Fleeting Love: Chapter 24
Jon sat silently, waiting for Melanie to come. At least he hoped she was going to come. It must have been a couple hours since Ingrid fell asleep. She should have showed up by now. He hadn't considered that she wouldn't try to help them at all.
" No. She's gonna come. She wouldn't just leave us here. Please, Melanie... " he thought, beginning to get nervous.
Jon watched the crack above him for awhile before he finally saw something. A shadow moved in front of the drawer. Without warning, the drawer slowly began to slide open. It was Melanie! When his face lit up in happiness, she put a finger to her lips to remind him to be quiet. She reached in the drawer and cupped her hands around him. After sliding the drawer slightly open again, she raised him to her face.
" Where's Bridget? " she mouthed.
Jon pointed down to the floor. Melanie crouched on one knee and put him on the ground. He held up his hands to signal for her to wait. He ran to the shoe Bridget had last been in and climbed on.
" Bridget! Are you in there? " he called.
A tiny figure moved into the heel section of the shoe.
" Yeah. Did you find a way out? "
" Sort of... We can talk about it in a couple minutes. Here's the shoelace. Grab on. "
Jon pulled her out of the shoe and helped her off of it. Bridget froze when she saw her gargantuan sister waiting for them.
" What the hell did you do, Jon? You got her involved in this! " she yelled, kicking his leg.
" Hey! I had no other choice. I looked for a way out and there wasn't one. She's our only option. "
" I told you to stay away from her! What if she gets shrunken too?! "
" I'm sorry! Standing here and arguing about it isn't gonna help. We should get out of here before Ingrid wakes up. Come on. "
He walked out from under the bed, Bridget followed him after a moment. Melanie put her hand down in front of them. Jon helped Bridget get on, then crouched next to her. He really didn't want to sit his bare butt on Melanie's hand. Melanie slowly rose to her full height and backed out of the room.
While she walked to her room, Bridget scowled at Jon. He saw her doing it and let out a sigh.
" I said I was sorry. Don't you wanna escape? Melanie is the only way we can. It's not like your crazy ass mother is going to have a change of heart. "
" Of course I want to. Not like this though. "
Jon wanted to say more, but knew it wouldn't help. Besides, if they actually did escape she shouldn't remember any of this. Melanie brought the shrunken teens over to her nightstand and set them down. She offered each of them a tissue to cover up with.
" Bridget... It's really you. So everything Jon told me about Mom is true? " Melanie asked.
" Yes. We've been her prisoners for months now. When I tried to get her to make Jon normal, she shrunk me too. She's been putting us in her shoes and making us massage her feet practically everyday. " Bridget replied.
" But how did she shrink you? That's not possible. "
" Obviously it is, Mel. She has some kind of power. That's not important. She'll never make us normal. If you try to ask her, you'll end up like us. " Jon interjected.
" What are we supposed to do then? You can't be stuck like this the rest of your lives. "
" We need to get the hell out of here. I'll take my chances on my own outside over being Ingrid's foot slave. I think Bridget would too, right? "
" ...Yeah. I guess. I never really thought about what we're going to do once we escape. You're three inches tall, Jon. Look at me. I'm half that at most. " Bridget said uncertainly.
" She's right. You wouldn't last a week by yourselves. It's too dangerous. " Melanie added.
" It's better than being a prisoner! Bridget, come on. You know you don't want to stay here. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but we can do it. Please. You gotta trust me. Everything will be okay once we escape. " Jon pleaded with her.
Bridget didn't respond for a few moments. She looked up at her sister and then down at the ground.
" Jon's right, Melanie. I can't be a prisoner anymore. You have to help us get outside. "
" A-Are you sure, Bridget? Maybe if Jon gets away she'll make you normal. "
" No. I can't take that chance. Please, Melanie. You have to help us. "
Melanie bit her lip nervously, struggling with what to do. He couldn't blame her. For all she knew, she was never going to see her sister again.
