ALIYA TORRES
"Mila I-it was an accident!" I said horrified watching Ma'am Crystal trying to get up from the broken coffee table.
Mila helped her up and when I saw the blood on her arm, I knew right away I had messed up.
I shouldn't have pushed her but she was hurting my scalp for no reason at all.
"I'm so sorry, Crystal. We can clean that up, I'll get the first aid kit",Mila suggested but the blondie wouldn't wait.
Instead she picked her bag, touched her right arm and said acidly,
"Mark my words, Ethan will hear about this"
"I-It was an accident", I croaked out,"I didn't mean to hurt you"
"You did this on purpose! Stop playing innocent",she shrieked leaving the house in a rush.
When Crystal left, I turned to Mila.
"I swear it was an accident! She was hurting me, I only pushed her slightly and she fell. I didn't mean to-"
"Ali, I saw everything. I saw her yanking your hair and threatening you. I believe you",Mila said and I run into her arms hugging her.
"Though am not sure how we'll explain everything to Ethan once he comes back"
Crap! She was right. Absolutely no way would Ethan listen to what I had to say.
I was guilty no matter how I tried looking around it.
And for the next few hours, I couldn't eat anything, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't sit.
"You just have to tell him what happened. He'll get it",Jai had assured once I told him everything that had transpired while he was gone.
"It's not that easy. What if he doesn't listen?"I had asked nervously.
"Then make him listen",Jai had suggested.
Only, I didn't know how to go about it. First the incident with the watch and now? Oh God, it was his girlfriend we were talking about.
I hurt the woman he loved and I was sure as hell he would take her side and not mine.
I hardly slept a wink during the night and the next day was no better. Sure enough Ethan Carter must have already gotten the news of Crystal's accident and was on his way here.
My heart hammered against my chest, I felt feverish, I felt like my stomach hurt and as if I couldn't breath.
I was currently seated in the living room watching another episode of 'Manifest' when Jai came barging into the room.
"He called Ali. He wants me to pick him up at the airport"
And my eyes perked up. He was coming and I was sure going to die.
"Ooh"
It's all I could manage to say.
"Hey remember what we talked about. Make him listen to your side of the story. He's an understanding man, he'll get it",Jai held onto my hands and I nodded gulping a huge chunk of saliva.
He'll get it.
I wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally.
He knew me. Even though it had been days since I started working for him, he knew me right?
I was a good person...at times.
The more I waited, the more panicked I became.
I kept staring at the door wondering when Ethan would get home. An hour, two hours, three hours and four hours, I was sure I would have a heart attack then and there.
"Why don't you rest? I'll deal with him when he comes",Mila suggested.
I took her advice going back to my room to atleast try to sleep before the inevitable happened.
Due to how I hadn't slept well in the last couple days, I managed to catch sleep within no time.
I was in the middle of having the best dream in a yacht when suddenly I heard,
"Not now, Mila. Where's Aliya?"
I heard Ethan's voice. I could feel his anger overly laced in his voice.
"Ethan I suggest you calm down a bit before-"
Mila intervened and at that time I got off from bed, straightened my maid's uniform and went to the living room.
"Where's Aliya, Mila?" I heard him bark once more.
"Aliya! Aliya Maria Fernanda Torres, you better show yourself", he called out again and by this time, I had already reached the living room watching his back heave up and down.
"Am here", I said not even recognizing my own voice.
Ethan glanced at me then at the coffee table infront of him. From his expression, I knew he knew what had transpired with Crystal and I felt the need to say something.
"I-"I went to speak, only to have him silence me in an impatient manner.
"Don't just don't! Do you have any idea what you did? Ofcourse you didn't, because you do everything without thinking. You do everything because you, Aliya are jealous of what people have and you don't"
I wasn't jealous. I wanted to say. I wasn't jealous of Crystal, I didn't even have time to get jealous of her after she pulled my hair.
"What? How could you possibly explain this? You could have killed her! Do you know she has a cut just below her eye? What if the glass actually got in her eye and she ended up having one blind eye?"
His indifferent tone shouldn't have bothered me but at this point tears were at the brink of my eyes threatening to spill.
"Or did you intend that? Did you intend to actually blind her? I gave you a second chance but you do not deserve any chances. Second chances are for people who actually deserve it.
This job, was meant to help you but now? I think I might as well fire you and demand my money back right now!"
He lashed coldly and I almost took two steps backwards afraid that he would hit me.
And even if he did hit me, I wouldn't mind. I hurt someone he loved and like he said I could have killed her or made her blind.
What if she snapped her neck against the wooden edge of the table and died?
"Ethan, atleast calm down",Mila spoke out but Ethan turned to face her only to yell at her too.
I felt so guilty. I felt bad. I felt my whole body wallow in sadness. I felt like... crying.
I had kept a brave face but the bitterness clogging my chest, the pressure inside my throat, the tears just an inch away from falling couldn't be managed.
