It was hell.
There you were, standing for what felt like hours, while your parents pounced, and prodded you like a pin cushion.
"The audacity to keep us up at this hour!" Your mother shrieked. "Staying out there doing God knows what! Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out that your child ran off from the people who were trying to be helpful?! And all for the sake of pride!!!"
Wait a minute... you supposedly ran off from them?... RAN. OFF. FROM THEM?! Did those snot-nose kids lie to your parents?? And what does that even mean, "all for the sake of pride"? You brain may have been half-dead, but you needed to say something. You weren't gonna let this happen after the night you had!
"Mother I was lost!" Your father cut in, "Of course you were lost! What else did you think was going to happen? That you were smart enough to find home all by yourself?"
"No! I-"
Your mother was taken aback. "Did you just say no to your father?!" You were really in for it now. "No! I- I mean, I didn't mean it like that! Mother if you could just-" "If I could just what Y/N? Tell me. If I could just, let you sabotage all of the hard work we've done for this family? Or perhaps I could just let you waste away because you're not grateful for the things we provide for you!"
You were choking back tears. It wasn't the most mature reaction, but you were exhausted from everything that happened. And you wanted to stand up for yourself for once, you really did. But you knew that you already lost this fight.
And that was the unfortunate reality of all the interactions with your parents. They would always win, and you would lose with your head hung low. At this point you were too tired to care. And then there came the unnerving silence that followed the lectures. They were all waiting for you.
With a shaky breath, you did what you were taught: "I apologize for making a mistake." Your father encouraged you to finish, "And what was that mistake?" "I embarrassed both you, and myself. I'm sorry for running away from my... friends." You tasted bile from saying that word. You didn't even want to face your "friends", or anyone else for a long while.
Your mother broke the silence, "Sigh. You are forgiven."
That was your cue to leave. You forced your glued feet to move. And as you shuddered under their steely gazes, you realized something;
"Where is my room?" Your dad responded, "It's on the top floor, at the end of the first hall." Despite everything else, your dad had the decency to always answer your questions.
Finally, after everything that has happened that day, you collapsed onto your bed. Not even bothering to take your shoes off.
You unfortunately woke up. You don't know how long you slept for, but you knew it wasn't enough. After multiple failed attempts, you forced yourself to get out of bed. And while you were rubbing the blurriness out of your eyes, you actually got a good look at your room. It was a little less spacious than your last one, but you preferred that in a way.
There were piles of boxes, bags, and suitcases littering the floor. It looked as if someone chucked it in your room and called it a day. "What the..." Well this was a great start to the day. Nothing better than finding out that someone (besides your parents) couldn't care less if your things were destroyed. You tried your best to organize the mess, but eventually you just shoved it into a corner and decided you'll deal with it later.
After a few minutes, you gathered the courage to face the day. It wouldn't be all that bad right? Your parents don't usually bring up your mistakes unless it was in their lectures. And maybe you could pretend that nothing happened with Hilda and her gang. You were good at pretending after all. With a deep breath in, you opened the door and walked down the halls. You got lost in your thoughts -yet again- when you tripped over something.
"OW! What the?!"
Make that someone. "AAAAH!" What was a man doing on your floor??! "Oh my god! Stay back!" You were scrambling to find some kind of weapon to whack him with until he caught your attention. "No! Please don't! This is the only thing I have!" Wait... it was... the driver? "Wh-what are you doing in our house? Why are you on the floor?!" He managed to get up and face you. "Your house? I should say what are you doing in my-" He paused.
He slowly looked around the halls. And fear slowly spread across his face. "Oh dear god... This isn't my house." "Obviously. What are you doing here?" "I-I don't know! One minute I was done putting the last of the suitcases in your room, and the next it was lights out." So that's why everything looked like crap in your room! The poor man was exhausted from all the stuff your parents put him through.
