The Beauty In Our Scars.

Mr rude and Miss stubborn.

"Goodness me here is an utter mess! How has he been living in such filth all these while?" Mandy exclaimed as she looked around the large room, she let out a long sigh as she positioned her hands around her waist.

"He's not going to make me loose my job, not at all" she said firmly and instantly, she began to pick up the empty packets, boxes, books that were littered on the floor. Just as she was picking the filth, something caught her eyes. She immediately stopped what she was doing and bent over a little to take a closer look.

"It's a book" Mandy muttered as she picked up the black covered book from beneath the filth, it was dusty and dirty but Mandy didn't seem to care, she wiped it slightly with her palm before she opened the cover of the book. Mandy looked at the short writing on the book before she quickly closed it.

"It's Mr Craig's diary" she said, her eyes widening in suprise, she immediately threw the book backwards in a bid to get rid of it, but it turned out that the diary fell into the trash can. Mandy continued with picking the debris and shoving them into the large trashcan.

The cleaning took long, gruelling hours but Mandy was able to finish the job, despite the large space, funiture, restroom and bathroom she had to clean. The freezer and study wasn't left out either. When she was done, she turned on the television,

"I think anime wouldn't be bad" Mandy though as she changed the channel. Immediately she had put her preferred channel, she immediately opened the door which led to the balcony, Craig still sat silently while watching the darkness of the evening clouding the sky, Mandy cleared her throat and immediately, he turned.

"All done sir, I'm done with the cleaning" Mandy announced.

"You left me out here all through the day and now you are coming to tell me that you are done?" Craig asked, his tone was stern, his eyes empty.

"Sir I had to do a thorough clean up in your room and I wouldn't be doing that if you were in the room" Mandy answered firmly.

"But did I ever tell you to clean my room? I told you to get out of it!" Craig screamed, Mandy's eyes widened in fear, his facial expression was already giving her chills, his tone wasn't helping matters. She clenched her fists tight and swallowed hard, she immediately fixed her eyes on he's.

"Sir I was given a task which is to look after you and ensure everything around you is in order. I am only fulfilling those duties. Besides a failure to carry them out will spell doom for me so I can't afford to mess things up. Dinner would arrive at 7:00pm, till then Sir" Mandy said firmly. She took a slight bow before leaving the room. Craig couldn't utter a word, he was surprised at how Mandy had responded to him, only one person dared look him in the eyes like that and that was Clarissa. But there was something different, this was not out of love, but out of determination, out of strength. Her hazel eyes struck him hard, he couldn't define it much, but it was a tough look. Just then, Craig heard a crashing sound, his attention returned to him and he immediately stared at the television.

"Oh, it's code lioko" he said as he wheeled himself over to get a closer look. Soon he became fixated on the television screen, slowly a dry smile spread on his lips.

"I hate that dude, he's unbelievable!" Mandy said angrily as she wheeled the trashcan and the cleaning basket down the hallway.

"I cleaned his terrible, dirty, infested room and what do I get? I don't think this is for me at all!" She continued as she continued to wheel angrily.

"Remember to sort out the trash and put them in the trash bags" a maid said as she passed Mandy. Mandy stopped for a bit, her face knitted in frustration,

"Why didn't anyone say this earlier, I would have done it before dumping the garbage into the trashcan" Mandy muttered in frustration, she then took a deep breath before continuing. Mandy had begun sorting the papers and cans or anything that belonged to that category, everything was going pretty well till she saw the book she thought she had done away with.

"What the?" She exclaimed as she picked up the book again. This time, she wasn't willing to just look away, her curiosity about what was written in the diary heightened.

"Well I guess I'll just take it back to my room" Mandy said as she grinned mischievously, she immediately fitted the book into her apron pocket and continued to sort out the remaining trash.

A light knock distracted Craig from the television for a few seconds before he looked back at the screen.

"Come in" he said as he continued to watch the television, Mandy opened the door gently and willed in some covered trays.

"Sir, dinner is ready" Mandy said calmly, Craig turned his head and looked at her for about thirty seconds before he responded.

"Place it on the table in front of the sofa" Craig said, Mandy nodded and immediately began to set the meal on the table as instructed. Craig wheeled a little bit further, just close to the sofa and tried moving over to the sofa, he struggled to get onto it but he couldn't.

"Let me help" Mandy offered.

