Meanwhile, not long after Anne had snuck out, Jason had finished his session with Dr Harris and both of them returned to the living room.
“Where’s Anne?” He asked.
“She’s gone up to her room” Emma replied looking up at the two of them, “are we finished then?” She added as she got to her feet.
“Actually speaking of rooms,” Evelyn began, “there was a theory floating around the lab that sleeping in the beds you’ve been waking in might halt whatever’s happening. It could be worth a try” she continued.
“You mean I hasta sleep in Emma’s room?” Steve asked finally looking away from the tv screen.
“We’ll try it for tonight ok?” Jason replied sweetly.
“Please let me know if it changes anything” Dr Harris said, “here’s my card, feel free to contact me if anything else crops up” she added, passing Jason a small business card.
“Thank you Evelyn, we will” Jason smiled, setting the card aside on the mantle, “would you like me to show you out?”
“No that’s ok,” the dr replied as she shouldered her bag and left the room. Once she’d left Jason took a deep breath.
“Right, I’m going to go for that run now” he said, “you two be good, and let Anne know where I’ve gone if she decides to come back down” he added as he turned and left. Emma watched him as he jogged past the living room window.
“Can we switch this off now Stevie, you’ve been watching it all morning.” She asked, finding she was bored of watching colourful horses run around.
“Aww, but I’m bored” Steve pouted, “what I’m I s’posed to do?”
“I don’t know, but I’m bored of this” Emma sighed, “go play in your room or something.” She added.
“But..” Steve began.
“No buts, I want to watch something else, so you can sit here or go elsewhere.” Emma interrupted, feeling a little annoyed that he wasn’t listening.
“Urgh, fine” Steve said, jumping down off the couch and running out of the room. He made his way upstairs and went into his room. Everything inside looked so much bigger than he remembered. He clambered onto his desk chair, planning to find some more episodes of that show online. He opened up the laptop and stared at the blank screen
‘Why’s it not working?’ He thought to himself. He started hammering on the keys but nothing was happening. He felt himself getting more and more frustrated, and slammed the laptop shut. He looked around the room for something else to do, but nothing seemed to grab his attention. He felt the urge to play with something, make up a story like he did in the bath.
‘I’ll try Emma’s toys!’ He thought to himself as he hopped down off the chair and made his way to her room.
Meanwhile downstairs Emma was casually flicking though the channels. She finally settled on a documentary show about the police force. As she settled in to watch it she realised she was hungry.
“I should go ask Anne if she’s making anything for lunch.” She said to herself, getting to her feet with a slight groan. She walked upstairs and straight to the master bedroom. Without knocking she opened the door and was surprised to find it empty.
“She snuck out!” She gasped suddenly feeling a little angry. Then she realised that it was just her and Steven in the house.
‘Guess I better keep an eye on him’ she thought to herself. She peeked in his room and again was surprised to find it empty. She could hear a little voice coming from her room, so she crept over and quietly looked in. It was a strange sight to a smaller version of her brother in her clothes siting cross-legged on the floor playing with her dolls. She smiled to herself and stepped away from the door.
“At least he’s occupied” she said to herself with a shrug, “looks like I’m making my own lunch” she added as she headed back down to the kitchen. Thankfully she was able to reach all the cupboards now, so she quickly made herself and Steve a couple of sandwiches, and cut up an apple for him. She also made a third one for Jason when he got back from his run.
‘Anne can sort herself out when she decides to come home!’ She thought to herself as she took Steve’s plates up to her room and knocked.
“I’ve got your lunch Monster” she said sweetly as she walked in and placed the dishes next to him.
“Ok, thanks” Steve replied without even looking up from his game. Emma smiled again and headed back downstairs. She took her plate into the living room and sat down. After a few bites she started to feel a little thirsty. Getting back up and heading into the kitchen, she decided to see what was in the fridge. She opened it up and was about to grab the juice carton when she spotted a couple of glass bottles on the top shelf.
“Ooh, that looks tasty” she said as she grabbed one, “I’m sure Jase won’t mind if I have one of his beers”. Somehow she knew where to find the bottle opener and before long she was sat back in front of the tv. She took a small swig of the beer and found the taste to be quite pleasant, and the coldness of it was refreshing. She heard the front door open and a second later Jason stuck his head into the room.
“I’m back” he said in a sing-song voice, “where’s Steve?”
“Oh he’s upstairs playing” Emma replied, “I’ve taken him some lunch, and yours is on the counter” she added as she took another swing from the bottle.
“Oh ok. Thanks…” Jason began, “wait! Ate you drinking my beer?” He asked in shock.
“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind?” Emma replied a little sheepishly.
“Ems, you’re four years old, you shouldn’t be drinking beer!” Jason said crossly.
“Do I look like I’m four?” She said back, sounding a little annoyed, “and from what Dr Harris said, my body is probably ageing to match this!” She added pointing down at her crotch. Now it was Jason’s turn to look sheepish.
“You’re right Ems, it was just a bit of a shock. I’m still not happy about it, but maybe just make that the only one” he replied. Emma sighed.
“Ok, if it’ll make you happy” she said with a smile, “oh and you’ll never guess what Anne’s done!” She added as she suddenly remembered.
“What now?” Jason asked.
“She snuck out when we weren’t looking” she said crossly, “it’s a good job I was here to keep an eye on Stevie!” She added.
“For gods sake. Ok, I’ll speak to her when she gets back!” Jason said rolling his eyes, “well anyway. I’m going to grab a quick shower then I’ll have my lunch ok?”
“Yeah that’s fine” Emma replied, “I’m just watching this anyway, and Stevie’s fine upstairs.” She added as she took a bite of her sandwich and turned back to the tv. Jason studied her for a moment, amazed at how much more mature she seemed, how much more rugged her face looked. Her the sleeves of her T-shirt were tight against her arms, and as she lifted the beer up to her lips, he could see a light bulge of her biceps. He bit his lip and felt a warm feeling in his crotch as he remembered those arms wrapped around him this morning. He suddenly realised where his kind was going and shook his head vigorously.
“Right!” He said loudly, “shower!” He added as he left the room quickly to avoid Emma seeing his blushing face.
