The New Normal by omanahan88

Rated: 🟡 - Sexual Themes
Word Count: 5221 | Views: 19 | Reviews: 2
Table of Contents | View Full Story
Added: 03/31/2025
Updated: 04/02/2025

“Hmmmmm, is it crooked?” Ryan stood back from his miniature bed, eyeing against the backdrop of the partially enclosed space erected on Amanda’s kitchen table. It was difficult to tell, since his impromptu bedroom was so… open concept. But even so, he was still pretty sure it was crooked. “Yeah… yeah it’s crooked.” 


The miniature man grabbed a hold of the lightweight wooden bedframe and slowly adjusted it a few degrees to the left. Satisfied, he stepped back, trying to get a full perspective of the space he had cultivated for himself. It wasn’t much, really just a few pieces of stray furniture set out on his sister’s dining room table. But given everything that had happened this week, it was something… an accomplishment all his own. A moment later his phone vibrated for a brief moment as the screen flared to life. Turning around to read the notification, Ryan’s tiny heart nearly skipped a beat as he saw the text message come in from Laura. The shrunken man stepped forward towards the device, eager to see the contents of the message, when suddenly he heard Amanda’s voice call out from another room.


“Hey, I got the rest of your ladders put up!” 


In a panic Ryan desperately tried to deactivate his screen as the sound of her heavy footfalls as she came lumbering into the room. The giantess approached the kitchen table, hefting down a large heavy box of small, stainless steel ladder pieces that landed on the table with a dull, heavy thud.


“Living room, kitchen, bedroom, all the high traffic areas. Should have you climbing all over the place in no time flat.” There was a brief pause as the gargantuan woman stared down at her tiny brother with kind, bright eyes. “Do you need help setting up your bedroom?” Amanda asked, lifting an arm to wipe a fair amount of sweat from her forehead. Ryan felt himself deflate a bit from that comment. His eyes scanned the admittedly sparse bedroom and his heart began to ache. It was a dumb thing to be proud of, he could see that now. Amanda couldn’t even tell that anything had changed. His accomplishments were literally beneath the notice of normal people. Amanda leaned down, blocking out the view of the ceiling with her massive smiling face. “I’ve been told that I’m a master of feng shui.” She said with a slight giggle. Ryan did his best to muster up a smile as he tossed himself back onto the bed.


“Right… thanks Amanda. I appreciate it.” He replied, trying hard not to sound dejected. “Sorry that I couldn’t be more helpful.” As she watched her brother slump his shoulders and hang his head, Amanda couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for her tiny brother. The giantess lowered her finger and began to gently nudge Ryan’s chest. 


“Hey… c’mon now.” She spoke softly, her voice as soft and comforting as the most pleasant dream Ryan had ever experienced. “Just because you’re small, it doesn’t mean that your life is over.” Amanda pulled a chair out from the table and rested her arms on the table. “I mean, we’re still working on hitting our stride, you know?”


Ryan chuckled and nodded his head. God he hated how he always felt so pathetic these days. Thankfully he had Amanda here to keep talking him down off the ledge, because from his point of view, things seemed remarkably bleak. “It’s your stride that has me worried.” Ryan said sarcastically, never afraid to be a smartass in the face of the overwhelming chasm of self loathing. Amanda chuckled as her lips curled up into a giddy smile as she furrowed her brows in faux irritation. 


“Okay well… so maybe I’m still getting the hang of watching where I step… or sit…” Amanda gave her brother a playful smirk as she added that last bit. Thankfully it was beneath his gigantic sister’s notice, but Ryan felt his cheeks begin to flush red. The last thing he needed was a reminder of finding himself in the shadow of his giant sister’s tremendous ass. Ryan shut his eyes as he tried to avoid letting his body direct the flow of blood towards his cock. 


“And I’ve got to get used to my silent but deadlies being actually deadly.” She remarked with a chuckle. That comment did the trick. Any scandalous thoughts Ryan had been grappling with regarding giantess butts had been thoroughly dashed by the haunting reminder of the foul winds that those admittedly perky cheeks were capable of releasing. But Amanda just laughed at her bit of blue humor as she began gently poking and prodding at the furniture.


“Yeah, if we could put a stop to the chemical warfare, that would be huge for me.” Ryan said with a chuckle. Amanda’s smile slowly began to fade as she let out a heavy sigh. 


