ASHLEY
I woke up the next morning on my bed. Which was strange because the last thing I remembered was collapsing on the bathroom floor. And not only was I on the bed, but I also wasn’t in those drenched clothes, I was now in a very comfortable piece of pajamas and the duvet was covering my body. It almost seemed like someone had tucked me in. But I knew better than to think or believe that someone had really tucked me in. The three people in this house with me would rather give me off to the lion to devour than to lift a finger to help me. I must have done that myself but I had no recollection of it whatsoever. Was I starting to space out and forget things now? My eyes fell on my bedside clock and a short scream left my mouth. It was 6:45 am. I should have woken up a long time ago to prepare breakfast for the triplets. Heck! My heart dropped drastically when I realized that I didn’t remember to iron their school uniforms before I slept off. They were going to kill me. I was sure of that. I looked around the room, trying to plot my escape so I’d return when they were calmer. I had not even gotten out of bed when my door was flung open with so much force that my heart dropped again. They filled in, looking angry as hell while also looking exceedingly dashing in their well-ironed uniforms. I stopped when I realized that their uniforms were ironed. I didn’t remember ironing it. Or did I? No, I was sure I didn’t. So where did they get well-ironed uniforms from? “Good… good morning.” “Save your useless stuttering,” it was Carson who growled at me, looking so pissed that I could see angry fumes coming out of him in waves. “So you’re a princess now that we have to come and wake you up before you’d prepare breakfast for us, right?” “No… I mean… I was just…” “No,” Brody interrupted me, “I’m sure she wants us to wake her up with breakfast in bed.” “And I don’t blame her, I blame the comfortable bed she slept on. If only she had slept on the cold floor like she rightfully deserved to, she wouldn’t have overslept.” “I see,” Axel replied Carson and from the sinister look in his eyes, I knew he was scheming something that’d make me bleed. “And luckily for her, I’ve figured out a way to rectify that. Today will be the last time you’ll sleep on a bed till your lousy mother is back. Now, you have three minutes to pick whatever you’ll need from this room before we lock the door.” “What?” I stared at them in disbelief, they were kidding, right? They couldn’t chase me out of my room! “You have 2 minutes now,” Brody grinned at me, a completely sardonic and sinister grin. That propelled me to move. I moved around in a frenzy, and grabbed my school uniforms, underwear, nightgown, dresses, phone, school back, laptop, purse… I was about to grab my duvet when… “Your time is up! Now get out.” “Please, I just need…” A strong hand clasped around my wrist, crushed my bones and pushed me outside. Brody locked the door and kept the key securely in his pocket. They were really locking me out of my room. Without a duvet. “From now, till the whore you call a mother comes back, you’ll be sleeping on the kitchen floor,” Axel announced, “that’s where you belong to anyways.” Then they started to walk away, leaving me with the new level of wickedness that they just unlocked. “And our breakfast in 10 minutes if you don’t want us to start our morning with a whipping session.” That was Carson and I felt my heart break even more. But I did not even have time to waste around by putting myself. I quickly tied my clothes together and made my way to the kitchen. And as I was preparing their breakfast, I realized they didn’t get angry that I didn’t iron their clothes even though they already ironed it themselves. Or did I iron it last night and forget it too? ***** Axel was the last one to speed off. They all drove their cars and never offered me a ride unless our parents were around. And even if they offered me a ride, they’d drop me somewhere on the way and make me trek the rest of the distance. But if our parents weren’t around, I was made to trek the whole distance from home to school. It wasn’t a really far distance but trekking that distance after waking up by 4 am to prepare breakfast for them was too much for me. And I couldn’t take a bus. They’ll find out. The one time I took it, they found out and I was punished harshly. That was when they got the whips because I was a goat who wouldn’t listen unless whipped. I plugged in my AirPods and started walking. It was hard but I was already used to it and in no time, I could see the gates of Empire High. I was already late, almost an hour late and I was hoping that the teachers and disciplinarian prefects already left the gate. That way, I’d be able to sneak it. But I had no such luck when I got to the gate and I saw who was standing behind it.ASHLEY Jasmine, the disciplinary prefect was standing by the gate, and from the wicked grin she flashed me, I knew there was no escaping this for me. “You know at this point, I think you should just drop out with how much of a serial latecomer you’ve become.” She knew the reason why I was always coming back but because she’s Jasmine, she never failed to worsen an already worse situation. Once upon a time, Jasmine and I were best friends. We were literally soul sisters. Then my mom married the Alpha King, Jasmine started coming over and immediately she caught the eyes of Axel, she changed and joined them in bullying me. I thought that when she started dating Axel, she’d talk to him so they’d leave me alone but instead, my best friend abandoned me and she joined them in making my life a living hell. My status as the stepdaughter of the alpha king gave her a rise on the social ladder because she was my best friend but she made sure to drop me to the lowest level when she
Ashley I held my breath as I walked down the hallway. I was conscious of the eyes on me, on the pointed fingers, taunting whispers, and sneering peals of laughter. That was my everyday life here in school. Walking in the hallway was always a dreadful experience for me. I could feel my heart beating fast, could feel perspiration on my entire body, could feel my palms growing sweaty. I hated walking alone. Nobody likes me in Empire High. The boys already gave everyone a green pass to bully me and they were always so eager to do that as if it’d score them some point with the triplets. I knew the number of steps I needed to take before reaching my class and I was almost done counting when I tripped on something and I landed on the floor with a thud. The hallway erupted in laughter. I felt a sharp pain in my knees and I looked at them to see that the right one was already bleeding. “Oh, my bad,” the voice that I recognized to be Jasmine’s mocked, “maybe you should get gl
