"Frozen Truths"
Chapter 7 (Tris' POV)
-o-o-o-
It's a cold and drizzly morning, not even close to being suitable for sunbathing, so as I approach the pool area and spot a figure on the sunlounger, I'm more than a little taken aback.
"Tobias.. is that you?" I ask as I approach, hesitantly.
When I receive no answer, I force myself to go closer, and realisation settles in. Tobias is passed out on the sunlounger, his hair ruffled and his face abnormally pale. Glass crunches under my sneaker, and when I look down I see a smashed bottle of some kind of alcohol.
I move around to the other side of the chair, away from the broken glass, and crouch down beside him, torn about what to do.
Should I go and get Nita to deal with him? But maybe they'll get into a fight about it? As it appears he didn't go out clubbing last night or anything, as he's still in lounge-styled articles of clothing. I can imagine Nita furious at the sight, and I don't want to cause any trouble. Especially as Nita is feeling "under the weather", this morning, which is why Christina is indoors making up her breakfast in bed.
I'll have to take care of this myself.
Reaching out, I attempt to shake his shoulder, but he doesn't even flinch. After a few attempts of shoving at his strong arms and broad shoulders, to no avail, I walk away.
Slipping inside, I grab a glass of water from the kitchen - which is empty, so I'm guessing Christina is upstairs serving Nita - and then head back out into the garden.
As soon as I stand above him once more, I tip the contents of the glass onto his head, jolting him awake, spluttering and coughing. But as soon as he's able to get the water out of his eyes, he instantly retracts, cowering away from the light and covering his face with his hands.
"Way to wake a guy." He mutters, almost incoherently.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" I ask.
"Could you maybe not speak so loudly, my head feels like it's been filled with firecrackers." He groans, taking his hands away from his eyes to hold his head in pain.
I roll my eyes. "You didn't answer my question," I snap. "What are you doing sleeping outside in November?"
"You're my maid, not my mother."
"Thanks for the update - if you don't want my help then maybe I could go and get Nita, I'm sure she'd be pleased with the state you've got yourself in." I shoot back.
I know that I should be respectful when talking to my employers, but I'm not afraid of Tobias; I know that he won't come down hard on me for something like that.
My Nita threat must have given him a change of heart, as he attempts to sit up, shaking his head. "No, don't get Nita. I'll be a dead man.. I'm sorry, but I really could use your help."
Sighing, I grab him by the arm and help him stand, though he staggers and clutches onto me, and for a second I think he might pass out. But after a moment, he pulls himself together, and we walk slowly but surely towards the glass doors.
Once inside, I am thankful to see that the kitchen is still scarce of soul, which means Christina cannot bombard us with questions. "Let's get you to a bathroom." I say, practically dragging him along the hall, to the large bathroom - which they refer to as their box bathroom. But it's probably bigger than my bathroom and my bedroom at home put together.
He collapses at the toilet, clasping his hands on the bowl, and violently throws up, just as I click the lock into place. I grab a beige-coloured flannel and soak it in cold water, and when he's finished vomiting, I hand it over so he can wipe his mouth. There are dark circles claiming his under eyes, and his usually tanned skin is unnaturally pale.
Over the next fifteen minutes, he throws up once, and spends the rest of that time dry heaving, until he finally slumps against the bowl, finished. I grab the small glass on the counter beside the sink, and fill it with water, handing it over.
He sips it, reluctantly, and his shoulders slowly begin to relax. "I'm sorry, you can go now, I can manage." He croaks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You need a shower," I say, ignoring his previous statement. "D'you think you'll be able to manage the stairs?"
"Of course. But I can do it on my own." He tells me, a somewhat fierce determination present in his voice, as he struggles to push himself up off the floor. As he does, his knees threaten to give out and he grabs at the towel rack to steady himself.
"Just let me help you," I say, my tone softening a little bit. "It'll be much quicker, and you don't stand a chance at those stairs - not alone, at least. You're a mess, frankly, and It's not my place to ask you why, but I do feel that I should help you."
Sighing, he concedes, "Ok fine, a shower sounds nice."
So I unlock the bathroom and make sure the coast is clear, and when I deem it safe, I help guide him back out into the hallway. It proves that help would be needed at the stairs, as he can barely make it up the first one without tipping sideways.
