Twisted Proposal by M.V. Miles Page B

I’m sure I saved her from a fungus waiting to destroy her perfect toenails.
    “What’s wrong with you? Daddy!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
    “You’re asking me what was wrong when there was about an inch of dust in here. It was disgusting! You should be thanking me.”
    “There’s no way I’d ever do that. Why don’t you just go back to the streets where you came from and leave my family alone?”
    “Gladly.” I dropped the empty bucket and sponge. Bring it on. She stepped back with wide eyes.
    “What’s going on here?” Stuart demanded, staring at me and then at Lexus for an explanation.
    “Can’t you see? She ruined everything. How am I ever going to find anything?” She pawed at the organizer on the counter, as if she didn’t know how to open it.
    “Lexus, you needed to clean anyway. I told you that you’d be sharing a bathroom.” He glared at me. What’d I do?
    “I’m sorry. Sheesh.” I fled to my room and shut the door behind me hard. I reached for the doorknob, ready to turn the lock, but Stuart was already barreling into the room.
    “Don’t even think about locking this door, young lady!” 
    “I wasn’t going to. Look, I didn’t mean to piss her off, but she told me she didn’t care if I picked up or not.” I shrank back. He was frozen to his spot. “And I even apologized.” I clenched my fists, unsure of what was going to happen next.
    “Addison?” His voice relaxed.
    “What?”
    “I’m not going to hit you or anything,” 
    “So what if you did? It’s not like it’d be the first time.”
    He sighed. “Geez, I’m sorry about earlier. I was stressed out. From now on, just be mindful of what you’re cleaning. Okay?”
    “Whatever.” I avoided his eyes. He should be yelling at her, not me. I didn’t do anything wrong.
    “Okay, well good night.” He left.
    I didn’t move for a full minute, and then slid down the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest crying. Elizabeth, why did you have to die?
    Instead of going to bed, I went into the closet, turned on the light, and sat on the floor where I took out the keepsake boxes. It was like I had pieces of a puzzle. Nothing made sense to me anymore, but I sure the hell was going to find out even if it killed me.  A short while later, I put my things away.  When I crawled into bed and lay my head on the pillow, sleep came in an instant.
    * * *
    I woke up drenched in sweat, forgetting where I was. Dark shadows danced along the wall and my eyes settled on my book bag on the floor near the bathroom door. That’s right. I'm in my new room at my father’s house . 
    Sitting up, I flipped on the lamp near my bed to chase the shadows away. It was so quiet here; I swear I could hear the faint whisper of water moving in the pool. At home there was the sound of the bar down the street or people talking on the front stoop. My television was off adding to the silence. I flipped it back on. The noise was comforting.
    Taking some of the clothes Petra lent me, I snuck into the bathroom.  At least the room was still clean for the most part, except for toothpaste smeared in the sink. I locked both doors before stepping into the spacious stall and turned on the water.
    Hot water cascaded down my body from three different heads, and I smiled. It had to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life, and I didn’t want to get out. There was more than enough pressure, and the water stayed warm. I could get used to this.
    No! Shutting off the water and drying off, I chastised myself for being so easily seduced. I wasn’t supposed to like anything here.  After returning to my bed, I scanned through the channels, hating the feeling of indifference that had settled over me.
    ***
    Someone rapped on the door a short while later. What was I supposed to do?  
    They knocked again, a little louder, so I got up and opened it.
    Petra, gasped, covering her mouth.
    “What?” I asked, confused, and then realized it must have been my