Inferno

Part 7: Scandals and Servants

"Hello, dear." Sadie's dad slowly gets up from his luxurious leather seat. He walks over to Sadie and gives her a hug. Sadly, I'm reminded of my last hug with my mom. When she gave me that strange bear hug. I hate to admit, that after everything, I still miss her.

"Who is this?" Sadie's father turns to me.

"Dad, this is April, she'll be staying with us for a while." Sadie explains to her dad.

"Huh," Sadie's dad grunts. "Well, it's nice to meet you, April. My name is Cory Reddman." Mr. Reddman shakes my hand gently and goes back to his leather throne.

"Master demanded that for his visit, you must have dinner together, including the guest." Servant #2 announces.

"Oh yes," Mr. Reddman remembers. "Everyone get dressed in fine attire."

Sadie scurries off upstairs and I follow. She runs into her room and slams the door shut.

Weird...

Isn't she happy that her dad's back?

I walk over to my room, and shut the door quietly. I scour the dresses given to me by Sadie. I find a gold satin one, with black detailing. I pray that it's good enough. However, I can't just wear my black military boots again, no matter how badly I want to. I decide to just ask Sadie for something more formal.

I go over to her room and knock; no answer. I slowly open the door.

"Sadie?" I call out. I hear quick breathing in the other side of the room. The walls are a dark purple, with a white bed in the corner. That's where I hear Sadie.

"April?" I find Sadie behind her bed weeping on the floor. "What are you doing here?" She hurriedly wipes her tears and tries to straighten her posture.

"Sadie," I ignore her question. "What happened? Is this about your dad coming back?"

"You don't know my dad, April." Sadie snaps at me. "Why are you here? Do you need any more hand-me-downs?"

"Uh kinda." I feel poor. "I just need nice shoes to wear with this dress. My military boots wouldn't work."

Sadie looks me up and down and nods her head in agreement. She disappears into her closet and comes back with black heals. "Here, take these." Sadie hands them to me

.

"Thanks," I smile.

"Yeah," Sadie waltzes back into her closet before she calls back. "Keep the dress, it looks better on you than me anyway."

"Thanks," I repeat not knowing what else to say.

Sadie disappears back into her closet and doesn't come out. Finally, I leave.

I find myself in front of Eric's bedroom, and knock the door. Almost immediately Eric swings the door open. He's wearing a sweater vest and a dress shirt. He's just about as comfortable as a monkey in a suit. I instantly feel bad for him.