I've never had a hangover this bad myself, but I understand how much pain he must be in - but I don't have much sympathy, it's his own fault, after all.
After a few minutes struggling, I finally hole him up into a bathroom, where he proceeds to start up the shower, and looks at me expectantly.
"I'll be down in the kitchen - I'll make you something to eat. Come down when you're done, ok?" I say, making to leave, but he grabs my arm before I can.
"Thank you, Tris," he says, and I swear that I hear gratitude mixed in with his slurring words. "Really.. I don't deserve it."
"No, I suppose you don't. But I can't do my job properly with you vomiting all over the place," I say, keeping my voice levelled. "And on that note, I'll be spending my morning cleaning up that broken bottle outside, as well as bleaching that toilet."
"I'll help." He offers, running a hand through his hair.
"No, it's my job. I'll do it myself." I say, firmly, before shaking his grip from my arm and slipping out back into the hallway. I hear the lock click behind me, so I walk away, back down the stairs, and towards the laundry room.
I spend a minute or two searching, until I find the dustpan and brush. I then head back outside, towards the sunlounger where I found Tobias, and kneel down beside the mess of broken glass. I figure that I had better get this job done now, rather than later; Christina would be curious as to where it came from. The toilet job can wait - one of my tasks today is to clean the entirety of that particular bathroom, anyway.
The scent still lingers, and I can now identify the drink as vodka, and strong stuff too. I'm not sure as to why he took this out here and drank himself silly, but who am I to question what he does? It has absolutely nothing to do with me, and isn't my business, nor my place to ask.
But I can't help but be curious. Wouldn't anybody be?
I understand his desire to keep Nita in the dark about this incident - she doesn't seem like the most understanding of people.
Shivering, I keep on sweeping up the shards of glass, trying not to leave any behind. Standing on a bit of that would hurt like a bitch, and I'm not willing to be held responsible for any kind of incident that caused injury.
After I'm done, I dispose of the glass in the kitchen trash can, and return the dustpan and brush back to its original place. Then I get started on Tobias's breakfast, just as Christina stomps into the kitchen, her expression thunderous.
"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" I ask as she collapses down at one of the bar stools at the counter.
"Nope, but Nita certainly has," she says, rolling her eyes. "I think her and Tobias got in some kind of argument last night; he wasn't there when I was serving her up breakfast, and she's in such a mood. Seriously - she's ordered me to go into town to get her some kind of fancy cheese, because ordinary bogstandard cheese just simply won't do."
"You'd better get going then. If she's in such a bad mood as you say, I'm sure she's going to be pretty impatient. I don't want to see you getting into any kind of trouble.."
"I suppose so," she sighs, standing up and grabbing a set of keys from her apron - car keys, by the looks of it. "I've been given access to the Bentley. So I guess that's one upside."
By the time I've finished breakfast, Christina is long gone, and Tobias has just emerged, freshly showered but still sluggish. He sits down at the counter, and I slide across his scrambled eggs and a glass of apple juice, as well as a cup of coffee, and I also give him an aspirin.
"I would've just been ok with the coffee, you know." He says as he takes the pill, taking it back with his juice.
"Maybe, but eggs are full of hardworking acids like cysteine - which breaks down the chemical that causes horrible headaches," I shrug, beginning to clean up the pots and pans I used. "And juice has lots of vitamins and rehydrates the body, as well as giving you an instant energy boost."
"Damn, which textbook did you swallow?"
"I studied biology, it was one of my preferred subjects actually. It's amazing what you can learn by simply paying attention."
He begins to eat his eggs, slowly, and we remain in a comfortable kind of silence for a while, as he eats and I wash dishes at the sink. Glancing out of the window, I can see that the slight drizzle as turned to full out rain, and it hammers against the ground, violently.
"Those eggs were pretty good," he says as I retrieve his now empty plate and glasses. "Can you make anything else, or do your talents just lie in scrambling eggs?"
"Well, I've worked for a diner in town for a couple years, first waitressing, but then I began helping out in the kitchen too - my specialities are beignets. My mom passed her recipie down to me, and I've been making those since I could toddle." I answer, shrugging.
