Strange Bedfellows       

Looking down at crumpled Tom and then to her leg, “Oh my god,” TJ mumbled. “Is he alright?” she asked, big blue eyes round with genuine concern.

“He’s seems to be breathing,” Asha replied, pointing a finger at the rise and fall of his chest. There was a fair amount of blood smeared around his head and face, the majority of it from his mouth and nose.

Shaking her blonde mane, “He must have crawled into bed with us,” TJ offered, shrugging her shoulders.

“I don’t know, however he was in the bed, I’m guessing he got pinned under your leg when you tried to get up and go pee,” Asha supplied.

Suddenly TJ’s face puckered, the mention of having to pee restoring her urgency to urinate with a bladder bursting vengeance. Bringing her knees together, she put her hands near her crotch, “I got to go,” she blurted, hastening out of the room with small but rapid footsteps.

Reaching down, Asha carefully nudged Tom over from his side and onto his back, his head lolling to the side. Inspecting him for signs of traumatic injury by checking for limb angularity or protruding bones, she found nothing sinister, “Might be something internal, ruptured by the pressure,” she speculated, shaking her head.

“There are so many things wrong with this whole situation right now. Like how in the world did Tom Clady get so incredibly small and then wind up in this bed?” Carissa asked, rolling onto her tummy and shuffling closer to per over Asha’s leg to look down at the unmoving boy.

“Both very valid questions,” Asha acknowledged, nodding.

TJ reappeared in the room, a manufactured look of relief on her face as she bounced across the floor and draped her upper body over the end of the bed, resting her weight on her elbows. “How in the world could this possibly be happening?” she inquired with a chuckle, glancing at the other girls completely unaware that as she approached, Nick retreated back a handful of steps deeper under the bed in fear of her thunderous feet.

Chuckling a little, “That’s funny because we were just talking about that,” Carissa replied. “Plus why he was here in the bed.”

“It’s so weird, he’s so small, I swear I didn’t even feel it when I rolled over,” TJ said, shaking her head glumly and reaching back with a hand to rub the area on her leg where the spot had been.

“This is so amazing, but I’m wondering how could this even be, you know?” Carissa asked.

“It certainly is an odd occurrence and as for how, I don’t know,” Asha replied, sliding her hand under his little body and scooping him up. “He’s so light,” she commented.

Carissa pulled herself up on her knees and TJ climbed onto the bed.

Reaching out with a tentative right index finger, “Should we get him to a hospital?” Carissa inquired, gently touching the side of Tom’s face.

TJ frowned, “I don’t think so. Like I mean, what could they really do for him in this condition? I for one have never ever heard of someone being made tiny before,” she clarified, plus aside for concern of Tom’s wellbeing, she was kind of worried about what the authorities might say about the nature of the injury he suffered and her involvement, intentional or otherwise.

“I think I have to agree with TJ,” Asha added, nodding slowly, “besides, there isn’t any significant bruising on his torso, his limbs are fine, he seems to be breathing alright on his own, and there is nothing fresh leaking out of him.”

“What if he dies?” Carissa asked bluntly, eyebrows raising.

“I really don’t think he is going to die,” Asha commented reassuringly as she moved her hand and rolled the motionless boy over.

“I hope he doesn’t die,” TJ stated, voice soft.

“What I really want to know is, why is he here in my house?” Asha asked, pausing, reflecting, pieces to come together in here mind.

“Maybe he came here to look for Nick, you know, to get help from him?” TJ proposed, shrugging her shoulders.

A slow smile crawled across Asha’s pretty face. “Or, maybe they were both here when it happened?” she suggested. “When I went downstairs to talk to Nick, there were clothes all over the floor, I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Let me check something,” she said, looking at Carissa and extending her hand.

The redhead put her hand out and allowed Asha to gently put Tom in her palm.

Sliding to the edge of the bed, Asha hopped up and hustled across the floor toward the door.

“What are you doing?” TJ queried, looking at the dark haired girl in askance. Carissa for her part, seemed rapt, fascinated by the small youth lying in her hand.

“Checking something,” Asha blurted, vanishing out into the hall only to return a few moments later carrying a set of earbud headphones. “Two pairs of boys’ running shoes on the landing, two full sets of clothes lying on Nick’s bedroom floor and I found these at the top of the stairs,” she explained, holding the cord out for the other girls to see.

“Are those headphones?” TJ inquired, brow furling.

“Nick’s headphones. I found them at the top of the stairs. I highly doubt anyone as small as Tom could have got up those stairs all by himself,” she offered, sauntering back toward the bed.

“That means,” TJ started, grin widening.

“It means Nick is more than likely also small and that he is somewhere here on the upper floor, if not in this very rom right at the moment,” Asha surmised, nodding her head, tongue tucked into the corner of her full mouth.

“Nick, honey,” TJ said, calling out loud and peeking around the room, “are you in here?”

“Come on Nicky, there’s nothing to be afraid of little guy,” Asha assured. “I mean, after all I’m sure you wouldn’t want any of us great big girls to step on you by accident,” she cautioned, grinning at the others before looking down around the floor.