iNDIGO’S POV
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It was quite dark out for this time of night, mostly because the moon was covered by a blanket of clouds. Sitting in a cold, dark alley by myself, shivering and wishing I had another change of clothes. It had been raining for most of the day, which spelled bad for me. I was at risk of getting sick, and I was already in poor health. I was only nineteen and I was homeless. I was very skinny, too skinny. You could see my bones because I hardly ever ate. A lot of the time I would raid the dumpsters and trash cans behind grocery stores and bakeries. Unfortunately the only homeless shelter in the city was only open every other Thursday, since there were only a few homeless people around here. The only other shelter was miles away in a different city, but walking there would kill me and I was too scared to hitch my way there.
Now you’re probably wondering why and how I was homeless at such a young age. I was twenty one and had never really had a great time in life, but my homelessness had a lot to do with the fact that my grandmother died, but thats not the whole of it. I never liked talking about what happened and tried my very hardest to forget. Remembering everything that happened just put me in pain, mentally and physically.
The city I lived in wasn’t the biggest, by any means, but it was big enough to have skyscrapers and its ow suburbs. I lived, or didn’t live, in the heart of the city. Almost everyone in this city was filthy rich, going to expensive colleges and owning businesses or working in office buildings for bigwig CEO’s. There were a few neighborhoods where low to middle class families lived, but those people often left, leaving room for another small family to move in.
Out of the city of about 10,500 people, only about ten of us were homeless. We hardly ever crossed paths, and when we did we usually traded good spots to find food, or hot spots to pan handle. A lot of us begged on the streets, though a lot of the owners of companies complained that our presence was dirtying the streets, when most of the time it was their faults we were impoverished in the first place.
There used to be low-income apartment buildings, and I’d lived in one for about two years, paying my rent by housekeeping, and at one point i’d had a temporary job in a factory. But then the entitled rich fatheads took over. Xayden Christamos of Christamos Enterprises decided to buy the building and tear it down to build himself a new office building, making most of us relocate. I ended up having trouble finding work and couldn’t manage to raise enough money to find somewhere to live. Ever since then, I’d come to loath the man I’d never met for ruining the one good thing I’d had going for me.
Though the city had a few other corporations and companies, Christamos Enterprises was by far the richest and most popular. The owner and CEO, Xayden, had only just taken over about the time he’d ripped down the only place I’d been able to call home. The man hadn’t even had to courtesy to give money to anyone living there to help the relocate. He was a cruel, cold man, yet he managed to remain the most eligible bachelor in many place all over the world, and was often on the cover of magazines I found laying in trashes or on the streets.
Most of them questioned why he chose to stay in such a small city, and why he didn’t just move his company to New York like most did. Instead he remained here in Battery City, Washington (anybody get that reference? No this is not a real place) Where he’d been born and raised. But because of him, Battery City wouldn’t remain a ‘small city’ forever. In my opinion it was pretty big, and every day grew bigger. The city kept expanding and so did the suburbs. More and more people moved here every year, and more and more people opened businesses or one shut down and another opening in its place. It was a growing cycle.
I’d tried a few times to get jobs around here, but since I began to become skinny and my appearance declined I stopped trying. No one wanted to help a poor, hideous homeless girl.
I could feel the wet chill of the previous rain in my bones, causing my to shiver and whimper in pain. It was October and there was a good chance that it would snow at any time, if the freezing almost-sleet rain was any indication. It was a bad time of year for me and for others. Once in awhile every winter you would find the frozen body of a homeless person behind a dumpster or in a warehouse. A lot of the time in the winter I would break into people’s homes without them even knowing and sleep in their basement or attic. Most of the time I went undetected, but a few times I’d been caught and had the cops called on me. A lot of the time I managed to get away but once in a blue moon I’d be arrested and then released the next day with a styrofoam cup of hot chocolate and a donut.
Everyone at the police station knew me, because of past occurrences that had nothing to do with me doing bad things, but because of my parents, but of course I don’t want to talk about that. They knew what I went through and what I was living through, and a lot of the time if they saw me they would ‘arrest’ me just so I would have a warm place to sleep in the station for the night, and they were usually able to find me a new pair of clothes before I left the next day.
Suddenly, it began to rain again, and I cursed in frustration. This time the rain felt like small ice pebbles than water, but it wasn’t hail yet since it re-soaked my clothes. I stood and sighed, making my way back out onto the sidewalk, where busy office people were just getting off work and walking home or trying to catch a taxi. Most of them looked at me with their noses wrinkled in disgust or ignored me altogether.
