonder what he’s thinking. I turn to Sarah. “Would you like to help us pick out Belle’s clothes?”
“Yes! Yes, of course I will! That sounds like so much fun!” She rambles for a minute, and then she notices the sad look on my face. “What’s wrong, Meagan?”
“Macy would have loved doing this.” I look at my lap so they don’t see any tears that might fall. “It’s times like this that I really miss her.” Mathew wraps his arm around my shoulder and draws me into him. Because of the way I’m sitting, it’s an awkward position and it isn’t very comfortable. Still, I appreciate Mathew trying to help me feel better.
“So when are we going to do this thing?” Sarah asks Mathew. Her tone is excited, and I know that I won’t regret inviting her to go along.
“He said that as soon as we’re done eating, we can go to Dr. Jearson’s office to pick the paint and decorations. Then he’ll show us to our new room and we’ll paint. While the paint is drying, we’ll do everything else.” I nod, and then stand. All three of us are done eating, so we take out trays to the trash and then head for Dr. Jearson’s room.
I know where his room is because he was the doctor that performed the plastic surgery on my face. I led the way, and when we step into his office, it’s filled with paint cans, brushes, pallets, ladders, and everything else we might possibly need.
I look through the colors, and I choose a shade of blue, as well as a shade of pink that I like. Once Mathew has agreed with my choices, we head to the room that a Vipero leads us to.
The room is about twice as big as the one that Mathew and I share now. There’s a while crib, a big bed, a table big enough for five or six people, with a highchair for the baby. There’s a large dresser with six drawers. By the table is a miniature refrigerator, along with a sink, a counter, a few drawers and cupboards. There’s also a small oven and stove in the corner. The floor under the kitchenette is beautiful tile, and the rest of the room is covered in beautiful cherry flooring.
“Wow,” I say. “This is… this is amazing.” Mathew places a hand on my shoulder. When I look back at him, he has a smile on his face. “It’s perfect,” I whisper.
We look through the cupboards, commenting on the overall beauty of the room. “I’m so excited for you guys!” gushes Sarah. After we’ve taken everything in, we start to paint. First, we have to mix the paint. We have Sarah do that while Mathew and I move the crib and dresser away from the wall. Finally, we are ready to begin.
It doesn’t take very long to paint. There are three of us working, and we’re only painting that one wall. When we’re done, we stand back to admire our work.
“Let’s go pick out some clothes,” I say. “The fumes are giving me a headache.” The three of us file out of the room and down the hall. We go to Dr. Jearson’s room, and it’s now filled with baby clothes, blankets, and shoes.
“Look at this!” exclaims Sarah, holding up a red dress. “And this! Oh! This is beautiful! Ooh! Look at the shoes!” Mathew and I burst out laughing, and she stops. “What’s so funny?” She holds up a green shirt. “Isn’t it adorable?”
I walk up to her and grab the clothes. “Yes, Sarah, they’re very cute. But you need to calm down. We can only fill two drawers with stuff for her. Why don’t you pick out some blankets and shoes, and Mathew and I will decide on the clothes.” She nods slowly, and reluctantly walks to the other side of the room.
Mathew and I choose a few clothes, then we go to see what Sarah has picked out. She’s selected several pairs of shoes, and three blankets. They’re beautiful, with simple designs organized in a way that makes them appear elaborate and detailed.
“They’re so pretty,” I tell her. “There should be some room left over for more clothes. Why don’t you go pick out a couple of shirts or something?” Sarah shrieks with excitement and Mathew and I watch as she chooses two shirts, a pair of pants, and a dress.
“Okay,” she says. “I’m done.” We all head back to the room. The paint is fast-drying, but the fumes still hang heavy in the air. Sarah glances at me. “Let’s get this done quickly so we can get Meagan out of here,” she tells Mathew.
We put the clothes in the drawers and the blankets and in