Hey people. School has started and I'm so happy because it's the weekend. My math teacher is already giving us homework. Well, ya, so I guess that's it. Chelsea starts realizing her feelings for Vaughn in this chapter. She doesn't like completely fall for him, but she starts to like him more.
Chapter 10
I Thought I Was Done
Why the heck was I disappointed when Vaughn and I stopped dancing? I hate that dumb cowboy. I'm happy though that the other guys left. I can't believe my mother invited them from the island. They all have lives. Sometimes I wonder what goes through that mind of hers. Sabrina had to get back to the island because of her father. My niece and nephew went on a long weekend trip with some friends because of summer break. They got out a week ago.
"Chelsea, your mother wants to speak with you." Roger said. I know all the butlers names because my mother treats them with no respect, while I helped the maids and butlers.
"Thanks for telling me this. I'll be on my way, then," I said bowing in respect. He bowed back and walked away. I got up from the couch I was sitting on, and moved to Regina's office. She was busy sitting at her desk working on some paperwork. It looked like she was shaving troubles. I sighed, and moved towards her. I took the pen away from her and started working on her paper work.
"Oh thank you, Chelsea! You really are helping me around the house." She said. I glared at her. She moved out of the way and I sat down and started hacking away on the keyboard.
"What do you want Regina?" I said. She furrowed her brow at me.
"Would it kill you to call me mom from now on?" She said. I gave her a, 'what-do-you-think,' look. She rolled her eyes at me.
"I'm already helping you with your paperwork," I said coolly.
"I want you to perform a performance for my friends." I stopped typing and looked at her.
"You want me to do something I was forced to do, and in front of your friends? You must be stupid," I said. Regina slammed her hands on the table. I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You are going to perform for my friends or else I'll make little Danny's life a living hell," She snarled viciously. I widened my eyes. She wouldn't go that far to get what he wants.
"He's your son!" I protested. She smirked just as I would do.
"Step." Inside I was so tempted to rip that smirk off her face, but I can't let anything bad happen to Danny. She always gets me with that threat. I gritted my teeth and sighed.
"Fine Regina, I'll perform in front of your friends," I said trying to control me temper. Molly's face came to mind and I calmed down a little. By now, I had finished her paperwork and I was leaving.
"Where something ladylike!" She called as I slammed the door in her face. I needed to cool off. I headed for the door.
"Will you need a car, Miss Chelsea?" Roger said.
"Nah, I'm good. Good luck with that witch," I said.
"Roger bring me more tea!" Regina shouted.
"I'll need it," he said. I smiled and walked out the door. Bri told me the park was supposed to be very serene. I made my way there. When I got there, I gasped. The place was very beautiful. I sat down on one of the park benches. Poor Danny. If I didn't listen to Regina, Danny would suffer. When that woman gets old, I'm putting her in a home. I sighed and grabbed a handful of my hair. This lady is going to make me retire early. Might as well grab something to eat. I walked out of the park and to a café. A moody looking guy came over to me and took me to a booth. I ordered some pancakes. When they go there, I quickly ate them. I paid for my meal and left.
"Excuse me ma'am, but do you know where the new hospital is?" Someone said behind me. I saw an elderly lady. I smiled at her.
"My sister-in-law works there. It's on Lillian Street and Mocha," I said. She thanked me and walked away. I went back to my bored expression. The city was lively as ever. People rushing to get to their jobs, vendors trying to sell hotdogs, homeless people sleeping on the streets; you know the usual things. The streets were congested.
"Get your hotdogs here! Get them now!" A vendor yelled. I decided to go to where Danny works. The walk was about fifteen minutes. The building was one of the biggest in the city. When I entered, proper men and woman walked around the building leisurely. The women were wearing tight skirts and tops or dresses. The men were suits and had briefcases. When I entered, everyone stopped and sneered at me.
"What is she wearing?"
"The homeless department is six blocks from here"
"Does she know little girls don't play here?"
"Her hair is atrocious!" Funny thing is I didn't feel self-conscious of myself. I put on a smirk and walked to the front desk. The overweight lady crinkled her nose at me.
