Warning : A bit disturbing scene is written near the end of the chapter. Read it with caution or just skip the last second paragraph and continue reading the last paragraph.
"That year there was a cold war going inside Hawthorne mansion. Both the Madam's were fighting for Mr. Mathew's affection while young master Irwin tried to show his dominance where as second young master Rodney was indifferent of Irwin's efforts. He was relaxed but his eyes were predatory whereas I was a target for young master Irwin's anger. My daily duties increased and there were more bruises in my body which I tried to hide around Ella. I was happy my uniform was red as it hid most of the blood.
But I was observant of Rodney's eyes watching me all the time. That day two things happened which impacted me in good way and bad way. After the morning assembly Irwin asked me to fill all the bottles of the class when I was coming back I tripped in the way and one of the bottle was dented on it's cap. I was sweating hard and a prayer involuntarily escaped my lips that the owner would not make a big issue of it and Irwin would not notice it.
After I delivered all the bottles I delivered the last one to a girl sitting in the back row. When I handed her the bottle I closed my eyes waiting for her to show the tantrum and when nothing happened. I saw her looking at me with a smile. She pointed to the cap and whispered " it's ok, don't panic". I exhaled a sigh finally my anxiety was relieved. After a bit of studies and bullying I went of home with a heavy smile.
After changing I informed Ella that I was going to the border of the jungle behind the house where I found three baby kittens few days back. Ella told me " it's good that I will stay away from the house because there was big fight going inside between two Madam's and there were signs of violence. She didn't want me involved as a pawn to show there dominance.
I was humming and giggling when I ran behind the house but I stopped in my tracks when I saw Rodney sitting below the same tree with kittens with his back facing me. I was happy that he was playing with them too but I didn't want to meet him after that incident in the night. His smile still gave me shivers.I hid behind the trees and slowly looked at him from the front side. What I saw made my blood freeze in my veins. Kittens were not moving and there were blood in his hand. He was peeling there skin and laughing while doing that. I placed my hand on my mouth to stop my shriek. But he would have heard my whimper because his gaze turned to meet mine and then in a flash his knife gleamed and he beheaded the kitten in front of me.
That day I ran as fast as my feet could carry me.When I reached near my house I started vomiting and crying loudly. Ella heard me and ran to me. She picked me in her arms and carried inside my room. She held me tightly while I continued to whimper. I had high fever that day and flashes of what happened with his smile that I saw on that night became a matter of my nightmare.