ASHLEY Derrick asked me to be his assignment partner. I still couldn't believe it and even though I walked home under a scorching sun, I couldn't wipe the shit-eating grin off my face. I was ecstatic. But it took getting home and entering the house for my mood to sour completely. “Why are you just getting home?” Axel fired at me immediately I entered, the venom in his eyes terrifying my soul. “I... I... I had to walk and...” “Save your useless stuttering,” Brody cut me off by throwing a pillow at me. It hit me square in the face and the force of it nearly split my head into two. “Make us dinner,” Axel commanded and I instinctively looked at the wall clock. It was just 5 pm and we didn't eat dinner until 7:30. But I knew better not to argue. “Okay, let me just change from my school uniforms,” I started to make my way to the stairs, momentarily forgetting that I'd been locked out of my room when another pillow hit me square in the face and this time, the pain w
ASHLEYI tried to rack my brain about the strange happenings around me. I was either losing my mind or someone was actually doing me some favours.First I woke up on the bed after passing out on the floor, some nights again. Next, it was the ironed uniforms that I do not remember ironing. Now, a duvet! Same duvet I was very sure I could not pick before those monsters locked my room.Whatever was going on, I really did not have the time to dwell on it. This morning, there was a new kind of motivation. It was as if I had some leftover goodies from last night which I wanted to finish this morning.Then I recalled the reason, it was Derrick.I reminisced on the chat we had the previous night before I eventually went to sleep. A smile crept into my face. He really had a way with words and I smiled all through. I thought of going through the chat again, reading word for word, but there was no time for that.I wanted to rush to school. I wanted to spend more time with Derrick. With him, I
ASHLEYThe closing bell finally rang and my heart skipped a thousand beats. I quickly reached for my bag, I had to be ready when he appeared. As I stood up to adjust my uniform, Derrick was already beside me. I turned to him, and smiled. He smiled back, a cocky grin that gave him a sexy look, “were you going to leave without me?” he asked, with a side glance that seemed all knowing. I shook my head, “No way,” I said and proceeded to ask, “This is about the assignment , right?” I could no longer hold it in. I had to be sure what this was about.I could blame it on the state of things at home, but I always liked to be prepared. I always wanted to know what to expect. Call it trauma, but my step brothers didn't make life easy for me. My curiosity must have been plastered on my face because Derrick looked at me closely, “relax, let out some air,” he said and softly rubbed my shoulders. I sighed and covered it up with a smile. “Well, two things, Ashley,” he said and unzipped his bag.
NINEASHLEYAs soon as I walked into the palace, my mood changed. I was back to my most dreaded place in the world. I sluggishly walked into the living room and surprisingly, it was empty. I looked around for Carson, usually, he would be buried in a video game but he wasn’t. I could feel the hairs on my skin rise. Something was not right. My instincts screamed at me to run away. But why would I run when I had no idea what the problem was. I took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen. My heart trumpeted loudly as I twisted the door knob.I scanned the kitchen but there was nothing. Then I stepped in. That was the worst mistake I had made so far. In a split second, I felt my entire body crashing on the floor. Someone had poured a slippery substance on the floor and it swept me off my feet. I landed on my back and hit my head on the door. I screamed! I thought the world had ended. Pain shot through my body, accompanied by thunderous laughter from my stepbrothers. My heart broke as
ASHLEYI woke up at exactly 5am. I had made a routine of setting an alarm before going to sleep every day. I could not risk the triplets waking me up. Especially Axel, my worst enemy. In the last few days, I realized I woke up feeling happy. Now, I could look forward to seeing Derrick.I thought of the way he said my name. The softness of his touch on my face. I thought of his lips and a gasp escaped mine. The thought of him caused a sweet sensation in my stomach. I laughed as I recalled how jealous he was when I was watching Jordan’s video. I took a deep breath and buried my face in my pillow. As much as I wanted to spend the whole day thinking about Derrick, I could not afford to waste any time. I had a lot of things to do, including washing my step brothers’ cars. I was completely exhausted after doing all the chores and washing the cars. I yawned dizzily as I climbed the staircase to go back into the house. Just then the door was flung open and Axel appeared. I stepped aside
ASHLEYI woke up to a pair of deep blue eyes staring into my soul. I squinted my eyes, trying to take in my environment. I jolted in shock, my first instinct was to flee. It was Carson. He leaned forward as if to confirm I was still alive. Then he waved his hand in front of me. He put out his fingers, one, two and five. When I blinked, he nodded and got on his feet. “Thankfully, you are not dead yet. I was already wondering who will do the chores you left behind,” he said, “get up and do what you have to do. You have rested well,” he said, offhandedly and went upstairs. I noticed the living room was empty. I propped up on my elbows to see what exactly was going on. But a sharp pain cut into my skin, which caused me to wince. I quickly shifted my weight from the affected elbow. That was when I noticed the pieces of glass lying around. Then it all began to make sense. Axel had hit me hard against the wall because of Jasmine. I fainted. I was finally awake and all Carson cared about