Run Away

Chapter 20

"Good morning Kendall."
My eyes opened, and I saw Mr. Felton standing beside my bed.
"Good morning." I managed to say.
"I'm about to make breakfast, so on your way down wake up Zach."
"Okay."
He left the room, leaving the door open. I slowly rolled out of bed, and threw on a sweatshirt with some leggings. I quickly brushed my hair, and pulled the front pieces back, pinning them in the middle.
I ran out of the room, and all the way down to Zach's room. It only took me 5 minutes this time, as I was able to remember which way to go.
I knocked on Zach's door, knowing he'd already be awake. He was always awake early in the morning to get some food to make for breakfast.
A moment later his door swung open, and he pulled me in.
"Oh good you're here!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah, and good morning to you too." I said, slightly hinting he forgot to say 'Good morning'.
"There's more important things than saying good morning right now Kendall!"
"Like what?"
"Like this."
He walked over to the hidden door, that had already been revealed, and walked in. I followed him, wondering what it was that's so important.
"I found out a few things about this place." Zach said.
"Like what?"
"Well first off, it's sound proof. So no matter how loud we are, Mr. Felton, or anyone else in this house can't hear us while we are in here."
"Really?" I asked, not convinced.
"Yes."
"Prove it."
"Well did you hear a scream when you went to bed last night?" He asked.
"No, and when did you scream?"
"After you pushed me into the secret room last night. I hit my head on the ceiling, and uh, kind of fell down the stairs."
"Oh." I giggled slightly. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine. Anyways, one last thing-"
"Kendall, did you get Zach up yet?" Mr. Felton yelled.
"He's in the hallway! Quick get back in bed!"
I pulled him out of the secret room, and closed the door.
"Why do I need to be up?" Zach whispered.
"Because breakfasts ready." I whispered back. "Now get into bed!"
"Wait."
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell me breakfast was ready?" He whispered annoyed.
"That's not important right now."
I pushed him back into his bed, and whispered; "Pretend your half awake."
"Why I'm wide awake?"
I glared at him. "Just do as I say. Mr. Felton's coming!"
"Oh."
He finally did as I said, and I grabbed his arm, trying to pull him out of bed.
"Man your heavy." I pointed out.
"Shut up." He mouthed, as the door creaked open.
"Kendall?" I heard Mr. Felton say.
"Over here."
"Oh. Uh is Zach not getting up?"
"No he's uh having some troubles." I lied.
"Well did you tell him what's for breakfast?"
I stopped pulling Zach, and starred at Mr. Felton.
"No, you didn't tell me what we were having."
"We're having pancakes with bacon and eggs, of course." Mr. Felton said as if it were obvious.
But at those words Zach jumped out of bed.
"Race you down there." He said and ran out of the room.
"You're not going to win!" I yelled out accepting the challenge.
We ran down the stairs, straight through the living room, and into the dinning room.
"Beat you!" Zach said, as we touched our seats at the same time.
"No I did!"
"Both of you, stop being childish, and sit down." Mr. Felton raised his voice.
"Sorry." Zach and I said, feeling a bit sorry, but still had small smirks on our faces.
We all sat down, and slowly started eating our breakfast. Except for Mr. Felton, who remained standing.
"Now, if you are going to live with me, there will be some rules."
"Um okay. Like what?" Zach asked.
"Oh quite a few." He answered.
"Like what exactly?" I asked, hoping he would answer.
He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, and cleared his throat.
"Mr. Felton's Rules," He read out. "Rule number one, all children must go to bed at 7:00pm and wake up at 5:00am"
"What?" I spat out, choking on some of my food.
"Rule number two." He continued reading, but a bit louder this time. "All children will only speak when spoken to, and say Sir. Not Mr. Felton.
"Rule number 3, all children must make each meal and have it ready at this time: Breakfast shall be ready at 5:30am. Lunch shall be ready at 12:00pm, and Dinner shall be ready at 6:00pm. Not a minute later.
"All children must wear what is put in their closet, on the exact day I tell them to.
"All children must do the house work while I am at work, and must have it done by 6:45pm.