" Okay... If it's what you want, I'll do it. "
" It is. "
Without another word, Melanie offered her hand to them. When they were both on, she stealthily crept out to the living room and opened the front door. They were finally free! The game was coming to an end. She went to the side of a walkway and set them down in the rocks.
" You're absolutely sure about this? Where are you going to go? " she asked, sounding close to tears.
" We'll figure that out. You need to get back inside before Ingrid notices you're gone. " Jon said.
" Alright... Be careful. " Melanie hesitated before going back into the apartment.
" Why'd you rush her away, Jon? She's worried about us for good reason. " Bridget said, climbing a rock closer to him.
" I know. I just thought if she hesitated long enough, she'd change her mind. Couldn't let that happen. "
" So, what do we do now? "
" Wait a minute. "
Bridget quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. He looked up at the night sky with a triumphant smile.
" I win, Aphrodite! Get me the hell out of here! " he yelled in his mind.
There was no response from the goddess. His fears from earlier that day began to run rampant in his head. What if Aphrodite actually had no intention of letting him out of this game?
" Aphrodite! Don't do this! What about the deal!? Aphrodite! "
" What exactly are we waiting for, Jon? Shouldn't we start looking for shelter? " Bridget asked, watching him with a worried expression.
She could tell something was wrong.
" No! Just... Give it a couple more minutes. "
Jon was starting to sweat and breathe rapidly. It seemed like he was on the verge of another panic attack.
" Whoa. Are you alright? What's the matter? " she asked, taking his hand.
His vision began to swim and he could feel himself falling backwards.
" Jon! "
Before he landed, everything went black...
____________________________________________________
Jon's eyes flew open as he bolted upright. He was surprised to find himself sitting on a comfy chair in Aphrodite's office aboard the ship. His clothes from before he was transported to the first triathlon game had materialized on him. It looked to be midday outside the floor to ceiling windows. Strangely, the goddess herself was nowhere to be seen.
Jon slowly got up and went over to the window. The ship sailed along in the middle of the ocean. There were no islands or any other land on the horizon. A few people stood at the ship's bow looking out at the ocean.
" Congratulations, Jon-Jon! You won the triathlon! You have earned the right to make a deal with me. " Aphrodite said from behind him.
He turned to see her standing beside her desk. Her blonde hair was in a tight braid over her shoulder. Today she wore a long, white sleeveless dress that only revealed her feet. The dress had a deep V cut that showed much of her cleavage. Golden bracelets adorned her wrists. Brown leather sandals were on her feet. As always, she was wearing her ruby necklace.
Aphrodite waited for him to respond, but he didn't have anything to say to her.
" Ah, I see. You're upset with me because of the last game. I suppose I can't blame you. I know how much you hate Ingrid Aguilar. But be honest, you knew I would send you back there one day. Now that you've beaten it, I swear I will never send you there again. Does that make things better? " she said, moving closer and putting a hand on his arm.
" No. Not really. " Jon replied, taking his arm away.
" Well you can't stay mad at me long. We still need to make our deal. "
" Fine. Let's do it now. "
" No. Not quite yet. You take the rest of the day for yourself. We'll negotiate the terms tomorrow when you're rested. " Aphrodite said, sitting behind her desk.
He glared at her for a moment before going to the door. She spoke up again as he reached for the handle.
" Wait. I assume you're going to see Alexis, right? She's not in her room. "
His heart skipped a beat at her words. Something about the way she said it made him worry.
" Where is she then? "
" Don't worry. She's unharmed. Go to room 245. You'll find her there. And don't come back here until tomorrow. I'll be preoccupied for the rest of the day. "
Aphrodite gave him a big smile and disappeared. Jon flung the door open and dashed out. He did not like this one bit.
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter. Only got a few more to go. How will things turn out for Jon? You'll just have to wait and see! Please leave a review. I want to know what you think. Enjoy.