Ephemeral

Empty Christmas Part 1

I sat at the long wooden dining room table directly next to Aidan. It took up most of the room, and the air conditioning was always on full blast, causing goosebumps to flood down my arms. I was wearing a floral button up short sleeved top. It was mostly white with red and golden flowers and incredibly flowy. I was also wearing a red skirt with my shirt tucked into it. Black leggings and brown slip on shoes completed the look.

My hair was styled in long waves and were placed over my shoulders.

The maid had picked out my clothes and did my hair. This outfit was what he ordered me to wear and so this was all I could wear. The maid came in to do my hair every single day while Aidan left the room as soon as he got up.

I didn't have any right in what I wore.

He was taking away my individuality slowly...and, I was trying to not let it bother me. Usually I wore clothes that I could easily run in with my hair secured in a high pony tail, un-brushed, and out of my face.

I placed my hands in my lap slowly, clenching them tightly to release some of my pent up aggression and anger. I wasn't able to do anything in the past couple of weeks. My leg wasn't fully healed yet, but it was only a matter of time before it was.

Then, I would be sure to escape. I would run, punch and scream my way out of this mansion and catch up with my sister. He wouldn't capture me this time. I would make it back home to my father along with Bella and the other high school students that were with her. I never thought I would miss the old country fields of central Florida as much as I did now – to hear the revving of trucks from the hicks that lived there, or to walk alongside the bank of the river.

There was a small chuckle at the end of the table that brought me out of my thoughts about escaping – about home.

I swallowed nervously...almost in borderline anxiety. I didn't like it when I was pulled away from familiarity, especially since it was becoming harder to envision my home with each passing day. I liked the small break away from reality and wasn't too happy when I was pulled away from my own imagination and reminiscence.

In the large dining room, Aidan and I were the only two that were eating with the exception of Dominic and Ben, who were chatting at the very end of the table.

Dominic was snacking on some fries that were on his plate, but he was mostly playing with his food at this point. I had taken a few glances earlier at the start of the meal just to see how long he was holding onto that plate – just how long he was taking to eat his snack.

The answer wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be, as he was just drawing it out while talking with Ben. My eyes lingered on Dominic's plate to see the food that he would pick up with his fingers and then drop as he would raise his hands in the air to quietly talk about something with Ben.

My shoulders slumped as I turned my attention back to my own plate. I was a little envious that he was able to eat whatever he wanted.

Much like my clothes, Aidan was also controlling my diet. It wasn't fair that Dominic was able to eat fries for breakfast while I didn't have a choice. My plate had a half-eaten, hearty breakfast on it which consisted of eggs and bacon, along with two halves of toast.

It tasted fine...I just wasn't hungry in the morning.

Aidan kept a watchful eye on me to make sure that I ate. It seems like we met an unspoken compromise that eating half of the plate was good enough a long time ago. I didn't want a repeat on what would happen if I rejected the food in front of me and said that I wasn't hungry – that lesson was ingrained in my head.