Meanwhile, Hailey stood just outside the room, little Will in her arms. Lola was in the livingroom, still sleeping. Hailey had been listening in on Carmen and Ashley, occasionally peeking past the door frame.
Hailey couldn't believe what she was hearing. Carmen was mercilessly teasing her older sister, mocking her for being stupid or having gained weight. While Hailey would agree that her older sister Ashley was a little dim (as Hailey only had memories of this new reality), it wasn't right laughing at Ashley for it. It made Hailey furious. Though, she was unsure of what she should do. Standing up for her sister seemed like the right thing, but she lacked the courage, going against Carmen, and adult.
Hailey paused. She looked down at Will in her arms. Somehow he hadn't made a noise during all the time she'd been standing here.
"Will." She whispered. "What should I do?"
Hailey didn't expect an answer. He was a just a baby after all. Though, talking to Will and looking at him did put Hailey at ease. He was such an adorable little thing.
"How are you so cute while your mom is so mean?" She asked in a whisper.
Will gestured with his short arms towards Hailey's pocket, where the outline of a phone could be seen. Hailey didn't think much of it, disregarding it as haphazard baby-movements. She ignored Will for now, instead continuing to listen in on Carmen and Ashley
Will's gestures grew wilder, and Hailey couldn't help but take note, afraid Will was about to make noise and reveal her.
"What is it?" She asked, as if she would get a proper answer from a baby.
"You want this?" Hailey pulled her phone out from her pocket.
To her surprise, Will nodded. Or, at least it really did look like he was nodding in reaction to her pulling her phone out. Not that he could be doing it on purpose. It must have been a coincidence.
She was about to pocket her phone again, but then Will shook his head. Astonished she reaching her phone towards Will, and surely, he began nodding again.
Hailey was baffled. She handed Will her phone. Will grabbed it the best he could with his tubby hands. He reached the unlock screen. He looked up at Hailey. She obliged and unlocked it, curious if this baby actually knew how to use a phone. He should be way too young.
With a little bit of struggling, Will managed to reach a typing app. He slowly pressed letter after letter on the phone screen keyboard. To the shock of Hailey, Will was actually typing. She could only in awe watch as actual words formed. Her complete attention was what was in front of her. Something she thought was impossible, a typing baby.
"Save me. Steal Carmens phone."
Hailey looked at what Will had written. Save him? Was he under a hex? Was it like the story of a prince being cursed to be a frog, except this time it was a baby? Was Will a prince? Was Carmen a witch then? She wanted more of an explanation. She wanted him to type more, but the little he had typed had taken a small eternity.
Should Hailey just follow the instruction? Steal Carmen's phone? What was the next step after that? Was she just supposed to run away, Will in her arms?
Hailey readied herself. She couldn't back down from this.