Playthings [h.s.]

05

"Hey. Come on wake up." A gentle voice says as someone else shakes my shoulder gently making me groan and bury my face in my pillow. "Come on Petunia wants you in an hour. You gotta bathe and eat before you go to her."

At the mention of her name I bury myself deeper into the bed pulling the covers over my head. Only for them to be snatched of almost immediately, I glare at the two faces that stand over my bed. Lebbie looks down at me her eyebrow raised and her lips pursed, 33006 stands beside to her smiling brightly down at me waving happily. I sigh getting out of bed and taking the folded clothes out of Lebbie's hands and walking straight to the bathroom.

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I bite down into the mysterious fruit from the bowl that was sat in front of me. "What did you say these were called again?" I ask glancing down into bowl filled with the strange circular green fruit. Placing another in my mouth as I stare at Lebbie in wonder.

"Kiwi." She says slowly looking up from the skillet holding the eggs she was making for me to take to Petunia. She slides the eggs off the skillet onto a plate next to the french toast she just made. "Well hurry and eat you'll probably miss lunch." I shovel the last slices of fruit into my mouth chewing quickly snatching the plate off the counter and putting it on the tray next to the orange juice.

Taking a deep breath I walking up the service stairs in the back of the house so Mr. and Mrs. Walters won't see me or any of the other workers who walk up and down this stairway. Finally reaching the floor where her room is, I look between the two doors in front of me, they both look identical so I knock on the closest to me.

The door swings open and a shirtless man opens the door, he leans against the door frame looking at me with curious brown eyes. "What do you want 4 boy?"

"Sorry I was looking for Petunia." I say looking behind him expecting to see Petunia in the bed but instead I look into a messy room clearly decorated by a boy and an empty unmade bed, I sigh and walk to the next door. Petunia stands in the doorway wearing silky robe smiling at me, but her smile disappears when she looks behind me.

"Joey go away."  Joey comes up behind me his arms crossed a smirk on his face as he looks at Petunia.

"Mom and dad got you a toy?"

Petunia stands up straight crosses her arms as well. "Yeah so."

"Mom and Dad think that you need a toy." He pauses leaning on me looking down at Petunia. "Probably because you can't get a real boyfriend." He chuckles taking his weight off me and walking back into his room closing the door.

I turn back to Petunia who furrows her brows, her arms still crossed over her chest. "Hurry up and come inside."  I follow her into her overwhelmingly pink room, I sit her food down in the night side table folding my hands behind my back not sure what to do with myself.  "Do  you think I'm pretty?" Petunia asks now standing in front of me looking into my face for an answer.

"Sure. I mean but looks aren't everything."

"So why don't I don't I have a boyfriend?" Ignoring the other part of my response.

"I don't know I met you yesterday." Petunia sighs sitting down on her bed taking a small sip of her orange juice.

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

I roll my eyes and bring my arms across my chest looking down at her from where I'm standing. She looks at me her eyes slightly glossy but when she sees the way I'm looking at her,  she frowns standing up as if it's going to make a difference in how tall she is to me.

"Do you not believe me?" She asks taking a step closer, fisting the thin fabric of my shirt bringing my face down to hers. "Answer the question."

"No I do not believe you, because if I forgive it means that I trust that you won't do again."

"No it doesn't it means that I was apologizing for what I had done. But you." She pulls my shirt again making me step closer. "You think you're so big and bad 4  boy.  Just accept the apology and move on, I don't have to apologize to you so take it whether you want it or not."

She lets go of my shirt and I stand up straight fixing the rumpled fabric. I keep my mouth shut knowing that if I say anything else I'll get myself in more trouble. Sitting back down on her bed Petunia pulls her plate of food onto her lap glancing up me periodically. I have not moved from my spot since I walked in, my hands once again folded behind my back. She finishes her food and walks out of the room slamming the door behind herself. I sit on the floor listening to the ticking of the pink clock on the wall.

I watch the hands chase each other for twenty minutes, my eyes dart to the door before I stand up. Grabbing the plate of the night side table, I pull the door open and walk back over to the service stairs when I hear Petunia's voice coming from Joey's room. I stop in front of the door looking through the crack. 

Petunia sits on the chopping something with a razor blade on top of a small handheld mirror. "You got a hundred?" She turns to look at Joey who lays on his back blowing smoke out his mouth into the air, he reaches into his pocket and hands a small folded paper.

She unfolds it and then rolls it, she places it in between her lips picking up the razor blade again sliding it across the mirror repeatedly. Sitting the razor blade down the takes the roll from in between her lips and brings it to her nostril with her middle finger and her thumb, she covers her other nostril with her pointer finger raising the mirror to the roll placed by her nose. She drags the roll across the mirror taking in a deep breath until she gets to the other side.

She sits down the mirror and tilts her head up towards the ceiling wiping her nose with her thumb. Joey continues to smoke behind her and the skunky odor trickles into the hallway, the smell makes my eyes water and I let out an involuntary cough. Joey sits up looking at me with bloodshot eyes. Petunia still looks up the ceiling as he gets off the bed bringing the spliff to his lips again he now stands in front of me. He blows the smoke into my face and slams the door, I wave my hand in front of me and walk down the stairs back to the kitchen.

Happy reading

-Kai