𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓢𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭 (𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓞𝓷𝓮)

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓞𝓷𝓮

"Catherine! How many times do I have to tell you the objective of this lesson!" Mother screams as she puts her hands on her head.

How many times do I have to tell you that the objective of this lesson blah blah blah. This isn't even important. Does it really matter which order the pieces of silverware are placed in?

How many times do I have to tell you that all of these lessons are pointless?

"Catherine, I'm speaking to you. We've been through this multiple times. How are you supposed to set the table for your family if you don't know where everything is placed?"

My shaky hands clutch on my beige dress as my teeth lam down on my bottom lip. Sweat seeps through my pores and onto the skin on my hands and upper lip.

No no no, not in front of her. Please not in front of her.

Mother places her pink-tinted palms down on the table. Her rage-filled fingers grip the sides of the table causing them to turn white. 

She's gonna slap me.

"Catherine answer me? What order do you put flatware on the table?" Her voice is low as her breathing quickens.

Okay, she's definitely gonna slap me. That's not a new thing, it's happened a hundred times before. My cheeks are practically stained with the marks of her fingers.

This shouldn't be that bad.

She looks at me for one second, waiting for my responses, and when she realizes I don't have one, her left hand comes up and slaps me right across my right cheek. 

I take one step back as tears form in my eyes. Okay, she's never used the hand with her wedding ring before. My hand comes to cover my face while I suck down the tears in my throat.

Through my fingers, I see her roll her eyes as she hangs her head low. After a few seconds, she grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls me towards her. 

"Catherine Cecelia Carter, how many times must we go through this? Charlotte and Caroline have already far exceeded this part, " she scoffs as she releases me, "At this point, you're beyond assistance. You're a disgrace to this family name. There's no denying you're your father's daughter."

I put my head down and swallow more tears that form. My breathing starts to level out but my shaking worsens. My hands bang from the side of my dress to the table each second. 

The door creaks.

"Hello everyone," Charles mutters as he walks into the room. He's wearing a black suit and black tie. His blonde hair is disheveled, and his white shoes are stained black.

Charles is home. Finally, this won't last much longer.

 "Catherine Charlotte? Where are you guys?"

It takes him about two seconds to look over at Mother and I and register what's going on, "Alright Mother, lesson over. I'm taking the girls horse riding."

I internally let out a breath of relief as she looks at him once and shakes her head, "You can take Charlotte, but she's not going anywhere."

Charles looks over at me, his eyes lingering on my cheek for a second, "I don't recall asking for your permission. Besides, you can finish," he pauses, "whatever this is when we return."

She looks between us and mutters, "Whatever," before storming out of the room. 

Charles moves behind the chair she was sitting on and clenches his hands down on the wood, "She smacked you didn't she?"

I nod.

"And you didn't say something about it?"

I shake my head.