Lisa woke up the next morning feeling sore all over her body. She wondered what had happened the previous night to make her sore.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.” Lisa said to the person knocking as the maid, Mary stepped into the room.
“Good morning young lady. Your father has requested you go to his study.” Mary said and left the room immediately she finished delivering the message. It was like she could not bear to be in the presence of Lisa. Not that Lisa could blame her though especially after what had happened the previous night.
Lisa wondered what she saw the previous night. What had actually happened and why had the girl come after her. She tried to move out of bed but groaned. Her body ached all over. There was no time to waste she said to herself as she struggled to stand up. She took a shower and changed out of the hideous pink dress which she had apparently slept in. She had to look presentable for her father. The last time she had hurriedly gone to his study after a call like this forgetting to get dressed, he had frowned on her behaviour spouting threats and calling her the devil’s spawn out to disgrace him.
Lisa changed into a straight black skirt with white long sleeves and pulled her hair into a bun. She hated dressing like this since it was not really her style. If only she was given the opportunity to pick out her dresses. She could not wait to be rid of this environment. Even if school was annoying and most students ignored her, it was better than staying in a house where she was constantly subjected to abuse. Maybe not physically but abuse was abuse even if one did not raise their hands on the other person.
She had thought of running out which she did at a time but she had been found and brought back. Her father did not like her and would want nothing more than to get rid of her but he made sure she was found that day. He was so annoyed with her for running that he had raised his hands on her. Although that was the first and last time he had done it.
He had insulted her mother that day and kept calling Lisa trash. Sometimes, she wondered why she kept all her feelings bottled in. She should have out him in his place but she knew that just meant more hell for her.
Lisa knocked on her father’s study and after some minutes, he requested she come in. Lisa was not surprised to find her stepmother seated on the only couch in the room. As usual her dress was amazing and her make up flawless. Too bad her brain was not perfect also Lisa thought to herself.
Lisa approached her father and stood on the opposite side of the table facing him. She knew better than to sit when he had not given her the go ahead to do so.
“I heard something strange happened at the gathering yesterday.” He said to her as he took a swig of his cigar.
Lisa felt like strangling him. Anytime she stepped into this room, she realised her hatred for her father grew. He was at the party the previous night and knew what had happened but he was pretending just so Lisa could say it with her mouth. Lisa was getting a bit tired of his games.
“I don’t know what you are talking about sir.” She said to him.
“Melissa do not play dumb with me.” He said to her.
He was the only one who still used her full name and the way he said it was filled with hatred. Lisa wondered what a normal family would be like. What would it be like to have friends to talk to. Friends who wanted to be friends with her not because she was an Ackerman but because she was someone they wanted to get to know. Someone who interested them. She wondered if they would decide to address her with her full name like her father did and wondered if it would be as nice as when her mother had used that name.
“You are an heiress. You are meant to behave yourself. What do you think people are saying.” He said raising his voice.
“Calm down Bruce.” Her stepmother said in that sickly voice of hers. Lisa fought the urge to roll her eyes. She really hated it here.
If she was a disgrace to them like they always said why wouldn’t they just let her be. They should have just dumped her in an orphanage. At least she could take the nastiness there but here just felt like hell for her.
“I have to say, Lisa. You really disgraced yourself out there yesterday.” Her stepmother said.
What her stepmother meant was that she had disgraced them all. A normal family would ask what had made her paranoid and try to see reason with her but these two were far from being anything like family to her.
“I apologise.” Lisa said with her head lay low.
She had to behave like someone who had committed a grave sin. That was the only way to lessen her punishment.
“I kept you because you have my blood running through your veins but with every passing day I wonder if that bitch had lied to me. Maybe the test was forged also.” He spat out bitterly.
Lisa tried to control her anger and sug her fingers into her palm. She hated her father to death. He was the one who had raped her mother. Forced her to sleep with him even when she had refused. He was also the cause of her mother’s death but Everytime he talked about her it was like she was the one at fault. If at all she was later able to cut off her ties from this family, she was not coming back again she thought to herself.
Her father had only kept her because her stepmother was barren. But instead of adopting like any other normal person would do, they thought it was better to keep her in this hole. Her stepmother made sure Lisa knew how much she hated her every passing day and her father was always saying trash about her mother. Lisa wished she had not come from a man like him.
“Do you need a psychiatrist? Your behaviour last night was outrageous.” Her stepmother said in her sickly sweet voice that always made Lisa want to throw up.
“I am okay. I do not need to see a psychiatrist.” Lisa replied to her stepmother.
“Then explain what had happened yesterday.” Her father demanded.
“I saw something. A girl.”
“A girl made you scream?” Her step mother asked her.
“It was unlike any thing I have ever seen. She was strange and she had blood stains on her clothes.”
“The girl is mad.” Her father said with a scoff referring to her.
“Lisa honey, I think you need to go to the hospital.” Her step mother said addressing her in that way Lisa hated. Anytime they were in the presence of people, her stepmother made sure to pretend that she was nice.
“Thank you for the thought but I assure you I’m fine. I know what I saw.” Lisa said to her.
“I don’t even care if you go to a hospital or not. I’m sending you to a boarding school. You would learn manners there.” Her father said to her.
“A boarding school?” Lisa asked him. She did not know if she should be happy or sad that she was going to one.
On one hand she was happy that she would be able to escape spending time in this hell of a palace while on the other hand she feared what type of school it was. How would the students relate with her.
“Yes. I am a friend of someone there. She would teach you all the manners you are lacking to make you a true Ackerman. She will train you and by the time you come back I expect that stupid talk of a bleeding girl to be out of your head.” Her father said to her.
“How long am I to stay in this school?” Lisa asked him. She had just the senior year left but she woul not put it past her father to make her spend three years at the school.
“Till you finish your senior year. I assume that is enough time for you to perfect some manners. You leave this evening so go and pack your things. A uniform has been prepared for you. You are dismissed.” Her father said to her and she breathed a sigh of relief as she left his study.
She wondered how long her father had been planning this if he already had a uniform prepared for her but she could care less. Her body ached all over and all she wanted to do was sleep.
Lisa laid on her bed for a quick nap when her stepmother entered the room.
“Your father is doing you a favour by sending you away. I hope you appreciate that.” She said to Lisa who wondered what her stepmother was actually doing here. Was it just to tell her to appreciate her father? She thought to herself. Perhaps not because she was still in her room not making any sign of leaving.
“Yes ma’am.” Lisa said to her.
“You know, we tried to accept the fact that you claim to hear voices at night. Birds hooting inside this mansion and some other stupid things but you went too far yesterday.”
Lisa said nothing as she stared at the woman standing before her wondering why she had not been added to her hate list a long time ago. Her stepmother was having a close competition with her father for most hated on her list.
“You saw a girl in blood? Do not make me laugh. All night you kept on pointing at Tommy. You made that scene yesterday to get out of the engagement right?” She asked Lisa.
Lisa had forgotten all about the engagement and Tommy until her step mother brought it up again. What did her step mother think she was? If she wanted to make a scene it would have been more than that resulting in making the woman speaking to her right now wet in her clothes.
“I am very sorry about the engagement but I know what I saw yesterday.” Lisa said to her stepmother not sounding sorry at all.
Her stepmother glared at her and at a loss of what to say, she turned and walked out of Lisa’s room.
Good riddance Lisa thought to herself as she lay down to take a little nap.