Princess of Birmingham

Chapter 1| New Girl

The days seem to fade into each other ever since mum died. It doesn't help that my own father blames me for her death.

"You're the reason she killed herself. You are the burden that killed your mother, and now you killing me you little bitch".

It's all I hear these days. I need a reason to be out of the house so I'm looking for a job. Any job will do, I just need an excuse to get away from my fathers angry, drunken ways.

Within a week of applying to a load of jobs, some rich, stuck up family hired me as their maid. It's exactly what I've been looking for. A 9 to 5 job with alright pay. This is my chance and I'm not going to lose it. It keeps me out of the house all day and my whereabouts won't be questioned by my father.

I wake up at 6 and take a shower. I get dressed and put my book into my bag. I walk quietly through the house as to not wake my father. When I get outside, I take my bike from the shed and cycle to the address given to me.

I arrive at a mansion. The gates are open, so I cycle up the long driveway. As I reach the top of the driveway, I lock eyes with a boy who looks around my age. He's standing in the stables, grooming a horse. I can't take my eyes off him.

A rock catches in the front wheel of my bike, throwing me off. I sit up as he runs over to me. "Are you alright?" he asks. His voice was mesmerizing. I could listen to him talk all day. "Nope, half left" I retort, smiling.

He laughs at my joke and reaches his hand out to touch my head. "You're bleeding" he says. He pulls his hand away from my head, blood on his fingers.

"Come on, I'll get you a cloth" he says, holding his hand out to help me stand. We walk into the house. I've never seen a house as big before. He leads me to the kitchen and pulls out a chair. "Sit".

He walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a bottle of rum. He dampens the cloth with the rum and comes back to me, holding the cloth up to my head. "I'm Finn" the boys says "Finn Shelby". "I'm Jayne" I reply, wincing at the pain.

I look up as a man enters the kitchen. "Tommy, the new girl is here". Mr. Shelby, the man who hired me, walks over. "Hello Jayne" he says. Finn hands me the cloth and takes a step back. "You're half an hour early" Mr. Shelby says, pulling out the chair next to me.

"Yeah, I had to take my bike, so I left early. I didn't want to be late" I say, pressing the cloth to my head. "What happened to your head?" he asks as he sits down. "I got into a fight with a rock" I say, smiling. Finn let out a small chuckle. "Well, you may as well start work while you're here. Finn will show you around. Oh, and please, call me Tommy".

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I take out my book and begin to read. I'm on my lunch break now, so I've nothing better to do. When I read, I focus on my book so much that I shut the world out. I'm used to doing it from blocking out my parents arguments when I was younger.

"Jayne" I hear a voice say. I look up and find Finn standing in front of me. "Oh, hey" I say. "Can I sit?" Finn asks. "Yes, of course you can". He sits down beside me. "What are you reading?".

"This Side Of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald" I reply as I put the book down. "How's your head?" he asks, moving my hair out of my face. "It's fine, it hurts a little but I've had worse before so I'll live". His eyes are focused on where the cut is.

The kitchen door bursts open and two men come running in, pretending to shoot each other. The older of the two faces his back to me. "BANG! I shot you, get down". By now, the other boy has noticed me. "Who have you got here, Finn Boy?" he asks, lowering his gun. "I'm Jayne" I answer.

"Finn Boy, why are you sitting with the maid?" the older one asks, looking at me. "he wasn't, I was just getting back to work". I get up and walk to the door. I turn back and look at them. "If ignorance is bliss, you boys must be the happiest people on this fucking planet".

I leave the kitchen, pissed off. I go upstairs to check on Charlie, Mr. Shelby's son. Finn follows me up the stairs. "Jayne, I'm sorry about them. They didn't mean it in a bad way, they're just idiots".

"Look, don't worry about it Finn. Maids do the work, they don't socialize. I get it" I say, turning the handle to Charlie's door. "Jayne, I am sorry" he says, looking into my eyes. His eyes look sincere. I've no reason not to believe him.

"I know" I say as I walk into Charlies room and sit down next to him. "So are we okay?" He asks, frowning. "No. I'll hate you forever because you're nice and you act like a sensible human" I answer sarcastically. The frown on his face turns into a smile.

A voice travels up the stairs. "COME ON, FINN BOY! WE HAVE HORSES TO RACE". Finn looks at me again and smiles even wider. "Goodbye Jayne" he says, reaching his hand out for me to shake. "Goodbye, Finn Boy" I say, taking his hand.