This girl couldn’t be much older than me, and she was calling me miss?
I cocked a brow at her white and black uniform. Was she a maid? Who else would wear something like that? A stripper, maybe?
One of my foster sisters did some dancing to make a little extra money before she aged out of the system. She had something similar. Though hers was more of a booty skirt and a tiny shirt that showed a lot more cleavage.
This girl was very formal. She had her hands closed behind her back and spoke in a soft, pleasant tone. “Would you like your bed turned down?”
If she was waiting for an answer, she’d be waiting a while. I had no idea what turning down a bed meant. How did one do that? All I could picture was this small woman rolling my bed up—sleeping bag style—and storing it in the closet.
Speaking of which, I should probably check out the closet. Hadn’t been in there yet. None of my clothes needed to be hung up, so I didn’t really see the point. Might help if I actually unpacked them.
It just made more sense to leave them in boxes. I never knew when I was going to be moved, and there was less chance of awkward goodbyes if I was ready to go.
Guess that wouldn’t be happening here. Unless Charmaine had another breakdown, I was here to stay. Still wasn’t sure how to take that. It felt weird to think of any place as home. Then again, it was weird to have some girl staring at me, too.
Why was she still standing there?“Um… Do you need something?”
“No, miss.”
The longer I lay in bed watching her, the more eerie her politeness got. And I’d been around some pretty rotten people. I’d take Henry’s way-too-friendly touches over this crap.
A click to the right drew my gaze to the opposite side of the room. “Did someone just go into the bathroom?”
“No.” The maid smiled. “It’s just you and me.”
I could’ve sworn that door just closed. Then again, I had just woken up and my brain didn’t function properly until at least my second cup of caffeine. Add in the girl staring at me…
“Would you like me to lay your clothes out for the day?”
My eyes once again darted back to the bathroom door. A shower might be nice. There wouldn’t be anyone watching me in there. At least, I didn’t think there would be.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were hidden cameras all over the place. Apparently, my stepbrothers lacked any sense of personal boundaries. They proved that last night with their haze-the-new-girl stunt.
Assholes.
As much as I wanted to hate them, I really didn’t know them. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t making the best impression, and I had every intention of paying them back. Especially Devlin. But the longer I thought about it, the less angry I got.
I don’t suppose I’d be too happy if I were in their shoes. A foster kid coming into your house was one thing. That was a temporary situation. But when you had someone thrust into your home to permanently join your family… I could see how that would be upsetting.
“Miss? Your clothes?”
Right, she was still there.
“Uh… no,” I said and slipped out of bed to pad over to the bathroom. “I’m good, thanks.”
Uniform girl didn’t say a thing when I walked by. I don’t think she even looked at me. If she did sneak a peek, I didn’t catch her. I did notice the snake tattooed on the bottom of her neck, though. Its beady little eyes followed me, while hers stayed fixed on some imaginary spot on the wall.
That’s not creepy at all.
“Fucking snakes everywhere,” I muttered and slipped into the bathroom while shaking off a shiver.
It could be worse. One place I stayed at had a huge Boa. That thing scared the crap out of me. Everyone insisted that he was tame and wouldn’t hurt a fly, but I knew better. I saw him watching me whenever I came into the room.
At least none of the snakes here were real. That was something to be thankful for. Right about now, I’d take whatever positivity I could get.
My mouth dropped as I closed the door and spun around.
This was my bathroom?
