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

new dresses. Lori went to find her own really quick while I helped Kadi, and came back with one pair of tennis shoes and a pair of strappy heels that matched the color of her dress. I grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of knee high flat boots that looked they would be comfortable and durable.

By the time we made it back to the car we were all hungry and tired. I had spotted a small diner not far from the shoe store. I figured we had already spent a good chunk of change. If I was going to get in trouble for it then I might as well have a full stomach while I’m at it.

We walked since it was only a block away, and our mouths were watering when we walked in the door. The food smelled delicious and it had been so long since I had eaten a meal I hadn’t had to cook. We found a corner booth and slid in with me and Kadi on one side and Lori on the other.

Our waitress arrived soon after with a smile and menus. She asked what we wanted to drink, and Lori and I immediately ordered the sodas we used to love so much. Kadi asked me if she could get a milk shake so I ordered a strawberry shake for her. As we looked over the menu it was hard to choose what we wanted. Everything sounded delicious.

“Ally, can I have chicken strips?” Kadi asked in a whisper. She always whispered when other people were around. Like she was afraid she would get yelled at for making too much noise.

“Sure, do you want French fries with it?”

“What are French fries?”

“They’re potatoes cut into long thin slices and fried. They’re really good with salt and ketchup.”

“Okay, then I’ll have some of those.” I smiled down at her and went back to what I wanted. They had a shrimp and steak meal that came with fries or whatever else they had. I figured, what the hell. I had already started down the path I might as well go to the end. When the waitress came back with our drinks she asked if we were ready to order. I told Kadi to go first and she looked shyly up at the pretty blond.

“I’ll have chicken strips and French fries, please.”

“Of course, darling. It’s rare to see children with manners these days.” She answered with a nice smile aimed at the little girl. She turned to Lori next, but she was ready for her.

“I would like the cheese burger and fries. With the vegetables on the side and no onion, please.”

“Okay,” the waitress mumbled as she wrote down the order then turned to me.

“I’ll have the steak and shrimp meal with fries, please.”

“Would you like to have the salad with that?” I thought about it for a minute then nodded.

“Yes please, actually could we get three salads?”

“Of course.” We rarely got any vegetables and the girls could use the nutrients.

We all sat quietly for a while just looking around. About fifteen minutes later our food arrived, and we were too busy stuffing our faces to even consider talking. It took us less than ten minutes to clean our plates, and when we were done we all gave satisfied sighs. It was a rare moment when we felt full, and we spent a little extra time to finish our drinks and relax.

The thing about the three of us is that we rarely felt the need to speak. We were so used to just sitting in comfortable silence. When we did need to communicate we usually could with just looks or small gestures. Finally I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost late afternoon. I didn’t exactly know what our new owners expected from us, but cooking was usually one of the first things I did.

“Come on guys, we have to get back.” It amazed me that we had been out for over three hours and no one had come looking for us. Of course, we couldn’t go far in their vehicle and the credit card would be traced. Plus, if we got caught legally we still belonged to the Other’s until the paperwork was finalized. But still that long shopping? It was something I had never done before.

We piled back into the car and I realized just how exhausted I felt. The drive back to the mansion felt like it took forever when in reality it was really only about fifteen minutes. We finally made it back and I searched the bags until I had all of the receipts. I slipped them into the pocket with his card, and handed half of the bags to Lori.

Kadi was dragging her feet a little and I knew she was even more tired than we were. We walked through the front door as softly as we could, and the man came in through the kitchen. A smile lit his eyes and he spread his arms wide.

“Ah, your back! That was quick, did you get everything you needed?” he asked as I handed him the card with the receipts. I nodded and he gestured for us to go into the kitchen.

“Oh, are they back yet? I can’t wait to meet them.” I heard a woman say from the hallway. A few seconds later a woman who looked to be in her mid thirties walked into the room. She was taller than me, probably about five eight or nine. Her hair was a lustrous brown that fell to just below her shoulders, and she stood straight and proper. Her eyes were a compelling shade of brown, and she looked at us with a big smile.

“Well, aren’t you just adorable. What’s your name, honey?” She asked bending down to talk to Kadi. Kadi grabbed my hand and looked up at me nervously. I nodded with a small smile and she turned back to the woman.

“Kadi,” she whispered and the woman’s smile widened.

“Hello Kadi, my name is Becca. It is very nice to meet you.” She held out her hand and Kadi hesitantly held out her own hand in response. After they shook Becca turned to Lori.

“And what’s your name, Dear?”

“Lori,”

“It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“You too,” Lori looked at me with a confused look, and I responded in kind.

