Home is Hell

ASHLEY

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when my mom and my stepfather, the Alpha King of Crescent Valley announced that they were going on yet another vacation when they just returned from one less than a week ago.

“Don’t worry, Ashley, I'm going to get you lots of gifts, you can just text me if there is any new thing that you need,” she told me as she entered the car with Alpha Hendrix.

I wanted to tell her that I did not need anything, that the multitudes of gifts she got me from their last vacation were still untouched.

That the only thing I needed from her was for her to stay at home and protect me from my stepbrothers, and my bullies.

They were the best brothers when our parents were at home and they were the worst bullies whenever they weren't at home. The latter was the most constant because our parents were hardly ever home. They were always on one vacation or attending a public event in the other town or a fundraiser in the other country.

And my stepbrothers, Axel, Brody, and Carson never failed to make my life a living hell. They always reminded me that I was nothing but a maid and the fact that a whirlwind romance had happened between my mom, the former head maid, and their father wasn’t going to change that.

My heart dropped even more as I watched the driver drive out of the compound and a lone tear escaped from my eye. I knew the kind of torture and pain I was going to be put through and I wasn't prepared for that.

I couldn't be prepared for it.

I started walking briskly to the main house. The plan was to escape to my room and lock myself in there before the boys will notice. Out of sight, out of mind don't allow work for them but it's better than putting myself where they'll easily see me and abuse me.

“And where do you think you're going?”

The icy cold voice made me stop in my tracks just when I was about to start climbing the stairs and my heart splintered.

It was Brody. I knew this before I even turned back and when I did, the anger and venom in his eyes almost made me lose my footing. They were so different from the warm eyes that had looked at me in the presence of our parents earlier this morning.

“I'm just... I was just...”

“Shut up, you moron,” he thundered and I felt my body shake.

“You seem to have forgotten your duty here in this house so why don't we refresh your memory?” he continued and as if in sync, Axel, who was lounging on a sofa snapped his fingers together and all the maids started filling into the sitting room.

I knew what they were going to order them to do even before they did. And despite knowing, I felt my heart break as the maids packed themselves into the boys' quarters.

That's where they'd be till our parents returned and I'd be the only one to take over the work of over ten maids.

But at least, for now, I could have a few minutes to myself. The house was sparkling clean, everything was in order and it won't be time for dinner until 2 hours later. So I could rest up now or so I thought.

“Now, get to work,” Brody barked at me, “clean everywhere and everything till they’re sparkling clean.

“Bu… but…” I stammered, one of the numerous effects of the fear they’ve instilled in me, “Everywhere is clean.”

“You think?” Brody grinned at me, a sinister grin full of sinister promises.

The boys seemed to communicate using their mind links because the next thing I knew, they were all on their feet and turning everywhere upside down. They littered the sitting room, scattered everywhere, and poured soup and oil on the kitchen floor, on the clean plates, and on the cabinets.

A sob rocked my entire body at their sheer display of inhumanity.

“Now,” it was Carson who spoke when they were done making the house look like a junkyard, “the house isn’t so clean, right?”

Him and his brothers chuckled, a dark sound that sent goosebumps over my entire body. The three brothers stood there, staring at me with so much hate and contempt that if someone could die from being intensely hated, I’d have died a long time ago.

“Now get to work,” Axel yelled before pushing me to the floor, “and get your disgusting face out of my sight.”

He practically stepped over me to walk away and his brothers mirrored his movement.

My heart was in tethers as I gathered myself and started to work. I have to if I don’t want to spend the next few days in total hell.