"Do you want me to treat you like a child or an adult?"
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"Jasper...where were you?" Jasper is relieved to hear Molly's voice and not his uncle's. But all the same, he won't divulge his answer with the details.
"Out." Is all he says.
Jasper can now hear shuffling as the figure in the corner moves towards the door, flicking on the light switch. Jasper's eyes instantly squint at the brightness inflicted on them. As he slowly adjusts to the change, he focuses on the figure next to the door. Molly is wearing a pair of silk mint pyjamas with white sliders, her hair still in a messy bun. She has her arms folded, looking seriously at Jasper.
"Out? Come on. You have to give me more than that!" Her tone is firm, but not aggressive. Jasper finds himself wondering if he should elaborate, just a little.
"Just walking. That's all." He replied, looking a little sheepishly at his striped blue and white socks.
"Jasper sweetie." Molly's voice transcends a softer tone. "Hey. Look at me."
Jasper's eyes glance up at Molly through his parted black bangs, for just a few seconds. She has her head tilted slightly, trying to lock eyes with him, but he won't let her. He quickly returns his gaze back down to his socks.
"Sweetie I know you won't believe me when I say this, but your uncle and I were really worried. You are in our care and we didn't know where you were."
Jasper lets out a snort from his nose. "Sure." He turns up a corner of his mouth, starting to fiddle with the hem of his tee.
"Yes we were!" Molly now sounds a little angry, which catches Jasper by surprise. "Your uncle was this close to calling the police!" Jasper now looks up at Molly directly. Her hand gesturing how close the man actually was to making that call. Jasper just shrugs. He wasn't going to show Molly he was a little remorseful. "You are lucky that I am talking to you right now and not him." She was right there. He was glad of that fact.
Molly takes a step towards Jasper, placing a hand on his arm. "Look I know you don't want to be here and I can see that you and Jim can...well, clash a little…"
"You got that right." Jasper interrupts.
"...But you are in our care and you are our responsibility for the next few weeks...so I have a deal for you."
Jasper raises his eyebrows in surprise. He was actually interested in what she had to propose. Though he had his own thoughts on a good deal. "Yeah? Are you getting me some wifi?"
Molly smiles weakly, removing her hand from his arm. "No Jasper. That I cannot do."
"Then I'm not interested." Jasper sighs, moving away from Molly, unzipping his holdall, still sitting on the bed and pulling out clothes.
Molly watches Jasper as he literally empties the contents of his bag onto the bed. Her arms once again folded. "Do you want me to treat you like a child or an adult?"
Jasper sits on his bed, now with his back to her. She rephrase the question. "Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Jasper begins to tap his left heel on the floor boards. His hands are now gripping the edge of the mattress. She was good. He'd give her that.
He exhaled a noisy sigh. "Ahhh...easy way."
Molly lets just a hint of a smile present on her face. She moves around the bed, pushing his sweaters to one side and sits next to him. The bed dipping and creaking even more under the weight of two people. "Ok. I have convinced your uncle to let me task you with your chores here and…." Molly pauses, to create suspense. Jasper felt her excitement was a little overreaching. He didn't care that much, but played along.
"...And?"
"And you'll be getting help." Molly beams at her own accomplishment.
Jasper on the other hand was a little more dubious. "What do you mean by help?"
Molly comes over all excited, her face now displaying a big smile. "My younger brother. He's back from university and he's offered to help out. He helped us out last year, so he knows what he's doing."
Jasper a little less enthused, just nods. It would just be another very annoying individual he would have to get along with. There is a brief moment of silence until a faint gurgle disturbs the peace. Jasper instantly puts his hand to his stomach.
Molly looks at the hand holding the grumbling organ and smiles at Jasper. "I guess you've not eaten since your escape."
Jasper looks down on himself, his hand still resting on his stomach. "No," he admits.
Molly gets up from the bed, causing a wobble, turning to Jasper, who is looking up at her. "Come down to the kitchen. I'll fix you a sandwich."
Jasper nods and adds, "Can I have more cake?" He knows he's probably pushing it but that was one of the deciding factors for turning left at the road.
Molly tuts rolling her eyes at the cheeky request. "On one condition."
"What?" Jasper asks. The lure of cake being an apparent weakness on Jasper's part. "Be nice to my brother tomorrow ok?"
Jasper nods with a forced grin. "Ok" He responds as he hoists himself up off of the noisy bed springs.