Chapter 8: Riley and Her Demons
1213 Words
Gasque’s Glass-Walled Mansion has a total of 8 people living inside. Four of them are maidservants named Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire and Opal, one butler named Gilbert, two bodyguards: the twin named Monty and Morty and Tanya- the master of the house.
But today, the mansion will now have 9 people in total as Riley was added to the family. Though 9 people is usually equating to a big family, the mansion was still humongous enough to cater silence from time to time.
But that silence was disturbed when a sound of shattered glasses echoed one evening. Tanya immediately rushed towards Riley’s room just across hers. She was sure that the sound came from the kid’s room.
She turned the knob and it was locked as she expected. “Riley! Riley! What’s wrong?” Tanya worriedly called the girl out. She knocked the door rapidly but still no response.
The kid’s temporarily mute Tanya! You i***t. Tanya scolded herself silently.
Thus, she pressed her right ear on the door instead, in an effort to hear the situation inside. And when Tanya heard whimpers, she stepped back and decided to kick the door off right away but Gilbert stopped her at the right moment.
The butler also heard the noise so he hurriedly looked for the spare key for Riley’s room. Call it butler’s instincts, but he hunched that one day, this kind of situation will occur and he was right.
When the door was successfully opened, Tanya and Gilbert were greeted with a very bright room. They knew that Riley is afraid of the dark so she must have turned all the lights on. And thanks to that, they immediately found her on the upper corner, crying. They also noticed a shattered vase along with its flowers just below the nightstand.
Tanya quickly ran towards Riley and squatted in front of her. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, Riley. You’re safe.” She consoled.
And as soon as Riley heard Tanya’s familiar voice, she immediately looked up and hugged her.
Tanya was surprised but she also hugged Riley back. “Ssshhh. I’m right here, okay? You’re no longer in danger, Riley. We’re here.” She said while caressing the poor girl's back.
“Hi, how can I help you?” A Nurse stationed at the Emergency Area talked to a man who was looking around every bed.
The man was surprised for a while before speaking. “H-hi, I am looking for my niece. She ran away from home and I’ve been looking around for her. I was just wondering if she got caught in an accident and was sent here?”
“Oh, do you have her name?” The Nurse asked.
Code blue! Code blue!
But that announcement echoed before the man could answer. “Oh, I’m sorry sir but I have to go. It’s an emergency.” And then the nurse dashed away.
“s**t! That was close. What’s that brat’s name anyway?” The man muttered to himself. And since he can’t go back without any progress, he decided to continue his search at every ward of the hospital. He was searching and searching and yet still no avail. He is about to move to the final ward of the hospital when he overheard a conversation of two nurses from that floor’s nurse station.
“Doctor Ryan did that? Wow. How did he not recognize Miss Tanya?”
“Right? Well, he was just transferred so I cannot blame him. He’s just so lucky that Miss Tanya was really kind.”
“No. The kid was actually luckier. According to the rumors, Miss Tanya is going to adopt her.”
“What? Really? I thought that she’d just take care of the girl until she’d recovered. How lucky of her.”
“Exactly. I bet she’s now living her life inside the Gasque’s Glass-Walled Mansion. That house is so luxurious, you know. I have only seen it from a magazine. I’m actually quite envious.”
“Drop it. That kid is still in trauma you know. With those wounds and injuries? She must have been beaten up so bad. That poor girl.”
"You two! What are you doing? Stop that gossiping and work on your charts! You're not paid to just stall around!"
The chitchatting Nurses was scolded so they immediately split up. On the corner, the man fell into deep thoughts.
Tanya Gasque is adopting a girl? And she was wounded? He asked. He has this silly suspicion that the girl they’re talking about was the package she was looking for. But he needs to make sure about it first. So, he waited for one of those chitchatting Nurses to be alone and asked her questions.
After having a quick conversation with the Nurse, pretending to be a solid fan of Tanya, the man finally confirmed his suspicion. Their lost package is now really under Tanya Gasque’s care.
Tanya Gasque.
Why does it have to be their Presidents archenemy?
After that incident with the shattered vase, Tanya offered Riley to sleep with her that night. The poor girl is still having nightmares. Even with all those bright lights, the girl’s demons are still haunting her.
“From now on, you can always sleep in my room, Riley. You’re our family now, and families help each other. Remember that.” Tanya smiled.
The poor girl just stared back at her and nodded slowly. Finally. A response.
Tanya happily smiled. She really hoped for this girl to recover while she’s still around. She really sincerely hoped.
Morning came. Tanya woke up alone but she’s not worried. She knows that Riley is safe when she’s inside her mansion. She hopped out of bed and freshen up before going downstairs. And there, she saw Riley helping Opal and Ruby preparing their breakfast.
“Good morning Miss Tanya.” Opal walked towards Tanya and greeted. Tanya nodded in response. “Miss Riley insisted to help us, Miss. We told her not to but she insisted. The next thing we knew, she’s already beside us and chopping the ingredients.” Opal defensively explained.
Tanya chuckled. “It’s okay. Let her help. That’s going to make you feel at ease, right Riley?” Tanya raised her voice enough for Riley to hear.
The girl who was currently peeling onions, turned to Tanya and smiled while nodding. Then she turned back to what she’s doing after.
Opal and Ruby looked at each other. Then they looked at Tanya.
Their master smiled at them and nodded. The two understood the gesture immediately and bowed.
I really hope to see the day that you will conquer your demons. Riley.
Tanya thought as she watched Riley’s back. The girl that made her feel like an older sister for the first time.
- Writer