I needed to find somewhere to go where I would have at least a little cover from the rain. That was easier said than done since the only place I could think of were the gazebo’s in the parks, but they were fenced in and locked at night with security placed to keep homeless people out during the night. It was unfair, if you asked me, but at the same time I kind of understood if that makes any sense.
I finally ducked under the awning of a flower shop that was closed and shivered, shitting on the steps, grateful to finally have some relief from the rain. I placed the small cup that I carried around on the ground by my feet and waited to see if anyone would drop in some money. At the moment I only had about ten cents. Fifteen more cents and I could get a small muffin from a bakery down town.
Someone walked by and threw a nickel in, almost missing the cup and hitting me. I mumbled a thank you and shivered, hoping the rain would stop soon. My body was locking up, and I knew that was a bad sign. I picked up my cup and as I stood a tall man stopped in front of me. I froze in fear, thinking maybe he was going to jump me for what little I had, which had happened before. Instead he dropped a handful of money into my cup and walked away. I looked inside and saw that he'd left a five dollar bill and a handful of quarters. I looked up quickly to see if he was still around so I could thank him but he was gone. I emptied the money into my pocket and smiled a little, a happy hop in my step. That was enough to feed me for two days, which made everything seem a little less bleak.
As I continued to walk the rain let up, the the cold continued to hang around. My limbs were heavy and I was so tired that I felt I could no longer walk. I knew that I was already getting sick, from the shaking and the hot and cold flashes. I probably had pneumonia or hypothermia, and I knew there was a good chance I wouldn’t see tomorrow.
I stopped walking and sat down, not even bothering to see where I was. I took the money out of my pocket and counted it. Eleven dollars.
A weak smile graced my face. I wasn’t afraid of dying overnight, in fact I would welcome it, but just knowing someone was kind enough to give up this much money warmed me a little on the inside. I laid down on the wet steps I was on and clutched the money in my hand, feeling myself falling away. The bright lights and sound of horns fell away unit all I could see was black.
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186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkM27Fsh8kR
I woke up and saw nothing but bright white lights. Did I really make it to heaven? I asked myself. When I fully came around I realized I wasn’t dead, but I was in a hospital room. My body was stiff and aching, my head throbbing. I blinked around the room and noticed a clock on the wall. 1 o’clock pm.
I sat up a little and looked around. I was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. There was a button on my bed that said ‘Nurses Station’ but before I could press it, a woman dressed in pink scrubs came in with a clipboard in her hand.
“Hello, its good to see you’re awake.” She said, smiling.
“Where am I?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
“You’re at Mercy Hospital. A man named Xander Christamos brought you in, he says he found you passed out on the steps of his building. You’re lucky to be alive, Miss Wilson.” She said, smiling and checking all my machines, “How are you feeling?”
“Um, okay I guess..” I scratched at the bandage on my arm where they’d no doubt drawn blood, “My body hurts and I have a killer headache.”
“Yes, well you had mild hypothermia, you had severe dehydration, your severely underweight and have a vitamin deficiency. You were basically a walking skeleton, if you’d been left outside even for another hour theres a good chance your body would have given up.” She wrote on her clipboard.
“How long have I been here?” I asked, licking my dry lips.
“About three days. We’ve managed to get some nutrients into you, but you need to eat some real food. Someone will be up here in a little while with your food tray,” As she spoke my stomach growled loudly causing her to smile.
“Mr. Christamos has been stopping by to see how your doing,” She said, making me lean forward a little so she could fluff my pillows.
I was confused as to why he would come to see me, even more confused as to why he would have brought me here in the first place. Knowing how he was and what he’s done I would have expected him to have me thrown in the dumpster like trash.
“Mr. Christamos has also brought you some new clothes, so once that IV bag is empty you just press the nurses station button and Ill get you unhooked so you can shower and change, then you’ll be free to go,” She said, smiling again before leaving the room.
I used the bed remote to move the top upwards so I could lean back. There was a television remote on a beside table, so I began watching television. There was nothing on that I could really follow. It had been years since I’d watched tv and I didn’t really understand what was happening in most of them, but I watched it anyway as a distraction from the questions crowding around in my head.
Several minutes later of me flipping through channels I noticed my IV bag was empty and pressed the button. The same nurse came in, this time carrying a tray of food. My mouth was practically watering when I smelled it, and my stomach growled demandingly when she set it in front of me. I instantly began shoving food in my face.
“Eat slowly, we don’t want your body going into shock.” She said, taking my arm to remove the IV, “After that you can go ahead and take a shower, your bathroom is right through that door.” She said, pointing to a heavy metal door on the other side of the room.
