The trip to the store was less than ideal for Stella. Not only was she hiding out in the pocket of Jason's shirt, but she just kept repeating. 'What have I done?' Over and over in her head. She just made a deal with the devil. A deal that could cost her life. She tried to reason with herself, saying that she had no choice but her mind just kept scolding her. There was no way Jason would let her go, and there was no way he wouldn't hurt her. His nice gestures had to be a trick to get her guard down. This wouldn't be the first time someone did this to her and she refused to be fooled by giants anymore.
Light poured into the pocket and large fingers slithered their way towards Stella. She couldn't help but flinch as they wrapped around her and fished her out. Jason's face filled her view.
"Hey, we're finally here." He said.
"I kinda figured that." Stella remarked. A quick look would reveal that they were in the human aisle of the pet store. There were shelves of different clothes laid out in front of her. Stella couldn't help but stare in awe at all of the clothes. Sweaters, t-shirts, hoodies, jeans, sweatpants, socks, shoes, undergarments, pajamas, and even some fancy dresses were just some of the choices Stella could choose from.
"I don't even think I owned half as many clothes on this shelf." She admitted.
Jason chuckled. "Well, now you can." He placed Stella down on the shelf. "Go ahead and pick out anything you like. I'll just be looking at the supplies." He moved down to the end of the aisle examining the silverware. Meanwhile, Stella just started picking out all the clothes she liked. She began grabbing different clothes, but she mostly picked out long sleeved shirts and jeans. About ten minutes later, Jason strolled back over to Stella.
"Does this look like enough for you?" hey opened his hand to reveal human sized silverware, plates, bowls, cups, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and shampoo.
"Yeah." Stella nodded.
"Great, you found everything you need?"
Stella nodded again.
"Alright, then let's pay for all of this and go." Jason said. After taking the clothes, he gently lifted Stella off the ground and placed her back in his pocket.
Stella huddled in the corner as she felt Jason stroll over to the check out. She remained quiet as the sounds of the cashier scanning the items could be heard.
"Aww, did you just buy a human?" Said the perky female cashier.
"Sorta." Jason replied back. "Found her last night in a bit of trouble, so I took her in."
"Oh well, we have some human cages over in aisle six." She said.
All the color drained from Stella's face as she remembered the sound of the lock sealing her freedom away. Just the thought of being locked away in a cold metal cage with only an old rag to keep her warm caused her body to tremble. This had to be the real reason why Jason took her to the store. There was no way we was really going to let her roam around, especially after she nearly escaped this morning.
"No thanks, I don't need a cage." Jason said.
Stella's eyes widened when she heard his answer. He wasn't going to lock her away? She couldn't believe what she heard. Why wouldn't he buy a cage? What was his real motive?
"Alright then, your total is twenty-five, fifty." The cashier said.
"Here you go."
"Thank you, have a good day."
Jason walked out of the store and down the busy sidewalk.
"Hey Stella, I was gonna stop at the grocery store so I can make dinner later, what's your favorite food?"
"My favorite food?" Stella thought about it for a moment. What was her favorite food to eat? She didn't really have a lot of great meals to choose from on the streets, the best meals were usually half eaten candy bars from the trash and when she was captured she only had old breads and fruits. "I... I'm not sure."
"Oh come on, you gotta know." He said in a friendly matter. "Everyone has a favorite food."
"I really don't know." She replied back. "One time I found a marshmallow, it was pretty good."
Jason chuckled. "Well, I'll buy a pack of them for you if you want, but I don't think that would make a great dinner, at least for me."
"Well... why don't... don't you pick out...pick out dinner?" She stammered.
"Alright, then."
~~~~~~~~
They made it home after an uneventful trip to the grocery store. Stella sat on the couch and watched T.V while Jason prepared dinner. Stella didn't really have a preference with what was on T.V but whatever show Jason flipped too was kinda weird. It had some blue haired guy and his grandson going around doing weird stuff.
