Cheer Me On (Under Construction)

8

Skaii rubbed her tender shoulder as she sat up from her fetal position on the bed. The point of her toes were crisp, and her teeth chattered, she automatically turned to the floor to ceiling window in her room, the ink black curtains were dancing to the morning draft. A wave of anxiety encompassed her when she saw this, but she then realized that she left it open last night when she used the stairs outside her bedroom.

This was her route when she needed to avoid Matthew, now it was to avoid her mother. Skaii was not too concerned with what happened last night, she knew Deane. He was a proud man, that meant his wife should be too. He wouldn't attack Skaii for what happened, he'd blame Sophie for not disciplining her daughter enough.

Skaii rolled her eyes at the thought and slipped out of bed. Today was the day to feel like herself again, she might be one hand down for the rest of the semester but at least she had her legs. She noticed that the house was more quiet than usual but did not spare that notion a second thought. She got ready to leave the house with just one thing fresh in her mind, Nicholas' words and it was only when she neared the kitchen that her mind mulled over by the two people who were seemingly waiting for her.

"And where do you think you're going?" Deane spoke up first, his tone cold, which mirrored his face.

Skaii glanced behind the big blonde man to her mother, who was ironically standing in the same position as last night when she received her slap. Sophie smiled and turned her head slightly to reveal the cheek Skaii had planted her hand, it was swollen and slightly discolored. Skaii's eyes narrowed slightly, those bruises were clearly exaggerated, she wasn't even hit that hard. She must have applied some form of makeup to pull off this look.

"Yes, I told her that I admired your strength," Deane chuckled as he took in Skaii's expression. "But do you know how much time it will take for her to get back to work?"

Skaii's gaze shifted back to her step father and noticed that he was playfully shifting a paper between his fingers. She remained silent. "I asked you a question." His voice rose slightly.

Skaii shrugged, "I don't care."

"I know, but no wife of mine will appear anywhere like that!" He swiftly pointed to Sophie's face who was standing there meekly, and as delicate as a white rose. Skaii almost laughed, wasn't this the woman who was screaming at her the night before? The woman who sold her? It did not take long for Skaii to figure out Sophie's rouse, she knew that Deane would have simply ignored the situation if it was just a mere slap so she decided to use something else she knew would anger him. Her face.

Sophie was the face of a multimillion dollar firm in the country, since she was the wife of not just the CEO but the company's managing partner. This meant she was also dealt with high end deals when Deane was not available, no top ranked socialite would want her to represent them with her current appearance.

"Sophie, tell your daughter how long it will take your face to heal." Deane ordered.

"A few weeks, maybe a month, if there's any serious dermal damage." Sophie hurriedly spoke.

Skaii rolled her eyes and snorted at Sophie's incredulousness, "A few weeks?"

Deane nodded, "And that's how long you will work to prevent any losses to the company and others around it."

"Work?" Skaii rose an eyebrow, her heart quickened as he handed her the paper in her hand,

Scripts

5:30pm

-Were etched on it. She recognized it almost instantly, it was a bookstore not very far from the square. A bookstore. When Deane proposed work, that wasn't what he had in mind for her. A club was more his style.