I stood in front of the multi story wardrobe, fresh bandages wrapped onto me. I had not been healed when I woke up this morning, which was about what I expected, but I was looking and feeling much better. I'd washed up, gotten re-wrapped up, and now I was waiting for Marissa to pick out an outfit that would cover as much of the bandages as possible. She had three outfits out on the desk; a kimono, a long sleeve jacket with a lace blouse and dress slacks, and a black track suit with a white floral pattern on the ankles and wrists, but she was still digging.
"Hey, are we sure I can't stay home today? I'm still really sore..." I said. I wasn't actually that sore, but I was slightly achy, and I really didn't want to meet her dad anyway...
"No, you're moving around fine, and you looked way better, we're going." She said absently.
"I'm just worried the bottle will be too rough for me, even with cushions..." I complained.
She turned to look at me, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh, yeah?... you're right... Hm, you know, there's a solution for that..."
I frowned. "What solution?"
She opened her jacket and pointed at her silk blouse. There was a breast pocket hidden under where her jacket lay, on the left side.
"It's nice and silky and soft, no hard edges, and you'd be niiiiice and safe up against me the whole time..."
I thought about it for a second, it was tempting... I almost refused; it was what she wanted after all, for me to be her little 'pocket pet'. She'd leapt at the chance to keep me in her pocket before, so agreeing to it would be like giving her exactly what she wanted. But... It did seem like it'd be a lot more comfortable than being in that bottle, and I really, really hated the bottle. I wasn't getting out of going to her dad's either way, so...
"...Yeah, ok." I said.
Her eyes lit up. "Really?! Oh, ok! That's- fucking finally, gods, yeah, this is great!"
I winced at her enthusiasm. Was having a person in your pocket really that great? "Just... be careful with me in there, ok?"
"Yeah yeah, I know." She said dismissively. "Uhh, let's see... The tracksuit would be the most comfortable for me if you're in my pocket. The kimono would be too bulky, and the business wear would get wrinkled, and this" she held up what she'd been looking at a moment before; a blue and yellow harlequin outfit, "would be too much for your first visit with my dad. I'm remembering it though, it's cute as fuck."
I winced "Why did you buy that?"
"So you'd look like a little clown doll." She said, hanging it back up and pushing the tracksuit towards me.
"Oh, of course, yeah." I said sarcastically "Just what every girl wants, to be a clown doll."
"It'll be cute, hush." She said as I got dressed.
"So when are we leaving?" I asked
"Uhh, about thirty minutes, give or take." she replied "I don't have an exact time to get there, just a ballpark."
"Ok, yeah..." I said as I zipped up the tracksuit "Can I hang out in my house for a bit until we go then? I want to get some time to myself if that's ok."
She made a face, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's fair. You'll be in my pocket all day, right up against me, the whole time, so get your 'alone time' while you can."
Her voice wavered as she mentioned me being 'right up against her', and I wondered if there was an aspect I hadn't thought of about being in her pocket, something less 'appropriate'. The pocket was over her left breast, but... she didn't really have breasts, not really. Well, she kind of did, but... I didn't think I'd be able to tell if I was leaning against them. Maybe that mattered to her anyway? On a conceptual level?
As she flopped onto her bed to look at her phone, I went into my house to check my phone. I went to the couch first, and turned on my tablet, slipping the phone out from behind it and into my pocket as I took it off the charger. There was a message from my mom about missing me, and how my dad had tried to drive over to Marissa's house after Henri showed up at our apartment crying early yesterday morning. I assured her that I was safe, and that Henri had just been upset because of some 'party games'. I told her I loved her, and that I'd see if I could video call sometime soon if I could get it set up on the tablet, and then I checked my messages from Henri.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
That meant either she was scared to reach out to me, or... she was so upset she didn't think to fake-text me on the tablet and only messaged my main phone instead. Either way, I was about to find out. I eyed Marissa, still on her own phone, to make sure she wasn't watching, and pressed the power button as I headed upstairs into the bathroom. I shut the door, and locked it behind me. I was pretty sure Marissa could still get in through the lock, but... I didn't expect her to. My phone finished powering up, and I looked at the lockscreen nervously. There was a bunch of garbage messages from spammers and tracking info for stuff I ordered I'd never get to use, but... there was one notification from Henri.