"All children are not allowed to go any further than the gate. If they do, I will know, and trust me, you don't want to do that.
"All children must do as I say without any questioning.
"All children will not talk back. They will do as they are told.
"And last. Girls must wear their hair pulled back into a ponytail. The ponytail must be in the middle of your head (at the back of course), and no loose hair is allowed. Also you must wear whatever elastics I gave you, without a complaint. At night time, your hair must be down. No tangles. And you will not be allowed to wear make up.
"For boys. Your hair must be combed properly. I will show you how later. You cannot use hair gel, I hate hair gel. And you are not allowed to grow beards, or mustaches. I hate that as well."
He folded up the list, and put it back in his pocket. "Oh, and one more thing. All children must have a shower every night before bed. I will give you shampoo, and bodywash, and you will not be able to complain about it."
He looked at Zach and I, giving us a small, wicked smile.
"Now eat up. I have to go to work, there will be a list of everything that has to be done today. And make sure you wear the outfits I set out for you, and you have the right hairstyle. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Sir." Zach and I spoke quietly.
"Good. Now- oh yes- uh Zach." He walked over to Zach fixing his hair with a comb. "There you go. That's exactly how I want your hair to look every single day. Now I must be off. Oh, and you can keep this comb. I don't want it, it has your hair grease. I needed a new one anyways."
He walked out of the room, slammig the front door. Once we heard his car running we knew it would be safe to talk.
"Man I didn't know he could be this mean. He seemed really nice at first." I said.
"Sadly, this is the beginning. From here on, it only gets worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, we should clear the plates. I have a feeling the list will be long."
***
We had finished the dishes, and went to our rooms. The outfit that was left out was an old looking dress. It was very plain, and boring. The only colour was grey, except for a little logo in the upper left hand corner. I threw the dress on, and pulled my hair into a ponytail. Just like Mr. Felton had asked. I picked up the list that he left on the dresser. I read out loud;
"Chore number one: Put all the clothes you brought with you, in the basket by your dresser."
"Well that's easy."
I gathered all of the clothes that were either mine, or the ones I got from B-Dad, and put them in the basket. I picked the list back up, and read the rest of the chores.
"Second, make your bed.
"Third, hang up all the clothes I gave you in the correct order.
"Fourth, make sure your room is perfectly clean. There shall be no dust any where."
"Is that it?" I whispered to myself.
At first I thought it was, but then I realized those were my daily chores. I flipped the paper over, to see that there was at least 50 things that had to be done.
"Well guess I should get started." I sighed.
***
It was three hours later, and I had just finished dusting all the downstairs hallways. And believe me, there must have been 100 hallways, just downstairs, and probably another 100 upstairs.
"Kendall we need to start lunch." Zach said as he found me in the hallway by his room.
"But it's only 11:00am. Lunch isn't until 12:00pm."
"Have you seen what he wants for lunch?"
I shook my head, and looked at the list. It was chore number 12, 'For lunch today I would like 12 hamburgers, 12 grilled cheese sandwiches, 5 big bowls of garden salad, and another 5 big bowls of ceaser salad.
'For drinks there should be a total of 12 pitchers. I would like Banna and Strawberry smoothie, Fruit Punch, and Pineapple and Orange Juice. Lunch should be ready 10 minutes early today, as guest are coming over. Make sure all the rooms downstairs are spotless.'
I looked back up at Zach with my jaw dropped a bit. "We better get started!"
"I know, we only have 45 minutes." Zack said.
We rushed to the kitchen, getting out pans, and the food we needed to make the lunch.
"I'll do the hamburgers, if you can do the grilled cheese." Zach said.
"Okay sounds good." I replied back.
"I'll be outside."
"Kay!"
I grabbed two big pans, each being able to hold about 6 sandwiches. I turned on the stove, and greased the pan. While that was warming up, I got the sandwiches ready. Once I was done, I put all twelve sandwiches on the pans, watching them carefully. Thankfully, they only took 10 minutes to cook. I put them on a platter, making them look nice and neat.
"Hamburgers are done." Zach said, as he walked in, placing the patties and buns on the same platter.
"I'll start the salads." I told him, as I grabbed out the biggest bowls I could find.
