Liliana's pov :
"What's wrong with the electricity in Watson Mansion?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and ended up coughing. I gasped for air, suddenly breathing became the most hazardous task to do.
All I could see was the darkness only, and here was my only weak point, my only frailty—DARKNESS.
The memories of my childhood flashed through my mind and my legs started trembling. The son of my mom's best friend lied to my mom that I punched him in the face on his birthday so my mom felt embarrassed in front of her friend for my violent behaviour and as a punishment, she locked me in the darkroom.
That little brat came to that room and threw paper balls at me, he ran away after locking the door again. I was sobbing so hard, six years old I couldn't face that darkness, I begged my mom to take me out from that hell but she wasn't even there. She was busy gossiping with her friends and then, a boy appeared when I was losing hope.
I was sobbing and shivering with fear, laying on the floor. He came near to me and wiped my face, when I saw the light coming through the door, I felt better. But suddenly he ran away and I felt sad because he left me alone.
As I again started sobbing, he came back with a glass of water and chocolate. When I felt better after sipping the water, he helped me to get out of that place, saving me from everyone else's gaze. That day I realized that I hated parties and fake rich people.
Before leaving the party, he patted my back and smiled. I held his hand to stop him from going. "I didn't punch him." Uttering it, I lowered my head as I felt a little uneasy.
He took my hand in his and told me, "I really wish I could exchange our mothers with sweet mothers but unfortunately, I can't so we have to be strong and learn to fight."
As soon as he was done saying, he clasped my hand and took me to the place where that little brat was playing. "If he lied, then you should make it true."
Quickly I punched his face and ran away from there with that boy who looked a little older than me.
Sometimes God creates problems and solutions together. He decided to give me anxiety that day, but then he showed some mercy by sending that boy who saved me and made me realize that loneliness wasn't a weakness, I just needed to be strong.
I still indeed remembered his words and those words have always helped me to overcome anxiety since then. Slowly, I started taking deep breaths with closed eyes and I could feel lively again.
Standing up from my desk, I started searching for my phone because I knew no one could hear me from my room. Especially when the door was closed. Being an introvert was not an easy task for me but I had had no relationship with ease since my childhood,
"You know what, sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be afraid of you. After all, we both are alone and strong enough to not let anyone enter our comfort zone. I don't let anyone be my friend and you don't let the light come. Wow!" I clapped when I realized that I was overcoming my anxiety and we were similar. I could breathe normally and a small smile twitched my lips.
"Ouch!" The word came out from my mouth as it's the universal reaction after getting injured or hurt.
Sometimes you need to control your joy, otherwise, the joy will leave pain for you and run out from your window or gate whichever is close for 'joy'.
I thanked God for making me fall on the bed instead of the floor, otherwise, my mother would give me instructions on how I should behave, my little brother would laugh as if I cracked a joke, and my father would scold me for not taking care of the floor. Such a fucking clumsy person I was!
I started searching for my phone again on the bed as it was the first place nearer to me, my brain couldn't remember where I had put it!
The door of my room opened slowly, and it caught my attention. I wiped my face with my hands as no one knew about my anxiety and my body was draining in sweat. There was maybe a torch at the door which was coming closer to me, making me put my hand to my eyes as it was directly coming to my eyes, making me blind.
I knew that it would be Richard, after all, he was the only person in the house who loved to play pranks on everyone.
"Richard, you should not forget that I'm your elder sister. You are just too much! How could you even imagine that you can play your poor prank on me? Now, please, give me the torch and fucking leave my room. Stop playing the role of a ghost, you're a real ghost in my life!"
