Unforeseen

Chapter 10- Living nightmare

Seven days roughly went the same. Jayden would wake at around ten, Pepper would be there to make her food and give her company before she would go downstairs to work. Jayden would then be alone, under the careful eyes of JARVIS, and do various activities for a few hours including watching TV, reading Harry Potter and playing around with Theo.

By then it would be three in the afternoon and Pepper or Bruce would appear to keep her company and make her different worksheets to test her Math, Science, and English skills. She was especially great at maths but lacking in the Science and English department, though it was still advanced for her age.

It was believed her IQ was another result of her extra heart which gave her a quicker blood flow making her able to think quicker. Bruce also tested her physical abilities to see if Doctor Doirs was correct in her theory but, unfortunately, the results were not very impressive, the scientist only concluded it was due to how malnourished she was and he was certain she would do much better when they got her weight up.

Pepper considered getting Jayden a tutor to have her start her proper education but that idea was postponed when it was repeatedly rejected by a stubborn Jayden. She was afraid, Jayden knew, of course, she had nothing to fear, education here would be opposite to the harsh counterpart of the lab but every time she imagined sitting down to learn maths or science, she would remember the publishing whack of her teacher's wooden stick.

The collar remained a heavy presence on her neck, she was accustomed to it but sometimes she felt like she was suffocating, she badly wanted it off. Bruce kept assuring her that he and Tony were getting closer to finding a safe way to remove it but she was getting impatient. Theo especially was getting restless, wanting to hide away from the world and rest in the pendant that had been inaccessible for so long.

She tried kidding herself into believing the collar was the reason for Tony's abrupt disappearance but it was obvious there was an underlying reason, one she couldn't begin to understand, especially when she's barely even caught a glimpse of him this week. The only time she would see him was when Pepper dragged him from his lab to eat a decent meal on the table, and after that, he would always worm his way back to his work, all day, every day.

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Jayden lay lazily on the couch, her arm hanging with her fingers lightly brushing against the soft living room carpet, her other hand resting on Theo's scaly back where he was curled up against her stomach. She was half watching an evening show the TV was displaying.

"You alright?" Theo asked as if sensing something was on her mind.

"Bored of staying inside."

"Still better than out there, not to mention safer"

"Yeah, yeah, I know" she groaned, glaring at the ceiling. "Just how long is it gonna be like this? We can't stay cooped up in here forever"

"It's only been a week J, calm down" he rolled his eyes. "Even if the lab suddenly disappeared, you've still got that collar to worry about"

"Oh thanks for reminding me Theo, I completely forgot about the collars' existence" she scowled, her hand coming up to pick and scratch at the metal and her skin underneath it.

She stopped when Pepper walked in. "Hey Jaybird" she greeted, the nickname had appeared when one of the cartoon shows she was watching had a talking bird named Jayden and it just slipped out; it sort of stuck after that.

Between Tony's absence, Bruce's work and Steve's and Nat's departure, Pepper had become Jayden's main caregiver; giving her meals and baths, having her do chores and homework, making sure she went to bed at a reasonable time and keeping her company after every workday. It was safe to say, Jayden had become much closer to her because of this.