Tattered Beauty (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 14

You probably noticed that I switched up the cast list. I think that these celebrities work better as my characters now. So...yeah. Just thought I'd let you know! :)

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Chapter 14

In the two hours that followed, I managed to get Beau into a bath, wrestle him into a diaper and clean pants, and put him down for a nap in his playpen. I scoured the house for cleaning products and had no luck. “Of course they don’t keep cleaning products in their house,” I thought to myself, “they don’t even clean!” The closest things I located resembling bleach and rubber gloves were a bar of soap and latex gloves. I could make it work…I hoped.

            I made my way back into Beau’s room. It smelt like a mix of peanut butter and poop (anything plus poop is never a good combination of smells). I dunked my bar of soap in a bucket of water and tried to get some of it to come off onto my gloves. It did and I rubbed it on one of the god-awful stains on the wall. Fortunately, the stains began to lift out of the wall. Unfortunately—so did the paint. Before I could realize what had happened, my hand was stained with the ocean blue paint and there was a large white splotch in the wall.

            My jaw dropped. I just destroyed a room that most likely cost thousands to design even further. Bridgette could have cleaned this mess up in minutes—I just made it virtually unfixable. I vowed not to try and fix anything else, throwing my gloves and soap on the floor. To my horror I heard the front door open.

            “Hello?” Elise called through the house.  I swore repeatedly under my breath. I tiptoed out of Beau’s room, closing the door quietly behind me. I practically slammed into Mrs. Kinsenbaum on my way down the hall, making me shriek. “Where’s Bridgette?”

            I ran a nervous hand through my hair. “She went to run some errands.” I explained.

            “I’m not paying her to run personal errands.” She snapped. At that moment the door opened and shut swiftly. “Bridgette?” Elise called.

            Bridgette materialized in front of us holding a plastic bag of food and some dry cleaning. “Yes, Madame?”

            “Can I see you outside for a moment?” She asked, her tone light. Bridgette, completely unaware of the danger she was in, agreed.

I stood there awkwardly. I was unsure if I could depart or not. Yes, I had been paid, but not dismissed. I argued with myself to stay or go. By the time I decided to sneak out—you know, before Mrs. Kinsenbaum noticed her son’s room was ruined—they were returning into the house. Bridgette had tears in her eyes; I offered her a sympathetic look that she ignored. “Both of you may leave; Hailey, I’ll be calling you soon to set up a schedule. Right now, I’m going to go see my baby!”

Without thinking I stepped in front of Beau’s door, blocking her from entering. “You…don’t want to go in there.” I told her. “It is kind of a mess.”

Elise glared at me. “Excuse me, Miss Jameson.” She tried to shove past me.

“Please,” I begged. I needed this job more than anything in the world, despite how terrible it was. A job was a job, and money was money. This was my first job in years; I could not afford to lose it. “Please don’t go in there.”

Elise pushed me out of the way and opened the door. I hung my head in shame. I braced myself for her sure-to-be-scary reaction. “What have you done!” She cried. “This room cost three hundred thousand dollars to design and furnish! What were you thinking? I told you not to let him eat in his room! Did you comprehend anything that I said?”

“I’m so sorry.” I said in a small voice. “I didn’t know!”

She threw Beau’s bedside lamp across the room. It shattered against the wall, coating the floor and furniture with shards of the light bulb. “Get out!” She yelled at me. “Both of you get out and do not come back! Leave before I call security!”

Bridgette and I rushed out of the apartment and into the awaiting elevator before Elise Kinsenbaum’s crazy ass could throw anything else at us.

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            That evening a black car came to pick me up. Don’t worry, I knew it was coming, but all the same I freaked out. I panicked, checking my hair one last time; it was still in a chic bun, no strands had fallen loose. My makeup was still in place with minimal smearing which could not be helped. My dress covered up enough skin to be modest but revealed enough to still be considered a little sexy. It was black and fell just above my knees. I paired it with a pair of my aunt’s gold sling backs that I borrowed. I looked perfect, I had to. Tonight I was having dinner with Daniel…and his family. May God have mercy on my soul.

            I put on my white wool trench coat and walked out the door. “Bye, Lily! Be back later!” I called.

            “Evening, Miss Jameson,” The driver said. He opened the door for me. “I trust you have had a good day?”

“More or less.” I admitted. “Thank you.” The driver closed the door and walked over to the front seat.  “Do I know you? You seem really familiar.” I told him. He wall tall, African-American, and a little chubby around the middle. I felt like I had seen him somewhere before.

“The name’s Laurence. You got me fired the day we first met.” The driver said grudgingly. “Luckily for me, Daniel called me later that week and personally apologized for his rash actions.” Laurence glanced up at me in the rearview mirror, “I’m surprised to see you still hanging around though. It’s usually a different girl every week.”

I shrugged. “Our one month anniversary is in a few days.” I didn’t doubt Daniel’s feelings for me, and I knew he did not doubt mine. I was not in love with him—yet—but I liked him a lot. Maybe I was nervous to fall in love again, afraid of the heartbreak that always seemed so close. I knew Daniel and I probably would not end up getting married and having children…but I was not in the mood to think about these things. I wanted to enjoy it all as it came, and that is what I would do.

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What do you all think of this so far?! :)