"May I help you?" She said.
"I'm here to see Mr. Daniel," I said. The woman gave me a sideways glance.
"What is your relationship with him?" This is going to blow her mind.
"I'm his older sister," I said. The lady started madly fixing invisible wrinkles on her shirt. The people who sneered at me started madly saying apologizes.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were the boss's sister!" I rolled my eyes.
"Just tell me where I can find him." I said icily. The woman gulped and started hacking away on the computer.
"He's on the l-last floor," She stuttered out. I didn't thank her and left. The elevator smelled clean. The buttons even sparkled. I pushed the seventy-fifth floor and waited. Men and woman entered as we moved up levels. They stayed as far away from me as possible. Suddenly, a voice sounded in the elevator.
"Everyone listen! Mr. Smith's sister is here! If you see here, please treat her with the utmost respect. That is all." A woman said over the speaker. The elevator broke out in murmurs.
"Who is his sister?"
"I bet she's really pretty!"
"I wonder if she's as smart as her brother."
"What does she look like?"
"I didn't know he had a sister." I couldn't hold it in anymore. I busted out laughing. The people in the elevator glared at me. The elevator dinged and everyone filed out. I stepped out and saw Danny helping some people with their work.
"That's how you would tally up the income for last month," He said. I chuckled and walked over to him.
"Wow, and I thought you were hopeless," I said. The room glared at me. Danny widened his eyes.
"I'm going to call security!" One woman said. Danny laughed.
"I don't think you should call security on my sister, especially if she's my older sister." He said calmly. The people around us started widening their eyes. It was pretty funny. They started apologizing madly. I rolled my eyes and hugged Danny. Danny stood a good six inches taller than me. I have to hit a freaking growth spurt before I become a shriveled old hag who shrinks down to four feet. On that happy note, Danny let go of me.
"What are you doing here?" He said.
"Regina wants me to perform in front of her friends and so I'm killing some time," I said while shrugging. Danny ruffled my already untamable hair.
"Try not to kill her, Chels, okay?" He said grabbing some papers.
"I'll try my hardest not to, dear younger brother." I said in a sugary sweet voice. I glanced at the wall and saw it was two-thirty already. Ah shoot! I quickly took a mad dash to the elevator.
"Chels, where are you going?" Danny said.
"I have to be at Molina's Studio in half an hour! Bye Danny have a good day at work!" I called as I got into the elevator. I madly pushed the lobby button. When the door dinged, I ran as fast as I can to the studio.
I entered the studio breathless. Regina was sitting in a long red dress with a scowl on her face. I ran up to her.
"Sorry I'm late." I said. Regina stood up and walked to a room in the back. I followed her. A woman was waiting for me. I saw a white dress and slightly high-heeled shoes. A curling iron was plugged in and make up bottles were opened. I cringed just looking at them. The first thing I do when I get back to the island is hang out with all the guys and remove the girliness. I sat down in the chair and the lady curled my hair and put the dreadful crap that my mother wears every waking moment. The dress was a problem. It was tight in the top half and loose at the bottom half. The shoes were terribly uncomfortable.
"She looks like a young woman," Regina sneered. I sent a sideways glance at her.
"How many people are coming here?" I said.
"Oh, maybe about, three hundred." That dreadful old hag. I must admit it is one of the smallest performances I have done, but it's still big.
"What instrument do you want me to play?"
"You will play the violin and the piano the best that you can. If you don't play the best you can, I will make you play the flute and harp too." I glared at her.
"Do I get to practice?"
"No, you will show me what you can do after years of not playing." I widened my eyes. I haven't played in over seven years, and she expects me to play perfect? Oh this is just great.
"When does this start?"
"In about ten minutes." Yep, I might go to jail for murder. I made my way to the auditorium. I checked how many people there were. I paled immediately. Women and men in prim dresses and tuxes were conversing mildly about goddess knows what.