I took a breath and opened it, my gauze covered hands barely registering on the glass. It was a brick of a message, and while it'd obviously been sent as one message, my cheap phone had to break it up into fifteen smaller messages to get it across.
'Oh my dearest darling klein fee, I am so terribly sorry that the evening went as it did last night, I know I needed to tell you my truest feelings, to let my love shine for you, but there, in that place, was the wrong time. I wished my love to be conveyed to you gently, like a soft whisper on the wind, like a gentle caress. I know you don't have a preference for your partner, so I was sure you would return my affections and we would live in bliss. I've thought about our first kiss, the 'test' kiss, every day since, and I'd hoped to get to shower you with more kisses every day sometime soon. The curse on your body ruined and destroyed my plans. I know it is a horrible thing to say, but I was selfishly hurt for myself when you told me that you were compressed, I knew my chances at a normal relationship were now none. But I soon chippered, as I realized that I had a unique position. If I could help your family adopt you, I could help them care for you, I could move out of the dorms and into your old room where we would live together! I became invigored with the energy I needed to fulfill this goal, and once you were taken away, I doggedly tracked down and demanded money from all the girls I knew could spare any. I WOULD get you for myself, I would share my love with you fully, and you would be my little sweet forever. That horrid bitch that got you instead is the bane of my existence, if you'd only say the word, her life would be forfeit. I need you in my life, klein fee, you are my everything, you're the only person I know here, and you're the object of my undying love. When we spent every day together it wasn't as hurtful, it was a wonderful life, but now that you're away from me, there's an empty hole where you used to be and I don't know how to stop the pain. I love you, Amber. I will always love you, and I want to do anything I can to help you get free from that terrible prison you're in. I know it's hard to trust me, I know it's scary to think about, you're so, so fragile, but I will rescue you in any way I can, in any way that's safe for you. Be aware, and be prepared my lovely beautiful klein fee, I am coming for you.'
I lay in the tub, my mouth dry, my head spinning. This wasn't an apology for getting too carried away while drinking, or even just her trying to smooth things over, this was... this was terrifying. I loved her, although how I loved her I wasn't sure yet, but the love was there. This, though, made me fear for my safety. It made me fear for Marissa's safety. It made me feel like an object, a thing to be won or a trinket to steal away. I didn't know how to respond. I wanted to be around Henri, but not like this, not while she was practically begging me to give her permission to kill my guardian...
Should I warn Marissa? That Henri might actually be a threat to her and her safety? I kicked myself for opening the message without going into offline mode first, now Henri knew I'd read it, there was no way to pretend I hadn't, but I didn't know what to say in response. If I didn't say anything... She could just show up and try to take me by force. Henri wasn't strong, not really, but she was heavier than Marissa, and if she wanted to, she could beat her in an all out fight from what I could tell. The only thing I could think of to say sounded lame and like a non-response, but I had to say something. I typed out my message and sent it, hoping it was enough to curb her energy.
'hey bbgrl. dont do anything. ur my best friend and i luv u ofc but i need time to think. im staying in m's pocket from now on so if u hurt her she could fall and squish me so leave her alone 4 now'
The read notification popped up almost as soon as I pressed send and I bit my lip. I couldn't deal with this right now, I really did need time to think about it. I powered my phone off as I saw the 'Henri is typing' pop up and slid it under the stack of towels. I'd deal with it later, tonight. Or maybe tomorrow. I got out of the tub and walked to the couch, flopping down. I really, really didn't want to deal with anything today. Maybe me being in Marissa's pocket would calm her down and make her leave me alone, at least until we got to her dad's house.