"Y/N? What's all this shrieking about?!" Oh no. It was the she-devil herself coming up the stairs! He frantically whispered to you, "You can't let her know! If either of them find out I'll be out of a job! You have to help me. I'll give you anything, anything at all!" Suddenly you remembered those three hobos and their $50 fee. This might be your only chance to get that money. And you sure as hell weren't gonna waste it!
"I need $50." "Deal." "Oh! And a ride to someplace too." "Yes, fine, fine whatever! Just help me out here!" "Okay, hide in my room. Go!" You've never seen an old man run that fast before, and you don't think you ever will again. Just as he was out of sight, it seemed like your mother teleported out of thin air. "Ah! Mother! Um-" "What on Earth was that screaming about? You know what we've said about outbursts!"
"I know, and I apologize. I..." What you needed to say was something justifiable, something that no one would judge you for.
"I thought I saw a bug." Nice going. "A bug..." She looked at you almost with disgust. "Yes, um, I think it was a large spider... You know how afraid of them I am. And who knows how long this place has been empty for..." Well, that lie was partly true. You weren't a huge fan of insects. There was a silence. And you were praying to "whoever was listening" that this would somehow work.
"Sigh. I suppose you do lack a spine when it comes to those things. Whatever, I don't have the time to deal with this nonsense. Carry on with your day." You didn't know if she was too annoyed, or too tired to care. All you cared about was that it actually worked! You managed to lie to your mom for the first time! This small win gave you a sense of pride.
She left you at once and descended down the long stairs. Once you made sure she was out of sight, you quickly made it to your room. You peeked inside as if the driver would disappear the moment you saw him. He whispered to you, "Is it safe?" You reassured him, "Coast should be clear." He sagged onto a box in relief. "Siiiiiiggh. I can't thank you enough. I can't afford to lose this job. An old man's gotta eat too you know." "It's no problem. I just hope you're able to pay the favor back... Right?"
You felt a little guilty asking for the money then and there, but you didn't feel like facing a feral hobo that day. The old driver scratched the stubble on his face, "Yeah, I suppose so. When do you need it?" "Uh, like right now?" "Right now? I've worked like a dog all night, and you expect this bag of bones to work more?" You shushed him, "Listen I know it's a lot to ask but this is important to me. I need to pay back a favor. And I'm helping you keep your job."
The driver looked from the carriage on the street below, to back at you. "Sigh. Alright. A favor's a favor. I know that much." You smiled. Maybe this day won't be as bad as you thought. "Perfect. Let's go." The driver stopped you, "Uh, I can't be seen by your parents remember?" "Right! That's- yeah. Okay. Do you know another way out of here then?"
"Found a back door just for servants yesterday. Madame didn't want me to be seen by the guests." Of course she didn't. "Okay, I'll meet you out front then." "Sounds good to me."
After making sure no other parents were around, the driver made his way to the back door. You were headed to the front, hoping that they wouldn't notice you. "Where do you think you're going?" Crud. You turned around to see your father with his newspaper in hand. "Uh-" You didn't think this far. Were you gonna have to lie again?
To make things even better your mother joined the conversation. You blurted out something that you wouldn't say in a million years. "I was... planning to make up with my friends and hang out with them today? With your permission of course..." They both looked at you as if you told them that the poor deserved justice.
Your mother asked you, "You want to go out there and make beneficial connections by yourself?" . "... Yes." There was another awkward pause. This was it then. You went too far. There is NO way they can possibly buy that-
"Well of course! Anything to change that socially inept attitude of yours!" your father erupted. You were dumbfounded. You managed to pull it off? You couldn't believe it!
Your mother couldn't believe it either. Her child was finally listening to those lectures. It almost seemed to good to be true. "Yes dear. Go on, make those bonds that will last a lifetime."
"Thank you... I'm gonna go now." They both nodded their heads at you, eagerly accepting this change. "Uh, bye."
And with that, you shut the door behind you, and saw the driver waiting for you in the carriage. "Hop on kid I don't got all day." "Coming!" Before you got on, the driver asked, "Do you even know where we're going?" "I think so."
It was simple. The place was by the alley you almost got murdered in.