Briar
After the giant man cleaned and bandaged my finger, he called to his office a young woman who looked to be right around my age.
He instructed her to take me to a spare bedroom in the east wing, which I could tell slightly surprised her, but she quickly recouped and gave him a firm, "Yes, Don."
The girl, whose name I learned was Gia, had very dark skin and long complex braids I was in awe of. Gia led me out of the man's office, and down a long hallway. I was about to ask her if she knew anything more about that man in the office, when she stopped outside of a large door.
She finally turned to speak to me for the first time, "This will be your bedroom for the duration of your stay," She told me in a mechanical voice, while opening the door that led to a bedroom, "Anything you need while you're here, you can ask me for it, I do a little bit of everything so please don't be afraid to bother me."
I gave her a nod, not sure of what to say, and followed her in. Gia walked to a small closet to pull out a washcloth and towel, and I took my chance to look around the fancy room.
It was very big in size, decorated with neutral tones, and better than anything I had as a child. It had what looked to be a queen sized bed that was strategically placed in the middle of the wall, and a dresser adjacent to it. The room also had a medium sized flatscreen mounted on the wall, and what I discovered was a walk in closet, and a en-suite bathroom. I looked out the window and saw I was two, maybe three stories off the ground.
Well, that beats climbing out the window.
Gia then handed the items to me, and walked over to show me the en-suite bathroom, which held a spacious shower and sink. She still hadn't really said anything to me, and I was starting to worry that I had done something wrong.
I was going to ask if she were okay, but she talked before I could, "I'll get you some clothes so you have something proper to change into." She told me, and promptly left the bathroom.
Before she shut the door I quickly shot out a, "Thank you very much." But wasn't sure if she heard me. I wasn't about to be rude to this girl. It wasn't her fault I was in this position, it was mine, so the least I could do was be kind.
Once the bathroom door was shut, I turned on the shower water and quickly took off my hearing aid, then the dirty dress that was once a vibrant yellow, but now was a faded, off yellow with dirt marks. Taking off my dress felt like a challenge, mostly because of the way my hands felt.
I looked down at them, and saw that they were various shades of black, yellow and green. They had been aching for a while now, but it was crazy to see how damaged they looked.
And even crazier I didn't know I had done it.
I took an extra long shower, making sure I was cautious of my hands, and properly cleaning the filth off my body. I found a toothbrush in the drawer by the sink, and brushed my teeth. I also looked for a hairbrush, but wasn't able to find one. Tangled hair it is.
Once I was done, I wrapped the towel around myself and left the bathroom. I was fully expecting the room to be empty, but I was surprised to see Gia sitting in the bed. I wrapped the towel tighter around myself, and she immediately stood up and handed me some clothes, while saying something I couldn't quite make out.
"I'm sorry, I don't have my hearing aid in," I informed her whilst tapping my ear, "Would you mind to speak a little louder?" I asked with a smile, and her face fell, "I'm so sorry, no one told me."
"It's okay." I assured her, and she spoke up this time, "You can have those clothes, sorry if they are a little small." She told me, "They were mine."
"No, it's all good. I really appreciate this." I told her with an uncontrollable smile, "It's better than walking around naked."
She gave a small chuckle, and I took the clothes from her outstretched hands, and brought them back to the bathroom. She gave me a pair of grey cotton shorts that fit a little too snug, and a white long sleeve shirt that was pretty big on me. I wanted to ask for a bra and underwear, but figured that beggars can't be choosers. Plus, my boobs weren't that big anyways. No one ever really noticed if I wore a bra or not, especially in a shirt this big.
When I came back out into the room, I saw Gia was holding a bowl of what looked like pasta and some cheesy bread. My mouth started watering instantly, I was so hungry.
She handed my the bowl, and I immediately dug in, "Did you need anything else?" She inquired, a little too loudly this time, and I wasn't sure if I were allowed to ask, or if she could even tell me, but I took my chance and ran with it, "So like, I don't know if this is allowed, but can you tell me anything about this place?"
If I'm gonna make it out of here alive, I need to start getting to know my surroundings.
She looked down at the polished hardwood floors, and I quickly reassured her, "If you can't say anything, it's fine! No biggie. I don't want to get you in trouble." I smiled, and she loosened her tense posture a little, "No it's fine, it's just well, what do you want to know?"
Well, I honestly wanted to know everything. Had she ever seen someone in my position before?Was she here like me once? Will I also be a housekeeper? I wanted to jump straight to the hard questions, but decided to start slow, "That man in the office, I think you said his name is Don? What's his deal?"
She gave me a funny look as we both sat down on the bed, "Um, Don's not really his name. It's his title, he's actually the Don of Don's. The king of Don's, you probably have heard that."
"Actually, I have heard it." I admitted, "So he's the boss? Of like, the mafia?" I whispered out the words. It wasn't the craziest thing I ever heard, I mean, I lived in Boston, what did I expect?
"Yes, the mafia." She solidified with a small giggle, "Vaughn is the most powerful Don, all the others go to him when there's an issue, and he oversees everything. It's a very needed, but taxing position. He deals with a lot." She confided, and I continued my questions, "Okay, got it. But what's his name?"
She looked a little hesitant, "So, you aren't supposed to say it, but it's Vaughn Beaumont. Don is his title, it's what everyone refers to him as."
"Vaughn the Don?" I laughed, and she cracked a small smile, "If you want to keep your tongue, don't say that to him." She told me, and I laughed, "Duly noted."
I put the bowl of pasta back down, "Okay, so where are we? Like, are we in someone's house?" I asked, and she quickly nodded, "Well, technically it's his estate, the Beaumont estate to be more specific. It has been in the family for generations. It's here in Boston, three acres I think." She added, and I widened my eye, "And you live here too?" I questioned.
I would be so happy to have another girl here that's my age, from what little I've seen, it's a constant sausage party.
"Not really," She told me, "I do work long hours but only the Don lives here, everyone else, like the guards, rotate out. His underboss has a room here, but he seldom stays."
"Underboss?" I questioned, and she looked at me coyly, "Sorry, I forget you're not from here. It's basically the Don's right hand man, his glorified personal assistant, she laughed, "His name is Richard, but we call him Rich. He's a major rule stickler, dude totally has a stick up the ass." She told me, and I couldn't help but to laugh with her.
I figured I should be done asking questions about Vaughn for now, "Got it," I added, "You grew up around this?" I asked her, and she nodded her head, "Yes, my mother was the housekeeper for the old Don, and when she passed a few years back, I took over."
I got a little closer to her, "They don't make you stay here, right?"
"No," She laughed, then placed her hand on my arm, "Thank you for asking, but I get paid very well, and I choose to be here. My husband works here as well, so our schedules mesh very well."
I was going to ask Gia about her husband, when she looked back down at my hands, "How are your hands feeling? They look pretty rough." She told me, and I let out a breath, "Thanks for that," I teased, "But yeah, they do hurt a little."
"There's Tylenol under the sink. It will help with the pain." She told me, and I couldn't help but smile. Gia was the nicest person I think I've ever met.
"Thank you for all this," I told her with a smile, "I really appreciate it, I also love having another girl here that's my age."
I saw her crack a little smile too, "Get some rest, I'll be back in the morning." She told me, and before she left, she turned back toward me, "I'm glad to have another girl here too."
And then I was back by myself.
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