Chapter 4
1656 Words
I woke up to pounding. Loud aggressive pounding that made my skull throb.
“Ivy! Are you still sleeping?”
Aunt Margaret’s voice came through the door. Sharp and irritated.
My eyes cracked open. Everything hurt. My palms were scraped raw from last night. My elbow ached. Even my neck was stiff from sleeping wrong in this unfamiliar bed.
“Breakfast is already served and you better be down here in less than five minutes or you can forget about eating!”
I bolted upright. Grabbed my phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up.
7:15 AM.
They were serious. There was actually a curfew for breakfast in this house.
“I’m coming!” I shouted back.
My feet hit the floor. Cold hardwood. I stumbled to the bathroom. Splashed water on my face. Brushed my teeth so fast I probably didn’t even get them clean. Ran my fingers through my hair which was a disaster. Gave up on it.
Rushed back out. Didn’t even change. Just headed straight for the door in the oversized t-shirt I’d slept in.
Down the stairs. Two at a time. Nearly tripped on the last step.
“Look who decided to show up.”
Stephanie’s voice dripped with amusement. She sat at the dining table looking like she was about to walk a runway. Hair perfect. Makeup perfect. Designer outfit that probably cost more than Grandma’s monthly income.
I reached the bottom of the stairs. Tried to catch my breath.
“Oh my God.” Caroline’s voice pitched high. Delighted. “Look at what she’s wearing. Is that supposed to be pajamas?”
Both sisters erupted into laughter. The kind that wasn’t about joy. Just cruelty dressed up nice.
“Be nice, girls.” Margaret’s scolding was half hearted. She was cutting into her eggs. Didn’t even look up.
I walked toward the dining table. Tried to ignore the way they were all staring. Uncle Richard in his tailored black suit that probably cost more than Mom’s funeral. The sisters in their designer everything. Aunt Margaret in pearls at seven in the morning.
And me. In a stretched out t-shirt that said “Village Summer Fest 2019” across the front.
I sat down. There was a plate waiting. Eggs. Toast. Fruit arranged in a way that looked more like art than food.
My stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. Before the funeral. Before everything.
“So Ivy.” Uncle Richard set down his coffee cup. “Margaret mentioned you were going to look for work.”
Right. Time to drop the bomb.
“Actually I got a job.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Forks stopped moving. Coffee cups paused halfway to mouths. All four of them stared at me.
“I’m sorry?” Margaret finally said. “You got a job. Already.”
“Yeah. Yesterday actually.”
“Yesterday.” Stephanie laughed. “You’ve been here less than twenty four hours and you got a job. Sure Jan.”
“Where?” Caroline leaned forward. Eyes bright with the anticipation of catching me in a lie.
“Frost Global Enterprises.”
More silence.
Then laughter. Loud raucous laughter that bounced off the fancy walls and made my face burn hot.
“Frost Global.” Uncle Richard wiped his eyes. “You. Got a job at Frost Global Enterprises.”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Sweetheart.” Margaret’s voice was syrupy sweet. Poisonous underneath. “That company doesn’t employ people like you.”
People like me.
My jaw clenched. “What do you mean people like me?”
“She means poor people with no education and no qualifications.” Stephanie said it like she was explaining to a child. “They only hire the best. Like top of the class from prestigious universities. Not village girls who probably didn’t even finish high school.”
I finished high school. With honors. Not that they’d asked.
“Well someone named Raphael Frost told me to come in today.”
The sound of cutlery hitting plates echoed through the room. Forks clattered. Knives dropped. Stephanie’s glass tipped over. Water spread across the white tablecloth.
They all stared at me. Like I’d suddenly grown two heads. Or horns maybe.
“I’m sorry.” Margaret’s voice was very quiet. Very controlled. “Did you just say Raphael Frost?”
“Yeah. That’s his name right? The CEO?”
“Oh my God.” Caroline’s voice was almost a whisper. “She’s completely delusional.”
“I know you’re from the countryside.” Stephanie stood up. Leaned over the table toward me. “I know you’re poor with zero educational background. But I didn’t realize you were also a liar.”
Heat flooded my face. My hands curled into fists under the table.
“I’m not lying. I met him last night. He gave me his card. Told me to come in at six AM.”
