Broken

FIVE

Leila's POV

The rest of the week was quite uneventful for me. I was still getting used to the routine of things. Got up early, got Emilia ready for school, made breakfast, made sure that she was in the school bus before going back inside then do the dishes.

I tried my very best to keep the promise I'd made to Linda, but it really was difficult. I made breakfast for three people, put the extra plate of food on the table for breakfast, but it was never eaten.

That was all because of Mr Carter, who wanted to be out of the kitchen as soon as he got in. He'd just take a glass of juice, gulp it down then leave. Even when Emilia told him to eat with us, he just looked at her, shook his head, saying that he was busy, and left.

I made sure to leave dinner every night, and the next morning, I'd see that the plate would be untouched, nothing out of place. I'd sigh to myself, not really knowing what to do about this. If only I'd known how much of a hothead he was when it came to food and eating, I would've backed out of the story before it got too complicated. However, I had made a promise, so I was bound to make sure that he ate.

I decided to wait for him after work one night, since he came back when we had already slept. I opened up a novel, and began to read whilst I was on the couch. As the minutes turned to hours, sleep decided to knock on my heavy eyelids and tired body.

Just as I closed my eyes, I heard the faint click of the door. I quickly sat up and put the book down, grateful that I hadn't dozed off. He was wearing a navy blue three piece suit, the red tie which he'd worn it with was gone, two buttons popped open. His step was somewhat sluggish, slow, showing signs of fatigue. His hair disheveled, almost going in different directions but nice. The entire look was not terrible, but that was not what I'd woken up for.

"Mr Carter....."

He looked up abruptly, shock to the idea of me being still awake, a little after midnight, still registering itself, as shown by his somewhat striking features.

"Why are you awake, Ms Rollins?"

I stood there, looking at him, trying to see if this was the right time for me to ask.

"I just wanted to know something, since I rarely see you. Why do you not eat?"

His face was unreadable, but I was sure that I'd seen a slight irritation there for a second.

"Should that concern you?"

I felt like I'd been given a blow, one that made me kinda stupid for asking such a question. I didn't want to ridicule myself in front of him.

"Actually, it somewhat does. I made a promise, and I am going to keep it."

After a moment of silence, he pinch the bridge of his nose, showing the signs of irritation that had only flickered a while ago.

"I don't care about that, Ms Rollins. Now, if you will excuse me........? I'm tired."

I was not going to let this go. I confessed that I had a temper, but I didn't want it to reach this level it just had.

"Well, you are actually tired like that because you hardly eat any breakfast, and you don't even eat when you come from work. How is that even healthy?"

He looked at me for a little bit, then began to take menacing steps towards me, a smile nowhere in sight, its future presence unpredictable. Only when he was a meter away did he stop, and his anger was now in full force, angled towards me.

"Ms Rollins, don't forget that I didn't ask you to work for me so that you take care of me. I made you EMILIA'S NANNY, not mine. I honestly do not care about any stupid promise you made to Linda. That is not what you're here for. Remember your place, or else you'll lose this job just when you'd just gotten it, understand?"