✅1️⃣ Trusting the Babysitter

Chapter 20 - Witch's Brew

"Wait!" Lorelei turned around sharply, and Adam found himself standing there with a hot jug in one hand. He wanted to put it down, but he knew that it would be a few seconds before he was able to.

Claudia bit her lip and didn't allow herself to speak. She was starting to learn that her little sister wasn't just ignoring her, but had developed a real sense of malice. She couldn't imagine what might be coming next, or what could have made all the previous babysitters afraid to return. Could there be something even worse than what she had already endured?

"Baby has to take her medicine!" Lorelei giggled, almost managing to turn it into the memorable laugh of some evil genius. She ran out of the kitchen and they could hear her steps on the stairs, as Adam stood and stared at his jug. Neither of them could guess what she had gone for, but they knew it was likely to be a big problem this time.

"Did the babysitter give her medicine?" Adam asked. "That seems a bit weird. I think you don't need anything, you're a good little baby and you're not feeling poorly are you?"

"I don't think so. I can't imagine anything like that, Mum would take that really seriously. But if Lori–"

"I got it!" Lorelei cheered, her excitement rendering her oblivious to the furtive conversation she had interrupted. She walked over to Adam, and continued in a stage whisper that Claudia could still easily make out. "This is for naughty baby! I askeded what babysitters can do that's really mean. Make her take her medicine. You gotta. And don't tell her. Jordyn said she'll be surprised. Then she won't be mean."

"Is that a good idea?" Adam asked. "That might be dangerous, and–"

"No shut up!" Lorelei returned to barking order at the top of her voice. "I told you what to do. You gotta do it. And be real mean to her. You got to, you had the special cakes. So you gotta do what I say."

Claudia could just see Adam nodding, and she felt the terror inside her slowly building. She had no idea what Lorelei had found, but if she'd asked previous babysitters for cruel and unusual punishments, the results could have been practically anything. She swallowed, desperately trying to think of some way to get out of this predicament, or just to work out what she'd have to deal with. If all else failed, she could probably call for help. Humiliation would be better than poisoning, if she just waited until her sister wasn't there to stop her.

She watched Adam shaking the bottle over the jug that was supposed to be her 'baby food' lunch. Then Lorelei picked up her plate again, and headed back into the lounge. There wasn't much time to plan, but he seemed to be putting it back in the microwave for another blast, which might buy her a minute or two. Could she knock the jug out of his hands and spill the food all over the floor? It was probably the best option, but he'd been ordered to force feed her that stuff. Would he make her eat it off the floor? She hoped not.

"Okay little one, we've got some yummy food for you," he said with a smile. "Are you going to eat it all up like a good girl?" He approached the table where she was sitting, stirring the jug as he went, and she found herself staring at it apprehensively.

"What is–" she started to ask, only to find a spoon of mush already in her mouth. She pulled her head back, only to find Adam standing a lot closer than she had realised. There wasn't space to move, and spitting the food out when the spoon was still there was harder than she might have thought.

"No, you have to be a good girl," he corrected her. "No trying to move. Swallow."

The command was simple and forceful. She found herself starting to obey automatically, but then fought against it as she remembered that there was some unknown additive in the food. She couldn't let herself eat it, even as she struggled against her own body's urge to swallow. For a few moments she thought she was winning, but then Adam pulled the spoon out between her closed lips, and ordered harshly: "Swallow, now."

Claudia didn't even realise for a moment that she was doing it, and then it was too late. She could imagine the thick sauce going down inside her, with whatever strange medicine Lorelei had chosen to poison her with. She tried to ignore the taste, and the texture, but she couldn't ignore her fear.

"Good girl," Adam sounded like he was smiling again, and he released her so she could move just a little. "No, don't get up. You're going to sit here until you finish your lunch. It should be super yummy. Do you not like white sauce? What does it taste like?"

"What is it?" she mumbled again, this time keeping her mouth firmly closed. He should still be able to hear the question, she was sure. But would he answer?

"It's ham and mushroom white wine sauce. It's supposed to go with chicken, but you're too little to eat big pieces, so you just get this. I tasted it and I think it's not too bad. Now, open up!" He moved the spoon towards her mouth again, but Claudia only shook her head. She didn't intend to consume any more of whatever was in that stuff.

"Come on, baby girl. Just try and taste it. I noticed you can say 'no' now, but not very well. And if you want to get back to playing you need to have something to eat or your tummy will be all growly. Come on, open!"

He pulled the spoon away, and brought it back with an inexpert rendition of airplane noises. This was one part of babysitting that he'd apparently not done before, because he sounded really uncertain and silly. It was all she could do to resist laughing. And this time, when he commanded her to eat she didn't think quickly enough to keep her mouth closed.

"There, isn't that nice?" He dipped his finger in the jug, and tasted it himself; making an exaggerated smile. "Mmmm, yummy! Just think about how it tastes, isn't that nice?"

"What's in it?" Claudia tried to ask again, this time making sure to keep her eyes on the spoon. The jug was out of reach on the counter, giving Adam a free hand to hold her head in place, but she was still determined to resist as long as she could see any way to do so. She didn't think there was anyway she would escape from eating, but perhaps if she was able to slow it down long enough she would become more able to resist orders. Or Adam would realise how stupid this idea was. Of course, he wouldn't tell her. He'd been ordered not to. But she could procrastinate, and draw out lunchtime as long as possible in the hope that–

"Milk, wine extract, corn flour, ham, mushrooms, mustard, a whole bunch of herbs and spices, and a big list of artificial additives. I don't think it should taste bad, and a little girl shouldn't need to think about all the long words. And if you mean the other bottle..." he turned one hand towards her, palm out. There was a little brown stain on the edge of his thumb, and a mark that looked like he'd been pressing on some hard surface. A tiny circle. "I put my hand over the cap to shake it. Figured if I make a vigorous motion Lorelei wouldn't notice. And she wanted me to add laxatives to your meal, but that isn't safe. I'm not sure if it's some instinct for self-preservation overcoming her orders, or if those cupcakes are starting to wear off. But I wouldn't do something like that to you. Abusing stuff like that is dangerous, especially when she didn't give me any opportunity to work out what a normal dose is supposed to be."

Claudia thought for a second, and realised that she had disobeyed an order as well. She hadn't opened her mouth until he repeated himself a few times. So did that mean the drug was wearing off, or just that it wasn't powerful enough to override some very basic instincts?

"Thank you–"

The spoon was in her mouth again, and this time she swallowed on command. Maybe that answered one of the questions on her mind, anyway. She still couldn't resist doing what she was told, but she was perhaps aware enough that she wouldn't jump off a cliff when someone told her to, or try to touch the fire. It wasn't much, but it was a big relief to know that there were some limits to what this drug could make her do. And, now that she was relaxed enough to think about it, the improvised baby food didn't really taste that bad.