"Miss Chelsea?" I stiffly turned around. The guy jumped and shakily continued speaking. "You're on in five minutes." By now, everyone was taking their seats. I moved to one side of the stage. The curtains came up and so did the lights. A piano was already on stage. I fixed my face and gracefully made my way across the stage. The heels clicked as I walked. The light was reflecting off my skin and I probably looked very…angelic, I guess. I took my seat at the piano and started playing. My hands started working on their own. It sucks that old habits don't die young. Notes of all kinds filled the room. When I finished, the room erupted in applause. I stood up and bowed, not smiling for one instant. I moved to the violin. Now, the violin was tricky because if I played too hard, the strings would snap. All this anger was built up and I wanted to seriously break the violin over my mother's head. I sighed and began playing the instrument. I started playing slow, and then I picked up speed. I self-consciously slipped into a flashback.
Flashback
"No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong you worthless brat!" My mother shrieked. I felt a hand make contact with me skin. I stumbled back, and glared at my mother. Hey eyes were slanted and her hand was still in the air. I picked up the violin and started playing again.
"Regina, why did you slap her? She was playing perfect." One of my mom's prim friends said. Regina whirled and looked at her.
"She isn't like Molly! She isn't like her! She needs to be exactly like her!" Regina said. I sighed and continued to play.
It was finally done. The stupid instrument was played. The crowd fell into a silence. I was scared that I played terrible, but that is until a loud round of applause sounded. I bowed respectfully and walked off the stage. I walked to the dressing room.
"Chelsea, that was absolutely wonderful! Now, I want you to go out and play the flute!" Regina said. I was already in my normal clothes and was tying my shoe.
"I'm not going back out there and perform in front of your friends." I said. I turned to her, but my head was jerked to the side. My cheek started to heat up, and my hand flew to my cheek. I glared at her. I collected my rucksack and left the auditorium. My cheek still stung from where she slapped me. I didn't know where I was going. I just kept walking, until I crashed into someone.
"I'm sorry," I said brushing myself off. The person I bumped into offered me a hand and I gladly took it.
"What are you doing?" I widened my eyes and my blue eyes met his amethyst ones.
"Vaughn! What are you doing?" I said. Vaughn looked around.
"I asked you first. Are you slow?" He said. He looked at me cheek. "What happened here?" My hand flew to my cheek, and tried my best to cover it.
"What are you talking about?" I said my voice wavering. Vaughn's eyes seemed to get darker. He forcefully removed my hand.
"Who did this?" He said. His voice was like ice.
"My mother. I didn't do what she wanted me to do, and she slapped me. It's no big deal." Vaughn looked at me hard, and then he grabbed my hand and started pulling me. My face heated up.
What the heck is wrong with me?
I didn't realize that we arrived at an apartment. Vaughn let go of my hand and brought out a silver key. He inserted the key and opened the door. The walls were a dark blue, a small kitchen, brown couch, TV, and three rooms. I walked inside and Vaughn closed the door.
"Go sit down," He commanded. I usually wouldn't listen to him, but for once, I did. He went to one of the rooms. A few minutes later, a first aid kit was in hand, and his clothes were changed. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and shorts. His feet were bare. He walked over to me and started working on my face. I tried to hide the blush that was creeping out.
"You didn't have to do this," I said quietly. He stopped the work on my face and looked at me. Déjà vu much?
"Is your mother always like that?" He questioned.
"Ever since I was younger," I said.
"Did she normally hit you?" I pondered this for a moment.
"If I didn't do something she wanted then yes she would," I said satisfied with my answer. Vaughn closed the first aid kit, and put a hand on my cheek. I hope he couldn't tell my face was burning up.
"Be more careful, hobo." I stood up and walked to the door. Vaughn stood up and looked at me.
"Thanks for taking care of my cheek. I'll see you later." Before he could say something, I left his house. I touched my face and smiled. I started to walk away.
"Hey!" I turned and saw Vaughn at his doorway. He was leaning against it with an impassive look on.
"Yes?" I questioned.
"Try not to get confused with the other homeless people," He said and closed the door. It took me awhile to register what he said. When I did register it, I screeched.
"Mark my words Vaughn! I will kill you one day!" I said and stomped off.
Vaughn just can't stop making fun of Chelsea can he? I'll try to make updates sooner.