Ramona had scooted back into her seat as far as she possibly could, as you stood ahead of her like a bodyguard, blocking the path between you and Kyle. You'd expected him to react sourly to this situation, but the amount he'd been angered by her presence was much more extreme than anticipated. The way he was yelling about your good deed of briefly taking in a lost child was ridiculous.
"Could you just calm down for a moment?" You requested bluntly.
"Calm down!?" He simply spat those words back at you like a snake shooting venom, an arm motioning towards the empty soup bowl on the table. "After you've just been giving away the food that I worked my fucking ass off to buy!?"
"That WE'VE been working to buy!" Your effort to avoid yelling and frightening Ramona became fruitless when the hard work you'd been slogging through at the bar was undermined. He always found some way to push your buttons. "And could you stop swearing in front of a child please!?"
Kyle averted eye-contact to briefly glance at Ramona, who was glaring back at him intensely with both hands held to her chest. The sight appeared to have an effect, as he ceased his whining for a few seconds, but when he registered the strong heat at his side, his head soon spun to glower at the radiator.
"Have you turned that thing on!?" He delivered the question at you in utter disbelief, as if the answer wasn't plainly obvious. "You know how much heat costs! Our electric bill is gonna be sky-high!"
"She was really cold!" Your response made Kyle growl and storm off to the side, hands rubbing the side of his temple. He marched into the kitchen and picked up the empty can of soup on the counter, which he stared at like it'd been his own mother's ashes that'd been poured into a bowl for Ramona to eat. "You're acting like I should've just left a helpless child all on their own to fend for themselves!"
"You don't know her!" He exclaimed, waving a dismissive hand in Ramona's direction. "Some six-year-old is not your problem!"
"Seven-year-old!"
She caught both you and Kyle off-guard with her sudden affirming voice. You looked back to find her glowering at him with a dark frown, as if saying the wrong age was the most damning thing he could've done. Her hands were still held to her chest, indicating that she remained pretty scared. Regardless, you hadn't anticipated that kind of confidence, especially with how afraid she was when you found her...
Kyle returned the frown, but strangely, he chose not to reply. Knowing him well at this point, it was rare for him to remain unresponsive when yelled at. You could've assumed it was because he would've been yelling at a child, but again, you knew him well enough that such an idea wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
"Listen, I couldn't just leave her there." You continued, as if that hadn't happened. Kyle promptly returned his frown back to you. "She was cold and wet and hungry. Not to mention how dangerous it is out there after that couple went missing. What kind of human being would I be if I didn't help her out?"
"You didn't have to bring her back here!" Kyle replied. "Why didn't you just call the police!?"
"I was going to, but..." Your sentence tailed off when you failed to think of a quick rebuttal. The memory of her grabbing your arm the very moment you went to call someone came back, and the mystery of why she reacted like that followed suit. You averted eye-contact briefly as you struggled to reinitiate the response. "She was...s-she seemed frightened when I did."
Kyle sighed.
"So what's your plan, then!?" He slammed the soup can back on the counter. "Have her stay around here forever!? You really think we can afford that!?"
"N-No, I know, I just-"
"Then call the god-damn police!" He uttered that final yell with the usual frustrated conviction, but after taking a moment to glance at Ramona again, who was still frowning at him, he proceeded in a softer tone of voice. "They'll do a better job of taking care of her than you."
However, while Kyle was easing up his anger, that last sentence was enough to spark some more in you. Frowning, you brought your now venomous gaze back onto him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Aww come on, be serious." Kyle laughed mockingly. "You can't look after kids. All you know how to do is serve drinks, and you still suck pretty hard at that."
As you considered before, he always knew how to push your buttons...
Your eyelids narrowed as you stared through him like a knife through butter, a change of heart now dawning. It would be an arduous and life-altering decision, but now that it had been given as some sort of challenge, you couldn't help but majorly consider it. Anyway, who cares if things go wrong?
The last hour had been the happiest you'd been for as long as you could remember. It was worth taking the risk...
"Alright, then." You craned your neck up assertively. "Ramona's staying here."
Two very different reactions followed that announcement.
"What!?" Kyle snapped. You had little time to enjoy his anger before a small voice from behind snatched your attention.
