I listen to dishes rattling in the sink while washing the stack of tableware from lunch.
The blues playing in my head have one order to drown out every whisper around me—if anything, it specifically picks up the bloody voices.
They say he's handsome. They wonder who he's dating. They say she's lucky. Well, let's be real. The first is true, but the last…
I'd hoped I could toughen up and move on after the bathroom incident. Yet, anything that relates to Hunter still seems to unravel me. Even now, my unsteady hands struggle to hold the plates.
I spend what feels like an eternity finishing the dishes.
Luckily, it's not too late to get a well-deserved nap. If only Saturn's not the hand that squashes my hopes when I make my way down the hallway.
I don't appreciate her standing there, casually leaning against the doorway to the servants' quarters. I don't like her around me either. And I'd pay a huge sum to get her off my back if I could.
"Ah, Heidi. There you are!" she calls out, pushes herself from the wall, and reaches for me with a mischievous grin. "Come here."
I follow her while feeling a tangle of curiosity and unease. And I soon find myself in the girl's lavishly decorated bathroom where smooth marble surfaces are the walls and floor.
Saturn points to the toilet bowl, saying, "My lipstick is in there." My gaze falls to the pinkish toilet water before the girl adds, "Get it for me."
"It's bloody soaked," I try to argue. My fucking fingers aren't crawling around the bottom of a shithole. Nah! "You have hundreds of others. Use them."
As my response is met with a cold stare, I turn to leave. But Saturn isn't taking no for an answer. She blocks my path, arms crossed.
"I don't want to repeat myself, Heidi. You know I'm not good at that."
Well, I'd be damned. There's no escaping this.
This bitch is set to do something. I just don't know what—what I know is I've seen enough drama for one day and feel more exhausted than on heavy-duty days.
That said, I have no choice but obey, ignoring how gruesome the task may be.
Kneeling beside the toilet bowl, reaching into the chilly water, not caring that it soaks my sleeve, I grasp the stick. But before I can pull back, I'm met with a sudden forceful shove plunging my face into the toilet water.
I gasp as the water's odd taste fills my mouth. Ugh! My hands are groping for support, for something to grab. Yet, there's none. My attempts to resist are futile, gasping, grunting, and losing in the battle against Saturn's grip.
"My brother, huh? Was that your backup plan to glory, oh, Fallen Angel?" she barks. I can hear the scorn laced in her voice. "There! Let's see if you have the guts to seduce him again with 'shame' etched across your forehead!"
Saturn yanks me to my feet. The sudden movement sends a wave of dizziness to my head, my vision blurring as I struggle to regain my balance.
She's pulling my hair and it hurts so bad, yet I can't scream, can't even do much to release myself from her hold.
We've fought many times before—that's how stubborn I can be. It's only possible provided that the girl doesn't involve Dad Griffin.
She's too confident to do so, and her confidence is directed to the right places; like her ability to fight, cos I never win. She took her combat classes seriously and is way stronger than I am. Yet, I don't give up.
Saturn wastes no time to slam my back against the wall. I wince, a shock wave of pain spreading through my body while leaving me breathless.
"Your password!" she demands as she waves the phone in my face. Meanwhile, I'm devising ways to counter her.
I don't enjoy our fights, but I do love the look on her face whenever I defy her. And right now, I'm just about to trigger that.
Ragged breaths echo across the bathroom, chest heaving in my struggle to recover as my eyes dart between the phone and the fury blazing in her gaze before I spit out a mouthful of water I held in my mouth earlier.
The droplets splatter across the phone's screen and onto Saturn's face, causing her to recoil in disgust.
"Yuck!"
Her grip on me weakens, and I snatch my silver lining, kicking the side of her right leg, knocking her off balance and sending her to the floor.
I proceed to grab the phone and bolt for the bathroom door. But before I can escape, Saturn's hand is around my ankle. It drags me down.
"Ho-ho! You don't want to fight me, Heidi!" she screams, and I see the madness I love flashing in her eyes as I hit the ground hard. Except. I don't get to enjoy the look this time.
"Oh yes, I fucking do!" I shoot back. I'm not usually angry in situations like this. But the fall's massive. Think I nearly broke my chin too. The pain is radiating through my body, and it's making me hot under the collar. "What the fuck is your problem, bitch? Why don't you stay out of my damn way?"
"Because you're in MY way, honey," Saturn hisses, enunciating her words with emphasis on 'my.' "You have nothing here! Not even yourself. You belong to the White family to use as we please!"
I scramble to my feet. The girl does the same. She's maintaining a defensive stance just like I am, ready to pounce on each other.
"Give me the phone," she demands, her hand stretched to me.
"Or fuck what?" I retort, glancing over my shoulders.
Forget what I said earlier. I'm not ready to pounce on any fucking person. But Saturn is. She'd make a mess of me on the floor and that's the last thing I want now.
The door's right behind me. If I stall for just a moment—take Saturn by surprise—I may make it out.
As I'm ready to dash, to lock the girl inside and deal with the consequences later, I fling the door open. But my escape is cut short when I lurch into the waiting arms of maids stationed on the other side of the door.
I don't struggle—what's the use?
I just give in to the defeat with stamping feet and a huge sigh of frustration.