Before she loses her courage, Laura rolls the die, her eyes closed.
“Three years you have walked this Earth. Now this number is but one. Each roll of the dice return more of what you have lost.” Laura lets out a squeak as she shrinks from a toddler to a baby. She slips out of the life jacket easily, but now she’s one year old! Lacking any control over her emotions now, she begins to bawl. Caught up in her crying, she doesn’t hear someone enter the house and walk over to the room she’s in.
“What in the- huh.” Laura feels herself being lifted into the air. She’s turned around until she’s face-to-face with a teenager. “I thought this was a housesitting job…I guess it’s a babysitting one,” the teenager says. She props Laura on one hip. “What’s your name, sweetie?”
“Lo-ba,” Laura manages. Her speaking skills have reduced even more. Somehow, the teenager understands.
“Laura! What a pretty name.” The teenager frowns thoughtfully. “Mr. Peters did mention someone named Laura when I got the job. I must’ve misunderstood. Oh, well.” The teenager carries Laura out of the room. “Let’s get you dressed!”
Laura is deposited in Alexis’ old crib while the teenager tries to track down something for her to wear. Eventually, the teenager returns with a single thick diaper and onesie. She busily puts Laura into the diaper and dresses her, cooing all the while. After Laura is dressed, the teenager puts Laura’s hair into ponytails, pops a pacifier into her mouth, and takes out her phone. Laura sucks on the pacifier as the teenager takes picture after picture of her.
“Wow, you’re so well-behaved! You could be a baby model!” the teenager gushes. She picks Laura up. “Now that I’ve taken a million pictures of you and sent the best to your daddy, it’s time to go out on the town!” Laura sucks on her pacifier more urgently. Dan and his family are in an area that has notoriously spotty cell reception, so hopefully he won’t get the picture.
The teenager grabs a diaper bag and carries Laura outside to her car, where Laura is buckled into a car seat. Presumably, the car seat is left over from a previous babysitting gig. They pull out of the driveway, heading for parts unknown.