"I'm hopeless myself. I'd probably burn water.. maybe you could teach me sometime. Or at least let me try some of your beignets, being that they're your specialty and all." He chuckles, teasing me a little. I can't help but smile as I look over at him, nodding.
"Sure, I'm sure I could stretch to a few cooking lessons - the basics, at least."
"I look forward to it.. but maybe not today? I think I'm going to need a nap before facing Nita; she'll go nuts if she finds out what I did last night," he pauses, and looks at me with a newfound apprehension. "You won't say anything to her, will you? I mean, about the state you found me in, or that you found me at all."
"No, of course not. What you do is your business, and is not mine to share with anyone. I don't find pleasure in getting others into trouble, or causing arguments, for that matter."
His shoulders sag in relief, and he gets up from the barstool, rubbing his eyes. "Thanks.. not just for the secret keeping, if you will, but for helping me out. I do appreciate it."
"Don't sweat it, I'm sure anybody else would've done the same thing." I remind him, shaking my head.
The corners of his mouth twitch upwards, and he looks like he wants to say something, but decides against it and swallows his potential words. Giving me a nod, he leaves the room, and I stay in the same position at the island counter until his footsteps are no longer within hearing range.
Turning, I migrate back towards the sink and begin to dry up the dishes, and when she returns, Christina assists me.
"Did you get the cheese?" I ask her, smirking.
Her hair is matted down against her forehead, and she looks anything but impressed. "Yes, her royal highness may have her cheese," she says, darkly. "But nothing shall be said about my own struggles, battling it out against an enraged monsoon!"
"I think monsoon is a bit of an exaggeration, wouldn't you say?" I nudge her, gesturing with a movement of my head towards the window, where the rain still falls heavily, but no where near enough to be qualified as a monsoon.
"Whatever. It sure felt like I was stuck in the midst of one while I was trudging through it all - and the owner of the store I had to buy it from looked at me funny, like he'd never seen a drowned rat in the form of a girl before."
"C'mon, just let it go," I say, nudging her with my shoulder. "Or you'll constantly be frothing at the mouth over posh cheese."
She laughs, and I join in, and it feels nice to be able to laugh again - despite this only being my second day here, I feel like I've been working alongside Christina for much longer. And that makes me happy. Well, as happy as I can be with all the shit constantly stewing in my mind.
There's the sound of footsteps in the doorway, and we turn to see a man there - he looks like he's in his late twenties, his black hair is slicked back, and he wears a shit eating grin as he saunters into the room, positively radiating confidence.
"Fernando." Christina greets, rolling her eyes, fondly.
"Hola beautiful," he says with a wink, jumping up onto the island counter. "And I presume this is the new girl?"
"Mmhmm, this is Tris. Tris, meet Fernando - the loser who works behind the bar."
"Saludos preciosos," he greets, rather flirtatiously, but he was the same with Christina; so I assume that's just his nature. "Welcome to hell on earth."
"Hell? This place can't be that bad.." I point out, nibbling at my bottom lip.
"Nah, he's just messing with you. Ignore him, that's what I do." Christina assures me, and I watch as Fernando puts a hand to his heart, feigning agony.
"Your words sting, why do you wish to hurt me this way?" He states, dramatically. I can't help but crack a smile at his behaviour, I'm not used to being around such big personalities, but between Christina and - quite obviously - Fernando, I'm sure I'll get used to it.
"Whatever, I thought you were supposed to be sick?" Christina says, sticking her tongue out at him, playfully.
"Mm, a real bad case of the Black Death; that not-so conveniently lasted for twenty four hours." He replies, his expression sheepish. "My boyfriend and I have just moved into our new apartment, and felt it right to christen the place.. all day."
Christina wrinkles her nose and covers her ears with her hands, and a steady blush rises on my cheeks, though I fight to suppress it. "Too much info, Fernando." Chris groans.
"Whatever. I had much more fun there than I bet you two had cleaning up after the royal family."
"It wasn't that bad." I interject.
"Tris got caught in the library, looking through Tobias's books." Christina giggles, jabbing me in the ribs with her elbow.
"She did, huh? We have a curious one in our midst," Fernando says, looking me up and down. "How long d'you think she'll last?"