"Really!?" Ramona joyfully questioned.
"Yeah." You turned to face her. Her eyes were alight with a gigantic sense of relief, as she was now leaning forward in the chair again. The sight immediately coaxed a grin from you, one that you offered her alongside an assuring nod. "I will look after you..."
Ramona beamed so delightfully that her smile was rivaling the sun in brightness. You knew that such news would probably make her happy, but certainly not this happy...
"Like HELL you will!"
Kyle stormed over and yanked your arm, forcing you to face his enraged yet totally stunned expression directly. Ramona fearfully sunk back into the chair the moment he did so.
"Are you out of your mind!?" He yelled. "How can we possibly afford to look after a child!?"
"I'll pick up some extra hours or something." You shrugged. "Plus, we could always make a couple more cutbacks."
"Cutbacks!? We've literally cutback everything already! There's nothing left to cutback!" He seemed on the brink of forcefully yanking his own hair out. "Also, we can't just leave her here alone if we're at work all day!"
"I'll find a childminder."
"Oh right, so just ANOTHER thing we'll have to pay for!" Kyle briefly offered Ramona an aggravated look, who had gone back to staring at him fiercely, this time with that...contemplation in her eyes. "Besides, even if we could afford all of that, you can't just grab a kid off the street and call her your own! Even if she's homeless, I'm pretty damn sure that's illegal!"
You opened your mouth to continue the debate, but just like that, Kyle had made a point you couldn't refute. It was true. The authorities would have to know that Ramona was here. Otherwise, what would be the difference between this and abduction? You were forced into a prompt silence, and your helpless gaze ventured over to Ramona. She turned to meet it, fear very present in her eyes.
"I'm calling the police!"
Kyle reached into his pocket to grab his phone. The instant he did so, Ramona leaped up and firmly grabbed his wrist, the exact way she did to you earlier.
"NO! Please, please, pleaseeee don't!"
The yanking of his arm clearly surprised Kyle a ton, in much the same way it had you. However, when he turned his gaze down to meet her intense eye-contact, he wasn't swayed from pressing forward, not even in the slightest. He frowned down at the child angrily.
"Listen, kid..." His tone was far from comforting, moreso deeply irritated. "You can't stay here. The police will take you somewhere safe and look after you. I know it's scary, but that's just how it's gonna be, alright."
Ramona clearly wasn't convinced. Her frown returned at speed. You rose an intrigued eyebrow at the way she looked at him. It was that weird look she'd donned before.
This time though, there was very little of that contemplation...
She let loose a defeated sigh.
A sudden blue light appeared under her hand. It was so bright that it quickly forced you and Kyle to blink and avert your gaze. Before either of you had the chance to process what was happening, the light got even brighter, and you clamped your eyes shut to to avoid pain.
A beyond strange rush of sound followed. You could just about hear Kyle bellow a huge yelp before it very suddenly cut out. The moment it did, so did the light.
You reopened your eyes. Kyle was no longer there. You looked down to find Ramona gazing at the floor. Following her pupils, you were stunned to find your housemate at her feet...
Shrunken to merely a couple inches in height.
Your mouth dropped open instantly. You blinked at a pace you never had before, verifying if what you were seeing was true. The sight before you remained the same. You could vaguely hear the tiny Kyle erupt into shock, as he laid on the floor and flailed his arms around in complete terror. All you could do was continue to stare at him in utter disbelief.
A little hand grabbed your wrist. You looked up to see Ramona now gazing right at you.
"I'm sorry..." She said, her voice sullen and her eyes visibly conflicted.
The blue light happened again. You were forced to shut your eyes once more, but this time, an immensely uncomfortable feeling shook right through your entire body. Your muscles tensed up in a way they never had before, igniting a pain that was entirely indescribable.
"AHHHH!"
In a few moments, the pain stopped. The light disappeared. Shaking, you hyperventilated at an extreme pace.
When you were finally able to reopen your eyes, you found yourself staring at Ramona's socked feet, the both of which were now ABSOLUTELY GIGANTIC. You craned your neck up to observe the seven-year-old giantess, right as she craned her neck down to address you.
"But I can't let you tell anyone."
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