Abused Love (AL Series)

Chapter 1

Inara

"Inara! I need your help with this."

"Sure thing."

"Oh, and do you mind helping me get the others down too. I'm not sure who put it all up there but it needs to come down and be put away right. I'll leave you to do that. You do know where it goes, don't you?"

"Sure. I will take care of it. Oh, and there is a guy outside by the counter that needs help. He has been asking questions I'm not sure how to answer."

"I'm busy Inara, you will need to figure out how to help him. If you don't know the answers then make them up. I know you're good at that. Don't worry if they are wrong I won't tell anyone you're doing a bad job."

  As she walks away I can't help but wonder why I'm the only one she talks to like that. Then it hits me all over again, I'm the only person who's willing to do whatever she asks to make money. Money that I don't even get to truly see.

  You see, I have this thing called rent and bills. I, unfortunately, was left to take care of my 2 younger sisters, Sarah and Kelly. My adopted parents, Max and Brenda, don't care for us anymore, unless it's for a show, due to having another baby 10 years ago, Natty, just after they adopted Kelly, my youngest sister.

  Don't get me wrong, our parents are nice people but only when people are around or when my two adopted sisters are around. Other than those times I get a lot put on me. Their birth daughters like to be like their parents when it comes to me too.

  Once Nelly came after years of them trying everything changed with how they saw us, me more than my adopted younger sisters. They still act nice to my adopted sisters but they made it very clear to me the day they found out they were having another child of their own that they would no longer be giving us any money and I would have to start paying rent for the three of us. Once Nelly was born it all got worse. Not only did I have to pay rent but now I would have to pay for a third of the bills and groceries. If I didn't then I would be beaten and locked outside in the shed for the night. It's been like this for almost a full 11 years.

  My adopted sisters know nothing of this but my other sisters do and boy do they enjoy it. I swear Linda, their firstborn, has a look in her eyes that tells me how much more she wants to do to me. Nelly normally just stands there with a smile on her face. Not once have they tried to stop our parents. In fact, they are normally the ones who get me into trouble by blaming things they did on me.

  So now I'm standing here looking at boxes on a shelf that's probably three of me wondering why she had me put them there if that's not where they were supposed to go in the first place. I sigh and walk back out to talk to the customer from before. I try to answer all the questions they have the best I can until they get annoyed that I didn't know the answers to everything and left the store.

  So I turned to check the time on the counter and then I returned to the storage closet to fix the boxes. I have only an hour before I need to be at my next job, one of the four that I have. Yep, that's right, I say four jobs. I have two full-time jobs, a high-end clothing department one that my family owns which is where I'm now and is managed by my oldest sister. Then there is the family business that's run by my dad, malls all over the state, but I'm just a cleaning lady there. My two part-time jobs are being a waitress at a 5-star restaurant that is a must-go-to place and the other which is my favorite is working at a retirement community helping out the people who live there with their groceries or clothing shopping. I don't get much downtime as you can tell.

  After getting all the boxes in their new place, that I wanted to put them in the first place, I checked the clock again. I have ten minutes to get dressed in my uniform for the restaurant and get over there. I walk to the manager's office and inform my sister I have finished up and will be heading out. She just waves her hands and reminds me that I better have dinner on the table when everyone gets home. I nod and run to my locker to get ready.

  Once I'm ready I have ten minutes to make it to the restaurant that's a good half-hour walk. I take a deep breath and make a run for it like my life depended on getting there on time because it does. I end up being late but I'm lucky my manager has not arrived yet to give the rundown of everything that's going to happen tonight. I walk to my normal chair away from most of the other workers to where my two best friends, Alen and Grace, are. We talk about mostly how their relationships are going and if Grace found a place to live yet until our boss starts to talk.

"Okay listen up everyone we have a full house tonight and I don't want to get behind. We have a very important person coming in tonight, the CEO's son. He is going to be coming around more to see what needs to be fixed. I can't tell you all what he looks like but I will say this." She gives us all 'the look'. You know the look that says if you don't do good you are out of this place for good. "We represent this business and I do not want to hear how horrible someone or all of you are. Last week was horrible and I will not allow it to happen when we will be having the CEO's son here."

  I look at Alen and Grace and roll my eyes because we know that all the women are going to be extra flirty tonight in hopes of scooping him up.

"On top of that we are down a chef in the kitchen so I have put Kevin in there to try and help, that means we are down one on the front floor. Now get going we open in an hour!"

  I turn to talk to Alen and let him know I'll be at the old folk's community late tomorrow because I have to take Kelly to the doctors but our manager, Krystal, started to talk again.

"Oh and I almost forgot, the son's name is Trenton. Tell me if anyone with that name comes in tonight as soon as you find out!"

  Something inside of me started to heat up when I heard that name but I ignored it and went back to what I was about to tell Alen while we all started to get the restaurant ready to open.