Ms. Tilly

Chapter 12

I sat in the bathtub watching scented candles burn. There wasn't any water in the tub, but for some odd reason, sitting in a huge garden tub relaxes me. Maybe it's the emptiness, the emptiness that fills the tub. The loneliness that I feel within, the tub and I are one.

I am hollow in the inside, I mean to be filled but it's not all of the time that that happens. Only a beating heart and a brain rest in my body, only too to be as memory-less and no one to feel love for, like me. I cannot speak with people knowing, I cannot hear with people knowing. I am a bathtub, and the bathtub is me. 

***

I waited for Gary to come home, which felt like forever. The girls sat anxiously and Ivan didn't understand what was going on. Sometimes Taylor would fiddle with the wrinkles on her blue jeans when she waited, but she didn't this time. She sat there still as an iron wall that had stood there for a thousand years. Mackenzie was the opposite of Taylor, she played with her fingers, rubbed her hands up and down on her upper arm. Mackenzie did anything to distract herself, but Taylor was preparing.

After waiting impatiently, there was a knock on the door. It seemed odd because Gary lives here, why would he knock? I didn't answer the door, but Taylor did. She opened it slowly and gasped. 

It was Petra.

She wore a sorrowful face with rosy cheeks. She widened her arms and gave Taylor a hug. "Oh Taylor, I hear your story," she said, butchering her English. It was difficult for me to understand what she was saying, however, Taylor and Mackenzie seemed to follow clearly.

Mackenzie launched herself off the couch with a confused look and then spoke in the foreign language again "Petra, wat doe je hier?"

Petra shook her head, continuing to speak English. "It is fine Mackenzie, I need the practice of English," she replied, "I am here to co..." she held out the o trying to find the right word, "comfort you," finally finishing her sentence. Her Dutch accent was making words challenging to comprehend.

Mackenzie and Taylor looked back at each other, still confused.

"I have come here to create good feelings," Petra again kept butchering. She clutched the English translation book hard, hoping it will spare her some answers.

Taylor said slowly to Petra, "Thank you, but you are not needed here." Mackenzie gasped and elbowed Taylor, muttering under her breath "that was rude." Taylor growled back "she can't even understand what I am saying, so shut it." 

Mackenzie pushed her sister back and then smiled towards Petra, "please come in, you're welcome here." She grasped Petra's hand and pulled her into my home.

Great, the dog-loving Dutch girlfriend, oh how is this going to end?

Taylor glared at Mackenzie, hoping she could fight back, but couldn't because there was company in my home. Petra sat down on the couch respectfully and then engaged in small talk. I could tell she wasn't very good at it because she stuttered and her voice cracked a few times. Also, her small talk was more of interrogation than anything. "How far ago did your mother leave?" Her grammar was terrible, I cringed at every wrong word placement and incorrect pronunciation.

Taylor sighed. I could tell that she did not want to answer that question. Taylor opened her mouth to answer, though Mackenzie cut her off. "Four years ago. Taylor was twelve, I was eleven, and Ivan was a newborn."

It still kills me to think that they were so young when their mother left them. Thank god Gary was there.

It donned upon me that I was the same age as Mackenzie when my mother died. I was ten years old. I had three other siblings, all of them as boys. We became orphans since our father had run away. He had no interest in us, apparently. I heard rumors on the streets however, he was hit by a truck and died soon after he abandoned us. I guess he got what he deserved

I'm trying to remember how my mother died, I think it had to do with breastfeeding my brothers and I. It probably drained her to the point of absolute exhaustion that killed her.

I bounced home to home, foster parents, to foster parents, but they always returned me. My brothers were separated from themselves and from me. However, they were each given homes and families. Kirsten, the oldest, has a wife and four kids. Toby, a little younger than me, has several kids and a roommate. Finally, Sugar, the youngest, has a girlfriend. I've come across them every once in a while. They're doing well though.

"Helen was what she was called, right?" Petra asked. Taylor nodded her head, "she moved to Chicago, a few hundred miles from here, and found a boyfriend named Brandon."

Petra bowed her head, gazing at her shoes, "I am sorry, I wish the good of chance." I think what she meant was 'I wish the best of luck'.

I walked to the right side of the house, finding Ivan sitting on his bed, coloring in a coloring book. He seemed focused scribbling on the paper. He didn't show any emotion on his face, he must have been really into it.

I decided to climb in his small bed, joining Ivan and watching him color. It fascinated me that small children can be somewhat intelligent. It's sort of amazing how the human body functions.

I snuggled up beside, Ivan didn't notice. I don't love him, he just needed some sympathy from his superior.

He pointed at his drawing "kiyee, yook!" He squealed with excitement. He appeared proud of his art. He, in fact, was talented. Maybe he'll be an artist when he grows up.

"Yook at my picyure," he blubbered. A smile grew on his face. He grabbed the coloring book and placed it in front of my face.

Oh, what a picture he had colored.

***A/N***

Oh no guys, I just posted late! NOooo! I can't get in that bad habit again. Guys I will try to post again next week. Also, I might leave in a small Christmas present ;)

Wish me luck my guys, I have finals this coming week. I am not looking forward to it, but hopefully, it will result in me having a 4.0 GPA at the end of this semester.

Make sure to seduce that vote button and comment. Thanks, guys, love ya!