the only exception

chapter 3

Adam wasn't lying when he said Phoebe would be waking up at 6am to clean the house. The moment the clock hit six, he was in her room banging a wooden spoon on a pot, yelling at her to get up.

She jolted awake at the loud noise, listening to his screams as she tried to orient herself, the sun hitting at just the right angle through her blinds to blind her.

"Start in the bathroom, I want the house spotless by the time I get home from work." He told her, finger pointing in her face, and god, she wished she could just break it.

"Yes, sir." she grumbled, quick to make her exit out of the room and lock herself in the bathroom.

The cleaning supplies were under the sink, so she quickly got to work.

Although she knew he would leave at 6:30 and wouldn't be home till 6, she cleaned diligently, way past after her foster mother, Sarah, left as well. She knew that getting it over with was better and if she stopped midway through she wouldn't want to continue.

Going through the entire house only took about 5 hours, which was only longer than expected, but she couldn't be too surprised.

By the time noon came around, she hadn't eaten and felt a little sick from it. That, on top of the headache she was still sporting just made her annoyed. She decided to lay down, finally pulling out her phone to see if her friends had texted her back.

They seemed a bit worried that she'd never returned, even though she'd texted them last night, but she quickly sent them all texts to reassure them she was fine and just got a headache and decided to go home.

As she was scrolling through the rest of her notifications, her eyes landed on a text from Hayley.

hayley

4:37am

Hey, kid. Just checking in to make sure you got home alright?

Really, Phoebe knew she didn't owe it to her to text her back, but she still felt a pang of guilt considering she'd told her she would send a message when she got home.

phoebe

12:19pm

hi sorry. fell asleep as soon as i got home. forgot 2 msg you.

Phoebe threw her phone down at her side, not expecting a reply, at least for a while, if anything, but as soon as it hit the mattress her phone let out a ding.

hayley

12:20pm

All good! Glad you got in alright, I was worried about you.

Phoebe smiled a little at the message, before throwing her phone back down at her side, not sure what to say, anyway.

She didn't know Hayley, not in the slightest, but it still made a little bit of warmth spread through her chest knowing someone was worried about her. Even if they didn't know each other.

When she felt herself about to drift to sleep, she got back on her phone, hoping an aimless scroll through instagram would help wake her up a bit. When it didn't help, she instead turned to Twitter.

Seeing as she fell asleep seconds later, it wasn't much help.

She woke up hours later, feeling a bit shocked at how much she'd slept, but was pleased that her headache was finally gone.

She quickly made her bed back and went to the kitchen, seeing as her stepmom would be home in an hour, and step dad only 30 minutes after that, it was time to start making dinner.

Phoebe rummaged through the cabinets and fridge before deciding on making grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was probably too hot outside to have soup, but there weren't many options available for her. Plus it was something she could make relatively quick and easy, giving her enough time to clean up again before they got home.

When Sarah got home, she sent a short greeting to Phoebe before heading back to her room to change into more comfortable clothes and wind down from work.

She wasn't too bad, in all honesty. Phoebe didn't trust her, and tried to avoid her as much as possible, but at least she wasn't bad. Not like Adam, at least. All she did was pretend to be oblivious to Adams' abuse towards Phoebe. Besides that, she was fine.

That's what Phoebe told herself to keep at least a little bit sane in this house.

When Adam came home, Phoebe stayed out of his way until he called her for dinner about 30 minutes later. She listened throughout the house as he went to his room to change before going to the kitchen and making himself a drink.

She'd memorized all the sounds, knew his routine down to a T in an attempt to only have to cross paths with him when absolutely necessary. Luckily, the walls were thin and she could easily keep track of his whereabouts.

She'd already set the table and knew the food would be mostly cost by that point, but was eager to eat nonetheless, considering she hadn't eaten today anyway.

She sat at the table to Adams right as he sat at the head of the table, Sarah across from her. They both began eating while Phoebe tried to wait patiently for his permission to start on her own food.

When they were both almost finished with their plates and still hadn't told her to eat, she looked up from her hands, trying to gain the courage to ask.

Looking up, she realized he was already done and wiping his hands on a napkin, "Clean up."

"Yes, sir." She told him quietly, beginning to pick up the dishes as he took his glass and bottle to the kitchen to continue his drinking. Sarah disappeared to the bathroom to shower.

Phoebe's stomach was growling at this point, and as she was about to throw her food in the trash, she finally decided to eat. At least a few quick bites to ease the sharp pain in her stomach.

Of course, that was the exact moment Adam decided he would be walking back to get ready for bed, and instantly the house was filled with screams and glass being broken.

***

A/N

three updates in one day already thats so slay. hoping to get a few more out today before i go to bed. im in a very write-y(?) mood rn.