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She walks over to me, her heels clicking against the wooden floor. Her finger caresses the bruise on my neck, she tuts, "Someone's been a naughty girl."
I stand still as I await my next instruction.
"Dinner is to be served at five-thirty sharp. Once it is served, you are to go to bed. I don't want to see you for the rest of the evening." She turns and walks back to her desk; we're finished and I can return to the safety of downstairs.
"Yes, ma'am," I reply instantly. They won't be home until five, meaning I'll only have to suffer for thirty minutes. Maybe this day isn't as bad as I first thought. The girls have cheerleading practice and Talia always arrives home at just after five.
“Oh, and don't think you're getting away with it that easily. I want this entire house cleaned. I want it sparkling." She raises her brow at me. "That is all; you have work to do, so do it."
I race up the stairs; I don't have very long to have this house cleaned. The girls’ bedroom only gets cleaned once a week; it's the only time I'm allowed to. It's utterly disgusting and takes me at least two hours to clean. Talia is somewhat cleaner, her office is the easiest to clean as is the kitchen because nobody besides me ventures inside. The sitting room is another story altogether. I'm never allowed in there unless it's to clean and just like the girl's bedroom, that happens once a week. I'm always surprised by how dirty the girls are. I find food on the floor and dirty clothes. Talia very rarely spends time in there so she doesn't see how bad it gets. When she does though, that’s when I’m ordered to clean it immediately.
Midway through cleaning the sitting room, I hear the front door slam shut and I breathe a sigh of relief; they're gone out now. This room is filthier than I had envisioned, but I manage to get it cleaned before nine am. Next, I tackle the girl's bedroom, knowing that it's going to be the hardest room and will take the longest.
By the time I'm finished cleaning upstairs, it's after lunch time. I've managed to get the clothes washed and they're currently drying. My entire body is sore. I'm tired and hungry. I've not eaten today; that's nothing new. Usually the only time I eat is lunch, and if I'm lucky, it’s leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. Although Zella and Anna have realized that and tend to eat everything in sight.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, I have a cup of coffee along with a ham and cheese omelette. Making one for Anna this morning made me want to have one.
Talia never said what she wanted for di
nner; neither did the girls. Usually they'd let me know, I hate being the one to make the decision. If they don't like it, Talia will punish me and the girls will be even more bitchy than normal; criticizing the whole meal. I'm grateful that they've not been violent. They've pushed me and tripped me, but they haven't gone any further than that.
Four thirty and the entire house is cleaned, all laundry has been washed, dried, folded, and put away. Dinner is on and will be ready for when they arrive home. I'm hoping that I'll be able to go to sleep once I've served them dinner. It all depends on what Talia wants me to do when she gets home—she’s known to change her mind. I set the dining room table; it's something Talia always insists on, that she and the girls will have one meal together every day, and that meal will be eaten at the dining room table. It's usually dinner as mornings are hectic here and they're rarely here for lunch.
The front door opens and I brace myself, not knowing who it is or what's going to be said.
"Yoreli!" It's Zella, but where Zella is, Anna is always close by. "I'm going to shower, you'll do my hair and makeup once I'm finished,” she tells me and I sigh. "Mom will be home in fifteen minutes."
I close my eyes, that doesn't give me much time to finish the dinner and get Zella ready for her date. "Okay, Zella,” I shout back. "Does Anna need anything?"
"No, I don't. I'd like to have dinner soon though," she yells, sounding pissed off.
"You're so touchy,” Zella teases her; they're standing outside of the kitchen.
"Touchy? Zella, you kissed him."
"Look, Anna, I never knew you liked him. Who did you think I was going on a date with tonight? The pope?"
Oh, they like the same guy.
"I've liked Gary for three years, Zel. How can you say you never knew? Hell, even the slave knows that I like him."
"The slave doesn't listen to you. Now, if you don't mind, I need to shower. Why don't you go and do something productive?" Zella responds nastily.
Their words hit me hard, just like I know they were meant to do, but that's all that I am to this family: a slave. It doesn't matter that my father was married to Talia and that we're stepsisters. When my dad died, everything changed. I was no longer a member of this family; instead I became their slave.
The sound of the shower turning on has me rushing around. I put the coffee pot on, knowing that as soon as Talia's home, she'll want a cup and sometimes Anna will have one too. I add the finishing touches to the dinner, happy that all I'll have to do is dish it up when everyone's ready to eat.
The shower turns off and I make my way upstairs. When I reach the girl's bedroom, I knock on the door and wait to be told to enter.
"Yoreli, hurry," Zella cries; she looks flustered. "I don't have much time. He's picking me up at six thirty and we've yet to eat."
I give her a small smile. "You'll be fine. Take a seat and I'll do your makeup first. What look are you going for?" I ask. I actually do enjoy doing the girls makeup for whenever they go somewhere nice.
"I want a sultry look." I nod and begin to apply her makeup. Anna's sitting in the background, glaring at the both of us.
Finally, I'm able to go to bed. I wasn't allowed to when they were having dinner; I had to wait until they were finished and clean up after them. Then I had to give Anna a foot massage to cheer her up because she's jealous that Gary chose Zella over her. When I’d finished with Anna, Zella arrived home with a smile on her face.
Talia demanded that I clean the girls room again as they had already made a mess. So while they were talking about Zella's date, I was cleaning again. Finally, when it got to eleven pm, I thought for sure that I was finished for the day. But Talia had other ideas; I was to clean the sitting room and dining room. She wanted everything spotless for the morning, she informed me; she has an important business meeting at eight am and it'll be in the dining room.
