My Life As A Maid

A.N. Hello everyone! I am back to working on this story again! I'm sorry I vanished for so long; there was a problem with my laptop and I had no way of writing or replying to some reviews, messages and the like. So, I hope you don't mind the huge gaps between updates and all. I will reply to anyone who I haven't been in touch with yet, and catch up with things, so no worries. Anyway, I'm rambling. Here we go, Chapter 18!

Before I could blink, I was slammed back into the wall. I yelped, and froze when I felt steel pressing against my throat. It was barely there, but the cold blade sent chills down my spine and left me motionless. I looked to Flippy in terror, met his eyes and flinched.

He gazed back at me, his body tense and rigid. He didn't move, just watched and watched. I opened my mouth to apologise, and stopped when the blade was pressed a little harder down. I shut my eyes tight and whimpered shamelessly. I was more scared than I'd ever felt before, and all I could think to do was shake and cry like a baby.

"Can't stand me?" he whispered, baring teeth in an animal-like fashion. I tried turning my head a little, but changed my mind when the knife grazed my throat ever so lightly. I felt a small, warm stream slowly make its way down my neck.

"That's why you left," he said, his teeth flashing briefly with the light coming from Petunia's bedroom window. "That's why you ran away like the coward you are. Like a little child. Can't stand me."

He was growling the words at me, brow furrowed. There was a moment of agonizing silence before Flippy's face cleared. A small smile played about on his lips. He seemed to have decided to continue on.

"And yet, you still think of us, don't you, sweetheart?"

That one question sweeps away any other thought racing around my head at that moment. I looked at him warily and waited for what he would say next.

"No one who stays that long in our house could just forget us, you know," he went on. "Especially someone as paranoid as yourself. I bet you've thought about going back. Hm? Am I right in saying that?"

Much as I would love to tell him it wasn't true, he was right. I nodded shakily and he smiled, nodding too.

"That's what I thought." He tilted the knife a little and I tried backing up even further against the wall to avoid it. It proved futile; Flippy just followed, a delighted smirk forming on his pale face as he continued to watch me steadily. He looked as if he hadn't slept in a while, or eaten much for that matter. I couldn't help but wonder how much the real Flippy, his pleasurable side, had gotten out as of late. His twisted side seemed to have almost completely taken over.

"So why haven't you come back to us, dear?"Flippy asked, interrupting my thoughts with a sickeningly-sweet smile.

I paused in the act of opening my mouth to say something in response. I wasn't exactly sure of what to say. I felt as if I was walking barefoot along broken glass. And so far, my feet were soaked in blood. I had to tread carefully.

"I-I don't know," I answered honestly. Flippy said nothing, and I waited for him to respond, still shivering and trying in vain to hold still.

"You don't know?" he repeated. "Why, I thought you liked us. It's rather insulting of you to just leave us. We'd just gotten to know each other. Besides, we're best friends, remember?"

I whimpered again, trying not to cry. What had I done to end up with this maniac? I'd do it all over again if I could. I regretted ever stepping inside that house.

Where was Petunia? She should be-

"Flaky? Are you here?"

I breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Flippy tensed up again and whipped his head to the source of the noise. Half a second later he was looking at me again.

"Don't you dare move a muscle," he whispered, eyes shining. I almost broke down just looking at him. "Unless I tell you to, you are not to make a sound. Make no attempt to leave this room. Got it?"

I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut and letting the tears stream freely down my cheeks. Flippy took the knife away but I still didn't move.

"Tell her you're home," Flippy ordered, still keeping his voice low. "Now."

"I-I'm home, Petunia," I called, hating myself for it. I turned my head away when she started up the stairs, oblivious to it all.

Flippy watched me from the corner of his eye, but his attention was all on the bedroom door. He glanced and me and said, "Tell her to give you a minute; that you're getting dressed or something."

I nodded, wide-eyed. "I-I'm just changing Petunia. H-Hold on a minute."

"Okay!" she called. "Hurry up, though. I want to see what they look like on you!"

Flippy took a slow step away, not making a sound as he did so. When he decided it was safe he backed away until he stood in front of me again. He took hold of my hair and turned me around, surprisingly gently.