"Hey Jason, what's this show even about?" She called out, but there was no answer. "Jason?" She called out a little bit louder, but he still didn't answer her.
Stella called out a few more times before getting fed up when he didn't answer. Surely he could hear her.
She decided to climb on the top of the couch to see what he was doing.
Jason was making a grilled cheese but he was staring at his phone with his earbuds in, but what really caught Stella's attention was the smaller portions of the ingredients on the counter. They were the perfect size for a human.
Jason looked up to see Stella looking over at him and took an earbud out. "Did you need something?"
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Well, I'm making dinner."
Stella rolled her eyes. "I can see that, but why are there smaller ingredients?"
"It's for you, I figured if you're gonna stick around here, I might want to learn how to make human sized food." Jason faced his phone towards Stella to reveal a video of a woman making small food. "I'm just watching a tutorial on how to make it." He noticed her shocked reaction. "Are you okay with me doing that?"
"Yeah, go ahead!" She replied. "I just figured you were gonna rip a small piece off for me."
Jason flashed her a warm smile. "That would be easier, but I think you deserve more than just chunks and crumbs."
Stella felt her heart tug at his nice gesture. No one ever did that for her.
"Wow, thanks." She replied.
"Just wait until you taste it." Jason chuckled. "I'm a pretty good cook."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, I'm actually a chef at Del Gatto." He replied. "You ever been there?"
"I've been around it before, but never ate anything from there." Stella said.
"Oh well, the one I work at is just down the block. I could bring you home something if you want?"
"Sure."
Jason smiled as he finished up the grilled cheese. "But tonight, we eat grilled cheese."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Can I ask you something?" Stella asked timidly.
Jason set his half eaten sandwich down and turn towards the small girl across the couch. "Sure, what's up?"
"I've noticed.... that your apartment is smaller than a... than a normal apartment, why is that?"
"When I moved up here I didn't have a whole lot of money to afford a real apartment. Andrew was kind enough to turn this old storage room into a cheap room for me." Jason explained. "It's so small that sometimes I feel like I'm in a cage."
Stella scoffed. "Trust me, this isn't a cage."
"You've been in a cage?" Jason asked.
"Every human has at some point." Her expression darkened.
"Well if it makes you feel better, I would never put you in a cage."
Stella lowered her head and started to shake.
Jason immediately got down on his knees to be more level with her, worrying she was about to have another episode. "Hey are you okay?"
"I was so scared." Her voice was so small and brittle, Jason could barely hear her.
"What?"
"At the pet store, I was so scared you were about to buy a cage," Tears began staining her cheeks. "Because I tried to escape this morning."
Jason reached out and stroked her back in an effort to comfort her. He felt her stiffening but he didn't stop. "Hey, it's okay Stella. I understand, I would never throw a kid in a cage just because she got scared."
"I'm actually nineteen." She wiped her eyes.
Jason chuckled. "Well, I'm twenty-five, so you're still a kid to me."
Stella scoffed at his remark but she couldn't help but smile for a second. Then she dried her cheeks of the remaining tears. Dirt smudged her hand.
"Um... You wouldn't happen to... to have a small bathtub for... for me, would you?" She asked softly.
"Oh, right. I'll figure something out."
~~~~~~~~
Stella stood alone in the bathroom. Jason was kind enough to fill the sink up with warm water. He profusely apologized to her for not having something better for her to bathe in, but honestly, this probably was the best Stella has ever had. She was so used to having dirt on her that she couldn't remember the last time she had a real bath.
She dropped her clothes and looked in the mirror.
Scars covered her body. They were everywhere, old ones stained her back and stomach, while more fresh ones appeared all over her arms and legs. The only place that was free from a scar was her face.
"I'd hate to ruin such a pretty face."
These scars were a haunting reminder that giants could never be trusted. They may act nice but sooner or later they'll betray a human. Jason would do the same, and Stella knew that it was only a matter of time before his true nature would appear. The best thing she could do was bide her time and try to never get on his bad side. She must never let another giant put another scar on her again.