Mum never really did love me but this was a completely new level of low even for her. I came home from school to find my stuff packed into a small suitcase near the front door. I didn't own a lot but I was pretty sure she still didn't pack everything in it. I looked at it confused then looked around for her. She wasn't in the loungeroom so I made my way to the kitchen carrying my school bag with me. The kitchen was completely empty except a note sitting in the middle of the bench. I walked over and picked it up.

'I packed all your stuff in bag and left it at the front door. There will be a guy arriving soon to pick you up. Don't argue with him just go. Leave your key on the bench so the landlord can pick it up.'

"Wow. Just wow mum." No explanation nothing. I put the key down and walked away from the note. I climbed the stairs and walked to my mum's bedroom door. Opening I noticed that all her stuff was gone. We had rented the place fully furnished so mum didn't have to buy anything when we moved in other than our small personal things. I pulled the door behind me and headed to my room wondering how bad it would look.

I stepped in the room and stared amazed. The room had been stripped bare. Everything was gone. My posters, Teddy's, stereo and TV... Everything. I dropped my bag on the floor and just stared. I couldn't believe she had just packed everything up and left! And what about this guy that's supposed to be coming to get me? where the hell was he supposed to be taking me?

Just as I started to feel like hyperventilating I heard a knock on the front door. Crap. I composed myself, grabbed my bag and headed down. I opened the front door and nearly died. The guy was terrifying. He was huge! He towered over me and I wasn't even sure he would be able to fit through the front door.

"Miss Evelyn I presume?" I just stared and nodded. "I'll grab your things then." he reached down and grabbed my suitcase. He took a few steps away from the front door before looking back at me. "Follow me please, the masters don't like to be kept waiting." he stated and continued on to the car. I pulled the door closed and followed hugging my school bag to my chest like a life line.

He opened the back door and gestured for me to climb in. I slid into the back seat and put my seat belt on as he climbed in the front. He looked back at me gently for just a momemt. before turning back to the stirring wheel. He put the car in drive and pulled away from the house. I looked out the window at the place.

I had never really felt like home, but it was the closet thing to one that I had. After my father died when I was small my mother seemed to be happy to go where ever she wanted. I was just a piece of luggage that she had to drag around with her. Most of my time I spent alone reading or walking while mum would disappear for hours sometimes days at a time. I had learnt early on how to get food and enrol myself in school. Once mum realised I was efficient enough at doing that she spent even less time worried about me.

I didn't make friends at school. There was no point. Sometimes I would only be at one school for a week other times I might be able to get half a semester. I was the quiet strange girl that day at the back of the class and didn't talk unless I had to. I was an a grade student though. Advantage to being left alone was I could study as much as I wanted. Considering how boring life could be I chose to do it a lot.

I came out of my thoughts and looked out the window. We were passing my latest school...No shame there, I was to advanced for the year anyway so classes were boring. "Hey, where are we going?" he flicked his eyes up to the rear vision mirror at me. "About an hour out of town." Ok why would mum get a different place so close to the same town? Hang on...He mentioned something about masters? "Who's the masters?" this time he sighed slightly. "I'm guessing your mother told you nothing?" I nodded in reply. "Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news...But she sold you girl. I'm taking you to your new owners."

Wait...What!? My friggin mother sold me! How can she even do that! I mean she wasn't the best mum in the whole world but I was her daughter. Isn't that even illegal now? A year slid down my cheek. Great now I'm going to cry in a car with a complete stranger! "Why?" was all I could choke out. "She had some rather large outstanding debts that where over due. Seems she came to some arrangement." I turned my head away and looked out the window as more tears followed the first silently.

I heard him sigh tiredly. "Look the masters aren't that bad. A little short tempered maybe, but if you stay on their good side and listen you should be fine. I've been working for them for a while now and they have always been fair." I sniffed and looked at him. "Where you sold by your mother to them?" I said a little coldly. "No. No I wasn't..." he said sadly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just can't believe..." I trailed off. "I get it kiddo. It's alright. Just remember what I said. Listen, obey and don't get under their feet and you'll be fine, ok?" I nodded and looked back out the window at the trees passing by.

