The Majesty of Choice

Trapped

"I have come to the conclusion," Gerard says, sitting against the tree where Patrick already is, "that my new sisters are actually sent from hell to make my life absolutely miserable."

"I thought this fact was already established," Patrick asks.

"Well, I was aware of it being likely, but now I'm sure of it. They're literally here to make me wish I were dead, or being tortured, or slowly being eaten alive by vultures."

"That's a colorful way to describe someone."

"They're so fucking awful. They literally couldn't be worse human beings if they tried."

"You literally said that about Sir Edgar like two hours ago," Patrick replies.

"Yeah, but I've never met him. I've been living with those assholes for like forever now."

"Ah yes, forever," Patrick nods, "Also known as three weeks."

"Okay, but how long have you known them and how many times would you like to stab them in the chest?" Gerard asks.

"I don't believe in violence," Patrick says, "maybe, just greatly inconvenience them by, like, dampening all their clothes."

"Oh yeah, you can really stick it to them that way," Gerard says.

"Hey," Patrick says, "You have fun enjoying prison, I'm going to walk out here a free man knowing I totally ruined their day once."

"Not polite," Gerard frowns.

"Hey, I'm not the murderer here."

"Okay, but in all honesty, I wouldn't waste a blade on either of them. They are awful, truly awful, and I wish them many ills, but I wouldn't let their putridness turn me into anything so vile as them," Gerard says, making a face just thinking about his stepsisters.

Just last week, they chewed Ray out for 'improperly tending to the house' which was their sugared up way of saying that they hate his presence in the house. Gerard knows that if they could, they'd fire the guy on the spot, but that's one thing in which they have no say, thank god. Really though, they're such pampered brats that he doesn't know how they'd deal with life if they didn't have someone to cook and clean up after them. Surely they'd just hire someone else, but there's no way the three of them could survive a day and a half without someone to tend for them. No one as compassionate as Ray would be up for the job anyway, and the day he leaves the house is the day Gerard runs away.

Also, neither Hattie nor Olive have any sense of time management at all. Either they're up far beyond the sunset, or they're late to everything. He doesn't know what it is the two of them talk about in Gerard's old room in the meager hours of the morning, but there's nothing interesting enough to mouth off about for that many hours in a row.

The last few weeks of Gerard's life have been some of the worst. He's barely gotten any sleep, too haunted by the memories of his brother, ten times amplified by the surroundings he now has to live with.

Buggy thinks she has the right to boss Gerard around like she's his kid, when they both know he isn't. That doesn't give him any wiggle room to say no to her orders, but it does mean that he's spiteful of everything she's forced him to do. He's scrubbed the floors on her command at least five times by now, and when he did the floor in her room, he used a combination of floor wax and also some tree sap he picked up in town. Her shoes have gotten glued to the floor twice now.

Gerard is sick of being the good little servant boy for them, so he doesn't give them the chance if he can help it. He's never home anymore, and he really does pity Ray who can't escape as easily, but Ray assures him that he wouldn't have it any other way. After all, Ray doesn't have to obey every order he's given so it's much less dangerous for him to have to listen to those pests at all hours of the day.