~~~
Marissa rubbed me through the fabric of her pocket as she crossed the driveway to her dad's front door. She'd been touching me and petting me and peeking into the pocket constantly since I got into her pocket almost and hour ago. She was being oddly affectionate about the whole thing. She'd whispered 'you belong in there...' under her breath when she dropped me in, but hadn't really spoken to me since, except to ask if I was ok once or twice. If I stood up, I could just see over the top of the pocket, with my nose barely clearing it, but every movement caused me to shake and tip over, so I'd spent most of my time curled up at the bottom. It was... boring, but very comfortable. I'd almost dozed off a couple times, until her finger dipped in to rub my head or she patted her pocket, jarring me awake.
I was warm, her body heat radiated into the silk and the jacket over pinned it in. The pocket smelled like she did; that odd, hard to describe 'human' smell that everyone had their own variation of. I'd never given it much though before I was small, but now that my senses were heightened, I was much more in tune with the scents and sounds of the people around me. Speaking of sounds, her heartbeat thumped steadily, a deep, almost wet noise just behind the fleshy wall I was laying against. It was soothing, but sounded a little gross this close up. Sloshy, with the rush of blood through the veins audible too.
"We're heeeere~" She whispered to me as I curled up tighter.
I heard the door open, and a man's voice sounded out loud and bold.
"Heyyy little Missy! How've you been!"
I felt her lean, angling her body as he hugged her, his body pressing into her right side, missing me. I scooched further left, just in case.
"I've been fine daddy, how are you?"
Her words were said casually, with a sense of amiability, but I noticed a stiffness to it, a manufactured appearance of having her guard down.
"Oh honey bun, I'm just fine, come in, come in! I'll send my man out with some raspberry tea for Drew, it's good to see you, sweetie."
Well, he seemed nice enough at least. He'd actually cared about the driver, Marissa usually just left him in the car and ignored him while she was out. Marissa walked in, and her hand slipped under her jacket and cupped me as she pulled it off. I felt the cool air from the house hit me and I shivered. It wasn't any colder than 68 or so, but at this size it was a lot chillier. I'd been at 98 degrees the whole way here give or take, so it'd take a few minutes to get used to the temperature. I stayed still as she kept her hand over me, I got the feeling she didn't want to show me off just yet. I could see lights and shapes through the silk though, and I noticed we'd entered a room that seemed to have quite a lot of windows in it, shining light towards the center. Looking up, I could only see Marissa's face and a slightly industrial looking ceiling, not much to go on. She sat down, and leaned back, tilting me against her, keeping her hand lightly over me.
"Ohh, Missy!" a female voice called out "I hadn't heard you come in, would you like a drink?"
"Oh, hello Raquel." Marissa said, barely keeping the edge out of her voice.
"Please, call me mom!" Raquel said lightly.
Marissa laughed politely, but didn't respond. I shifted, trying to stand to peek out at the woman that caused her so much trouble. but Marissa pressed down harder on me to keep me still.
"My man is going out to give Drew that drink. Knowing them they'll be out there a while!" Marissa's dad said, his voice getting louder as he got closer. He must have stepped away and I didn't realize.
"So, Missy, you want a raspberry tea as well? I'll go fix one, and, ah, add a little something to it, if you like."
"That sounds lovely, daddy. Thank you so much!" Marissa said. I could feel her nodding, her head movements ever so slightly shifting her torso.
After a moment, Raquel spoke up again. "So, Missy... I heard the school will be expanding the Tennis program to include budget for three more courts, I bet you're happy about that, right? With 6 courts, you'll be on the bench a lot less!"
"We should have 12 courts, honestly. I don't understand why we don't." Marissa said coldly. "I know we're a small school, but it's just restrictive to only have 3 courts, even 6 is just the bare minimum required for reasonable tournament play."
"Well... With this addition, maybe the school will let the team join the ITA, right?" Raquel said, trying to bring up the conversation.
"Doubtful. You know how our school is, they'll never let us play in anything with a ranking, so there's no way for us to lose face."
I had never tried out for sports at college, but Henri did. She'd tried hard to join the tennis team despite me telling her it was a bad idea. She'd thought it'd be the perfect chance to get to know the other girls better, and maybe even get Marissa to stop harassing her. In short, it hadn't worked, and we'd spent the entire weekend under a blanket together watching kid's anime, eating candy and sharing sorbet while she cried about being 'not good enough' for them.