I reluctantly began to eat slower, chewing the chicken strips dipped in ranch slowly. Even though it was hospital food, it was the best thing I had eaten in a very long time. When I thought the nurse wasn’t looking I hid a strip of chicken under my pillow. I also hid one of the two apple sauce cups and a handful of goldfish crackers. She finally left the room after removing the heart monitor stickies, which hurt only a little, and left me in peace to eat the first real meal I’d had in a long time. When I was finished I placed the tray on the table next to me and got up, grabbing the clothes she’d left on the end of the bed and went into the little bathroom
It wasn’t very big, and it certainly wasn’t fancy, but I was excited to have a shower. It had been a long time since I’d been any sort of clean and I was especially excited to finally be able to wash my disgusting hair.
I stripped out of my hospital gown and old, dirty undergarments before I started the shower and stepped under the warm water. I avoided looking at myself in the mirror and suddenly became very embarrassed. No doubt the doctors and nurses had seen the large, pink, hideous scars marring my back, legs, and stomach. Permanent reminders of my parents and the horrible things they did to me.
I washed my body quickly with the hotel soaps they provided and washed my hair with the little shampoo and conditioner. I was happy to finally feel a few layers of grime come off of my skin, it felt like my pores and hair follicles could finally breathe.
There was a white plush towel hanging on a towel rack and I used it to quickly dry myself off. I looked to the pile of clothes and was surprised to find a new, plain black bra and panty set in just my size. I put them on along with the soft, long-sleeved sweater and black leggings. There was also a pair of thick cotton socks that I happily shoved onto my freezing feet.
When I exited the bathroom I felt something I hadn’t felt in ages. I felt normal. The shower and the clothes made me feel warm and I finally didn’t look like the hobo I was. Maybe after I left I would have a few days of opportunity to find a job while I still looked kind of presentable. My deep red hair no longer looked black with dirt, grease, and who knows what else. My skin was no longer darkened by the same. I no longer smelled like a junkyard, instead I smelled like soap and fabric softener.
I crawled back underneath the blankets on the hospital bed and continued watching the random show I’d chosen, I think it was called Modern Family, and it was actually pretty funny. I could feel myself giggling here and there. I felt good. I wasn’t hungry, I wasn’t thirsting. I was warm and clean. Everything seemed okay, even though I was in the hospital and knew that I probably only had an hour left here at most.
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I was so comfortable that I almost fell back asleep when there was a slight ruckus outside my room. The nurse soon entered with an angry-looking business man, talkin angrily into a phone close behind her. The nurse looked at him, annoyed, before turning to me.
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“Alright, you’re free to go, on the condition that you have someone to look after you for the next 48 hours to make sure your eating properly and have a proper place to stay,” She said, grabbing the brown knee-high ugh-type boots from across the room and set them in front of me. I slipped my feet inside of them and sighed delightedly at how soft and comfortable they were.
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“Um…well nurse I, uh, don’t have any immediate family to look after me and I don’t have a place to stay,” I said nervously, hoping they would let me stay here another two nights, with free meals and a free place to sleep.
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“Thats alright, Miss Wilson, Mr. Christamos has already signed out and promised to look after you for the next two days,” She smiled.
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My eyes shot over to the man still clearly arguing with someone over the phone. His dark hair was tousled, fairly long and slightly wavy. His cold-looking grey eyes held secrets, that much I could see. His chiseled jaw and straight nose were placed perfectly on his face, his eyes the perfect distance apart. He had slight five o’ clock shadow and faint circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep, but it didn’t detract from his attractive features at all. He wore an expensive suit, perfectly tailored to his body. Underneath I imagined he was muscular, since you could clearly tell he was far far from being heavy in any way.
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As I tried to stutter to the nurse that I didn’t know this man and couldn’t possible go with him, he finished his phone call and finally turned to look at me, eyeing me with a unreadable expression. I couldn’t find words anymore and it was quiet until he finally spoke.
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“Is she okay to go?” He asked the nurse, turning his attention from me. Already I was slightly annoyed. His voice was deep and sensuous, it could make any woman melt into a puddle before him. Surprisingly, the nurse seemed unaffected, but then again she did have a wedding ring gracing her finger.
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“Yes, she’s 100% good to go. I recommend you make sure tomorrow she has two good-sized meals with lots of fruit and vegetables as snacks in between. The next day make sure she eats three regular sized meals, continuing with fruit and vegetable snacks in between and she should be fine. Whatever is decided about her diet after that is completely up to her, but I recommend continuing with three meals a day. To get your body weight up to at least 130 lbs.”
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“Okay, thank you nurse.” He said, once again becoming distracted by his phone.
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“Your welcome. You can grab her things at the reception desk when she signs out.” The nurse smiled at me, “I hope you remain in good health, Miss Wilson.”
