I spend several minutes in bed: staring at the ceiling. I eventually roll off and make my way to the bathroom. I pause on the balcony to see if I can hear any movement hinting to Luke’s presence. After a few seconds of silence, I take solace in my assumed solitude.

I head to the shower and strip down. My aching body finds relief in the hot water as my worries wash away once again. As I let myself relax, I find myself letting out something I hadn’t in a long time - a song. I start to sing a tune I learned from a kind old man back a couple years ago. Hearing him belt it out in the shelter always reminded that there was always room for happiness even in the roughest times.

I sang and sang as I cleaned myself up. When I got it out and dried off, I kept on humming. The tune looped in my brain as I finished up brushing my teeth, hair, and applying bandages to my wounds.

With only a towel wrapped around my waist, I leave the bathroom. But on my way back to my room, the sound of rustling bags stops me. I lean over the railing, hesitantly. “Hel...lo?”

The rustling stops and a woman’s voice responds with a similar confusion. “Hello?” A befuddled white woman around 45-50, medium blonde hair, and nice clothing, comes out of the kitchen and looks up at my half naked form. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know Luke had a ‘friend’ over.” Her emphasis on ‘friend’ made my stomach turn.

My cheeks flush and I have to bite my tongue before responding. “No. I’m the new…” I take a moment to bring myself to reality, “Butler.”

The woman’s eyes light up with an unexpectant joy. “Oh! I’m glad Luke’s finally got someone to take care of him. How about you get dressed and I’ll finish up down here? Then we can get to know each other.”

I nod and shrug before retreating to my room and throwing on a tee and jeans before heading down. As I hit the tile of the foyer, I can see the mystery lady walking out of the pantry. I squint but make my way into the kitchen. She pulls some chips out of the last of seemingly many bags and makes her way back inside the closet of extravagant foods. “Finally. Got all of the groceries put away!” She walks at me confidently and with her hand outstretched. “I’m Margaret. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Her smile is motherly and the small wrinkles by her eyes let you know it’s genuine.

“I-I’m Charlie. Nice to meet ya. Um… I’m sorry but why are you here?” I try to make my confusion look as innocent as I can.

She laughs and takes a seat on one of the stools, “I’m the Itos’ personal shopper.” I wince at her words. “Never heard of it?” I shake my head. “I buy Luke’s groceries and supplies for him every week.”

I rub my temples in disbelief. “Are you telling me these people are too rich to even go buy their own shit?”

Margaret laughs cheerily. “Yes, I guess you could say that. But I’m not complaining! I get paid to do what I like and it helps me get out of the house.”

“Is this like a thing only the Itos’ do? Or is this a general rich person thing?” I lean my arms onto the table to support the disappointment weighing me down.

“No, plenty of people around here have personal shoppers. I work for 5 families in this neighborhood.” I slam my head down on the marble island. Margaret snickers at my antics. “I take it you’re new to the whole butler thing?”

I lift my head and look at her with a raised eyebrow. “What gave that away?”

We both smile. “Quite a few things. First off, what are all those bandages for on your chest?”

I look down at my body, having forgotten she’d seen me in only a towel earlier. “Oh yeah. I got in a fight with three guys and they kind of beat me really hard…” Margaret looks concerned. “I’m better now. Luke was actually the one who picked me up of the street and got me patched up.”

“Oh, Luke really is a sweetheart, isn’t he?” Her words make me want to vomit. “Well, I need to get going. But I’m sure I’ll see you around.” She pats my shoulder and hops off the stool. “Luke left you a note by the way,” she points at a yellow, folded paper on the counter, “have a good day, Charlie!”

“You too.” She gives me one last smile before making her way to the door and leaving with one last bye. Once again, I’m left in an empty house with a deafening silence.

I take a deep breath to steel myself and grab the paper in front of me. Even his handwriting annoys me.

‘Charlie

I’m so so sorry about last night… I feel really bad about what happened and I promise I’ll make it up to you. I told some friends yesterday that they could come over cause they wanted to meet you. As per our agreement, I’d like you to wear some of the nicer clothes we got for you so we can impress them! We should be back around three so you don’t have to change until then. Otherwise, you cleaned so well yesterday that there’s not much for you to do, so just relax for the day. Don’t forget to eat lunch though! Oh! And if you could make a few snacks or something for when my friends come over, that’d be amazing. Nothing too fancy, just put some chips in bowls or something.’

I roll my eyes and crumple up the note. I open the pantry to see what Margaret had brought. I grab a box of Fruity Pebbles and the milk from the fridge. Then, I spend far too long trying to find the bowls and spoons but eventually succeed and have myself some breakfast.

When I’m finished, I clean my bowl and put it in the dishwasher before going to the living room and turning on the TV. I have no clue what’s on but it seems to be some kind of sitcom. I figure it’s good enough for now and drop into the couch. I bend over and put my head in my hands and start to think about last night.

What was that? Was I leading him on? Maybe I shouldn’t have let him touch me that much. No! No, he’s in the wrong. What he did was disgusting! He had no right. He assaulted me! That part of my life is over! I can’t go through that again… I don’t care how he looks. I can’t let it be like before...