“Look… all jokes aside. It’s a learning curve. You and me… we’re in this together. We just need to keep moving forward.”


“Yeah, I mean, it's been what… a couple of days? I already feel like I’ve been through the wringer.” Ryan tossed his hands as he gazed up into the face of his titanic sister. She returned a half hearted smile as she continued to toy with his dresser. 


“And I don’t suppose that is because of how you feel I’ve been treating you?” She asked, attempting to cut to the actual root of the tension she had been sensing within her miniscule brother. Ryan let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. He had always felt some sort of way about the prejudices faced by reduced persons. Maybe he wasn’t the most active social justice warrior out there, but at least he could genuinely say that he tried to do his part. Hell, it was the main cause of the huge rift between himself and his mom. Perhaps it wasn't the most impactful display of the movement, but for him it was world changing. 


“I mean… if this is just what life is like for people like me… for the small and the helpless. If I’m gonna have to spend every waking moment hiding behind my little sister? Pshhhhhh, just kill me now.” Amanda let out a soft gasp as she heard Ryan say that. She didn’t actually have any reason to think that he was seriously having thoughts of suicide, but still.


“Hey now mister…” She said assertively, reaching forward to jostle her brother’s tiny bed. As she did so, her massive pinky finger slipped off of his dresser, causing it to rock forward, the feet of the armoire slipping across the table as the whole thing toppled loudly to the floor. 


“HEY HEY HEY! Mind the furniture, you oaf! I worked hard putting this place together! Maybe you don’t realize this, but this crap is actually kind of heavy.” He cried, playfully knocking back the giantess’ powerful finger. Amanda cracked a sheepish grin as she bit her lip playfully. She continued to pin her tiny brother to his bed before she dipped her fingernail under the side of the bed and began to gently lift the mattress. 


“Oh you mean like this?” She asked playfully, watching Ryan tumble backwards over the far side of the bed. Ryan sprang back to his feet quickly and pointed one finger up at his giantess sister. 


“Yes, like that. Precisely like that!” He shouted back, making his bed as Amanda began to pick up his dresser again. Ryan quickly jogged over to where she was clumsily trying to undo the damage she had accidentally caused. The tiny man shooed away the giant pair of fingers as he began to tidy up the drawers and realign the dresser with the rest of his borderless bedroom. “Now, do you mind? I’ve got stuff to do, alright?”


Amanda sat back in her chair and put her hands up in defense. “Alright, alright. Sorry to intrude.” She said, semi-sarcastically. The giantess simply sat back and watched her brother labor away with a smile on her face. Ultimately she was glad that he had something to focus himself on. She was beginning to worry that he was slipping into a spiral of self desolation and she didn’t know just how much she could do for him if he continued to wallow. Either way, she could just let him be for now. 


Amanda reached over and slid the box of miniature ladder pieces into her lap, examining the still half full contents of the container. Granted there were still probably a few places that they could stack up a couple of ladders, but it was clear that they had purchased too many of the damn things. She shook the box casually and scoffed. 


“Guess we bought too many ladders.” She said aloud causing Ryan to chuckle loudly. He simply shrugged his shoulders as he continued to work. He paid for the damn things, so he wasn’t too worried about overspending. They could always just hold on to them for the time being. Who knows, something might come up down the road and they’ll be happy to have extras on hand. 


“Whatever, I guess we could always just set 'em up at Mom’s house.” Amanda said casually. Ryan turned to give the giantess a confused look. Amanda met his gaze, but after a tense moment of silence, her resolve quickly began to wane as she averted her eyes and began to mumble quietly. “I…uh…. Well, mom called. She wants to have everyone over for dinner on Saturday. I think we should go.”


Ryan scoffed loudly and shook his head. “You’re welcome to go. But I won’t be.” He asserted, returning his focus to his bedroom. Amanda began to frown, lowering her head to the table so that Ryan had to actively work not to get caught up in her wide puppy dog stare. 


“Come on Ry… she specifically asked me to convince you to come. She misses you. We all miss having you there.” The giantess pleaded.


“Amanda, I said no. That’s it. No more. End of story. I’m not going.” Ryan snapped, irritation rising in his tone as he felt his chest begin to tighten. A wellspring of unaddressed emotion came uncorked and suddenly the steady tiny man felt as if he were getting even smaller.