"Okay, I'll make the drinks."
We both worked carefully, but quickly trying to make sure everything was perfect. About another ten minutes later we managed to get all the food and drinks on the table, as well as everything else that needed to be on the table.
"Okay we have about 20 minutes left, you go clean up the kitchen, I'll start in the living room. We'll then keep moving making sure we get every spot of the downstairs." Zach ordered. I nodded, and we both started cleaning.
I cleaned the kitchen, dinning room, 3 of the bathrooms, and 10 of the hallways (and the rooms it led to). Zach had managed to do the living room, the front door, 10 hallways (and the rooms it led to), and 3 of the other bathrooms. We both worked on the one staircase and hallway, as it was quite noticable.
"I think we got everything." I said relieved, but out of breath.
"Yeah." Zach agreed. "We should go clean up. We shouldn't look dirty when the guests arrive."
I nodded. We quickly went into the nearest bathrooms to fix our hair, and wash off some sweat or dirt we saw.
"They're home." Zach whispered. "Quick stand by the dinning room, and wait to be called."
"Okay, but what do we call the guests?" I asked as we walked to the dinning room.
"You will call the men 'Sir', and the ladies 'Madam'."
I nodded, and stood straight with a slight smile on my face.
"Oh Children, come here please we have guests!" Mr. Felton yelled as he entered.
"Smile." Zach whispered.
We both put on a smile, and walked to the front entrance.
"Yes, how may we help you?" Zach asked Mr. Felton as we arrived.
"I'd like you Children to hang up our coats while we go have our lunch."
"Yes Sir." We both said.
"You, Child, collect the ladies coats, and you Child, collect the mens coats."
"Yes Sir." We said again.
I noticed they had formed two lines. I stood by the ladies, extending my arm a bit, so they could leave their coats on my arm. I looked over seeing Zach doing the same thing. They all dropped their coats, some even falling on the floor, looking straight in the air, saying nothing. It was like we were a piece of filth, and shouldn't be talked to. I still looked at their faces, smiling, as if I loved doing this.
When the last lady gave me her coat, she looked at me, giving me a warm smile.
"Thank you." She whispered.
I gave her a smile back, looking straight into her eyes. I noticed she had beautiful green eyes, with beautiful, long, black hair. She then walked away, acting like all the others. I could tell she was a kind person, just with the wrong group.
"Children come here please." I heard Mr. Felton say.
"We're coming!" Zach yelled back as we quickly hanged up the coats.
We walked over to see everyone at the table eating their lunch.
"Ah there you are. I want you two to go continue your list of chores. Don't come back down here until you have finished chore 32. After that we shall be gone, so you will clean up after us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Sir." Zach said.
"Good. Now go." Mr. Felton demanded.
We started to leave, when Mr. Felton added in one more thing. "Oh, and you Child. Fix your hair. It looks like a rats nest."
I looked through the corner of my eye to see a few strands of hair loose. "Yes Sir." I quietly said, then caught up with Zach.
As I left, I could hear someone say; "How long will it take them to do their chores?"
"At least an hour, maybe even two!"
I could hear them all laugh, and the dishes chimed as they continued to eat.
"What did he say to you?" Zach whispered once I had caught up with him.
"He told me to fix my hair, and that it looks like a rat's nest." I whispered back quietly, my voice a bit shakey.
"I totally agree! You know, that one little strand that's loose. Oh it's horrid, fix it now!" Zach was trying to make fun of Mr. Felton to make me feel better. Surprisingly, it did. If we weren't supposed to be so quiet, I would've laughed until I cried.
"Come on, let's get this work done. We still have lots left."
I agreed. I quickly fixed my hair, then continued to work.
***
Once I finished chore 32, I walked back down to the living room to find Zach mopping up the floor.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Someone dropped their drink." Zach answered.
"Oh. Well have you finished chore 32 yet?"
"Almost. Just need to clean up this mess."
"Wait, this was chore 32?" I asked to confirm what he was saying.
"Yup, he had planned it. Bet he or one of his friends dropped it on purpose." He reached into his pant pocket to pull out the list, and handed it to me.
