She's still here. The moment my eyes land on Celine Thomas I knew she never left her spot on the couch last night. She must have fallen asleep there because she was still dressed in the silk black nightgown and cheetah print robe she walked around in the house all day yesterday.
It's the first day of summer and instead of sleeping in like a normal teenager or on my way out to the beach like most people my age do on their summer vacation, I'm trying to get my drunk mother sober so she could go to work.
For the few weeks she managed to stay sober she was able to land herself a cleaning job for one of the wealthy residents in a small town over. It's the best job she's ever had. The hours are fair and the pay is more than this family has ever made. So she should be doing everything she can to keep it, instead, it looks like she's doing everything she can to lose it.
And I can't let that happen.
This isn't just for me, but for my little sister as well.
We are all each other have... and I'm not going to let our mom screw us over more than she already has.
"Mom, get up. It's time to get ready for work." I tell her as I grab the remote off the table and turn off the TV she more than likely left running throughout the night.
"Hey, I was watching that!" She snaps, her lips curving up in disdain as she stares at me.
"Come on, go get ready." I ignore her and grab her hands and try to pull her up from the recliner.
"Get your hands off of me girl! I don't need you to help me up." She smacks my hands away and stands up on her own. "What time is it?" She wonders, turning her head in search for a clock as she stumbles her way into the kitchen. Her dark brown hair is standing in all sorts of directions while the rest fights for dear life to stay in the ponytail she styled her hair in.
"It's already six." She has to be at work at seven.
"Where's your sister?" Celine asks, scratching her hair as she pulls open the fridge.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes and not be irritated that she doesn't even know where her youngest daughter is.
"Remember Layla is at summer camp? You signed the permission slip last week. She won't be back until the end of summer." I remind her. It's times like these that I wonder how she managed to be the mother while I was the child. She's obviously one herself and doesn't deserve to have a kid, much less two of them.
"I did?" A look of confusion crosses her face. "Oh that's right I did." She sounds like she remembers but I doubt she even remembered what she had for dinner last night, let alone what she signed a week ago.
As much as I miss my sister, I'm glad she's able to get away from all of this for a little while.
One of us deserved to.
"So now that we're all caught up, can you go take a shower so you can go to work before you're late? I'll make you a pot of coffee." I tell her.
"I don't want to go." She tells me, and I stare at her, not sure if I heard her clearly.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me... I don't want to go work. I'm tired." She twists the cap off of the gallon of milk in her hands and chugs.
"How the hell can you be tired?" I scream at her. "You've been sitting on your ass all weekend."
"Watch your mouth little girl. Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" She glares at me as she takes slow, steady steps towards me.
Celine stops just inches away from my face and I can smell her breath, it's a mixture of morning breath, alcohol, and now milk.
I try hard not to make a face but I do take a step back.
"They're expecting you to be there." I try again, softening my voice. "You can lose this job if you don't show up."
"Then you go." Celine says as if it was that simple.
"I can't just take your place. It's not like we're twins; they'll notice I'm not you."
"Come on baby- you said it yourself, I could lose this job if I don't show up. Now your mama doesn't feel too good this morning so help me out?" She looks at me pleadingly and it's almost comical how she can go from scary to calm in a matter of seconds.
"Okay," I concede. "I'll go. But don't get mad at me if they send me home." I tell her, but she's not listening. She already walked past me and is heading back to the living room, the uncapped gallon of milk swinging in her right hand and left hand scratching her behind.
"Thank you, baby!" She calls over her shoulders before she disappears from my view.
I sigh, knowing this wasn't going to end well but I had to give it a try.
Already showered and dressed, I take a few dollars out of Celine's purse for the bus. I don't bother calling out a goodbye as I head for the door knowing Celine didn't care that I was leaving. Once I'm outside, the warm rays of the sun washes over my face and I soak it up. It was hot, and it was only going to get worse by the end of the summer.
It takes me a few minutes to reach the bus stop and I'm panting slightly out of breath after running to catch it before it could leave me. The last thing I need is to be late to a job that isn't even mine. A part of me still can't believe that Celine refused to go to work. It was like every day that passed where her next bottle of vodka was coming from was more important than anything else.
More important than me and Layla.
A part of me wondered if things would be different if my dad didn't walk away or if Layla's dad was more than just a one night stand.
Or more importantly... if Celine just put the bottle down?
These questions and more follow me the entire ride into town.
Once I'm dropped off at my stop, I start walking towards the largest house in the gated community in the small town of Easton.
Standing with his legs spread apart and shoulders straight is a very tall and intimidating Caucasian man dressed in a black tux guarding black iron gates.
"Can I help you miss?" His voice, as expected, is rich and deep and sends chills down my spine and not the good kind either.
"Yes. I'm Mia, Celine Thomas daughter. She's a servant here at the mansion. She isn't feeling well today so I'm going to cover for her." I try to sound confident, like I belong there, but every ounce of my confidence is slowly draining from me every second I stand under the piercing blue gaze of the guard.
"Can I see some I.D please?" It's less of a question and more of a request, one I'm happy to comply with. Nervously, I pull out my student I.D from my front pocket and hand it over.
Mr. Tall and Intimidating peers down at it intently before he hands it back to me.
"You're clear." He tells me just as the gates buzz open behind him. "Take the front entrance and from there, someone will attend to you."
"Thank you." I slide my I.D back inside my pocket and make my way around him and up to the front door.
I wonder who lived in this house that they needed an NFL looking man to guard their gates.
As I walk the curve pathway, I can't help but take in the larger than life mansion. It's three stories tall and all stainless steel and glass windows.
I've never seen a house like this, at least not in person. The closest I ever got to a mansion were the ones I saw on TV.