The light came near my face and I saw a girl standing there with a torch in her hand. "I'm sorry, ma'am! I'm not Richard, I'm Fiona and I started working here today. The electrician has arrived, he has started doing his work. Everyone else called the staff to get candles in their rooms but you didn't, I was quite afraid that maybe you wouldn't like me coming to your room without asking for permission but I wanted to—"
I interrupted her, "hey! Can you please stop being a waitress at a five—star hotel? I know, you are a worker but you don't need to explain to me that much, and I'm not your ma'am. You can call me Liliana or Miss Watson, choice is yours." My dear mom didn't like my friendly behavior with the workers so I had to give her the second option of Miss Watson.
"Okay, Miss Watson! Do you need anything?" She asked in a frightened tone.
"Dear Fiona! You don't need to be afraid of me, I never fire anybody. I guess, in a week, you would know me better. I was about to call but I couldn't find my phone. Can you please give this candle to me for a sec?" I was scared of terrifying her by my blunt attitude. The truth was that I didn't know how I should talk to her so she wouldn't feel afraid of me. My communication skills were perhaps bad.
"Sure, Miss Watson!" She handed over the candle and I rolled my eyes at my name.
The phone was just beside the laptop. I took my phone and turned on the flashlight. "Now, hold this candle." I gave it back to her.
"Let's go to the kitchen! I'm hungry, and thirsty as hell. Unfortunately, my jug is also empty," I stated and took the jug in my hands.
She suggested, "you may wait here, I'll be back with your food, and give me this jug, I'll fill it."
I waved her off, "Oh, my dear! You seem like a teenager like me, I can't be cruel to you just because you don't have enough money and you need to work here. Moreover, something bad has already happened to you that you are working in this Watson Mansion, trust me, I'm the worst person ever but not to those who are helping me. And I don't have much time to talk, can we please walk to the kitchen now? I'll have to spend the entire night probably writing my assignment," I shrugged.
"Oh, okay! Thank you! Sure! You are so kind Miss Watson," she started waddling towards the door, and I started following her with the flashlight of my phone.
My mom and dad were already standing in the hallway, they watched us descending the stairs. I had had a very bad day in school, that son of a bitch stole my assignment and I had to write it again tonight.
"Be careful, Liliana!" My dad asserted as soon as he saw my face in the dim emergency lights of the hall.
"Why do you need to come downstairs when you can just wait in your room, Lily? Can you be mature just for once?" My mom scolded me and sighed.
I showed the jug to her. "I need some water, mom. And I was hungry, too. So I thought going to the kitchen would be the best idea." I knew my mom would say that there are plenty of workers in Watson Mansion so I didn't need to do the work of the workers.
"Don't you know honey that there are fifty workers in Watson Mansion? Do you think that you need a personal helper?" She smirked.
"Not at all, mom! It's just that I—"
My dad interrupted me, "t's fine, Kristen! No big deal! Lia, you do whatever you want but please, remember you are the only daughter of our family so you should not do the work of the workers." He roared in a superior manner and took a seat on the sofa.
Fiona and I both started walking towards the kitchen and the lights were fine now though I could hear my mom complaining to my dad.
"You are spoiling her, honey. She is soon going to be eighteen and she still behaves like a five—year—old kid. She is Watson but doesn't care about our reputation, the way she dresses up and talks, she seems like a middle—class daughter, sometimes I feel like—"
As always, he yawned and rubbed his eyes before cutting her off, "Look, the electricity is back and I'm going to sleep! You may deal with the electrician and know the issue why it happened, I know you are good at that. Good night, Kristen!"
I chuckled when I saw my dad going upstairs, that was a great move. Otherwise, he would have got stuck in arguments with my mom.
Quickly I grabbed a sandwich from the fridge and put it on a tray. Fiona filled the jug and insisted on grilling the sandwich, "you shouldn't eat the cold sandwich, let me just grill it!"
"Nope! It's midnight and I have an assignment to complete so it'll waste my time. I don't have enough time to talk so bye! See you tomorrow! And yeah, welcome to the weird family!" I smiled and bowed a little, and she giggled in response.
Taking the tray in my hands, I was about to leave the kitchen but a face that I hated the most appeared and the tray slipped from my hands.