I looked down the list, and read allowed, "'Chore 32, clean up the spilt juice in the living room. Make sure it doesn't leave a stain.' How rude." I handed him back the list.
"Yeah. Anyways I just need to put this mop away, do you mind starting the dishes?"
"Of course."
I started cleaning the dishes, and Zach came a few minutes later to help.
"Uh Kendall?" He whispered.
"Why are we whispering?"
"Just in case he comes back."
"Oh okay. What is it?" I looked at Zach wondering what it is he wants to say.
"I need you to meet me at 9:00pm in the secret room. There's something I need to show you."
We continued to work just incase Mr. Felton came back. We wouldn't want him to think we're slacking off.
"Um okay, so in the living room, at 9:00pm." I repeated a loud so I would remember. "But why 9:00pm? Why not earlier?"
"Because Mr. Felton goes to bed at 8:30pm. So just to be safe, we should leave our room at 9:00pm. Got that?"
"Yeah, but how do you know so much about Mr. Felton?"
"Look," He started in a very low whisper. "We don't have time for any more questions right now. Mr. Felton could come home at any moment."
"Sorry." I whispered back.
After that we didn't speak much. We were able to finish all of our work at 5:00pm, and started dinner. The list for dinner was, again, quite long, but not as long as the other one. This is what he expected to be done;
'12 bowls of chicken salad, with 20 medium-rare steaks. I'd like the same drinks that we had for lunch, and for dessert, I'd like 20 bowls of chocolate mint icecream.
'Also if you are hungry, there is some food in your room. Once you have prepared the dinner, leave it on the table and go to your rooms. Don't come back down until morning. You will clean up the dishes then.'
I sighed. I was relieved it wasn't a long list of food, but was also starving as breakfast had been my last meal. I walked to the kitchen to get dinner started. Thankfully Zach had started cooking the steaks, so all I had to do was get the salad and drinks ready.
It took us about 45 minutes to make the dinner, and serve it. As we were just putting out the last few plates of food, we heard a car door slam, and people talking.
"They're home!" Zach whispered as I put down the last plate. "Quick, get upstairs before Mr. Felton sees us!"
I nodded my head. As we ran up the stairs Zach whispered one last thing. "Once you get to your room have a quick shower, then meet me in the private room. Also bring the food Mr. Felton left."
I nodded my head, and turned the opposite direction, heading to my room.
I did as Zach said. I had a quick shower, then went to the private room with the food Mr. Felton had left on the dresser for me.
"Oh good you're here!" Zach said as I walked into the living room.
"Yeah. Anyways, why did you bring me down here?"
"Because I have something to show you-"
"But what if Mr. Felton calls us back down to do some work?" I interrupted.
"Trust me, he won't."
I must've looked really confused, because Zach continued to explain.
"Look I know what Mr. Felton is like. I know what he is capable of. And if he says he's done with us, he's done with us. As mean and cruel as Mr. Felton can be, he is still smart. He knows what he wants, and would know if we're hiding something. We have to be very careful of what we say and do. Once Mr. Felton thinks something is up, he won't stop looking until he finds what he is looking for."
"Zach how do you know so much about Mr. Felton?"
He hesitated for a moment, but before he could say anything, I questioned him again. "Please Zach tell me. How is it you know so much?"
"Look I can't-" He started.
"Zach please." I pleaded. "Tell me everything you know about Mr. Felton. Please, I need to know what he is- or even was like. Please Zach."
I looked him straight in the eye, hoping for an answer.
"Fine I'll tell you." He sighed. "You may want to sit down. It's going to be a long story."
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Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted anything on this story for a while. I was trying to make this chapter as long as possible, but kept getting busy, so that's why it took longer than it should've. (I originally was going to make this chapter longer, but since it took me a while to actually write it, I decided not to.)
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, and do you like the chapters long (like this one), or do you like them shorter? Also don't forget to vote, and (if you'd like) share this story. :)
I hope you all had/have a great day! I love you all so much, and thanks for reading!
(Also for those of you who'd like to know when the next chapter will be out, it will most likely be Sunday, as I will be quite busy today and tomorrow. So sorry again for the wait.)