I drifted off to sleep watching the trees. A hand touched my shoulder gently and I almost jumped out of my skin. "It's alright, just me." I looked at him and realised we had stopped. "We're hear. Come on I'll grab your stuff." I slid out of the back seat and stood up stretching. I looked at the huge mansion stretching out in front me. It was beautiful and old. It was a little on the dark side almost like something from a haunted mansion movie, but it was still beautiful.

I took a couple of steps away from the car as my stomach started to knot itself. "The master won't be hear at the moment so I'll walk you through to your room where you can rest for the night. I'll also send a meal up for you." I nodded at him and smiled slightly. "Thank you. Hey, I'm sorry, but so never got your name?" He looked at me and blinked. "Just call me Steve for now." He turned away and walked up the stairs to the doors. I followed close behind.

A little old lady opened one of the doors and looked at us before allowing us to pass through. She closed the door and disappeared quickly through another door. Steve headed up the grand staircase with out even a passing glance at her disappearance. I followed him and he led me through a maze of passageways until we finally reached a door at the end of one. He opened it and stepped aside so I could enter first. I gasped at the size of the room. It was massive. There was a beautiful four poster bed made from some dark wood sitting off in the middle of one wall. Some glass French doors opened out to a small balcony that had a couple of plants on it. Two doors where situated in the opposite wall to the bed. A large full length mirror hung between them.

Steve approached one of the doors and opened it before stepping through. I walked over and popped my head through the door to see where he had gone. It was a walk in robe the size of my old room! Steve placed my stuff on the floor carefully at the back of the robe and turned around heading back out. I stepped aside and he passed me. He walked over to the bed and opened the top draw of a bedside table pulling out a remote control. "This is for the TV that's in the ceiling. You need to press this button hear to get it to drop down before turning it on. You will only have access to normal television at the moment so that will have to suffice ok?" He held the remote out to me. I quickly walked over and grabbed it happily. "Thank you and that will be fine, I'm more of a reader anyway." I smiled at him.

Steve left the room and closed the door behind him. I pressed the button and watched as the TV came down in front of the bed. It was so cool to watch after only having a small, old TV. I turned it on and found a channel that had some cartoons on. I tossed the remote down on the bed and decided to look around at everything. I opened the French doors and stepped out on to the balcony. I grabbed the rail and looked out a forest extending off into the distance. There was a small courtyard with a water fountain and roses just below my room which looked stunning.

I walked back inside the room and closed the doors. Looking around I decided to open the other door and see what was hidden behind that. I walked over and pulled it open. I stared amazed and the bathroom that stretched before me. A beautifully crafted basin stood with a gold framed mirror above it. The bath was set in the middle of the bathroom. I walked over and realised it had jets in the side of it and giggled. Oh my god that was going to be heaven. I looked over the shower that stood elegantly in one corner. A class wall curved out and around the shower area leaving enough room for multiple people to use the shower. There was another lower wall hiding the toilet in another corner. It was all stunning to look at.

I walked out of the bathroom and closed the door. I looked around the room at the furnishings that filled it. Never had I ever had half of these things. I was fairly sure I didn't even know what to use some of it for. I had nothing to put in any of it. That made me groan. My clothes... I walked over to the robe and opened my suitcase. I was going to be lucky if my clothes filled two shelves. I unpacked and put my clothes in a couple of places before stepping back. The robe still looked empty. I sighed and walked out. I was at a loss as to what to do next. My unpacking took about ten minutes.

I climbed on the bed and put pillows behind myself. Flicking through the channels for something a little more entertaining than cartoons I settled on a movie about a lost dog. I slid down slightly and rested my head back against the head board. I started thinking about dad and wondered what he would have thought if he knew his loving wife had sold his only daughter to complete strangers.

