It had been a while since her anopsia acted up; she'd nearly forgotten how it felt. As a matter of fact, it had only turned up once since she started living with the Naroks. And now…
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Come out now or so help me, I will break down this door," Phoebe sounded pissed. Even though there was a hardwood door between them, Esther could hear the venom in the other girl's voice.
She walked towards the door and twisted the lock even further to make sure it was closed. Phoebe heard the lock click and gave the door a hard kick. Esther heard her mutter a few curses before stalking away. She slid down with a sigh and rubbed her eyes. The edges of her vision had turned blurry, and squiggly shapes danced around her view. She stood up slowly and made her way to her bag, taking her pills. She paused a second before popping two into her mouth; the bitter taste made her wince. But when she reached into the bag, she didn't hear the familiar crinkle of her strawberry-flavored candy. She sighed for the umpteenth time and crawled into the bed.
The next morning, an unbearably bitter taste in her mouth woke Esther from her sleep. Esther gagged as she stood up and rushed into the toilet, promptly cleaning her teeth. Going down for breakfast felt awkward, especially as she saw Mr. Narok was seated at the head of the table. Esther nodded a greeting and slipped into a seat beside Bloom. The little girl blinked up at her and grinned mischievously, then pushed her pad towards her.
Esther picked up the pad, she had a bad feeling as she read the words: "Did you kiss?"
Esther choked on her spit and jerked, sending the pad flying. Unfortunately, it flew towards Mr. Narok and landed squarely in his plate of scrambled eggs. Mr. Narok, who was holding a buttered toast, looked down at his plate. Bloom's writing was exposed. Esther stifled her cough and hurriedly reached for the pad. Before her finger could graze the book's corner, Mr. Narok picked it up. He scanned the writing with pursed lips. Then he tossed the book away. He dropped the toast and wiped his mouth before leaving the table.
Esther watched him leave, then she stood up and went around the dining table to pick up the book. She carefully tore out the scandalous page and returned the book to Bloom.
"Don't think too much, dear, eat," Bloom thankfully didn't prod any further. Instead, she watched Esther eat in silence. After breakfast, Esther took Bloom up to her studio and continued outlining the background of the portrait. They sat in a sort of comfortable silence. Bloom worked away on a school book while Esther mixed paints.
The door of the studio opened with a bang, startling the duo. Phoebe stood at the entrance with a furious expression, her venomous gaze landed on Esther.
"You f**king b*tch, how dare you!"
Esther stood up fast, causing the stool she sat on to fall with a crash.
"Watch your language; Bloom is here," Esther warned.
Phoebe scoffed, turning to Bloom she scolded, "Didn't I warn you not to associate with dirty things?"
Bloom tilted her head ever so slightly with an amused expression and returned to her textbook. Bloom's blatant act of disregard made Phoebe stalk towards her. Esther stepped in her path.
"Don't you dare hurt her," Esther hissed; she wasn't going to stay quiet this time if the maid tried to hurt Bloom again. Who knows how long the poor girl has been bullied without her father's knowledge.
Esther was tall, so she easily towered over the petite Phoebe, and with her furious expression, she looked rather fierce. Phoebe shrank her neck and stepped back. She glared at Esther and Bloom as she did so.
"Don't be too smug, sl*t; I'll put you in your f**king place." She stormed out and slammed the door so hard the windows rattled.
Esther turned to Bloom to offer a word of comfort, but the girl was scribbling away in her textbook without a care in the world. Esther sighed and returned to her seat. She studied the canvas. She was a quick artist, but because this was a special commission, she had taken her time, even with the outline. Everything had to be perfect. She traced the shapes with her eyes before landing on an all-too-familiar figure. Sigh. Even his mere outline radiated arrogance. It was quite frankly annoying. She subtly rolled her eyes at the painting and, deciding she was getting tired, started washing her brushes. After making sure they were paint-free, she packed up for the day.
Esther happily skipped to her room. The nanny, Ms. Reid, had whisked Bloom away for a uniform fitting, so Esther had the whole afternoon to herself. As she walked, her pockets jiggled; she had weaseled a few mini chocolate chip cookies from Amanda, the super jolly head chef. They had been introduced a few days ago and had instantly taken a liking to each other. Esther could honestly say that the older woman was her favorite person in the household...after the cute Bloom, of course.
Entering her room, she bounced into bed and pulled out a book from under her pillow. She found the dog-eared page and excitedly read on.
A character in the book pulled open a suspicious door when a knock brought her back to reality. She blinked; her eyes felt heavy and tired. She looked at the window. How long had she been reading?
The knock sounded again, and she quickly went to open the door.
A maid stood outside. She politely bowed. "Mr. Narok would like to see you in his study."
Esther stood outside the study door for nearly a minute. She finally took a deep breath and knocked. She was sure she hadn't knocked that hard because the door slowly creaked open.
The first thing she registered were the ambiguous sounds coming from the room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room because the curtains were drawn when she saw the two bodies intertwined in pleasure. The woman was bent over the desk as the man ravaged her.
Esther's eyes were wide as saucers, and she swiveled around, backing into the stairs. Her heart thudded in her chest, and blood rushed to her ears. Her vision flickered a bit, and she slowly staggered down the stairs. Even though the lights were on, she could barely see her feet.
Why was she so affected by what she saw? It wasn't like she hadn't already had her speculations about their relationship. It... it was just shocking seeing it live. That's all. She raised her hand and rubbed her eyes; her vision did not improve, but the image of their obscene acts was seared into her mind's eye. She sniffed back frustrated tears.
Why the hell was her anopsia acting up now!?
Her room door shut behind her when her vision turned entirely dark. She slid down and wrapped her arms around herself, quietly crying. She didn't know why.