HOW YOU LIKE THAT | JENLISA

Chapter 8

Jennie

The incident that happened last night completely freaked me out and I couldn't sleep the entire night, as I kept seeing footsteps outside of my bedroom. It was during dawn that I finally got some sleep.

When I went downstairs for breakfast, I noticed that there was a file left on the table and then I remembered that Nichkhun and Sorn were supposed to go for some conference meeting early in the morning, and Bambam and Lucas had already left for school.

That meant I was home alone with Lisa. I tried not to dwell on the fact that being alone with Lisa might be a little nerve-wrecking, since I had to look over my shoulder constantly.

The kitchen was slick and modern, it still had a vintage oven, and I knew for a fact that their parents had probably loved and cherished the old designs and kept it. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and grabbed two slices of toast as I settled down onto the stool near the island bar and read through the file.

There were pages of 'Dos and Don'ts', Lisa's likes and dislikes and what they expected of me as her caregiver. A few lines that were highlighted caught my eye; it mentioned that Lisa wasn't allowed to roam freely out of the house unattended. She also could not have her meals unsupervised, and from what I could collect from this document was the fact that basically I was supposed to be Lisa's guard-dog.

Lisa's life seemed gloomy. I made a mental note to get to know her better regardless of how brooding and creepy she was, and I would become her friend, if nothing else. Her brother was paying me well. It was only natural that I took this job very seriously.

"Good morning, Miss. Jennie. I see that you're up early." Nan, the cook, walked into the kitchen, with a bright smile plastered over her face.

"Good morning, Nan, please call me Jen as everyone else in this house does. And yes, I enjoy waking up early."

"That makes the two of us." She commented, "I hope you had a good night's rest."

I wondered if this was some kind of trick question, if she knew about Lisa prowling around late at night and wanted to see if I spilled, but the more I tried to analyse her, the more I realised that I was imagining it. The question was just casual.

Nan was a plump lady with a lovely smile; and she had the motherly vibe going on.

"I did." I lied.

I read through the entire file, and couldn't help but think about the caretakers that were hired here before me. What was the reason they were all fired?

She served me a very appetising looking waffle topped with whipped cream and strawberries. I thanked her and knew that this was my chance to do some investigating.

"Nan, is it alright if I asked you something about Lisa?"

"Go ahead, honey." She said, while pouring me a cup of coffee.

"Does Lisa normally stay up late until midnight?"

Her bright mood suddenly turned gloomy as she stared into the distance at a memory. "Lisa likes to run free most of the time, so they let her. Mr. Manoban thinks that there's no harm. There was a time when they used to lock her up in her bedroom at night, because the caregiver who was here before you – Somi suggested that, and she..." Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she snatched a few tissues as she cried, "... she harmed Lisa. Somi would beat her, and let her scream, and Lisa kept banging on the door, wanting to be out. Somi was a disgusting woman. The caregivers that came before her weren't any better. I often found wounds on Lisa's body, inflicted by them."

"That's awful." I said. "I wish I was here sooner."

She took my hand in hers. "Please do the right thing by Lisa. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that."

"I will, I promise you. Is there anything else that I should know about her?"

"She won't talk much because she can't remember some words. You need to figure out what she's trying to tell you, dear."

"I'll make a note of doing that. Thanks, Nan, that was really helpful."