Learning To Live

Chapter 5: Trust

The next morning, I slept in until noon. And even when I woke up, I refused to leave my room. I had locked the door, and ignored every knock on it. It felt as though everyone in the house had knocked at least once, and it just made me despise them even more. I showered and got dressed. I sat on my bed, brushing my shoulder length, straight blonde hair, waiting. Waiting for what? I didn't know; but I was waiting none the less.

I heard a noise outside the door; like someone trying to pick the lock. I set the brush down on the bed and took a step toward the door. The door came open, and there stood Leilani.

"Go away." I commanded.

"Come downstairs and eat." She countered. I glared at her, for the millionth time since I'd come here. I just shook my head and crossed my arms. She gave me a warning look, but I sat on my bed and turned my back to her. I heard her sigh and leave the room. She didn't shut the door behind her, and that infuriated me to no end. I marched over to the door, seething, and slammed it with all my might. I smiled at the satisfying sound, and went back to sitting on my bed.

* * *

I stayed in my room for the rest of the day, completely shutting out the world around me. I decided to wait for nightfall, and sneak out. It was about 3am when I decided everyone was asleep, or at least in their room. I grabbed my phone off my bed and slowly opened my door; all clear. I avoided the middle of the hallway, and stayed close to the wall where there were likely to be less creaks. I made it to the stairs, and it felt like an eternity before I hit the floor. It was a grueling process, yet I hadn't made a noise. I triumphantly entered the kitchen, but soon realized I couldn't see. Would it be too much of a risk to use the flashlight from my phone?

I decided to take a risk and use it; I was in desperate need of a lighter, or even a match. I turned on the flashlight and halfway covered it with one of my fingers to dim it a little. I started rummaging through the drawers and rifling through the cupboards.  It looked as though they had purposefully removed anything that I could use to light a cigarette!  I continued searching, but to no avail.  I was about to give up, but I decided to search one last cupboard.  Alas, at the very back, there was a single match.  It must have fallen out of a box or something when they took everything out.

Finally something was going my way!  

I grabbed it quickly; I had been down here too long.  I turned and made a mad dash toward the stairs, but I hadn't even gone two inches before I ran into someone.  I accidentally screamed, collapsing on the floor.  I curled up in a bawl, whimpering.  That had scared me so bad, I was shaking and couldn't function.  Leilani came running into the kitchen and knelt down beside me.

"Kai, what happened?"  She asked frantically.  Great, so it was Kai that nearly killed me.

"I heard a noise down here, so I came down.  I found her rifling through our stuff, then she turned around and ran into me and I guess it scared her."  He shrugged.  He saw me...  Fantastic.  Leilani shooed him away and he went back to bed.

"Come here."  Leilani pulled me to her and wrapped her arms around me.  I wasn't sure what she was doing, but it felt nice.  She rubbed my back, and eventually I calmed down enough.  I pulled away and avoided eye contact.  Leilani glanced at the match that had fallen out of my hand, as well as my phone, when I'd collapsed.  She frowned slightly, but said nothing.

"Why don't we have a little talk."  She suggested.  I sighed, knowing I couldn't get out of this one, and followed her to the deck outside.  The sun was just beginning to rise, and it was absolutely breath taking.  Five or so minutes passed in silence, and it was awful.  I kept waiting for her to talk, but I was also terrified of what she'd say.

"So what's going on?"  Leilani asked.  I didn't say anything; she didn't need to know what was going on.  She raised an eyebrow, indicating that I better start talking.  I sighed dramatically sighed, and rolled my eyes as far back as I could.

"Nothing is going on.  I'm completely fine."  I smiled sarcastically.  There was no way I was going to tell her what was going on!

"Okay, then why were you trying to steal a match from my kitchen?"  She asked.  I scowled, wishing I hadn't been caught.

"Nothing is going on, other than the fact that I hate it here and I hate you all."  I smiled sweetly, silently praying she'd send me back home.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way.  Unfortunately though, for that unnecessary and hurtful comment, I'm going to have to ground you."  Leilani shrugged like it was a normal every day thing for her to ground me!

"Uh, you can't do that."  I scoffed.  Nobody just grounds me like that.  Nobody.

"You leave me with no other choice.  You'll be helping me with simple chores around the house, you will be kind, and you won't be caught stealing again.  Also you'll have to tolerate the boys, who will be keeping a close eye on you."  I couldn't believe everything she'd just said...

"Tochno nyet!"  I shouted at her, standing up.  My hands were balled into fists and I stared at her with fire in my eyes.

"You have to get yourself in check, and you've got to do it soon.  I won't stand for it much longer."  She shook her head sadly.  Why wasn't she afraid of me?  Jenny had been terrified of me, and that's how I liked it.  She was too afraid to punish me, or reprimand me in any way.  This woman was so different, and it angered me to no end.