My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

you should get what you need now.”

“School?” Ailith asked, her tone taking on equal parts reverence and suspicion. I nodded, and she scowled briefly before settling back into that blank face.

As if trying to relieve the tension in the room, Adrian handed her the keys to the car. Her hand trembled as she took them, having to step forward to take the card from my hand. She was careful not to touch me in the process.

“School, that‘s the big building you told me about right?” Kadi asked, her voice barely a whisper. Ailith answered her as they left the room.

“Yes.”

“Do we really get to go?”

The front door closed behind them before I could hear the reply. Adrian stared at me, his expression begging for permission to follow. My chin barely dipped before he was out of the kitchen, having grabbed the keys to one of the other cars.

Chapter 4

Ailith

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t until I had started the engine when I realized I didn’t know where any shops were. I didn’t even know what town we were in. I looked around hopelessly for a minute. I needed a map.

“Umm. Look in the glove compartment, there might be a map in there,” I told Lori.

She reached forward quickly to follow my instructions. It was then that I realized we all did everything quickly. We didn’t really know how to do anything slowly. She found the map and showed it to me. But I couldn’t drive and read a map at the same time.

“Do you know how to read it?” I asked hesitantly.

She nodded and set about unfolding it. The biggest problem we had was figuring out where we were to begin with. I thought I remembered seeing a street sign on the way here. Once I found the street name on the map and pointed it out to Lori she started following the lines to what looked like a town square. There weren’t any shop names on the map, but it was the best place to start. Once we got there I could probably ask someone for directions.

We were quiet until I turned out of the driveway. We weren’t used to being alone. Even with Them, one of them was almost always home. It was a rare occasion when all three were gone, and even then we were in separate parts of the mansion cleaning.

“Do you think they’re really going to let us go to school?” Lori asked quietly. I sighed softly.

“I certainly hope so. I don’t think he would spend money on school supplies for no reason.” I replied. The truth wasn’t so straight forward. I didn’t really trust that they would allow us to go. But it was important for the girls to have at least some hope. So I kept my doubts to myself.

She nodded and it was quiet again, except for when she told me to turn or go straight. I checked on Kadi, using the rearview mirror, only to see her staring out the window in awe.

We reached the square without incident, but all I saw were small boutiques and restaurants. There was nothing there that we could use. I parked in front of one of them and turned to Lori.

“Lock the doors, I’ll be right back,” I waited for her nod before hopping out of the car. When the locks clicked I made my way inside.

The cool air hit me as I stepped inside and looked around. Small glass shelves with knick knacks and the like filled every space on the walls. Creating aisles in the middle of the floor. Finally, I spotted a counter in the back with an elderly woman standing behind it, reading a book. I approached her slowly, but she didn’t seem to notice me.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled and she jumped slightly. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” She gave me a kind smile.

“Oh, it’s quite alright, I just didn’t hear you come in. What is it you need dear?”

“Well, me and my sisters are new in town. I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find a place to buy some clothes and school supplies?”

“Oh goodness yes. Just go down to the street over there and turn right. A couple of blocks down is a strip mall with all kinds of shops. If you would prefer there is a larger mall a couple of miles on the other side of town. If you want to go there just go left, follow the road for two miles, and you can’t miss it.” I smiled at her.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem, honey. My name is Darla, if you need anything else just come see me, I’m here all day everyday.”

“Thank you.”

I decided to go to the strip mall instead of the bigger one. We weren’t used to being in crowded places, and a big mall could be disastrous.

Five minutes later I parked in front of a random store, and helped Kadi reach the ground. I wasn’t really sure where to start, so I just picked a store that had clothing in the window. We walked in and the place was quiet.

The children’s department had a rather large selection. Much larger than any she had ever seen. So it was with wide eyes that she started from one end and made her way to the other. All of the clothing were kind of expensive, Lori and I shared a few worried glances.

Then Kadi spotted the dresses. She ran through them, touching this one and that. I’d use the statement ‘Like a kid in a candy store’ but that would be kind of redundant. The longing she showed almost broke my heart. Especially when she turned to me.