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“Thank you, for everything.” I told the nurse. She nodded once more before leaving me alone with the mysterious billionaire in the room with me.
Neither of us said a word. A minute later he turned around and proceeded to leave the room. I scrambled and grabbed a paper towel from above the sink in the room and hid the foot in it, hiding it and the apple sauce cup in the waistband of my new leggings.
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I caught up and found him at the reception desk, waiting for me impatiently. The woman looked me up and down before scoffing and handing me a plastic bag with my old clothes and belongings in it, including the eleven dollars the mysterious man had given to me. I noticed something was missing, and when I located where it was, anger boiled in me.
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“Excuse me, bitch,” I said, getting the receptionists attention in the form of shock. The other employees behind the desk stopped to listen, as did a few walking in the hall, “Yes, I’m talking to you-,” I glanced at her name tag, “Stephanie. That necklace you’re wearing? Yeah, thats mine. And don’t try to pull the ‘I have the same one’ bullshit. Its one of a kind, my grandfather made it for my grandmother. Now, please, give it back.”
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Her face an unattractive shade of red, she took the necklace off and handed it over to me, along with a document I was supposed to sign. I read over it carefully before signing and handing it back, place the necklace back on myself.
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“Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically before I exited the building. I could hear some of the other nurses behind me snickering.
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Mr. Christamos didn’t say anything about my little display, instead leading me to his expensive looking, sleek black car. He unlocked it, opening the passengers side door for me and helping me in. He shut the door and got in on the other side, buckling himself in. He started the car and still he said nothing to me. I fidgeted nervously beside him. I was unsure how to feel about this man who had taken so much from me in such a little about of time, and now at the same time basically saved my life. I supposed I should feel thankful to him for what he had done but to be brutally honest, I just felt uneasy, wondering why he was helping me out so much, even offering to take care of me for the next two days.
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“Thank you.” I finally mumbled quietly. He turned to look at me, seemingly surprised that I even spoke.
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“You’re welcome,” He said softly.
“Where are we going?” I asked, watching out the window. I could honestly say the only time I’d ever been inside a car was the one time I’d hailed a cab, who had just stolen my money and ditched me in the middle of the city. It was weird and different, watching the people on the sidewalk fly by as we followed traffic through town.
“Back to my home. The nurse said you needed to be looked after and fed properly for the next few days.” He said.
“You could just let me leave,” I told him studying his face, “I could just go. I don’t want to be a burden, and I don’t want to have to pay you back for anything.”
“To be honest, you already owe me,” He said, smirking cruelly. Thats when I realized this might be trick. Help a poor homeless girl and then blackmail her.
“F-for what might that be?” I asked hesitantly.
“Well, those clothes for starters. They’re designer from one of the top clothing stores here in the city,” He glanced over at me.
“I-i have my own clothes. I can just change into those and you can have these back,” There was no way I could even pay him back clothed from a thrift store, let alone clothes from top designers.
“Not to mention the lengthy hospital bill you’ve left me with.” He continued, ignoring me. I swallowed visibly. Clothes were one thing, but a hospital bill? Forget about it.
“I-I don’t have any money. I don’t have a job or a house or anything to pay you back with,” I said shakily, afraid of the wrath this man could bring down on me. His very presence oozed power and strength.
“I know,” He said, “Thats why, Miss Wilson, you will be temporarily employed by me until you manage to pay off your debts.”
“Employed?” I asked, “Employed doing what?”
“You’ll be my temporary housekeeper. My old one just retired and I’ve been looking for a new one. I think you’ll work just fine.” He said.
“H-how long will I be working for.” I asked. He shrugged,
“It could take up to a year,” He said, “You will be provided living quarters and be given free meals every day. The housing and food will cost you nothing and will not be added onto your debt. I will, however, be buying you some new clothes, only a few outfits that will be added to your debt. You’ll have set weekly allowance for groceries and other clothes, but anything you buy with the allowance is not going to be added to your debt. If you choose, you can put a portion of the allowance money toward your debt, but not all of it since I will require my kitchen be fully stocked with food at all times, am I clear?”
I nodded, knowing that I was unable to pass this up. He relaxed his tense muscles and seemed satisfied that I had excepted his offer, though we both knew I didn’t have much of a choice unless I wanted to go to jail.
“I will have my personal assistant give you a fully list of everything that is required of you while you are there and a contract for you to sign with the full details of your position.” He said, answering a call from his phone on bluetooth.
Despite the circumstances of my employment I couldn’t help but be excited. I finally had a job, and a place to stay as well. Food would be readily available and I would no longer have to freeze at night.
The only thing I didn’t want to think about was the fact that this was only temporary.
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