Chapter 11: GABRIELLA

For the whole of that first week, I didn’t see him at all, and it was depressing. Aunt Marion seemed to be in a better mood too, which was good. She still ordered me around and made snide comments about my clothing and my hair and stuff, but I noticed that pinched look on her face was gone, or at least less pronounced.

The other girls had seemed to notice my food dilemma and started sneaking me food and snacks to take home with me, which was a whole lot embarrassing. But I wasn’t too proud to accept their kindness even though I promised to repay them at my earliest convenience.

Robyn seemed really upset by the situation no matter how much I told her I was okay and took to asking me everything about my time alone at home with aunt Marion.

It wasn’t like me to share such intimate details, but somehow she had a way of getting things out of me, though I kept the worst of it to myself.

My nights were spent alone in my room, trying to remember every feature of his face and battling the melancholy blues that assailed me whenever I had a moment to think, which usually revolved around him. He’d taken up so much of my time for someone I barely knew.

I’d looked into classes, but Aunt Marion, for some odd reason, kept finding fault with all the instructors I’d mention.

Since I was sure, as she said, she knew more about these things than I did, I should let her handle it, and besides, it had only been a week, so there was no real rush.

Still, I felt a sense of urgency, especially every evening when the apartment door closed, and I shuffled off to my lonely room to stare at the four walls until the next morning.

She had bought food for the house, well, salad makings and fruit, but it was so uncomfortable sitting at the table across from her that I chose to forego that.

This meant that every morning I woke up starved, and my tummy would make that unruly noise that, more often than not, would set her off.

The weekend was the worst, and I almost tucked tail and ran. I’d awakened Saturday morning fresh from a wonderful dream where Callan had been holding me in his arms.

The dream had been so real that I’d actually expected him to be there when I opened my eyes.

I was enveloped in such warmth as we laid together on a bed the size of a lake while he whispered of his love for me and told me how beautiful I was. It was a crushing disappointment to wake up and find him not there.

I laid in bed an extra five minutes as I waited for the sadness to pass. It had seemed so real. “I’m not running a hostel, young lady. Get up out of that bed.”

My eyes flew open, and I jumped off the mattress in such a hurry I almost slammed into the wall. My heart was racing out of control in my chest, but not for the same reasons that it had been just moments before.

Her face was a mask of displeasure as she stood just in the doorway studying me. It was the first time she’d stepped foot in the room since I’d been here that I know of, and I ran a quick glance over the room to make sure it was still as neat as a pin.

I stood in the corner, unsure of my next move, not quite knowing what had set her off this time and not willing to do anything that would make her even more upset. I’d come to realize in the last day or so that I was actually afraid of her, just a little bit.

“Did you need me to do something for you, aunt Marion?” I kept my voice on an even keel because she seemed to take everything said as an affront.

I’d noticed it at the office as well, so it wasn’t just me. However, I was the only one here. There was no Robyn to run interference like she had the day before when aunt Marion was scolding me in front of everyone for a misplaced file that was later found in her desk drawer.

Robyn, who seemed to be the only one not afraid of her wrath, had told her in no uncertain terms that it was rather unprofessional of her to berate me like that in front of others, and it was she who had suggested that maybe aunt Marion had misplaced it herself.

Though I appreciated the stand, I knew it would only make things worst for me; I just wasn’t sure how. I guess I was about to find out.

“I need you to not discuss me with my employees; you think I don’t know what you’ve been saying about me?”

“But I haven’t….”

“Silence. You better watch your step, young lady, don’t forget it’s only because of my kindness that you’re even here. Do you know how much it costs to live here on your own? To have to pay bills, have food on the table, and a job that pays well? When I came here, I had no one. So, I would think you’d be grateful for all that I am doing for you. Instead, I find that you’ve been talking about me behind my back, spreading lies.”

I started to defend myself against these new accusations; for all that she had been in a better mood, she always seemed to think I was undermining her somehow with every little thing. I wasn’t sure if that was her usual behavior, but by the way, the others ignored it. I guess it probably was.

I’d heard whispers about the last assistant and had been bending over backward not to suffer the same fate. I no longer believed that my mother’s dear friend wouldn’t hang me out to dry in this fair city.

Whatever, I wasn’t a child anymore, and I could certainly put up with her erratic moods if it meant having a roof over my head and a job until I found my way.

I tried once more to reason with her, “aunt Marion I promise that I haven’t; I would never do such a thing….”

“Of course not; you’re too sticky-sweet to say a bad word, aren’t you? Well, you might be able to fool some people with that innocent schoolgirl act, but it’s lost on me. Don’t forget I know where you came from. How friendly do you think your new pals would be if they knew you’re nothing but a pig farmer’s daughter?”