"I am here you know!" I interrupt, scowling, though I'm not really mad. "And what's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I last?"
"The girl who worked here when I started - while Fernando was already working here - decided to have a snoop in Nita's shoe closet while cleaning, and got caught," Christina explains, her voice lowering considerably. "Nita threw a fit, and threw her out on her ass, just for looking. So you should be thankful it was Tobias who found you, and not Nita. You would've been toast."
"Are you serious?"
"Deadly," he adds. "I never heard from Clara after that. I'm not even sure what happened to her after that day."
"I guess I'd better be less nosey in future.." I say, making a mental note as a reminder.
"Well, I can't say that I haven't had a good poke around her closet when I'm cleaning, but thankfully I've never been caught." Christina informs me, and I feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one.
Glancing at his watch, Fernando rolls his eyes and slides off the countertop. "I'd better get to work, polishing glasses and arranging liquor bottles." Bidding us goodbye with a cheeky smile, he leaves the kitchen, and once again, it is only Christina and I.
"He seems nice." I say, as we finish up towel-drying the last of the dishes.
"He is," she agrees. "A little eccentric, as you probably noticed, but nice all the same."
After we've finished up with the dishes, Christina heads upstairs to clean the two bigger spare bedrooms, and I migrate off into the bathroom - where Tobias was previously spewing his guts out.
Unenthusiastically, I grab the bleach, and get started in disinfecting the toilet. The process barely takes five minutes, and I move on to scrubbing the sink and the connected, sterling silver faucets. It's a lot more spiritless without the company of Christina, but I'm too lost in thought to mind that much.
I'm way too curious about Tobias. Way more than I should be, and what would be considered appropriate. Despite their outward compatibility, from what I've seen, him and Nita don't appear to be so accordant. I don't know why I'm so attentive to all of this, but I just don't see the two of them ever working out.
But who am I to judge? I'm hardly the expert when it comes to mature adult relationships - I can't conclude that what I see is the same as what goes on behind closed doors. Perhaps they're really in-love and act all affectionate when they're alone.
Either way, it really is not any of my business, nor is it my role to be concerned about anything regarding their personal lives. This is my job, and I must act professionally. Which is why I have an uneasy feeling about these implied "cooking lessons", though maybe he was just being polite; I am sure that he wouldn't want to learn anything from me, it should be the other way round, really.
I'm willing to bet he was in the best education possible, and graduated with honours. All these posh folk always are well-educated, which is why they bag the best jobs, and the rest of us have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for scraps.
Does that seem fair? Not to me. It's not my fault that I had to drop out of school. I was predicated good grades too, and I could've graduated with honours. Me. But because of my pitiful family crisis, any possibilities of that happening were vanquished.
So now here I am, scrubbing the floors of someone else's house, because they are too ostentatious to do it themselves. However, without this job, I never would've found that scintillation of hope that has put my motivation into drive.
Christina crashes through the bathroom door just as I finish up on the floors, breathing heavily, as if she just ran somewhere. "Nita wants you upstairs with coffee." She tells me abruptly, but before I can open my mouth to protest she speaks again. "It's not up to me - boss's orders. You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"
"I don't think so." I say, uncertainly. Did Tobias tell her about me helping him this morning? Am I going to get fired?
"Well, she asked for you specifically, and she doesn't like to be kept waiting - the coffee pot is ready, take it up on a tray with the China mug, and pour it out for her there. She takes two sugars, and likes it rather milky." Christina informs me as we leave the bathroom.
We part ways as we reach the kitchen; her back upstairs, and me towards the counter to retrieve the coffee pot, mug, sugar and milk. I arrange then all on a prepossessing tray, with shiny silver handles, and make sure to keep it steady as I ascend the numberless stairs.
The master bedroom is located on the left of the first hallway, and is stupendous in size - there's a large bay window on the right side of the room, looking out onto the garden space, and there's a set of glass double doors on the opposing side, leading out onto a balcony, of which I cannot see much of.
There's a closed door a good ways into the room, which I assume is the connected bathroom. There's an intricate vanity set too, along with a walk-in closet. The biggest feature of the room is the bed; a vast king-sized one, with ivory sheets, and a dozen throw pillows, all of which have been embroidered with shades that match the room's colour scheme.