Thinking about it... it'd been Marissa who'd made the call to not let her join the team in the end. Henri wasn't the best, but she was better than several of the other girls, and even won half of her matches during the interview, so her exclusion was almost entirely due to her social status.
"Annnnd here's that drink!" Marissa's dad said. I heard the glass clink on the table and Marissa finally pulled her hand away from me to pick it up.
"Aw, thanks daddy..." She said. I heard her take a sip "Gods, is this half vodka? It's strong."
"Hahaha, I made it like I made mine! You're my girl, you can handle it."
"Handle it, sure, but this is a casual daddy-daughter day." Marissa said, laughing.
"Well, and your mother's here, don't forget her!" her dad pointed out.
Marissa took another sip of her drink and didn't respond.
"...so, anything new with you then kiddo?" He asked after a moment.
"Mm, yes, actually," She said, swallowing and lowering the glass. "I got a new toy. I bought it with my own money, too, it's very fancy."
"Oh?" Raquel said, curious "What is it?"
I could hear the grin on Marissa's face as she spoke. "Amber? Wanna come out and say hi?"
I uncurled myself, and stood, laying against Marissa and peaking my head out of her pocket, pulling the top down to show my whole face.
John was across from me sitting forward with his hands steepled, elbows on his knees. He had grey slicked back hair, a blue button up with a bola tie around the neck, and thin grey rimmed glasses. Raquel was to our left, and she looked... very familiar. I'd known Marissa's dad had married someone from our school, but I didn't remember who. I could almost place her in one of my music classes from highschool though, if I thought about it. She was wearing a short red dress with red shorts peaking out from under them and matching flats. Her hair was blonde, and it was piled on top of her head in a sort of bun, with short stick things poking through to keep it in place. I absently wondered if she meant for it to be messy, or if it was just a true lack of care...
Raquel let out a shriek "Oh OH. John she's got a thing in there, an alive thing, John!"
She pulled her feet up onto her couch as I looked around at the room, ignoring her outburst. It was all glass on one side overlooking a river, and had a lot of natural lighting as a result. We were sitting around a triangular coffee table on three couches, all with slightly different designs. Marissa, her dad, and Raquel were each on their own couch, with me and Marissa's having a high back on one side, and almost no back on the other. Judging by the tones of grey, grey, and more grey, I assumed that John had been the one to design Marissa's current house as well as this one.
"What in- Oh, wow, Marissa, is that one of those tiny humans that've been going around?" John said, peering at me.
Marissa reached in and gently picked me up, tenderly holding me so she didn't put too much pressure on my skin.
"Well, not technically a human anymore, but yes! She's a class B, her name is Amber, and I knew her from school before she got compressed."
John whistled, looking at me intently. "Well little lady, is my little lady taking good care of you?"
I looked back at Marissa before realizing he was talking to me.
"Ah? Oh! Y-yes, she's taking care of me well enough, she got me a big house and lots of clothes, and ah, she's... good."
I wasn't really sure how to respond to him, I wasn't going to tell him she bullied me or anything, but he knew her better than anyone, so if anyone could tell that she'd play rough with her 'toys', it'd be him.
"Now that is just amazing... You talk and act just like a full sized one of us, that is just downright amazing..." He said, shaking his head.
"They usually don't lose any cognitive functions, they're still people, they're just too small to be legal people." Marissa said.
"You- you just bought it?" Raquel asked, putting her feet back on the rug. "Like, just as a pet?"
"Yep!" Marissa said proudly. "I heard she'd been compressed, so I went straight over to the shop and bought her."
"Wow, did they need to do a background check or any such thing?" John asked, holding out a finger to me. I shook it like I would a hand, and he grinned widely.
"Oh, well, yeah. I had to take a twelve hour long class to get my license. And I'll need to take tests to make sure I know my stuff every so often to keep that license." Marissa said dismissively.
"Well, I'm proud of you, honey." John said "I never took you for the type to take in someone, to care for them like this, it's a side of you I never saw before."
