It was fun! I laughed. Who would've thought just by jumping up and down was enough to get rid of one's sorrows? And Lottie was such a little hell-raiser!
"Lottie, do you want to watch a film before bed?" Theo asked, his long fingers reaching out for the remote control on the bedside table.
A TV screen started to rise from the foot of the four-poster bed. It looked a bit out of place with its massive screen, making it almost like the ones in the cinema!
"Yeahhhhh!" Lottie jumped up and down as she punched her little balled-up fists up in the air. "Curse of the Were-rabbit!"
Theo frowned a little, going through the channels with the remote control. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, it's hardly suitable viewing before bedtime."
"Were-rabbit! Were-rabbit! Were-rabbit!" Lottie protested as she carried on jumping like a lunatic. "Aria wants to watch it!"
"Oh, is that right?" His attention turned to me. "Does Aria want to watch it?"
My face was red from all the jumping, I panted as I fanned my face with the good hand I had left. I looked at him, my eyes shining brightly from all the excitement.
I had no idea what the hell was a Were-rabbit. Surely it couldn't be a film about Molly?! And speaking of Molly, I hoped she was ok and wondered if she was back in the dormitory?
Lottie hugged my right thigh, her little body leaning against me. She glanced up at me expectantly, her eager little face filled with anticipation. I put my arms around her in a reassuring embrace and nodded my head in confirmation, "Yup, Aria wants to watch it."
Theo laughed, picking up on the fact that I was suddenly addressing myself in the third person, a habit of Lottie's. Five minutes in and it had already started to rub off on me.
"Ok, since Aria is our special guest, we'll watch Curse of the were-rabbit tonight!" Theo declared. His voice sounded like those dramatic voice-actors.
"Yeahhhhh!" Lottie let go of my leg and screamed off the top of her lungs.
Theo dimmed down the lights in his bedroom and Lottie had quietened down, she curled up against me on the bed. Her eyes were glued onto the television screen, she was concentrating so much to the point she wasn't even blinking.
And Theo wasn't kidding about the film being unsuitable for bedtime viewing, at times, this gigantic ginger-fur were-rabbit with bugs bunny teeth kept jumping out onto the screen scaring us senseless. And the most eerily music coming from the surround sound speakers filled every corner of the room, I felt as if something was hiding behind the bed and ready to pop out any moment!
Lottie looked like she was ready to crap her pants. Initially, during the scary parts of the film she had her hands up, covering her eyes and face, but then she kept trying to peep through her fingers to see what was going on until another scary part popped up on the screen and she would suddenly inhale her breath and squeezing her eyes tightly as if she was trying to shun out the monsters.
I wrapped my arm around her in a protective manner. Lottie immediately snuggled up against me, her little face buried into the side of my neck.
If she could hide inside me, I swear she would've.
I patted her back gently and rubbed her arm in an attempt to calm her down. "It's ok, Lottie, don't be scared, I'm here..." I murmured, even though I was scared myself.
Coming out of his en-suite, Theo's footsteps faltered once he saw the two of us huddled together like scaredy-cats. He switched on the lights, making the room instantly bright again.
Children were all scared of the dark. And ashamedly, so was I.
"Alright Lottie, I think it's time you went to bed," Theo said. He was changed into a casual tracksuit hoodie with grey matching joggers.
"Noooooo." Lottie wailed, refusing to let go as she wrapped her short arms around my neck even tighter.
She was strong for such a little person, I almost felt as if I was unable to breathe because she was pressing on my trachea so much.
Theo must've realised since he was used to being smothered by Lottie's embrace. "Ok, Lottie, you're choking Aria to death now."
Lottie released her arms and I felt fresh air re-entering my lungs and gasped for more.
"Are you ok?" Theo asked, he was carrying Lottie with one arm as if she was a tiny little feather with no weight to her.
I coughed a few times and waved my hands, indicating that I was fine.
"I think it's time for you to go to bed Missy," Theo said to Lottie, who had placed her little head on his shoulder to rest. She looked exhausted, she could barely keep her eyes open but she was still trying to fight off the sleepiness, "no, no, no."
"Yes, yes, yes." Theo copied her voice in a joking manner.
The next thing I knew, Lottie was out stone cold. I was beyond stunned because one minute she acting like a Duracell bunny and now she was out like a light.
If I didn't witness this with my own eyes, I swore Theo must've knocked her out or drugged her.
"Children are like cats," Theo said, not seemingly bothered by the fact that Lottie had started snoring, "they play until they fall asleep."
The nanny stepped in offering to take Lottie out of Theo's arms and he bypassed her.
"It's fine," he said, "I'll carry her to her room."
She bowed her head low and retreated.
I got off the bed too and started putting my shoes on. Was the nanny present in the room the whole time? Or did she suddenly emerge through the wall? Cos I never felt her presence in the room even whilst we were watching the film. I thought she had already left.
And that was strange since I normally could.