And among the sheets, propped up against the headboard, is Nita. Her dark hair is hanging at her shoulders, still managing to look impeccable, despite her nights sleep. Her deep purple nightgown hangs off one shoulder, and she looks effortlessly pretty. I suppress an eye roll. Why couldn't God have found favour upon me, and at least given me the grace of good looks?
"You requested me, Miss Pablos?" I ask, as I set the tray down on the coffee table at the end of the bed - the only surface in sight, that isn't cluttered with personal items or mindless decor.
"Indeed," she confirms, setting down her iPad to watch me as I carefully pour her coffee. "I just wanted to check in, see how you were getting on so far. I hope that Christina is keeping you in check - I tasked her with helping you as you fall into the scheme of things here."
"Oh.. yes, I'm doing okay so far, I think. Christina is very helpful. Your house is very beautiful."
"Where do you live, Tris?" She asks, feigning curiosity, but I can hear the venom with ease.
"Not around here." I answer shortly, putting two sugar cubes into the mug with a pair of metal tongs.
"Of course not, the people around here wouldn't resort to such a low class job as you have," she chuckles, but there's little humour there. "I read in your files that you lived somewhere on the other side of town? Care to expand on that?"
"You ask questions as if you already know the answers," I point out, trying my best not to come across as rude. "I made sure to add my address to the file; and I'm sure that you wouldn't want to know the details of my neighbourhood. There's nothing interesting there."
"I figured as much." She says, haughtily, as she takes the mug I offered.
"I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to work here - I know you see it as a lower class position, but I do appreciate it all the same." I add, clenching my fists behind my back as I struggle to maintain an ever-so convincing smile.
"Well, no one can imply that I am not a charitable woman."
"Of course not. You are incredibly generous." I say, but I don't mean a single word. At least, I don't think that I do.
"You are dismissed." Nita then says, waving me off as she takes a sip of her coffee, and I watch as she nods in approval. At least I got that right, I think to myself as I leave, closing the door behind me.
Before I go back downstairs, I peak into one of the spare rooms, and find Tobias sleeping atop of the bed, undisturbed it would seem. Christina must have discovered him whilst cleaning, and I'm just glad she didn't wake him up - he needs to sleep it all off more than anything.
I head downstairs and find Christina in the kitchen, cleaning out the fridge, checking for any spoiled items. "I'll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow - I was supposed to go today, but I was caught up in serving Miss Pablos upstairs," she says, sarcastically, as she notices my entrance into the room. "You can come along too, if you'd like. It gets us away from here for a little while."
"Sure, I'm in." I shrug, "D'you mind if we stop off somewhere in town afterwards? I won't be long, I just need to check up on something.."
"Of course. Anything that'll give us more time to spend in public, rather than being cooped up in here."
"Can I ask you something?" I request, carefully.
She looks over at me, apprehensively. "Yes..."
"Well, you appear to despise this job, so why do you stay?"
"Well, I need the money," she says, leaning against the counter. "Without this position, I wouldn't be able to pay my side of the rent, and Will wouldn't be able to cover the whole cost on his own. You're right; I do hate this job, but I have no other choice than to stay. It pays well, and gives us the opportunity to leave semi-comfortably."
I give her a small, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry -"
"Don't be sorry," she interrupts, poking my knee with the toe of her shoe. "You're allowed to ask me anything you want, I'm an open book, if you haven't already realised."
An open book - being ok with sharing your secrets with anyone who asks, or shows interest. She hides nothing, has no shame admitted what she is going through. I wish I could have that kind of confidence. Instead, I'm timid and secretive and defensive.
I like to carry my own problems with me, rather than talk about them in attempts to make myself feel better. It's fair to say that I'll never have that ease of assertiveness that she has.
A ghost of a smile is at my lips as I say, "I'm starting to."
-o-o-o-
Authors Note:
Sorry for the slow update guys, but this is my longest chapter to make up for it! I really enjoyed writing the interactions between Tobias and Tris, and I'm as excited as you guys seem to be for the time when they finally get together!
The support I've gotten so far is crazy! Seriously - I appreciate every follow and favourite and review, as well as the PM's y'all send mess
Leave a review and let me know what you thought to this chapter!
- GuiltyMind