“Met him last night.” Uncle Richard’s eyebrows shot up. “Where exactly did you meet Raphael Frost? At the country club? A charity gala?”
“On the street actually.”
More laughter.
“This is too much.” Caroline was practically crying now. “She met Raphael Frost on the street. Like he just hangs out on street corners talking to random girls.”
“I never knew my sister gave birth to such a liar.” Margaret dabbed at the water spill with her napkin. Wouldn’t look at me. “But let’s assume what you’re saying is true. You said he told you to come in at six AM. It’s already seven fifteen.”
Oh.
Oh s**t.
My stomach dropped. I’d overslept. Missed the time. On my first day. If it even was my first day. If he’d even been serious.
“He gave me a card,” I said. Voice smaller now. “Why would I lie about this?”
“Anyone can have his card, sweetheart.” Margaret finally looked at me. Pity in her eyes. Which was somehow worse than the mockery. “I have his card. Doesn’t mean he’s given me a job.”
The chair scraped against the floor as I stood. Too fast. Too loud.
“Then I’ll prove it. I’m going to the company right now.”
“Ivy—”
“No.” I was already moving. Heading for the stairs. “You all think I’m lying. Fine. I’ll show you I’m not.”
“You better not be lying, girl.”
Uncle Richard’s voice stopped me. I turned. Looked back.
He wasn’t laughing anymore. His face was serious. Cold.
“Because if you are, you’re going straight back to your grandmother in the countryside. And not even your aunt will help you. We don’t harbor liars in this house.”
The threat hung in the air. Heavy and final.
“I would love to see her embarrassment.” Stephanie grabbed her purse. “But we have somewhere to be.”
She and Caroline breezed past me. Their perfume was overwhelming. Expensive and cloying.
I climbed the stairs. Legs shaking. Went back to my room. Closed the door.
Leaned against it.
My heart was racing. Hands trembling.
They thought I was lying. All of them. Looked at me like I was pathetic. Delusional.
Maybe I was.
Maybe last night had been some kind of hallucination. Grief induced psychosis. Maybe I’d crashed the bike and hit my head and made the whole thing up.
I pulled out the business card from my nightstand.
Still there. Still real.
Frost Global Enterprises. Raphael Frost, CEO.
Not a hallucination then.
I moved to the dresser. Opened the drawers. Looked through my pathetic collection of clothes.
Nothing. Nothing remotely suitable for working at some fancy corporation. A few old jeans. T-shirts. The dress from the funeral which still smelled like the cemetery.
Finally found a floral dress shoved in the back. Mom had bought it for me two years ago for Easter. It was simple. Clean at least. The most professional thing I owned which wasn’t saying much.
I changed quickly. The dress hung a little loose. I’d lost weight since Mom got sick. Stopped eating properly. Forgot meals.
Brushed my hair. Tried to make myself look presentable. It didn’t really work but it was the best I could do.
Grabbed my phone. The business card. Mom’s envelope of money in case I needed bus fare.
Headed back downstairs.
The dining room was empty now. Breakfast cleared away. I’d missed my chance to eat.
Outside I heard car engines. Ran to the window.
Stephanie and Caroline were climbing into a red Ferrari. Sleek and shiny and probably worth more than a house.
I rushed outside. “Wait! Can I get a ride with you guys?”
Stephanie paused. Hand on the car door. Looked at me. Then at Caroline.
They both smiled.
“No.” Simple. Flat.
The doors slammed shut. Engine purred to life. They drove off without looking back.
I stood there in the driveway. Watching them disappear.
Of course.
Fine. I’d find my own way.
The walk to the main road took fifteen minutes. My feet already hurt. These shoes weren’t made for walking. None of my shoes were.
I stopped random people. Asked for directions to Frost Global Enterprises. Got weird looks. A few pointed vaguely toward downtown. One woman told me to take the number seven bus.
Found a bus stop. Waited. Twenty minutes in the morning sun that was already too hot.
The bus arrived. I climbed on. Paid with quarters from Mom’s envelope. Sat in the back. Watched the city roll past.
Buildings got taller. Fancier. The people on the street started looking more polished. More like they belonged.
I did not belong.
The bus stopped. The driver called out street names I didn’t recognize. Finally one that sounded right. I got off.
And there it was.
Frost Global Enterprises.
- Writer
