The Housewife's Secret by Anna-Lou Weatherley
Author:Anna-Lou Weatherley [Weatherley, Anna-Lou]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00+00:00
TWENTY-FOUR
DARCIE â AGED FIFTEEN
This morning â or perhaps itâs afternoon; I can never tell â he brings me my usual plastic bowl of porridge thatâs been mixed with water, made only barely edible by the bruised banana that sometimes accompanies it. He locks the door behind him after he enters, as he always does, places the tray down on the small chair in the corner of the room and put the keys back into the inside pocket of his corduroy jacket.
âBreakfast is served,â he says with a majestic flourish.
I glance over at the bowl of unappetising grey slop and turn away from him on the bed. Having long since given up on begging and pleading, on trying to reason with him, I canât bear to look at him.
âIâm not hungry,â I lie, trying not to think about the warm, flaky pain au chocolat pastries that Fabienne and I often used to enjoy of a morning with a foamy coffee, or the soft, sweet pancakes with crispy bacon topped with a drizzle of maple syrup, the sensual mouthfuls of oily, crunchy French toast⦠My mouth begins to water at the thought of them, and I wonder, miserably, if Iâll ever get to taste such things again.
âCome on now, Darcie, donât be like that,â he says. âYouâve got to eat something.â
I donât answer. Iâve run out of things to say to him. Iâve tried every tactic I could think of to convince him to let me go. Iâd been nice, attempted to sweet-talk him. Iâd been confrontational, cursing at him angrily, calling him a string of less-than-flattering names â which I soon learned resulted in the punishment of having my banana taken away and therefore quickly gave up on.
Iâd made promise after promise, given him my word that Iâd never so much as think of running away ever again if heâd just unlock the door to my prison cell. I needed to stretch my legs so badly that I felt like I was turning to wood.
âI promise Iâll never try and leave again; I swear it to you, Alastor â you have my word. Never.â
âAh, but you will, Darcie,â he replied with a sigh. âThey all do. They all try and leave in the end.â
I had no idea who âtheyâ were, but it strongly suggested there had been others before me. I wondered what mightâve happened to them? Had they somehow managed to escape? I thought of asking him, but in truth, I was too scared of what the answer might be.
âSo now itâs just thee and me!â he said triumphantly. âJust the two of us â or three if you include Tabitha!â
Over those next few days, Alastorâs resolve to keep me prisoner, locked up like a caged animal, remained unwaveringly strong.
âYour mother has taken a trip to Paris,â he announces this morning, making conversation, like this is all perfectly normal. âSheâs visiting with your grandmother. I suppose sheâll be expecting to see you when she gets there.â
I feel my empty stomach lurch.
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African American | Contemporary |
Divorce | Domestic Life |
Friendship | Mothers & Children |
Single Women | Sisters |
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