Marissa shook her head "To be honest, it's not just that, I kinda really like the idea of having a tiny human as a pet too..."
John laughed. "Well, long as you're not hurting nothing, it's all fine, right, uhhh, Amy?" He said, directing the last part at me.
"Amber, and yeah. She had to learn to be gentle, but yeah." I said. Raquel was still staring at me, enraptured.
"Um..." I said, turning to her "do you have any questions?"
"How... how hard is it to clean the cage for one of these?" she asked Marissa, ignoring me.
"Oh, well, she's like, a person, so like, she cleans her own space?" Marissa responded "And like, her house has plumbing with a water filtration system, so I'll just throw the tank with the used filter and trash away when it's full and add special compressed water as needed. With one class B, the filter should last about two weeks?"
"Oh, ok... Is there anything hard about taking care of them?" She asked, looking up at Marissa
"Nnnot really?" she replied. "You just have to be aware they're super fragile, that's all."
Raquel reached a hand out to me to pick me up, and Marissa blocked it with her own, glaring at her before putting on a fake smile. "Ah, no. She's actually extra fragile today, so I'll be the only one touching her for now."
"Well why's she so fragile today?" John said, peering at me "Is is to do with her hands all wrapped up?"
"I got in a small accident, nothing serious, no one's fault, just me being 'fragile', I'll be fine soon." I told him, giving him a thumbs up.
"Well... Are accidents very common for these... 'class B's?" Raquel asked
"Oh yes most new owners manage to hurt their class Bs very badly within the first week of owning them because they don't realize how easy it it to hurt them. It's why the class is so important." Marissa said, her voice taking on a know-it-all tone. "I was very good at the class and Amber here still ended up getting hurt."
"So, you do own her then?" John said, stirring his drink with a straw
"Well..." Marissa said sheepishly. "I own her in a way, because she's mine, like a pet. But... legally, no. I'm just her legal guardian and caretaker."
"Caretaker..." murmured Raquel "That sounds nice..."
John drew his straw out of his glass and held it out to me with his finger on the top. A drop of raspberry tea was on the end, about to drip.
"Here you go little lady, take you a sip of this, get something good in you."
I threw up my hands and backed away "Ah, no, sorry, I can't- I'm not supposed to-"
"Aw it's just a drop, it'll be fine, won't it?" He said, smiling at me disarmingly. He was very handsome, in an older man kind of way, but I could have guessed he would be just from looking at Marissa. I wondered if this subtly charming behavior was how he'd gotten his current wife interested in him...
"Daddy, no, no vodka. She could die, it'll dry her out and make her very sick." Marissa said sternly, picking me up and cradling me in her fingers.
He whistled again. "Gah-lee, being stuck that small and not even alcohol to get your mind off it... My heart goes out to you, little miss Amber."
I gave a polite smile and withdrew into Marissa's fingers. I really didn't like being the center of attention. Being the center of attention was why she'd brought me, but I felt like I was on a stage and I didn't know my lines. Marissa noticed me pulling away, and lifted me up to her shoulder. I'd still be seen, but I wouldn't be in everyone's direct line of sight, which was better. I climbed out of her hand, clinging to the collar of the shirt she was wearing to stop from falling. The silk was a lot slipperier than the other tops she'd had on when I had ridden her shoulder, so I had to lean against her and hold tight to stop from sliding down her front.
"That's so cute..." Raquel breathed, her eyes locked onto me. "They don't mind being carried around on you?"
"Well, you have to ask them for anything fun, like putting them in pockets, or using them as jewelry or keeping them in your cleavage."
I glanced down at her front, alarmed. Hopefully she wouldn't be asking permission to carry me like that any time soon. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with it, even if she wasn't weird about it...
"Usually you need an approved container to carry them in, I have a bottle with heating and air that I keep her in sometimes, and I hang it around my neck." Marissa explained "Hands, shoulders, and knees, you're allowed to use to carry them without asking though."
"But if they say it's ok... anywhere is fine?" Raquel asked.
"Well, yeah, they just have to say it's ok. Like, I keep her in my pocket, but I have permission to do that." Marissa said.