He had been the hands on parent while mum was always distant. He would take me to the park and cook for me. I loved his bacon and eggs. He would use cookie cutters to make the eggs into different shapes for me. I loved the yolk being runny as well so he always put the eggs on top of the bacon so that when you cut into it the yolk would ooze over the bacon too. I missed him a lot as I got older. He had been in an accident when I was 10 and never came out of the coma. It destroyed mum to turn the life support off. She may not have cared for me but she really did love dad and he really loved her.

Tears started to swell on my eyes again and I snuggled down into the bed with a pillow crushed against my chest. Now I had lost everyone. Dad was gone and mum just abandoned me. I had no friends and I didn't know if I would even be going back to school. I started crying freely into my pillow. I couldn't stop crying so I just lay there and cried.

When I finally started calming down I got up off the bed and went to the robe. I grabbed a pair of long pajamas and went into the bathroom. I placed my clothes on the basin and turned on the taps in the bath. I stripped my clothes off as the water filled. Once it was full enough I turned the taps off and stepped into the tub slowly allowing my body to adjust to the temperature of the water. I lowered myself into the water and sucked in a breath as the hot water hit around my middle. I finally managed to sit down fully in the tub and sighed. The water was soothing and I found the button to turn on the jets.

The water exploded into motion and I felt one jet hit against the middle of my back and moaned in delight. It was so relaxing and soothing after the afternoon I had. I closed my eyes and laid my head back on the edge of the tub as I let the water bubble around me lifting my body slightly as it went. I just lay there for what felt like hours before I noticed I was starting to drift off to sleep. I shook my head a little and sat up in the tub. I turned the jets off and noticed the temperature of the water had dropped quiet a bit. I stood up in the bath and pulled the plug before climbing out. I walked over to a cupboard and opened to find a towel.

There were a mound of towels all in the same colour. I grabbed the top one and wrapped it around myself. I went over to my clothes and decided I was just going to get dressed in the room. It wasn't like I had to walk down a hallway anymore. I stepped out of the bathroom and a delicious smell hit me. I looked over next to the bed and noticed a tray sitting on the bedside table. I walked over and dropped my clothes on the bed so I could have a look at the food. I lifted the lid and was hit with the beautiful smell of fresh lasagna. My stomach growled at me reminding me that I hadn't eaten all day.

I put my clothes on quickly then climbed onto the bed pulling the tray onto my lap hungrily. I grabbed the knife and fork and tucked into the food quickly. I sat there eating comfortably while watching what was left of the movie. It didn't take long before I started to feel full and I realised I had eaten almost all of the lasagna on my plate. I put my knife and fork down and sighed. I felt full and relaxed now. I placed the plate back on the tray and grabbed the glass of water that was sitting there aswell. I drank half the cup before I placed it back.

I should get contentedly and pushed the blankets back so I could slid under them. I slid down into the bed and rearranged the pillows so I could get comfortable. I changed the TV channel again to see what was on but didn't find anything that I wanted to watch so I turned it off. I rolled over on to my side facing the French doors. The sun had set awhile ago and I could see the stars faintly. The moon shone through them brightly though. I lay there wondering what was going to happen tomorrow. I wasn't sure what I was even going to be doing here. Mum sold me but I knew nothing about what was expected of me or even who had bought me. Why would someone buy a strange girl because someone owed a debt? What kind of people did that?

I lay there thinking and feeling my stomach twist and turn even more as I did. I rolled over to face the door hoping that would help but it didn't. All that did was make me nervous and think about who could enter the room. I threw the blankets back and got up out of bed. I walked to the door and quickly locked it feeling a little more relaxed but still wide awake. I walked over to the French doors and opened them up. The cool night air hit me and I shivered slightly. It wasn't an uncomfortable cold but it was enough to leave goosebumps on the skin. I stepped out and looked at the forest again sighing. Atleast I had a nice view from here. It was so peaceful.

