Chapter 2
1708 Words
Leah's POV:
After having a stressful and shitty day at school, I walk into the house I now call a home with my dad, Emily, and our newly hired maid, Maria.
Maria usually stays with us from mondays to Friday, leaving on weekends . She is pretty good at keeping the house clean, but I don't trust her and I make sure she is very much aware of it. We rarely have a conversation and when we do, it escalates into a heated argument. Even when she's only trying to be "friendly".
As I enter, I get welcomed with the unsettling sounds of crying. I stop in the entryway with a disturbed frown and stretch my neck to capture the source of the sound. Rushing into the living room, I follow the sound of the sobbing.
Our house, a two-story unit, seems to have contracted as I try to figure out what's happening. It has a large living room and a kitchen in it. Dad has his bedroom and study room situated upstairs. Whenever he isn't working, he spends most of his time in his study room trying to burn time there, but the good thing is that his business keeps thriving; there are never financial problems.
The dining room on the other hand, is never used . Everyone seems to prefer their own company, no one likes the fighting during dinner every time .
My room, next to Emily's is beautifully painted lavender with white accents. It has its own walk in closet which is filled with mostly hoodies, all kinds of pants and a bunch of other outfits too, also a queen sized comfy bed and a bathroom. Emily also has the same type of room as me but her love for peach reflects on her ,from her clothes in her closets to her furniture.
Across are three more bedrooms opposite ours, one of which is occupied by Maria.
There are a bunch of muffled voices having a conversation, then crying again, and I head to the kitchen almost running.
I halt in the archway, my heart racing in my chest , meanwhile I eavesdrop on the scene displaying before me.
I'm never going to s-school again" Em speaks up , shaking her head from side to side in denial, tears streaming down her face
"Just tell me, what's going on" Maria replies,
patting her back soothingly
"I got teased at school today and... and he laughed along with them." she blurts out.
What?who? Maria asks.
Em keeps on crying without uttering a word.
It is really heartbreaking to see my sister so sad .
"Shhhh, don't worry I understand" Maria gets up from the kitchen stool and hugs her .
I feel a pang of jealousy hit me, ever since the divorce Em has never let me be this close, she has become withdrawn and it has been really tough for me too because I have no one to talk to.
Em's sobbing begins to subside and she gets up from the stool, untying her jacket from her waist and turning her back to Maria revealing bloodstains on her skirt .
I gasp at the sight of it and Maria does as well.
Is this your first time? Maria asks
"Yeah" ,she replies
She squeals and stretches her hands to envelop her in a hug "welcome to womanhood,this is nothing to cry about Em ,you should be happy about it".
"Are you sure?", Em asks
"Yes I am" Maria assures her . "Let's go up to your room to get you changed and I will
tell you everything you need to know."
This is when I decide to let my presence know, pretending not to have heard or listened to their conversation.
“Hey Em”, I said disregarding Maria.
“Hey”, she said with a stern face.
“Hello Leah" Maria calls out and waves to me.
_What the hell does she want now? She keeps butting into my business and now she thinks she can steal my sister away from me? Not a chance_
“Hi” I say inwardly and avert my gaze to Em .
“What's going on?” I ask, meeting her glare , expecting an answer from her but she didn’t respond.
Maria replies instead "Emily just got her first period” she says to me and smiles at Em. Em smiles back at her which is making me so jealous .
I crave for a strong bond with my sister and here we have a maid trying to steal her away from me .
“We were about to go upstairs to get her cleaned".
I shift my gaze to Em and asked, ”Em is that true?”.
She doesn’t reply but tugs at Maria’s dress instead .“I feel so sticky” She whispers.
“I’ll update you about it all later”, Maria tries assuring me.
With Em’s hands in hers, I watch them walk up the stairs together, feeling like a stranger in my own home .
**************
I am sitting on my bed, my body resting against the headrest , and my legs tucked under the blanket sheets. My phone is in my hands scrolling through i********:, when a message pings on my page displaying Martha's name.
M: wyd girl
I had sent her a message earlier in school wanting to fill her in with all the "Alicia drama" but I didn't get a response.
Martha is my pen pal from Ethiopia, we met two months ago on i********:_ a month after the divorce of my parents and all this while she has been the only one I could confide in.
For years, I've always been homeschooled because I am dyslexic, and my dad has decided that I am ready for a regular school -which I totally am not. I am halfway through the first semester, and I've made no friends. When I got here, everybody already had their friend groups, and, being considered a bit of a weirdo I don't see a chance of me getting into any.
So Martha is my only close friend.
Before I could respond, another message popped in .
M: sorry I was asleep when you texted, what's going on?
I am aware of a time difference but I was hoping I could get to her knowing sometimes she slept so late when we chatted. I quickly typed in a message.
L: I'm good ,I had quite a shitty day tho
Her response was almost immediate
M: omg what happened
L: show there is this girl Alicia...
This is kinda weird
M: yeah, you've told me about her
M: are you gay, don't tell me you're into her
L: what? No
L: we got into a fight and I feel like I am the cause of it
I didn't know how it happened
M: kay, so how did you get in a fight with her
There is a sudden knock on my door, and I groan with annoyance, swinging my legs out of bed. I slip my flip flops, which are next to my bed, and I walk to the door.
I open it and find Maria at the door, her arms are crossed below her chest which she drops when I open the door. She flashes me a smile which I ignore.
"Hi Leah"
"What's the issue", I reply c*****g an eyebrow.
"Mr Reynolds wants you to come down for dinner"
"We're having dinner together?" I ask.
"Yes" she nods.
"Why" I ask.
She shrugs in reply.
I roll my eyes at her "alright I'll be down in a sec ".
I slam the door and walk back to my bed, falling onto the mattress bouncing against its force, face flat. My fingers searches for my phone as I flip on my back. Martha has sent one more message.
M: tell me already
Ykw, let's FaceTime, I need details.
I really want to chat with Martha so bad but freaking dinner so I type in a message
L: sorry, I'm busy
Ttyl.
I head downstairs wondering what news Dad has to share or if he is being the typical cheesy dad. I meet Em and dad in the dining room talking about the worst food combination, I guess.
"Uh , sausage and ice cream smoothie, how about that for breakfast huh? " She asks raising her brows , a grin taking over her face.
Dad scrunches his face and laughs , his hand raking through his dark blonde hair
"Okay I don't think I can top that" He surrenders.
I walk up to the dining table which was set for four, I pull the chair opposite dad but next to Emily's .
"Hi, you're back early" , I said with a smile
"Yes I need more time with my girls
How was school today " He asks.
"Not bad" I reply, with a sigh.
I glance at Emily, my eyes lock onto her light brown ones , her black curly hair is braid into two tails framing her face and for the first time in three months she smiles at me . I return the smile, asking "Where's the food" my question is directed at her.
"It's here! ",she squeals making a little dance with her hands .Everybody's eyes followed Maria as she dropped the food tray and excused herself to get soda.
I reach for the casserole with a serving spoon dishing it into my plate . Attempting to break the silence, I utter
"Dad, do you know Em got her first period today?" I immediately regret saying that. I guess I am just desperate to gain Em's attention that I didn't chew my words.
Emily chokes on the food she is eating "Leah, what the f**k was that " Her face turns red.
"Emily..." ,dad warned , in a long drawn out tone
"Sorry dad" Em responds sarcastically, rolling her eyes .
"So tell me, how did it go"
"I don't know, Maria helped out" she shrugs.
Watching Emily and dad, I find myself imagining mom sitting on the empty chair next to me. It's hard to admit but the truth is, I miss her so much.
- Writer