"Don't, just let me be" Craig said sharply. Mandy stood there, saying and doing nothing but watch him. Craig fell to the floor despite all his attempts, he just sat on the floor for a minute before eventually scoffing.

"That's how useless my life is" Craig muttered as he stared at the floor. Mandy heard the words he spoke and her heart broke a little, she looked at him as he sat on the cold, tiled floor, feeling helpless and alone, she immediately sighed and walk closer to him. Before Craig could understand what was going on, Mandy grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Helping you Sir" Mandy answered sharply.

"I told you to forget it, are you daft?" Craig shot back but Mandy didn't seem to budge, she continued to try to get him up. Craig's hand began to hurt so immediately, he had to cooperate with her and in about a minute, he managed to get seated.

"You are really stubborn, aren't you?" Craig asked but Mandy kept silent. She took opened the covered meals and took them off the tray, placing them in order on the glass table.

"I'll be outside Sir, if you need anything, please do call me" Mandy said as she gently left the room. Craig couldn't help but stare at her, she always had a way of making him feel silly and in as much as he hated her guts, he sort of admired it.

"I'll give it to her stubborn spirit" Craig muttered, his eyes slowly moved to the table in front of him, he scanned the dishes and their contents carefully.

"It's fried rice" he muttered again, he picked up a spoon neatly placed beside the meal and began to dig in.

Mandy knocked slightly at the door after about twenty minutes of standing outside, she heard a slight voice and proceeded to walk into the room.

"Are you done sir?" Mandy asked.

"Doesn't it seem so?" Craig asked. Mandy sighed and moved forward to the table to clear it, she found out he barely touched his meal. Mandy wanted to ask what the matter was but she instantly decided against it, she had heard enough for the day already and wasn't ready to take in any other round of insult. She placed the leftovers in the trays and covered them before wheeling them out.

"What's your name again?" Craig asked, Mandy stopped right at the door when she heard his voice.

"Mandy Sir, Mandy Miller" Mandy answered.

"Alright, Mandy. I don't want to see you here tomorrow, go back to wherever you came from, I'm good" Craig said. Mandy stood there, her body felt too heavy to move, her throat felt too dry to speak any other word. She managed to regain the use of her limbs and immediately, she wheeled the food and herself out of the room and shut the door behind her. Craig continued to watch the television keenly without feeling bothered or distracted.

Mandy wheeled the food to the kitchen but on a second thought, she wasn't willing to leave that food just like that. It hadn't really been touched and it looked so delicious. She quickly saw a neat nylon bag and poured all the food into it and majestically walked out of the kitchen.

"Finally the day is over" she muttered as she walked down the hallway. Mandy had gotten to her room and immediately, she shut the door behind her.

"Now it's time to feast" she said with a giggle. She placed the plate and spoon she had gotten from the kitchen and poured out the food in the nylon bag onto the plate. She began to dig in and every bite she took out of the food felt heavenly.

"Goodness me, I wonder why he didn't eat these, they are fantastic!" She exclaimed as she chewed on some chicken piece on the plate. Slowly, she began to remember Craig and all his grim expressions throughout the day. Mandy sighed in pity but at the same time, she felt frustration spur out of her.

"Even if he's having a bad day, he aren't the only one going through a lot at the moment" Mandy said and immediately began to enjoy her meal. Mandy washed up and got ready for bed but as she lay down, she couldn't sleep. She felt restless inside her as she turned from side to side on the bed. Immediately, she remembered the diary she had picked up. She stood up from her bed and immediately rushed to her apron and brought it out.

"Alright, let's buy a little time with this" Mandy said as she put on the table lamp in the room and began to go through the diary. Each page held a memory that Mandy envied. The lavish parties, meetings, vacations, travels, everything. Mandy smiled sadly with every page she flipped.

"I just wished I could have a nice meal and warm bed, while someone else had the world" Mandy muttered with a smile. But just after the page she flipped, everything seemed to look like a nightmare. Her eyes began to widen as she flipped through the other pages. She couldn't believe how something so beautiful fell apart so quickly.

"Oh poor Craig, he lost a large part of his business, lost his ability to walk, and lost the love of his life to his best friend. Now I get it, the anger, the frustration" Mandy said softly as she closed the diary. She shook her head and began to smile.

"Life is indeed not balanced, the rich also cry" Mandy muttered. By this time, her eyes were beginning to get cloudy and heavy with sleep, she yawned and stretched from side to side after which she slowly lowered herself onto the bed.