I teared up. I cried.
"Calm down? Mila, I haven't rested till I left and when I thought I was about to rest, my girlfriend called me and you know what she told me? That my new maid wanted to kill her.
Aliya should know what she did was wrong! She should know that my house is not the same as the streets she lived where she can just act out of anger and attack people!
She should apologize. She will apologize to Crystal!"
Ethan turned around to glare at me and the tears only cascaded down my cheeks faster than I could stop them.
"Am sorry",I said. It came out as a whisper.
"Well sorry won't fix anything. Get out of my sight before I do something I might regret!" he spat acidly and I ran out of there like a wounded animal.
I rushed past the dining room, past the kitchen and out of the house using the back door.
I ran past the pool, past the bunker and just down to the trees where no one would see me tear up.
I cried, I wept miserably, my back against the bark of an old tree. Slowly, I fell to the ground seating on the cold wet grass as I wiped my tears.
It was pathetic crying over spilt milk but somehow Ethan's tongue lashing stung like hell.
I stared at the skies, looking at the calm stars and that helped me calm down as I reached for the phone in the pockets of my utterly ugly grey dress.
I looked at my contact list seeing the name 'Ray'. I pressed his name holding the phone against my ear,
"Aliya. What a nice surprise, I thought you forgot about me after landing a job in Obama's home", he joked and I managed to smile.
"It's nice to hear from you too, Ray", I sniffled, wiping tears from my cheeks.
"What's wrong? Your voice sounds odd?" He asked and I shed a tear grinning at how well Ray knew me.
"Ali, if he did something all you have to do is tell me and I'll gladly take you away from there"
I knew Ray would do just that but I didn't want to stir any more trouble.
"Am-am fine. I just have a cold that's messing up with my voice", I lied.
"You sure? You should ask your boss for a sick leave if it's something serious"
I doubted my boss wanted to see me again. Not after everything I had done.
"No. I'm fine. How are you doing?"
"Me? Well at least I can say I've made some friends at Wiztech. They bullied me at first since I was new and everything but they are good guys"
"It's nice to hear that, Ray. What about mom? Have you been visiting her?"
"Yes I have and it's safe to say, she is recovering and on her feet again"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked curiously.
"Am saying you don't have to worry about her. Can I call you later? I have somethings I have to take care of-"
"No. No, it's okay, I get it"
"Goodnight mittens"
"Goodnight"
The call was short but atleast I could say I felt a little better knowing that my mother was recovering and that Ray was doing fine.
I leaned against the tree feeling the night breeze almost carry me away. My knees rattled and my hands had goosebumps all over but I would rather stay outside than go back and face the wrath of Ethan Carter.
I must have drifted asleep because the next thing I knew, I felt two hands on my thigh and when I came to, my hand rested on a block of wall.
A block of wall that seemed to move. I opened my eyes wide only to look up and see Ethan Carter carrying me.
"Let me go", I hissed.
"Wow sleeping beauty is finally awake",he muttered walking up the greeny path. Though it was hard to see the green grass with the eerie darkness.
"Put me down! I said put me down this instant!" I yelled, wiggling in his grip.
"This is not the time to be stubborn. Am tired and believe me I'm carrying you out of necessity otherwise I would have left you to freeze out there",he growled not even meeting my eyes but staring ahead.
"Then let me freeze to death. Just put me down for God's sake",I grunted and I actually felt his hands leave my thigh.
And when my feet went to step on the ground, my right ankle bent and I fell to the ground with a thud.
"Aah", I screamed rubbing my uncle and Ethan bent down immediately taking my leg into his hand.
"See, your stubbornness will be death of you",he huffed rubbing his thumbs on my ankle.
I held onto his shoulder as I stifled the pain.
"It hurts", I hissed.
"Where? Where does it hurt?" He asked concerned and I glanced at him.
He moved his hands just above my ankle and I nodded biting my bottom lip.
"There. Right there", I said quickly jerking my leg up.
He stopped whatever he was doing to stare at me,
"Why didn't you tell me what happened?"
It was hard to talk considering a minute ago he wanted to skin me alive with his icy eyes.
"About what?"
"You know very what am talking about. Mila told me everything"
Oooh.
"You were mad. I-I thought if I said something you would lose it and hit me"
"Hit you? I might have been angry but that doesn't mean I hit women"
God, why did he sound like a decent man? Like a good man. Had I misjudged him but no, I had to stay focused, he was the same guy who was yelling at me minutes ago.
"It doesn't matter. I was guilty irregardless", I said trying to stand up on for my leg to ache the minute I applied pressure on it.
"Crystal was guilty too. Now, you are going to have to accept my help because there's no way you can walk. I think you sprained your ankle, Aliya"
He said once more sweeping me off my feet and carrying me in his arms.
At that moment, surrounded by eerie darkness, I didn't know what was happening all I knew was that I liked the Ethan Carter carrying me at the moment.
And how I wished he was like this all the time.