“But… why? Why won’t you at least talk about it with me? Is it just about the stuff she said? Or is it because you’re small now?” Amanda continued to pressure her miniature brother, unaware of the mounting stress that he was being placed under.


“Jesus Christ, both! Isn’t it obvious? She didn’t give a shit about reduced people and now that includes me. I think I’ve got plenty of reason to stay away and I would think that you could respect me enough to see that!” 


Amanda slunk back in her seat as Ryan snapped at her again. She hated this feeling. Why couldn’t the people she cared about most simply coexist peacefully with one another? Ryan could feel his hands beginning to tremble as he steadied himself against the dresser. Why was she pressing this issue so much? Was it really so much to ask for just a modicum of self autonomy?


“Well what about Brooke? Hmmm? Are you just going to continue to ignore her forever? She misses her big brother too, you know.” Amanda added, hoping that focusing more on his sisters would help to get Ryan past his hang ups with their mother. “She admires you, looks up to you. Does she really deserve to be put out by this feud?” Ryan cringed at that comment, shaking his head as he let out another tired sigh.


“I’m three inches fucking tall. She isn’t going to look up to me at all anymore.” He quipped, causing Amanda to roll her eyes in frustration.


“You know that’s not what I mean.”


“And you know that you can’t really respect someone who you can just pick up against their will and stuff into your pocket. How is Brooke going to see me as anything but a friggin toy now?” Amanda felt her heart drop at that comment, clearly aimed at her for abducting him off the couch to go claim their packages.


“You’re still the same person. The same brother that we both love more than you seem to know.” Ryan and Amanda sat in silence for another full minute, grappling with the tension that weighed heavily on their shoulders. Amanda frowned and slumped her shoulders, feeling disheartened upon hearing how disconnected and isolated that Ryan was still feeling. “Look, dinner isn’t for another couple of days. Just… please consider it… for me.”


Ryan shook her head and gritted his teeth. He felt both physically and mentally exhausted and right now he simply didn’t have it in him to keep arguing.


“Fine. I’ll think about it. Now could you leave me alone, please? I need some time.” He asked quietly. Amanda nodded her head softly, giving Ryan a warm smile. At least it was a step in the right direction. 


“Okay, I’ll give you some space.” The giant blonde began to rise up from the table when suddenly a series of chimes began to emit from Ryan’s phone. One after another, messages began to spill onto the screen until four different message ribbons populated the face of the device. Amanda didn’t think much of it at first, aside from the fact that it was strange, but once she spotted Ryan’s panicked reaction a playful smile appeared on her face.


“Oooohhhh, who’s texting you like a love struck school girl?” Amanda asked, reaching overtop of her tiny brother’s head and pinching his phone between two fingers.


“Hey, no! Put that down!” Ryan shouted, sprinting across the table, however, at his current size he was woefully in equipped to stop Amanda from rising up from the table with his phone in hand. 


“Ah, hold on. I just wanna take a little peak.” She teased, quickly retreating out of the dining room and into the living room where she threw herself heavily onto the couch. 


“Amanda seriously… give me back the phone.” He said sternly, watching helplessly as she retreated well out of his reach in an instant. But the giantess simply grinned at him with a wide, toothy grin as she plopped down heavily on the couch.


“Ooooooh, who are you texting in secret? Do you have yourself a new girlfriend?” Amanda teased, crossing her legs before she activated his phone and revealed the mysterious sender of the stream of texts. The smile immediately dropped from Amanda’s face as she saw “Laura Hess <3” printed across the screen over and over again. The giantess lowered her gaze towards the couch, an irritated sneer beginning to form on her lips. 


“Give me back my goddamn phone.” Ryan repeated angrily. However, Amanda was far too busy getting worked up about the idea of her brother getting back involved with that homewrecking skank of an ex-girlfriend.

“You weren’t seriously about to text her back, were you?” She hissed, only to receive another stern demand from her tiny brother. 


“Give me the fucking phone Amanda. Now.”


That was not the answer that the monstrously sized blonde was looking for. Irritated, she swiped up on the device's screen before being faced with a prompt for a passcode. Pausing for a moment, Amanda put about four seconds of thought into it before deciding to give it a guess.


