The Human Alpha and the Eclipse Prophecies

Chapter 6

Skylar POV

She stood towering above me with her hands on her hips, glaring down at me. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. You will get up at this hour or earlier to do daily chores. You will cook breakfast, wash dishes, make the beds, do the laundry, and dust everything before school. After school, you will finish your homework, cook dinner, rewash dishes, and do anything else the housekeepers might miss. This house has to be spotless for our guests and friends and when you finish all that, then you can do whatever you want on your time." She squinted at me harshly, "Just as long as you don't get in Rain's way." I stared at her for a while before she finally got annoyed with my silence and slapped me across the face. I held my burning cheek nearly stunted that she would hit me, but I quickly snapped out of it when she raised her hand to give me another one and answered her. "Okay."

"What did I tell you about how you should address me, you little brat!?" She raised her hand and slapped me hard across the cheek. I could feel the burning pain from her hand after it had already left my cheek. This was going to cause swelling. She only slapped me when I wasn't compliant with her. Rain is plain cruel; she likes beating me up for fun. I guess in some way they enjoyed my pain.

"Yes, madam Cecilia," I lowered my gaze to seem humble and defeated to her. I just wanted her gone. She would come to me when she wanted something and it was never good. Satisfied, she handed me a list of practically everything she had mentioned to me and some. I had to check off every part of the list to keep track of myself, and, like homework, I had to return it to the housekeeper after I was done. I found it hard to think that my life would be different if I had done what she asked, but it only got worse as time went by.

For the last nine years, I have been up between 3 am and 4 am to do my chores and have gone to bed at 10 pm or 12 am. Sometimes I would barely get three hours of sleep. I rarely spoke to anyone other than to explain how to do things with a maid or housekeeper or my stepmom. I didn't speak to my father hardly at all from that moment on, only to tell him where things were, the whereabouts of people, or to answer a question. In my mind, I needed to stay far away from this family. Often Rain would try to pick on me, causing tea or coffee to spill on her newly bought outfit and my stepmom would come out and punish me. She would complain to my stepmother more than my father, knowing where the favoritism lay. My stepmom is crueler than my father; often giving me impossible tasks to complete until sunrise or punishing me harshly. One time she made me sleep on the balcony floor in winter as punishment for destroying Rain's party dress with scissors. I have wanted to do it but never had the guts to do it, so hearing that someone had done it gave me a little bit of joy. After all, Rain is not the best person to call a friend. Her smug attitude and delusion of superiority are the reasons she is popular with only a certain group of students and the reason she has a lot of enemies. So I suspected it was one of them. Plus, the fact that I was locked up in the basement for the entire time during the party. However, that did not deter Rain and her mother from taking their frustrations out on me. Their anger was palpable only when I managed to get a job outside of home at 16. My stepmom managed to get another housekeeper to help out with my chores only to demand my money during payday as rent and repayment for raising me. I wanted to argue with her, but after so many years of voicing my opinion, I learned it was pointless. Thus, I have gotten better at (not lying) but being better at hiding things. For each check that I cashed and brought home, I would take a little and hide it. Both, my stepsister and stepmom knew I didn't have anything to my name in my room, so it was the least likely place they would have looked to find anything worth taking. It was the perfect place to hide my earnings. I only prayed that I could save up enough money to finally leave my terrible life and start anew, putting myself first and making the best out of life. I often dreamed about it and thought about making plans to ensure my escape so that they couldn't find me and try to drag me back.

The day my life started to change was the day my 18th birthday came. My birthday and Rain's are on the same week, but how we celebrate them is like night and day. Rain's parents would go all out for her special day, and I was told to stay out of the way if I didn't want to be locked up. One time when I was 12, I really wanted to see Rain's birthday party and even participate. I just wanted to belong, wanted to be part of the event so badly that I snuck out of the basement just to watch. I was dragged back by my stepmother in front of everyone and locked in the basement for two whole days. Their excuse to the public was that I was grounded, but in truth, if it hadn't been for the housekeeper to bring me meals during that time, I would have starved to death.

I woke up that Friday morning around 6 am to get ready for a long day of work. I turned on the only lamp that I had in my corner and glanced at my very worn-out calendar next to my cot. "Happy birthday Skyler," I whispered to myself. I showered, pressed out my uniform, and got dressed. I have worked at a nearby restaurant since I was 16 and have earned quite a handsome tip there. It was the only place where my stepmom and sibling could not torture me. I gestured to the housekeepers who were hard at work preparing for Rain's 18th birthday party. I wondered what kind of gift she would receive. The girl has everything, so I was curious to see what else she could get after ten years of being fully spoiled.