Story takes place in the 1920s
This is the story Zorell Dupree, a young twenty year old nurse who moves to the city working for a prestigious hospital. She is a small time girl thrown into the fast-paced world of the city.
Her childhood friend Lel...
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It's next scene is Zorell's dream. The text that is written in italics is the dream.
Dream sequence
"Throw the ball to me, Devy," a young girl no more than five with long brown hair called out.
She had it in two messy braids and was wearing a plain blue dress and playing outside with her older brothers. She was the youngest of her siblings that all consisted of boys. Devlin was the eldest, and the one who always protected her from harm. That's when he wasn't teasing her about being a frail little girl. She could hold her own against the boys, even when Zach and Trevor were always rough housing and getting her into trouble.
The boy threw the ball, and she did her best to catch it. Her little arms tried to hold onto it, but she fell backwards into the water.
"Zo!" the boy called after her. She was sitting in the shallow waters holding onto the ball. The boy ran towards her worried that she had injured herself. "Are you okay?"
"I caught it," she said smiling and then threw the ball at him, which he caught it easily.
She walked out of the water soaking wet with her feet and hands muddy and her hair a mess. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Devlin asked her.
"No, silly, now, let's go play," she said and ran off to where her other two other brothers were wrestling. She tried to get into the fray, but a thunderous voice stopped their moment of fun.
"What is going on here?" a tall dark-haired man asked. He towered over the four small children. The two boys cowered in fear, but the spunky five-year-old girl looked much more confident. "Why are you soaking wet?" There was an angry look in his eyes.
"Just playing ball," she said with a little giggle. "I fell in the water, but I caught it." She stood tall, as tall as she could manage, and looked up at him proudly.
"Little girls don't play ball, and they don't swim in the lake with a pretty Sunday dress on," he said and grabbed her arm. "Nice clothes cost money, and you need to learn to behave like a lady should." He raised his hand up ready to hit her when a boy's voice called out stopping him.
"No!" he shouted, running up to the scene. "It wasn't her fault, Father. It was mine. I threw the ball at her.""
"Then you will both get punished," he said and brought his hand up and slapped the little girl across the face. She fell down on the ground crying.
Her brother tried to come up to her and comfort her, but he was pulled away by their father, who dragged him away into the woods. All three remaining children could hear was the screams of their eldest brother.
Zorell woke with a grasp. Her heart was beating fast as she looked at the clock that read 11:28. She was still shaking from the nightmare when she sat up in bed. She just had enough time to change and make her getaway. She looked down at her wrist and saw that it had already turned faintly purple. She was angry about that, and she realized that she had to leave if for no other reason but for her own survival.
She changed into a simple dress of off white, adequate for traveling, and a pair of brown boots. She brushed her hair and pinned it to the back of her head. She thought of cutting it short, but she actually liked it long. Short hair was a sign of female rebellion, but in truth it was just much more convenient and easier to manage for most women. Zorell often laughed at the seriousness society placed on appearances.
She looked at the clock again and saw that she had less than ten minutes. She grabbed her bag and carry-on and quietly left her room. She looked back once and looked around. It would be the last time she would ever live in this room again in her life. She didn't hate the room, just some of the memories it kept.
She tried not to make a sound, and even though her father's room was the furthest down the hall, he was a light sleeper and would hear the slightest noise. Many times, when she was a child she was punished for roaming the house at night when she couldn't sleep, or if she had crawled into bed with Devlin after having a nightmare. It was all purely innocent, but her father was against boys and girls sleeping in the same room much less sharing a bed even if they were just mere children.
Her father tended to punish her over the silliest things, and his punishments were usually brutal and did not fit the crime. It was like sending a petty thief to the gallows which was a punishment that was better suited for a murderer. For years, she tried to be the perfect daughter and do everything his said, but she never seemed to measure up. He would then punish her for it, but all that ended tonight.
She managed to sneak down to the first floor without anyone noticing and walked to the front door without making a sound and quickly put her coat on. Even in summer, the nights could be chilly and fall would soon come, and she would need something to keep her warm when she was out and about in the city. She was just about to open the door, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She gasped, knowing she had been caught. She was so close to escaping her dismal existence, and it was about to all end now. She turned to see it was Stella, the one servant that her father allowed in the household.
"Miss Zorell, what are you doing up so late?" she asked with a look of concern on her face. "You know your father doesn't like..."
"I don't care what he doesn't like," she said and the maid bowed her head.
She was afraid of the man just as so many others who had come and gone in his employ, but Stella stayed because she needed the money. She was a live-in servant so she didn't have to pay for room and board, but Damon Dupree paid her very little.
Because of an incident that happened when she was a teenager, she couldn't get hired anywhere else. It was either work for Dupree or starve in the streets. Finding a husband was out of the question as well. She was not a pretty girl, although she was only twenty-eight and should have still been in her attractive faze. She was awkward and shy and not good in social situations, but Zorell liked her despite of her shortcomings.
Stella knew most everything that went on in the house, but she never breathed a word to her father about some of the things Zorell and her brothers had done behind his back. If nothing else, she knew that she could trust her.
"I'm sorry, Stella, but I'm leaving for good," Zorell said and Stella looked shocked.
"Why would you leave, Miss Zorell?" she asked, looking confused. "This is your home."
"No, it's just the place I grew up, but it was never a home. Please, Stella, don't tell my father, at least not until morning," she said with a look of desperation in her voice. "If you have to say anything, just tell him I ran off with Leland."
"Why would you do that?" Stella asked and shook her head. "Everyone knows that there's nothing romantic between young Mister Freeman and yourself."
"Just do it, okay?" she asked, and Stella nodded in agreement. "I'll miss you."
She gave Stella a quick embrace, before opening the door. She picked up her suitcase and ran quietly towards the bushes. Once she reached the edge, she looked back one more time and saw Stella standing there in the doorway. Even though she couldn't see her face clearly, she felt sadness coming from the woman. Without Zorell, it was more than likely his anger would be pitted more towards Stella. He had a hatred for women, or she thought he did. He was civil to the Freeman women, but no others she could think of.
Poor Stella, if she could have she would have taken her with her, but as things stood she would be barely able to take care of herself, at least for a while.
Well, I hope that you are enjoying this. I have one more part for chapter three, and it's written. YAY!!!!! I'm editing it right after I post this.