“Tsk, Jesus Christ Ryan. Your birthday? C’mon.” Amanda said disappointingly as she keyed in the month and day of her brother’s birthday, revealing the rest of the phone’s secrets to her. Upon realizing that his brat sister was now actually completely disregarding the entirety of his right to privacy as she began to search through his phone. In that moment, the tiny man was vibrating with an amount of rage that he had never before experienced in his entire life. 


“PUT DOWN THE FUCKING PHONE YOU LITTLE BITCH!” Ryan screeched, sprinting towards the freshly mounted ladder on the side of the dining room table. He moved quickly, mounting the ladder before beginning to descend towards the floor. Unfortunately for him, he was still only three inches tall and he had a great deal of ground to cover until he could get to the couch. 


Currently unaware of her brother’s slow moving pursuit, Amanda simply read through the insane wall of text messages that Laura had sent over the past several days, most likely starting after Ryan had discovered her affair. The messages seemed to have stopped for a little while about a day ago, however one response from Ryan that went out earlier this morning seemed to have reignited her desire to speak with him. Amanda let her arms fall to her side as she chose to just sit and stare at her brother, wholly disappointed in his actions. 


It took a few minutes for him to get there, but Ryan eventually did manage to cross the expanse of the living room, reaching the foot of the couch while Amanda was still shaking her head as she inspected his phone. Despite the fact that he was incredibly winded, Ryan pressed forward, scaling his way up the ladder on the far end of the couch. By the time that he reached the top, the shrunken man was completely out of gas, leaving him gasping heavily as he stepped up onto the cushion. It was at this point that Amanda finally looked up from the phone, shaking her head in disappointment. 


“C’mon Ry, you can't believe her bullshit apologies.” Too tired to speak, Ryan simply began slowly trotting towards her, as if he were going to scale her body and take the phone back by force. However, Amanda was no longer in a playful mood and instead wanted to force her brother to sit still and listen to reason. 


Ryan watched helplessly as Amanda’s foot began to move, aligning itself with him before it began to bulldoze towards him. With no remaining stamina to avoid the “attack,” Ryan became caught up in the giant foot’s path and was succinctly pinned between the couch’s armrest and his little sister’s dirty sock. Ryan’s arms were pinned to his side as he tried desperately to wriggle his way free, breathing heavily to catch his breath at the cost of filling his lungs with the mildly pungent scent of feet. 


“Jesus fucking Christ Amanda, it’s MY goddamn life and it’s MY place to decide if she’s being sincere, because I’m the one that actually knows her. But I can’t do that if I just ignore her like a fucking child.” Ryan spat, frustrated by the overwhelming strength of his sister’s toes. Amanda rolled her eyes as she began to read through Laura’s messages. 


“You can’t be that fucking thick Ryan. Obviously she’s just going to say whatever it takes to get you back into her life. It’s page one of the narcissist manipulator playbook and if you believe it for just one second then you’re an idiot.” Amanda said, perhaps more cruelly than she intended, though she was growing admittedly frustrated with her brother’s simping nonsense. 


“GODDAMMIT GIVE ME MY PHONE!” Ryan screamed louder than he had ever screamed before, his voice nearly reaching a volume that would make one question whether or not it originated from an RP. With no other way to outlet his rage, the tiny man leaned forward and bit down as hard as he could on Amanda’s big toe. Despite the massive size difference, the sting of Ryan’s bite was enough to cause the giantess to retract her foot in shock. Ryan flopped to the ground, finally free from his detention, but still overwhelmed with white hot rage, causing him to 

Rush forward towards the giantess in the hopes of continuing his campaign of violence. However, once the initial shock of being bitten wore off, Amanda quickly took control of the situation. The giantess retraced her legs and sat up, leaning forward and sending one massive hand towards the shrunken man. Ryan was helpless as his momentum was instantly halted and his body was pressed firmly into the seat of the couch. 


“Did you just bite me?” Amanda asked coldly, pinning the wiggling man to the seat with no effort whatsoever. 


“You're not listening to me.” Ryan retorted, opening his mouth to continue before the pressure on his chest suddenly increased as Amanda cut him off.


“I’m going to give you a chance to apologize for your little outburst.” She said, her narrowed eyes locked onto him. 


“Fuck that, you’re the one treating me like a goddamn child!”


“Well maybe if you didn’t act like one, you wouldn't need to be treated like one, little man.” She said succinctly. Those words felt as if they had stabbed Ryan directly in the brain. 