Psh, 'I keep her in my pocket'. This was the first time she'd done that, she was just trying to pass it off like she did it all the time to sound more impressive. It sounded like it'd be a regular occurrence from now on though, and she'd really really enjoyed it.
"So, how much did it run you to, ah, I suppose 'adopt' Amber here?" John asked, sipping his drink.
Marissa frowned and shrugged. "Well, it's more than just the cost of adoption, it's... the adoption, the house, the clothes, the furniture, the food, it adds up. I'd say from walking in the door to the shop earlier this week to sitting in front of you right now, it cost me... $37,000?"
I shook my head, that was as much as a full time job's pay for a whole year for some people, and she'd blown it in less than a week...
"Well, that's not too bad!" Raquel said "I was expecting it to be much more!"
"They can't make it too high, a lot of the times the families of the class Bs want to adopt them themselves, so it needs to be attainable for the average person, to 'keep families together'." Marissa said.
"Well... I suppose your family didn't want you then, Amber?" John asked "Sorry if that's a sore subject, family didn't want me either, ha!"
"Uh, well they did want me, they tried to adopt me, but-" I started to explain
"Unfortunately her family was unfit to care for her, and they were unable to meet the needs she required." Marissa interrupted.
I looked at her incredulously. Really? 'Unfit'? They did their best, they tried to get me, they wanted to take care of me until this bitch-
"So Amber, Missy said she knew you from school, were the two of you friends?" John asked.
"Ah, we... ran across each other's paths..." I said, trying not to think of what had happened to me the times our paths had crossed.
"You'd think I'd know who it was..." Raquel said, frowning at me "I was at the school at the same time you were until high school graduation, but I don't remember an 'Amber'..."
"Well, I guess you just didn't pay attent-" Marissa said, her hand slipping up to hold me again.
"Oh! Oh, it's the rat!" Raquel said, perking up with recognition. "That's the rat, isn't it?"
"She- yeah, she goes by Amber now, though." Marissa said, sounding embarrassed.
"Ohhhh, that makes so much sense. I was wondering why someone's family from our school wouldn't be fit to adopt" Raquel said, nodding to herself.
"I'm out of the loop here, girls, 'the rat'?" John asked.
"Oh, she was some charity case who got in because of test scores or something." Raquel explained "She was a lower grade than me, so I mostly ignored her, but she was the 'rat' of the school! No one took her seriously or even talked to her until that weird girl with the accent showed up."
"That sounds a mite cruel of you girls..." John said, frowning "I'm just glad you've grown, Missy, and you're taking care of her now despite her past, that shows true character. You're going to be a wonderful boss one day."
I curled up into Marissa's palm as she gripped me, cringing. I wanted to say something, to call Marissa out to her dad, to tell him that no, she would make a terrible boss, actually, but her hand was closing over me, holding me into a ball, her fingers wrapped around me, telling me "if you say anything, I squeeze' without saying a word. I tried to wiggle free, or free-er, at least so I could see the others, but she put her thumb on my face and pushed me back down.
"Well, I just knew what I had to do, daddy." She said "I couldn't stand the thought of someone like her suffering in a tiny apartment, her caretakers unable to afford even the most basic of needs... I just wanted her to be safe."
She held me up to her face and I poked my head out of her hand, finally free from her thumb. She rubbed me on her cheek, smiling.
"Plus, she's just so cute! Who wouldn't want to take care of a lil baby like this?"
I blushed hard. Baby? Really? Way to take away my autonomy, 'Missy'. She booped me on the face with her free hand, smushing my nose. I'm sure it looked like a playful tap to the outside, but it stung, and made my nose smell coppery. I looked over my shoulder at James, who had a large smile on his face watching his daughter play at being a loving caretaker. I turned back and looked at Marissa, who was grinning at me, her face genuinely happy, but her eyes betraying a hint of cruelty. I felt like I was going to scream, to fight and yell and cry, I was so, so sick of not being treated like a person, even John, who'd actually addressed me, was now using that stupid child voice to talk to me. I felt like I could explode with frustration, I felt like I was going to bite Marissa, I felt-
A small trickle of something hot on my lip.