Lifting it up again, I felt something scratch me. I suppressed a gasp. Again and again I was scratched, and then it stopped. Flippy let go of my hair and I turned around to face him, confused and afraid.

"Flaky!" Petunia called. "Come on! You're taking forever in there."

"Tell her to give you another minute; you're nearly done," said Flippy, turning towards the window.

"O-One minute," I called to Petunia, looking back to Flippy, opening the window as quietly as humanly possible. He swung one leg over the ledge and followed with the other. He looked over his shoulder, grinned and gave me a wave.

"By the way, sweetheart," he said. "Those clothes don't look as sophisticated as your uniform. Don't worry about that, though. I'm sure we'll sort everything out later. Ciao."

And with that, he pushed himself off the ledge and vanished.

I stood in silence, not sure what to do, really. I closed the window and had a quick look-around. He was nowhere in sight. He really had vanished. I opened the door to Petunia, who gasped.

"You look amazing!" she remarked. I managed a smile in return.

"Th-Thanks," I forced out. "How was your day?"

"Oh, it was great!" she said happily. "We went to the mall, just browsing really, and went for coffee. I haven't seen Handy in ages..."

I let her talk on, adding an "Oh" or "Really?" wherever I felt it was necessary. I was more bothered about the scratches on my neck and Flippy to even pretend I was interested in Petunia's date.

"...He was so romantic and sweet, I just-"

"S-Sorry, Petunia," I cut across her. "Do you mind if I go to the bathroom?"

"No worries," she said with a smile. "I'll go make supper."

"O-Okay, thanks..."

I left her and opened the bathroom door, shutting it quietly behind me. I went to the mirror and lifted my hair, turning so I could see the back of my neck. There, I was just able to read the words:

You are mine

I stumbled back and hit the bathtub, bracing a hand against it to stop myself toppling over. I raised a hand to brush the back of my neck, taking shuddering breaths. I looked at the other scar on my forearm and winced.

I was Flippy's. Now that I thought of it, I probably should have realized it before. Right from that first day. I was his to control, the toy he could rip to shreds in seconds. A plaything he could kick around and manipulate.

"Oh my God..." I whispered. It took a lot of effort to hold back the onslaught of emotions hurtling around my body.

I joined Petunia and saw her mother was back from work. We chatted briefly; I covered up the story of my time in Flippy's house surprisingly easily. Petunia's mother didn't pry, and I was grateful for it.

Petunia showed me to a guest bedroom I could use, and I changed into a fresh pair of pyjamas. The room was nice, with white walls and a wooden wardrobe. Petunia left me to sleep. I turned off the bedroom light but left the curtains open. I had never liked the dark much, and I appreciated the thin stream of moonlight that shone through the window. I lay down and looked up at the ceiling, hoping to drift off. The bed was comfortable, if at a considerable height from the ground. I kept as close to the wall as possible.

Sleep didn't come quickly. I constantly fidgeted, looking to each corner of the room. My gaze kept returning to the silhouette of the wardrobe. I paced around, tried to clear my head, I counted sheep, I counted anything I could think of and lost track every time.

After what felt like hours, I settled into a light sleep and lay still, breathing deep. Eventually, I began dreaming about my childhood, when everything had been okay, and I didn't have a care about anything; where the worst thing I had to worry about was losing a game of tag.

It was a nice dream. The sun shone down on me as I ran alongside Petunia. She was wearing a sky blue dress, and I a tattered red one. Our hair flew out behind us as we sped away from Lifty, Shifty and the other children of the area, laughing happily, so content.

I sat up and looked around in bleary-eyed confusion. I'd expected to see the plain walls of the guest bedroom, or the wardrobe in the corner. I saw none of that.

I peeled off a thin blanket and my feet met with the ground too soon. There was no bed-frame, just a mattress. A small chest of drawers rested next to me. And on top of it was a neatly folded uniform... With a red ribbon lying on top.

I was back.

A.N. Ugh, I wrote this too quickly. I'm sorry if it sucks; I haven't written anything in a while...

Also, why do all of you want a happy ending? I have no idea, honestly. I thought a sad ending would have been nicer...