Chapter 10

The next morning, I was groggy and tired, having not gotten much sleep. I had tossed and turned, thinking about my future.

How was I going to manage living with three men who despised me, and obviously had not respect or interest in me aside from taking away my innocence?

I was wallowing in doubt and self-pity when I entered to dining room to have breakfast with Armand. “Good morning, Beryl. Did you sleep well?” he asked, not looking up from his plate.

“Fine.” I lied to him, knowing he would smell it on me, but not caring. I couldn't believe that he lived with his sons and didn’t knows how awful they were.

He paused, watching me for a moment. I sat down, and began eating. Bacon, eggs, and fresh fruit. Normally, I would be delighted to have such a delicious breakfast, but today, I couldn’t imagine anything changing my mood.

Armand cleared his throat. ” I have something for you.” He watched my face. “I know you’ve had a lot taken away recently, and things have been hard on you.” He pushed his remaining food around his plate and paused for a moment. ”I also know moving in here hasn’t been easy.”

I could see that he was waiting for me to say something. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” I told him, more out of obligation than feeling. He nodded at me and reached in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys with a pink poof on them.

“I picked this up last night. It's yours. I hope you enjoy it. It's in the garage with the rest of the cars.” He handed the keys to me and rose from the table.

“You got me a car?” I asked, flabbergasted. He nodded, ”It's a small token. We're glad to have you here, and I hope that this will make things a bit easier for you. Good day.”

He spoke with finality, nodded again and left the room. I sat there staring at the wall, still shocked to my core. A new car. I could feel the excitement welling inside of me.

A new car meant I had more freedom. I could leave when I wanted to. I assumed they would come fine me if I stayed gone too long, but I could still go when I needed to get away for a bit.

I quickly finished my breakfast and ran to my room to grab my things for school. Racing to the garage, I could feel my mood shifting and happiness replacing the desolation I had felt all morning.

As soon as I entered the garage I saw it. It was the most perfect color pink I had ever seen. Not a hot pink, but a brighter and more vibrant than baby pink. It was beautiful. I walked around it taking in the features and lines.

It was the latest model Mercedes, and had to have cost a fortune. I opened the door, and saw that the interior was trimmed in the same pink as the exterior of the car.

He had to have special ordered this, I thought. I wonder how long he had planned on getting it for me. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion for a moment, as I sat down in the drivers seat.

The seat hugged my curves perfectly. It was like they had been specifically made for my body. The seat and mirrors were even in the perfect position for me. I didn’t have to adjust a thing. How did he know? Or had he had someone else do this for him?

I had so many questions, but all I cared about at that moment was the joy I was feeling. I hadn’t been this happy in a very long time and I savored the feeling.

When I started it, it purred like a kitten under me, and I smiled to myself. I knew before I set out that it was going to be a dream to drive. As I shifted it into gear and pulled forward, a horn blared in front of me. I immediately slammed on the breaks.

Nicholas barreled passed, snarling at me. Cheney was right behind him, “Hey fat girl! Don’t squash that new car with your far ass!” He yelled at me out of his window. I sighed, refusing to let even their sourness ruin this moment for me.

Brian drove by next, slower than the others, more reserved. He didn’t even glance my way. I was confused by him, but couldn’t help smiling to myself a bit.

I was sure that Brian didn’t hate me like Nicholas and Cheney obviously did. Maybe we could even become friends.

I had looked up some of his paintings on the internet after our walk in the moonlight last night. They were beautiful and dark. He has to be a genius, I thought to myself. The listings for his paintings showed astronomical prices. I was in awe of his work, and wondered if he would ever let me watch him paint.

Setting out for school, I had to admit that I was in the best mood I’d been in in awhile. I had the stereo playing her favorite music, the car was perfect, and there was hope that at least one of the brothers wasn’t a horrible person.

Leaning into the good mood, I called Lily. “Hey! Guess what?” I said excitedly. “I have a new car!” I was so ecstatic that I didn’t give Lily time to answer.

“Wow! That’s awesome! I can’t wait to see it! Are you almost to school?” By the sound of her voice, I could tell that Lily was actually happy for me, and it boosted my mood even more. “Yes! Will you meet me by the front gate? I can’t wait to show you!”

As I pulled up to the front gate, I waved to Lily, but as I did so, BANG, the car jolted and was shoved forward. Scared to death, I got out to find out what happened. Lily ran to my side, “Are you ok?” “I think so. What the heck happened?” I stammered.

As I went to the back of the car I was surprised to see Anna, the popular cheerleader, get out of the car that hit me, anger and hatred on her face.

“Why the hell are you in the way?” She sneered at me. “What?” I didn’t know what else to say, I had pulled off to the side, so there was plenty of room for her to have gone around me.

I told her as much, but she yelled at me anyway, “Shut up, you idiot, this is your fault. You think this new car makes you special? Well it doesn’t. You’re still a fat, ugly bitch, with shitty clothes and no one likes you. You should go back to where you came from!”

A crowd had gathered at this point, and Anna’s friends all laughed and joined in the taunting. I heard them all mixed in the chatter, “Ugly bitch, stupid idiot, your clothes are hideous, how did your ass fit in that car, you don’t belong here.” Each insult hit me like a brick in the gut.

“You need to leave here, and leave Nicholas alone.” Anna growled at me. “I have no interest in any of them!” I shouted, trying my best not to cry. “I didn’t chose any of this!”

“Whatever, you nasty whore, there’s no telling how many guys you’ve slutted yourself out to.” I could tell from the murmurs, that this would now be a rumor spread around school.

No one would ever believe anything I said after this. They would assume that anything Anna said was the truth because she was the popular one.