I wrestled my hand free and rubbed my nose, revealing a smear of blood in my fingers. I held my hand up to Marissa, pointing at the blood. Her eyes widened slightly, and she squeezed me, choking the air out of me and hurting my skin. She looked around for something, but couldn't find what she was looking for. She stood up abruptly, holding me against her neckline to hide the blood from her dad and Raquel.
"Well... I have to go... give Amber some medicine!" She said "That accident she got in, you know. I'll be back in a sec!"
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked off down a hall, opening and closing a door with a bang. She set me down on the counter of a lavish bathroom with black tiles and black porcelain furnishings. She crouched down and narrowed her eyes at me looking me up and down.
"Ok, talk. What happened?" She said sternly.
"You hit me in the face!" I said, throwing my hands up "It really hurt, I'm surprised you didn't break my nose."
She sighed "So that's all? Just a bloody nose?"
I crossed my arms. "You said you wouldn't hurt me, Marissa. You've squeezed me and trapped me and given me a bloody nose just since we've been here."
"That's not 'hurting you'." She said "It's at best being too rough. The bloody nose was an accident, I've poked you harder than that before, lots of times."
"On the head. Not in my face." I said.
"Ugh, whatever. I can't go back out with you all bloody like that, here." She pulled a tissue out of a fancy box and tore off a chunk for me.
"Clean yourself up. Once you stop bleeding, we'll go out there, you'll do some tricks or something, and I'll say we need to get you home to change your bandages or something. It'll be a short visit, but at least I have an excuse this time."
"Do tricks...?" I asked "I don't- I'm not a dog, Marissa, I don't know 'tricks', much less any I can do on the spot."
"You're still my pet even if you're not a dog, and pets do tricks, so think of something fast, because we're going back out there."
I wiped the blood off my nose, and cleaned up with the wet scrap of tissue she prepared for me. I wracked my brain for anything I could do that would impress them... I was mostly learning logistics and management in school, but John would already know the tips they taught me, I could play piano, kind of, but finding a tiny piano is way too much to ask on the fly, I could... draw? Ok, that was something, maybe I could work with that...
"Ok, hurry up, we're in a rush here, we gotta get back out there, are you done bleeding?" Marissa said, tapping the counter.
I sniffed. There was a bit of blood, but nothing that would start dripping if I sniffed every few minutes.
"I should be good, yeah..."
"Ok, great." She grabbed me, and walked out, swinging her arm as she did so. My stomach lurched as her arm rocketed forward, the world streaking around me. She ended the arc by pressing me into her neckline once again as she walked, uncaring as I tried not to vomit from the movement. She strode into the living room once again and set me on the table.
"Ok, she's all better and back to her usual self!" She said in a cheerful voice. "She said she has a trick to show us too, don't you Amber?"
I look around at the waiting faces, John looked pleased and interested, Raquel looked confused, and Marissa looked like she would smack me if I tried to get out of it. I took a deep breath.
"Ok, so I'll need the smallest writing utensil you have, and an unlined notepad. I'll be doing caricatures!"
~~~
I sat in Marissa's pocket on the ride home. She hadn't spoken to me or even touched me since we'd left, and I was starting to get nervous. As we reached our hometown, I poked my head up out of the pocket and looked up at her face. She was looking ahead, bored and slightly grumpy, her usual face.
"Well... I think your dad liked his, at least?" I offered
Her eyes flicked down to me, and her steel gaze seized me. She didn't say anything while I met her stare, and looked back up to the partition between us and Drew. Damnit, so she was upset. I'd tried to be fair, but... the point of caricature was to exaggerate. I didn't think I was too harsh with her drawing, but the evil expression and sharp teeth were maybe a little much.
"Well." She finally said "I liked how stupid you made Raquel look. I appreciated that."
I sighed with relief, if she wasn't too upset to praise me for making fun of her step-mom, she wouldn't be upset enough to punish me, or as least that's what I hoped. Crisis averted.
...Now all I had to deal with was the crisis waiting for me under a stack of towels at home...
~~~