Pearl tears

CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3

A man stood in the shadows of her room. Slowly Pearl sat up gripping the blankets tight to her until she was able to make out the golden brown hair and deep blue eye’s that match her own.  Daddy? Can it really be?

“Daddy? Is it really you?” She asks, her voice shaking with emotion.

“Yes Princess, it’s me. Come give your old man a hug.” 

     Pearl ran to her father but he kept getting farther and farther away. He held his arms out as he moved backwards. His feet never move yet Pearl is unable to reach him no matter how fast she runs.. 

“Wait! Daddy, where are you going? Daddy! Please don’t leave me again!”  Pearl begged as her plea’s turned into sobs.  Her father disappears into the shadows.

Pearl wakes to find her face wet with tears and her heart feeling heavy. Oh daddy! I wish you were here...I miss you so much! She wipes her tears as she sits up in bed. Her head is pounding. She lays back with her eyes closed for a few moments. Ugh, I better get up and get started on the cleaning before Mother comes in and finds me still in bed. I’m so not in the mood to deal with her today. Thinks Pearl as she sits up again reaching for the lamp beside her bed. She covers her eyes from the light  with her hand and slowly moves them away as she blinks to adjust her eyes to the light. She blinks a few more times as she looks around.

“Wait, am I still dreaming? This is NOT my room!” She pinches her arm. “Ouch! I'm definitely not dreaming. Where the hell am I?” She tries to think back to how she could have ended up in this unknown place. Her head was pounding so bad and her memories of the day before were so fuzzy it felt almost impossible to think. She closes her eyes and rubs her temples. The pain was nauseating. She takes a few slow deep breaths. I got this. I have to remember and function. She slowly opens her eyes and looks around hoping something will trigger her memory or at the very least let her know where she is. 

The room was fairly large. I can fit three, maybe even four of my bedrooms in here. The walls were an eggshell white color with a few landscape paintings hanging around the room. A dresser, a vanity table, and an end table that all look like they are made of oak. Of course, Pearl wasn’t sure of that, she never had anything as nice in her house. The bed Pearl was sitting on was very large, a queen size she thinks. It’s very soft and comfortable. She notices 3 doors. She gets up and goes to the door closest to her and finds it’s the bathroom. She goes in and finds the medicine cabinet. 

“Oh, thank the stars!” exclaims Pearl, as she grabs some migraine meds and takes them. “I hope they kick in quickly.” she whispers, closing the cabinet and going back to the bedroom. The next door she opens leads into a walk-in closet that's fully stocked with anything a girl could want. Dresses, pants, shirts, shoes, and every size and color of bag you could think of. “Whoa, well whoever lives here must be crazy rich.” Pearl whispers. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. Pearl jumps. Tap. Tap. Tap. It seems to be coming from the door she hasn’t checked yet but she can guess that it’s the way out of this room. She stands frozen as the door opens revealing a girl, in a maids uniform, that looks to be around the same age as Pearl. They stare at each other a moment. Pearl takes in the girl's raven black hair that’s pulled back into a tight bun. Her bronze skin makes her bright green eyes stand out. She’s beautiful. Thinks Pearl.

The girl seems to shake out of the daze first. She clears her throat.

“Hello, My name is Cassandra, but please call me Cass. I’ll be here to take care of anything you may need.” Her eyes flash with something pearl doesn’t fully catch when she says the last part. Pearl can’t seem to find her voice so Cass continues. “Would you like some breakfast?” Pearl only nods. “Ok, anything in particular you would like? We have most anything you could want so you name it I'll get it..” 

“Um, just some juice and toast please.” Pearl finally squeaks out. “Very well, Miss Pearl. I’ll return quickly.” Cass says as she walks out, closing the door softly. “Wait!” Pearl calls too late. Just realizing that was her chance to find out where she is and how she got here. 

She walks over to the vanity and sits down. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she chastises herself: “You are in a strange place, not knowing how you got here or why you're here and you don’t ask the first person you see what's going on? What the hell is wrong with you?!” Her reflection stares back at her but has no answer to any of the questions swirling around. Pearl sighs. She has no clue why she didn’t ask what most people in her situation would ask the first chance they got. She shakes her head and turns from her reflection. What is it about that girl that made me speechless?  Pearl wonders. Maybe it’s just the stress of everything going on and the fact she had surprised me. Pearl knew it was a weak excuse but it was the only logical one she can think of. Luckily the meds have started working and her headache is easing but her thought’s and memories are still fuzzy.

Tap. Tap. Tap. “I’ve got your breakfast Miss Pearl.” Cass says, as she walks in carrying a tray. “Where would you like it?” Pearl looks around unsure. “Why don’t I place it here next to the bed?”

 “Sure,'' says Pearl with a shrug. “Um, can I ask where am I? And how did I get here?” Pearl asks, looking at the floor. Cass sets the tray down and walks over to Pearl.

 “Well, You are at the Mason estate. And I’m not sure how you got here, but I’m guessing you came in with Mr. Mason last night.” Cass looks at Pearl and see’s the look of confusion on her face. “How do you not know?” 

“Everything is all fuzzy, I can’t seem to remember yesterday.” Pearl ponders what Cass just told her.. “Wait, I'm at the Mason estate you said?” Cass nods. “I remember getting things ready because Mother was having a guest over for dinner.” She squeezes her eyes closed and rubs her temples trying hard to remember. “A Mr. Mason. Um, Yes that’s right. He came and we had dinner.” She opens her eye’s and standing, she begins to pace. “I remember we had dinner and then they wanted to talk with me about….. Something, I don’t remember what though. They insisted I have a glass of wine, Mother, she brought me a glass...and…and... UGH!! I can’t remember!” Pearl stops pacing and throws her arms up in frustration. She sit’s on the bed and buries her face in her hands. “I’m so confused!” She cries. 

Pearl feels the bed move and arms going around her into a hug. She freezes for a moment then falls into Cass’s arm, her tears flowing freely. “Shhhh, It’s ok.” Cass says soothingly rubbing Pearls back in gentle circles. “Everything is ok. I’ll help you figure out what’s going on. Shhhh, I’ll be with you and help you.” 

“B..b..but why?” Pearl stutters out between sobs. “Y..y..you d..d.don’t even know me. Why would you want to h..help me?” Is this a trap of some sort? No, Pearl could feel the sincerity of Cass’s words but she couldn’t understand why this stranger brought her comfort or why she would want to help. 

“I don’t know.” Cass replies after a few hesitant moments. “I just.. I don’t know, um, I feel this connection and feel I need to protect you. I know it sounds odd, but I’m not sure how to explain it.” Pearl sits up, wiping her tears away as she looks at Cass. She doesn’t question her anymore, for the moment, even though she feel’s Cass knows more than she is saying. “I want you to eat something and rest. I’ll be back to check on you soon. I’ll see if I can get any information about what is going on.” She looks at Pearl. “Ok?”

 Pearl nods and whispers “Ok.” “I’ll be back as