“Goddamn Amanda, stop being a fucking bitch and give me back my-”


Amanda pressed down hard on Ryan’s body again. “DO NOT… speak to me like that!” She commanded aggressively, her jaw clenching tightly as she grew more and more frustrated with the tiny man. However, the harder she tried to stomp out Ryan’s arrogant behavior the more it seemed to strengthen his resolve. 


“I’m not fucking… scared… of you!” Ryan spat through gritted teeth as he began to swing his fist against Amanda’s massive finger. She could bully him all that she wanted, they both knew that she wasn’t going to physically hurt him. Amanda watched her tiny brother swing his arms at her, hoping desperately to overcome his diminutive nature and actually inflict some modicum of damage to her finger until something finally broke inside of her.


“Excuse me? Are you trying to hurt me? Is that how a big man solves his problems?” Amanda snapped, her voice dripping with pure malice. Ryan looked up, feeling suddenly buried beneath the weight of his titanic sister’s shadow. “It seems to me that we’re going to have to have a discussion about ground rules and respect.”


Ryan wanted to shout something back about respect being mutua, however another increase in pressure forced all the air from his lungs and effectively silenced him. Which was ultimately a blessing in disguise because his sister was not finished with her rules.


“First off, this is MY house. For as long as you are here, you’re still a guest in this house. Which means that you will show me and my rules the proper respect. And I’m return I will ensure that I am showing respect to you and your struggles. Is that clear?” Amanda asked, staring down at Ryan firmly. The tiny man attempted to speak but still found it difficult with the immense weight on his chest. “Nod your head if you understand.” 


Ryan obliged quietly and Amanda continued her speech. “Good. Second, you will not ever try to hit me… ever.” The giantess put a weighty amount of emphasis on that last word, driving home the severity of this instruction. “I don’t care that you couldn’t hope to hurt me in a million years. Once again, it comes down to respect. When we find ourselves in conflict, we discuss it until we find a solution that satisfies the both of us. Understood?”


Once again, Ryan nodded his head, taking short, shallow breaths as he tried to maintain composure beneath the uncompromising weight of Amanda’s immense finger. Finally the pressure relented as Amanda, satisfied, lifted her finger from Ryan’s chest. Slowly the tiny man climbed to his feet and turned to face the gargantuan blonde giantess as she loomed high above him. 


“Jesus Christ Amanda…” He said weakly, still working on collecting his breath. “I just wanted my goddamn phone back. You talk about respect, but you’re the one who was acting like a total cunt. I mean why-”


THWACK


Completely unprepared, Ryan was sent careening backwards as Amanda’s middle finger coiled like a serpent before unfurling squarely into his chest. The impact launched the shrunken man backwards several yards. Suddenly he felt his left leg being pinched just before he was whipped around through the air in a wide arc. When the jarring, stomach churning movement came to a stop, Ryan found himself being held upside down, face to face with the sneering giantess as her massive, predatory eyes studied him intently.still a bit dazed and confused he turned, finding himself staring directly down into the warm, inviting valley of Amanda’s cleavage as her gigantic tits rested below.


In his state of confusion, Amanda had repositioned herself so that she was standing over the couch, grasping Ryan gently by the ankle and holding him upside down. Immediately Amanda felt frustration and guilt for already resorting to a physical assault after directly prohibiting such actions mere moments ago. However, hearing Ryan say… that word… she just couldn’t contain her rage.


“And you will not, under ANY fucking circumstance, call me that again? Am I being crystal fucking clear, little man? In fact, I don’t want to hear it being said, period. Do you understand me? Or do I need to fucking remind you just how fucking SMALL you are?”


Ryan dangled precariously between Amanda’s fingers and finally the last remaining embers of defiant protest died out within him. None of it was worth making this much of an enemy of the one person he could rely on to help keep him alive right now. 


“Fine, just put me down… please!” He screamed, staring down into the pit of her ample cleavage. Amanda held him aloft before her face, studying him intently while she resisted the urge to extract her pound of flesh for the blatant disrespect she had just received. However, cooler heads prevailed and the massive titaness lowered her tiny brother back down to the seat of the couch. 