I take a deep breath before ringing the doorbell then wait anxiously for someone to answer.
When the doors open my eyes widen as I take in the cute guy standing in the doorway. He looks older. My guess would be early 20s and he's dressed formally in a white collared shirt and black slacks.
"Hi, I was told to come to the front door and someone would give me further instructions."
"Come in." He takes a step back and opens the door wider, allowing me space to step inside. "Just wait here for a moment. Ms. Nancy will be with you." Then he walks away, leaving me to stand in the impressive foyer alone.
Figuring I'd take in as much of the house as I could seeing how this could be the first and last time I was ever in a house this fancy, I wander to the nearest opening and lose my breath.
It's the living area and I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
The white and brown color scheme fits perfectly with the expensive furnishing but that's not what took my breath away. The wall to wall glass window overlooks the beach captivates me. I want to stay longer and admire the view but I'm afraid this Ms. Nancy person would come and make an accusation so I quickly go back to stand at my post.
Moments later I hear a clicking of heels echoing down the halls before I see a lady dressed in a button down black dress. Her skin is rich, hips wide, her eyes dark, and her black hair is styled in a pixie cut.
"Can I help you?" She asks in a commanding tone.
I smile, a nervous one that I'm sure she can feel coming off of me in waves as I stand underneath her piercing brown eyes.
I hate dealing with people unless it's absolutely necessary.
I guess I'm kind of a recluse in that way.
It wasn't that I was shy because I wasn't. But I've been put in situations that most people my age haven't experience and probably never will, which made me grow up before my time. So I don't feel the need to surround myself with things like friends since it would only get in the way of my mom and Layla.
"Uh, hi. I was told to wait here for a Ms. Nancy who would be able to help me." I clear my throat and wait.
I don't appreciate the way her eyes roam over me from head to toe but I bite my lip to keep from saying anything.
"I'm Ms. Nancy and you are?" The haughty tone doesn't go unnoticed and I wish my mother wouldn't have been such a pain and came in today.
"I'm Mia Thomas, Celine Thomas' daughter. She wasn't... um, feeling too well this morning so I'm here to take her place if that's okay." I need to get a grip before I blow it. But her gaze is intimidating and unfriendly, making me feel like I'm in the middle of an interrogation. I almost turn around and high-tail the hell out of there.
Ms. Nancy narrows her eyes. "With Mr. Lyons coming in this summer having someone like you around here would draw attention. Besides, I don't hire kids."
All my nerves vanished with just that one word.
Kid.
I wasn't a kid.
Would a kid know how to make appointments whenever her little sister needed to see a pediatrician?
Would a child know how to talk an FPL guy into allowing an extra 24 hours before cutting off the electricity?
I don't think so.
And I'm not about to let some lady who doesn't know me from Eve make the assumption that I can't clean a few counters.
"No disrespect ma'am, but I'm not a kid. I may be young, but I know how to carry myself professionally. I'm here because my mother isn't feeling well. Now, although I understand your concern, I promise if you give me a chance to prove myself you won't regret it."
Ms. Nancy stares at me hard, her gaze lingering on me as she thinks about what she should do. Finally, after ten agonizing seconds, her scowl leaves her face and she relaxes slightly.
"Okay Ms. Mia I'll give you a chance. Let me see how you do today. If you can back up your bark with a bite then you got the job. But if you screw up once and make a fool out of me in front of Mr. Lyons, you and your mother will never step foot into this house again. Are we clear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Cade!" Ms. Nancy shouts and like magic the same guy that opened the door for me appears. "This is Mia. She will be working here today on a trial basis, taking over Celine's tasks for the day. Please see to it that she is given a uniform and tell her what needs to be done."
"Yes, ma'am." Cade nods his head before looking at me. "Let's go."
Quietly, I follow behind Cade as he leads me out of the foyer.
"Intense right?" Cade says, breaking the silence. I raise a brow, not sure what he's referring to. "Ms. Nancy," he clarifies.
"Oh. Just a little bit... is she always this welcoming?"
"It's part of her charm." Cade smiles easily at me.
"I can handle her."
"Oh I don't doubt that." Cade says and I turn just in time to see an amused smirk on his lips. "I'm Cade by the way." He holds his hand out for a handshake.
"Mia." I take his hand and shake it.
"Here's the first room you need to clean." Cade announces as he swings a door open.
The room is wide and a glass shelf took up most of the room. It was filled with rows of records and albums and the other half of the wall was lined up with different kinds of guitars. There was a large leather couch and a drum set off in the corner and a grand piano sat in the center. The area itself felt light and airy. It was a place where someone could sit back and lose themselves in music for hours.
"This is Mr. Lyon's favorite room. He spends most of his time in here. When he arrives I bet this will be the first place he crashes in so this room needs to be perfect." Cade tells me. "You will dust all the CDs and make sure they are still in alphabetical order and genre just the way Mr. Lyons likes it. Then shine all the guitars and dust off the piano. When you are done with that vacuum the carpet and wipe down the entire room. Ms. Nancy will come get you when it's lunchtime. Most of us stay in to eat because Ms. Victoria throws down in the kitchen, but you can leave and go get your own lunch if you want." He points to a door in a corner. "That's the supply closet. Everything you need will be in there. As you can tell, everything in here cost a lot of money so please be careful. Ms. Nancy will come to check on you in a little bit." Cade gives me a warm smile before leaving.
Hands on my hips, I take a moment to take in my surroundings.
The room is spacious and it looked like Mr. Lyon had Cds to fill a record store. But I can handle this. I leave the room and gather all the cleaning supplies I would need from the supply closet before I get to work.
According to Cade, the clock is ticking.