“And who is this beautiful young woman?” Becca asked turning to me and her voice softened.

“Ailith,” I answered. She didn’t bother putting her hand out to me. As snobbish as it sounds I didn’t like to touch people.

“A beautiful name.” She whispered keeping her eyes on mine. “And quite accurate I believe.” The comment surprised me. I knew my name meant ‘warrior’ in Old English, but I had never been told that the suited me before. Despite what happened in the future I was inclined to really like this woman. I dropped my eyes a little. I didn’t want to look at her anymore. I didn’t want someone to tell me that I was a warrior, because warriors fought for themselves and others. All I knew how to do was take a beating in silence.

“Thank you.” Much to my relief she turned her attention to Kadi again.

“I heard you went shopping today. Will you show me what you got?” Kadi beamed up her and nodded grabbing her bags out of my hands.

She knelt down and rummaged through them until she found her favorite dress. I stiffened when she pulled it out to show Becca. Her eyes widened and she took the dress from the little girl. She ran her hands over it and then looked at the price tag.

“My, this is beautiful. I bet it looks absolutely gorgeous on you. And it’s so cheap too.” My eyes widened. Cheap? If two hundred dollars was cheap what did she think expensive was? I exchanged a look with Lori only to find she thought the same thing I did.

“Are you sure you got everything you needed?” The man asked looking up from the receipts. I gave him a questioning look. “You didn’t spend much.”

“Oh, Drake they aren’t Jen or Camilla.”

“Yeah, but they spent less than Jen when she goes shopping. And there are three of them.”

“I forgot to buy school supplies.” I said abruptly.

“That’s okay you can run out tomorrow and pick them up.” Becca replied with a smile as she looked at the rest of Kadi’s new clothes. After Kadi was done gushing Becca turned a curious smile on Lori. Who blushed before handing her bags out for her to grab. Which she did with more enthusiasm than I’ve ever seen for clothes. She pulled out the dress first and gasped.

“This is just gorgeous. How did you ever find this?”

“Oh. My. God!” I turned to the door to see a shorter girl standing there. I assumed this was Camilla since she’s the only one I hadn’t met yet. “That is the prettiest dress I have ever seen.” She said as she hurried forward.

“Isn’t it? I can’t wait to see it on you Lori.” Becca added.

I just stood there watching. It was kind of like a science experiment to me. I was never one for dresses or jewelry, and didn’t really understand the allure they held for other women. I always felt just fine in jeans and a t-shirt, and never really felt the need to dress up or use makeup. I felt eyes on me and turned to see Adrian, Drake, and Asher staring at me with the same interest I had for the girls. I guess I wasn’t the only one who found things odd about other people.

Becca didn’t bother asking me about my clothes, and I was very grateful for it. Instead I turned to the rest of the kitchen. Cooking was one of the things I did best. And to be honest I kind of enjoyed it. Going through the motions of cooking a complicated meal cleared my mind. When I started setting things up to get started I heard a gasp.

“What are you doing?!” Becca screamed and I jumped a mile into the air. I turned to see her staring at me in horror. I had never been yelled at for cooking before. I was standing on new territory and didn’t know what to do.

“Cooking,” I answered with my eyes wide.

“Why?” she asked seemingly horrified. But I didn’t have an answer for her question. I had always cooked because I had too. I’ve never not had to. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Okay,” I answered in a whisper. Now I was completely lost. I’ve never just stood around doing nothing and I began to fidget when Becca turned back to the girls. I looked around and one of the guys walked up to me. I think I had heard someone call him Aaron.

“Not in Kansas anymore huh?” he said with a chuckle and slapped my back. Have I mentioned that all of the men here were huge? Not fat, but huge, and they apparently don’t know their own strength. It probably wouldn’t have effected me badly if it weren’t for my thirty six hour old lashing.

The force of his slap sent me forward half a step. But the pain was almost unbearable. I felt a few of the gashes reopen and start bleeding all over again. I felt my face pale a little and I turned to see Lori looking at me with worry. In fact they were all looking at me with worry.

“Ally? Are you okay?” Kadi asked. I kept myself turned so she couldn’t see my back and smiled stiffly down at her. I met Lori’s gaze.

“I’m fine sweetie, why don’t you and Lori go find out where your going to sleep so you can put your new clothes up?” I asked never looking away from Lori. She nodded and turned to Camilla, taking Kadi’s hand.

“Yes, we do need to know where we’re going to be sleeping.”

“Oh, I’ll show you.” Camilla said looking around in confusion. But she led