“Good, I’m glad that’s been settled. Now, I’ve got work tonight which means that I have some homework I need to get done, like now. And I think the both of us could benefit from a bit of space right now.” She said, taking a deep breath. After setting him back down, Amanda continued to stare at her tiny sibling who sat very still in her shadow on the seat of the couch. Immediately she began to feel horrible, like she had gone too far as she replayed the argument back in her head over and over again. However, when she felt a sudden vibration in her hand, Amanda raised the phone to see a new text message that had come in from Laura on Ryan’s phone. Immediately her scowl returned as she thought about the two faced lying little slut who had so thoroughly shattered her brother’s peace of mind right before his world was turned upside down. Why couldn’t this bitch just leave them alone? And why the hell couldn’t Ryan see what a terrible, awful idea it was to get back involved with her again?


“So, now that everyone has calmed down again, can you please return my phone to me?” Ryan asked, trying to muster up as much civility as he could. However instead of returning the device to him, Amanda simply looked at the message on the screen before returning her intense scowl down to the tiny man on the couch below. Without so much as another word, Amanda turned on her heels, giving Ryan another excellent view of her ample backside as it waited ominously in the air above him. The giantess did not walk away, leaving Ryan slightly concerned that she was simply about to sit down on top of him, pinning him beneath her ample rump as an undoubtedly effective way to shut him up for a while. 


The tiny man’s breath caught in his throat as he wondered if he was about to be intentionally subjected to a humiliating punishment beneath Amanda’s ass. He was confident that Amanda had no intention of hurting him, but given the way their relationship had evolved since he shrunk, it didn’t seem all that far fetched for the giantess to restrain him simply by perching on top of him until she was satisfied that his disobedience had been rectified. And humiliation aside, Ryan couldn’t forget the heinous stench of the rolling fog that Amanda seemed keen to release whenever she felt the urge. The simple thought of his enormous sister realizing that she could use her mundane bodily functions as corporal punishment was a harrowing prospect to say the least.


However, before he could even process what was happening, the giantess suddenly sprang into action. But instead of her twin moons descending from the heavens to squash him, he watched as Amanda spun around once more and lifted her massive socked foot high up into the air and brought it crashing down towards Ryan. But instead of finding himself being squashed underfoot, Amanda’s sole came to rest on the edge of the couch directly in front of Ryan with her toes wiggling high above his head. He felt his mouth run dry as once again he found himself staring at the underside of his little sister’s foot. The soft scent of detergent mixed with slight undertones of sweat wafted into his nostrils and all of a sudden, despite everything else going on around him, Ryan could feel his body betraying him once again as blood began to gather in his twitching cock. 


“AAAAAAHHHHHHH YOU DRIVE ME FREAKING CRAZY SOMETIMES!” The giantess shouted, louder than Ryan had ever heard before. The miniature man clapped his hands over his ears to protect himself from the powerful tremoring soundwaves. To emphasize her point, the muscles in Amanda’s powerful leg tightened, forcing her foot forward with enough momentum to send the entire couch sliding backwards until it collided with the wall. Ryan was thrown forcefully to the ground as the surface beneath him was suddenly spurred into motion. Then when the couch smashed into the wall, the tiny man was thrown violently backwards, landing on his back with a hearty bounce.


“Do you not realize how fucking dumb it is to put yourself back into a situation to be this fucking vulnerable with someone who has literally proven that she can't be trusted? How can you be this distrustful of mom, but still want to throw yourself at someone who has literally betrayed your trust in a very literal, quantifiable way? Jesus Christ Ryan, I don’t fucking get it!” Amanda clenched her fist tightly in frustration as she spun on her heels and swiftly stopped out of the living room with Ryan’s phone still in hand. 


By the time that the shrunken man had fully recovered from the violent tremor, AManda had already been long gone. He climbed to his feet, straightening out his clothes as he thought quietly to himself. “Jesus Christ. What a little bitch.” It was mind boggling just how much this issue seemed to really get at her. It was his phone, his life, his decision to make. So why the hell was this the line that she was choosing to draw in the sand? Sooner or later, she was going to have to come to the realization that he was still, in fact, a fully grown man with the ability to live his life the way he chose. 


Just as that thought entered his head, Ryan looked to the side, realizing that as she had booted the couch back across the room, Amanda had inadvertently knocked the ladder off of the side of the couch. His heart sank as Ryan realized that, despite his assertion that he was a grown man, he was going to remain trapped here until his little sister came to the rescue.