“Ally can I? Please, I promise I’ll take good care of them and won’t get them dirty.” I looked around a little lost.

“Well, if your going to school then you need some good school clothes. I guess a few dresses won’t hurt anything.”

She actually jumped up and down in excitement until she had to stop for a coughing fit. She never got the rest she needed, and her diet wasn’t exactly ideal for a child her age. I only wondered what our new owners would expect from us.

She chose a few sun dresses in various bright colors. She’d never had to choose before and she couldn’t pick a favorite color. I was about to tell her that she had enough, but then she spotted a really pretty light blue dress. It looked like it was love at first sight.

She tried it on and it looked beautiful on her. The skirt went to just below her knees, with ruffles along the bottom hem. There was a wide belt that went around her waist in a blue that was a few shades darker then the dress itself, matching her eyes. The fabric was smooth along her torso and shoulders. The sleeves ended at just above her elbows, and it was loose enough that it would last her at least a year of growing. Then I looked at the price tag.

Lori and I shared another worried look. I wanted nothing more than to get it for her. She loved it and I wanted her to be happy. But the price could be a problem. The man that bought us didn’t give us a price limit. I didn’t know how much was too much.

“Oh Ally, please?” Kadi looked up at me with hope filled eyes.

“We’ll see. Why don’t you go put your regular clothes back on.” She gave an impressive pout, but went back into the dressing room to do as I said. As soon as she was gone, I turned to Lori.

“It’s two hundred dollars,” she whispered, looking pained.

“I know, but she loves it. She’s never gotten to be just a little girl before.”

“What if he gets mad?” she whispered back. I thought about it for a minute, and decided the consequences would be worth it.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“But…,” I cut her off.

“I’ll take care of it.”

She sighed in defeat just as Kadi came back out with the dress back on the hanger. She looked like she was ready to cry, but I took the dress and hung it on the inside of our cart. Her eyes widened and she looked at me.

“Really?” she asked, her eyes filling with hope. I nodded and she smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen from her. Whatever happened after he saw the receipt, it would be worth it just to see that smile.

“Come on, we still have to find Lori’s clothes.”

We walked into the junior girl’s section, and I waited patiently while Lori picked out her clothes. I gave my thoughts here and there when she asked, but other than that I let her do the shopping.

I had to almost demand that she buy at least one dress. I wasn’t going to at first, but then I saw her eyeing one in particular. It went to her knees and had a scoop neck. It was classy and didn’t show too much skin.

When she tried it on it fit perfectly. It hugged her body in all the right places, and showed her to be the beautiful young woman I knew she was. It was a deep purple but it only accentuated her skin tone. Again, it was expensive, but again it was worth it. When she looked at herself in the mirror she glowed. Feeling beautiful was more important than a price tag.

It was only when it came to buying her bras, did she need help. It had been a long time since she had known her size, and she had grown since then. I didn’t have much experience with it myself, but between the two of us we figured it out.

Finally it was my turn. It didn’t take me long to pick out my clothes. I wasn’t big on color. I never had been. So black is my choice. I’m not claiming to be goth. I’m just comfortable in the color. Though I found I had a real taste for black and silver.

There were no dresses for me. I didn’t like dresses. At all. In fact, I had a pretty firm stand against them.

While we were at the counter the woman smiled at us and tried to make small talk. We tried to talk back, but we didn’t really know what to say. I needed to use the restroom before we left, so I handed Lori the card and asked Kadi if she had to go too. She said she did so I told Lori to pay for everything while I took Kadi. She said okay, and we followed the sales clerk’s direction to the restroom.

Five minutes later we met Lori back at the door where she stood holding all of the bags. I took half and we left to put it all in the car before moving on the shoe store. I asked where the receipt was and she assured me it was in one of the bags. So I didn’t think much about it.

Buying shoes was a little more complicated. We had to find the right size for Kadi, and then there was the matter of getting her a couple pairs of dress shoes to go with her