Charlene's POV
Arrogant. Full of himself and thinks he's perfect at everything. Psh. If his children had grown up in the province, they wouldn't act like this. People there know how to respect those older than them.
He doesn't want me to discipline his kids? Then maybe he should have taught them proper manners instead of spending all his time working. Typical rich people problems.
That's what was on my mind as I sliced eggplant in the kitchen. Manang Dores said we were cooking shrimp sinigang, the kids' favorite. Maybe this would be a good way to show them that I can cook and, if a miracle happens, maybe they'll start to like me.
"You might cut your finger, Ma'am," Sarah suddenly said, snapping me back to reality. Apparently I had been spacing out for a while and was close to slicing everything in front of me. "Your mind is somewhere else," she added with a soft laugh. I forced a smile and focused again.
When I finished chopping, I decided to step out of the kitchen for a while. It was still early and the kids were probably still taking a bath. As I walked, I noticed someone following me. When I looked back, I was surprised to see Lily. She was hiding behind a flower vase even though she was completely visible.
"Lily? What is it? Do you need something?" I asked. She hesitated before walking closer, her head down and her hands behind her back. "What is it?" I asked again.
"Can you help me?" she said. I was surprised. Was she finally being nice? I smiled right away. This was a good chance to win her over.
"My favorite backpack… it's stuck in the storage room. Can you get it for me? Please?" she said. I smiled wider at her big round eyes. I gently pinched her cheek and nodded. "Sure. Where is it?" I asked.
She led me behind the house to a storage room. It was underground and pretty dark inside. "Are you sure it's in here?" I asked uneasily.
"Yes," she answered quickly. "Now go get it. Faster!" she added, already sounding annoyed.
"Okay, okay. What does it look like?" I asked as I peeked inside.
"Purple," she replied.
"Alright. Wait here. I'll just look for it," I said and carefully went down the stairs. The deeper I went, the darker it became.
"Isn't there a switch here?" I turned toward the door, but I froze when she suddenly slammed it shut. I rushed back and knocked on it. "Lily? Open the door! This isn't funny anymore!" I shouted, but there was no answer. Did she leave?
"Lily! Open the door!" I switched to English so she'd understand, but still nothing. I pushed the door, but it was locked from the outside. Then I suddenly heard something move behind me. I couldn't see anything because it was so dark, especially since it was still early morning.
I slowly sat down and hugged myself, shaking in fear. I hated this. I was scared. I wanted to get out.
Papa!
I covered my ears as his voice echoed again. She was shouting, begging. "S-stop…"
"L-let me o-out…"
I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't. This always happens when I'm trapped in dark, tight places. It feels like something is whispering to me. Memories from when I was little started flooding back, the reason I was so terrified now.
I was trembling, already crying. I wanted to stand up, but my legs were too weak. I couldn't. I felt like I couldn't breathe properly. I had to get out. Please. Let me out.
It was cold and dark, and it felt like something was watching me, like they wanted to hurt me.
"Papa…"
"H-help…"
I didn't want this. I didn't want this! My chest tightened and my whole body went numb with fear until I felt myself collapse on the cold cement.
But before that, I felt the door open and someone lifting me up before everything went black.
I don't want this. Please…