Page 48 of Fight
“What do we do?” Ace asks, keeping his voice calm.
“We ring the grandparents,” I reply, pulling my phone out of my pocket while keeping him balanced, “I’ll call Gerald now. Do we know how long he’s been in there?”
“I’m not sure, but he’s been eating the crackers that we’re in there, and she’d managed to put some baby bottles with water in there with him as well,” Mason replies.
“Okay, here,” I say, handing Rome my phone, “you talk to the grandparents, explain to them what’s going on, and that we need them up here as soon as possible. I’m going to see if I can find some clean clothes for him and maybe give him a bath, his diaper has leaked, and he’s filthy. I’ll get him something to eat too. I have no idea if he’s still having milk and whether it's formula or not though.”
“Milk, bot bot.” Harry suddenly says, lifting his head again and looking at me hopefully.
“Well, I guess that answers that then,” Rip smiles. “I’ll come and help you.”
“Thank you,” I reply.
“We’ll check outside, although I’m sure that everyone is dead by this point,” Ace says, “the last thing I want to do is miss someone and end up in a fight with a young child in the house.”
“Good idea,” Rome agrees before someone clearly picks up the phone, and he starts talking.
Chapter Seventeen
Ileave them all to it as I head back down the corridor that the boys walked down from and hope that I find the kitchen and it’s got his milk in. Shit, is he too old for formula?
Maybe, getting him some more water just in case and then cleaning him up and waiting for the grandparents is the best way to go because although I know the basics, I don’t know enough; I try to rack my brains.
“How old are you Harry?” Rip suddenly asks his phone out in his hand.
“Two,” he says proudly, holding up three fingers and making me smile.
“Wow, that’s big,” Rip replies with a kind smile and then says to me, “According to Google, he can have cow's milk now, warm or cold.”
“Yucky cold,” Harry exclaims, looking absolutely horrified.
I chuckle, “You know you’re quite smart. I tell you what, why don’t we go and get you a bottle of warm milk that you can have while we give you a bath and get you nice and clean?”
He seems to contemplate my words for a second before he nods, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He can’t stay in his soiled clothing for much longer, god knows how long he’s been in it, and he’s going to get sore and all sorts. I do know enough about kids to know that. In fact, everything I do know is from helping Micha look after his little brothers when we were younger; I’m just counting on my memory now to help me remember.
We find the kitchen, and the milk easily enough and we even find a cupboard full of things that must be just for him. It seems like the cook brought him to work with her regularly, which doesn’t fill me with much hope that we’re going to be able to find his father. I’m just hoping that the grandparents will know what to do because I have no idea, but I’m determined to make sure that he’s going to be okay. I won’t be able to leave town and go home until I know that he’s safe.
Once he’s got the bottle and is chugging it down, clearly thirsty, we go in search of a bath.
“Oh, hang on,” Rip says as we walk out of the kitchen. He reaches behind the door, where there are some hooks that I hadn’t noticed, and then comes back with a dinosaur backpack that has the name Harry written on it. “I guess this is his.”
“Thank fuck for that, he needs a new diaper.” I reply, as I stride from the room, “Is there a bathroom on this floor?”
“Yeah, I think so. Unless she had it changed, the staff had access to a bathroom at the end of this corridor.” Rip replies as he overtakes me and strides ahead, pushing a door open at the end of the corridor and then turning back and smiling at me, “Found it.”
In no time at all, we have the bath run filled with bubbles and a towel ready. I also have the most adorable set of pyjamas ready for him and a clean diaper.
“Thank god he’s not one of those kids that hates the bath,” Rip mutters as he smiles, watching him play with a toy boat now that we’ve scrubbed him clean. This was clearly a regular occurrence because this bathroom is thoroughly kitted out for a child, with all of his products, toys, and towels in here ready for him.
“Yeah, although I think he’s just happy not to be stinky anymore,” I reply, with a smile.
“Ahh, that looks like fun little man,” Ace grins, suddenly appearing in the doorway.
“Acey,” Harry greets him and then goes straight back to playing with his boat.
“Hey, everything okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, the grandparents are on their way and absolutely horrified that there’s a child here, they should be here in ten.” Ace explains and then adds, “I also brought you this from the spare bags in the car,” he holds out one of the guy's spare shirts, “I figured if I need to change my shirt after carrying little man over there, then you did too.”