I looked at the balcony a bit more and noticed a summer chair off in the corner. I walked over and dragged it out so that it sat in a way that I could see everything from it. I fucked back into the room and grabbed a throw rug off the end of the bed and walked back out to the chair. I sat down and flicked the blanket out over me. I wriggled down on the chair and got comfortable before staring up at the stars. I lay there and watched the dark clouds drift over the stars and moon. They moved slowly with the soft breeze. I listened to the trees sway softly in the breeze and it wasn't long before I drifted off listening to it all.

I woke to a knocking sound on my door. It went silent for a moment before the knocking started again. I sat up in the bed and pushed the blanket back. Wait...I fell asleep on the summer chair. How did I end up in the bed then? The knock caught my attention again. I walked over and opened the door. "Miss your presence has been requested." A young girl about my age said quickly. "Sorry, can I get dressed first?" Her eyes widened. "No miss, we have to go now."

I sighed and stepped out the door yawning. "What time is it?" The girl flicked a look back at me before continuing. "It's 3 am miss." My eyes widened in shock. Who wakes people up at 3 am? I would have been asleep for only a couple of hours. We walked down through the hallways and down a flight of stairs to a door. The girl knocked twice then turned and left. I watched her disappear down the hall just before the door opened.

A tall dark haired man stood there holding the door. His eyes were a strange shade of brown. He looked at me with a blank cold face. "Evelyn, come in." A deep voice from behind him said. He stepped back so I could walk past him. I watched as he closed the door. Someone cleared their throat and I looked over. Two men were sitting on a sofa while another sat behind a desk. The man behind the desk rose and stepped around to the front of the desk before leaning against it. He crossed his arms and stared at me with the most pricing blue eyes. I fidget slightly on my feet under his look.

"I'm Alec, my brother's hear are Liam and Keaton." he said motioning to them. I nodded at them politely as they stared at me curiously. "As you are now aware, you are our... Responsibility. Now I am sorry for the late wake up call but I'm afraid we will be gone for a few days so I thought it best to address everything before we left." I looked at him and blinked. Responsibility? Really? "Whilst we are gone you will no longer be attending school. I have arranged a personal tutor for you so that you can continue what ever studies you wish to persue. You are also not allowed to leave the grounds. The grounds are quiet extensive so we will be restricting you to the areas directly around the house. A laptop has been bought for you to help with your studies as it was noticed that your mother took all of your things and in relation to this...Steve will be taking you into town tomorrow afternoon to buy anything that you need or would like to have in order to personalise your room. Now while we are gone please feel free to explore the house at your leisure, but there will be certain rooms that will be locked. they are strictly out of bounds to everyone including you. Do you have any questions that we can and would answer for you at this time?"

They all looked at me expectantly. In trying to process everything he had just said I could only come up with one. "Do you have any books I can read?" I heard one of the men snort slightly at my question in amusent and glanced over at them. The other looked rather surprised. I looked back at Alec and he cocked an eyebrow at me. "Books? Of everything you could ask you ask about books?" I blushed slightly in embarrassment. He shock his head with a half smirk. "My dear we have an entire library which I am happy to allow you full access to." I looked up at him in shock. He smiled at me. "I'll have Steve show it to you later. For now, we need to be going. Brothers." He looked at them and they stood from the couch.

His brothers walked out the door and Alec stepped forward from the desk until he was right in front of me. I looked up at him as my heart rate started to rise. He lent down slightly and looked at me like he wanted to eat me. "Sleep well Evelyn." He stood up straight and brushed pass me. The door closed behind them and I let out a breath I didn't even realise I had been holding. I composed myself and looked around. They had left me standing in an office with out knowing how to get back to my room. I groaned at myself and walked over to the door opening it. The young girl from before was standing there. "The masters asked me to take you back to your room." She turned on her heel and walked over quickly. I followed her quickly so I didn't get left behind.

We reached my room and she left me standing outside the door. It was almost like she was afraid of me. I shrugged and opened the door to my room. I walked in and closed the door. I sighed as I walked over to the bed. I slid back under the covers and curled up in a small ball. Praying that sleep would take me again and soon.

*to be continued
© shiree warman