16 years old Trina lay on her bed crying after receiving yet another punishment from the eldest of her master's five sons simply because his tea was too sugary.
If only she had listened to Rosa when she told her that Mr and Mrs Mason had other plans for her. But its too late for regrets now.
"Rosa, oh Rosa my dear friend, where are you now" she thought as she let tears roll down her soft cheeks
She cried even more when she remembered her ordeal for the past six years after being bought by Mr and Mrs Mason.
They had kept her for only one year before she was sold to a slave trader for $500.000. Then she was taken from California to new Orleans where she was bought by another slave trader after a year.
She was once again sold due to the fact that she was very lazy and couldn't do anything right.
A year later, she was bought by a new family; The Gerardo's, who took her home as a maid. And today marked her 3rd year in their house.
They had treated her well and put up with her laziness and inability to do anything for a year, but later on they became fed up and started punishing her.
Their five sons; Conrad, Nicholas, Darcy, Tristan and Richard had also had enough of her incompetence and began to punish her also .
She was punished for any little thing she did wrong. The only reason she was still in the house is because she had shared her story with them and they understood that she had no where and no one to go to. "The poor little lazy thing" they thought
"Trina! One of the brothers whom she assumed was Darcy; the strawberry blond, body building stud and third son of Mr and Mrs Gerardo called from the kitchen.
"Yes sir" she answered running to the kitchen as she wiped her tears
"Explain this rubbish" he said pointing to the heap of dirty dishes piled up in the sink
"Uhm... I... I... I was about to... to" she stammered trembling with fear
"You where about to what? Mum told you to get this place cleaned up yesterday for Christ's sake Trina. What the hell is wrong with you"
"I'm sorry sir, I'll clean it up right away"
"You better do so"
"Hey, what stinks in here?" Nicholas; brown haired business man and the second son asked standing by the door
"Should be the pile of dishes lazy Trina 'forgot' to wash" Darcy said eyeing her.
"Nah, I don't think so" Nicholas said walking to the oven. He opened it and saw the muffins Trina was asked to bake earlier that morning burning.
"Oh my God Trina! What is this?" He screamed
"Oh no" she muttered. She must've forgotten about it when Conrad, the eldest son had punished her..
"Can't you do anything right you lazy thing?"
"I'm sorry sir. Uhm.."
"You shut up!" Darcy yelled tired of her crap
"Honestly I don't know what to do with you anymore, clean this mess up immediately and come for your punishment" Nicholas said walking out of the kitchen with Darcy behind him
"Oh my God why me" she said to herself crying.
*******
"Hey bro" Tristan;the dirty blonde and fourth brother who was known as the lady's man said staggering into the sofa drunk
"Dude, you've been drinking! I thought you've stopped doing that" Darcy said eyeing him
"Uhm... Ain't my fault bro, she broke up with me. Again"
"What did you do this time" Conrad asked trying to hide his smile
"Ugh! I only hugged a girl, that's all. That bitch gets jealous over any little thing you know"
"Where were you this time? A club or a hotel" Richard; the last son asked knowing what Tristan was gonna say
"I was in a friendly bar dude"
"Sorry bro, but you deserve it. You're such a flirt" Nick said
"A man-whore you mean" Darcy added
"Idiots" Tristan said getting up. I'm going to get some coffee" he said heading to the kitchen
"Watch out for the step dude" Conrad said laughing
"Has anyone seen Trina?" Tristan asked from the kitchen
"I think she's in her room" Nick answered
"Okay" he said staggering towards her room.
Little did he know that little Trina had just showered and was naked in her room. Without knocking on her door, he badged in and stopped at the door; mesmerized by her beautiful body
"Damn! She's so sexy" he thought
"Oh my God Sir, what are you doing here?" She asked covering herself with a towel
"I'm so sorry Trina" he said turning around. "Didn't expect to see you naked" he said blushing. "Excuse me" and with that he walked away.
He got to his room and immediately crashed on his bed
"She's so beautiful" he said to himself "if only I could have her in my bed. I must have her" he said dosing off. Typical Tristan.
Meanwhile, Trina had made a mental note in her head to always lock her door before bathing in order to avoid uncomfortable incidences.
"How can I ever look him in the face now" she thought to herself.
Though she had been through a lot, she had never felt this embarrassed in her entire life and she wondered why.
"He seemed really drunk. Maybe he wouldn't remember what happened by tomorrow" she thought making her bed.
"Trina!"
"Oh no. Seems like Mr and Mrs Gerardo are home" she said running out "I'm coming!"
"Good evening sir, good evening ma'am"
"Get us something to drink" Mr Gerardo said, not even bothering to return her greeting
"Grumpy" she thought "yes sir. Any specifics?"
"Ugh. Get me a can of beer and a glass of juice for my wife"
"OK Sir"
After getting them their drinks, she stood close by in case they needed anything else
"Trina" Mrs Gerardo called
"Yes ma'am"
"How old are you?"
"I'm almost 17 ma'am"
"Really? And when is your birthday"
"Two months from now. The 6th of may"
"Well I hope that you become more useful before then" Mr Gerardo said with a harsh tone, earning him a glare from his wife
"Well, Trina. I know it hasn't been easy for you, but you need to work hard in order to succeed. Being lazy won't take you anywhere. I'll make sure to get you something for your birthday"
"Really? Thanks a lot ma'am" she said blushing. Mrs Gerardo was the only one who treated Trina well. Although she had punished her a few times, she didn't really like it. She understood that Trina was just a kid and didn't deserve all that she had went through.
"I promise to do my best and serve you all well" she said
"Good. You can go now"
"Thanks ma'am" she turning towards the direction of her room
"Wait. Who'll clear this place when we're done?" Mr Gerardo protested
"I'll do it" Mrs Gerardo said. Its not that hard. Its just a tray with a glass and an empty can on it"
"But that's what Trina is here for"
"Its okay. You can go Trina"
"Okay ma'am"
And with that she turned away and went straight to her room.
She had always wondered why Mr Gerardo hated her so much. He always treated her bad since she shared her story with them. A few times, he had even suggested sending her away but Mrs Gerardo would have none of that and she always fought for Trina's stay in the house.
Maybe it was her colour he feared and hated, as Black's where always said to be dangerous, destructive and so on. But she was just a little innocent girl who had gone through a lot of things she wasn't suppose to go through
She got to her room and crashed on her bed and then said a little prayer before finally closing her eyes with hope for a better future.