It was Alita's last day in her job, but she was yet to know that.
She pulled her bag from the rack and ran out of the house, she was late and she hated being late. It wasn't exactly her fault, or maybe it was, her nightmares from last night had been terrible and she'd taken a little more than the usual dose of her sleeping pills, the consequences were what she was facing this morning.
She worked for the Williams family, an upper class, wealthy snobs that treated her like trash but she couldn't care less, the pay was good so she simply went, took care of the boys, and tried to mind her business, although that was hard considering how Mr. Williams was beginning to find it hard to keep his old, wrinkled hands to himself.
Alita had begun fending for herself from a very young age, she'd had no one to depend on so she did it all by herself, she had withstood too many obstacles and was prepared to withstand many more, it was why her employer's behavior didn't faze her or made her want to run for the hills immediately. She knew men like him, they had the perfect little house, wife, kids, and jobs, from the outside it might look as though they had it all but they didn't, they'd grown bored, going golfing and fishing with the boys didn't do much to lit up the entertainment sparks so they look and see their domestic help, and they think to themselves that this was the perfect person to give in to what they seek... It was just unfortunate that Alita wasn't that type of girl, and nothing, not even him threatening to make sure she lost her job had made her change her mind, although she'd been scared a little yet again she thought to herself that he had his name to protect more than hers, and so nothing would be happening.
The walk from the substation was a short one and soon enough she was making her way up the house. She knocked before letting herself in, as usual, silence met her which wasn't abnormal, sometimes Mrs. Williams had left for work already leaving the twins under the care of the housekeeper.
"Good morning." She greeted letting her voice ring out in the vast sitting room as she made her way up the stairs, towards the boy's room just as a voice stopped her.
"Good morning Alita," Mrs. Williams said from downstairs, Alita turned and saw her still dressed in her sleeping robe, which was weird but none of her business.
"Hi, good morning." She said cheerfully heading back down, Mrs. Williams wasn't a bad employer, as bad as her husband that was but she was insecure and had only hired Alita if she agreed to wear only baggy and unattractive clothes to work, it had been a strange request but she hadn't mind, she had been desperate for a job and she'd have taken anything at that time.
"We need to talk." Mrs. Williams said taking a sip of her usual morning coffee, her eyes cold as they settled on Alita.
Her heartbeat accelerated, Oh God! No.
"Oh, okay." She said not letting any of her nervousness seep into her tone.
"I know," She said giving her that same look, Alita's face held confusion immediately.
"Excuse me?" She asked.
"Don't you dare play dumb with me?" She said in an edgy voice.
"I'm not playing dumb, I... I don't understand what's going on." She said stuttering.
"You and my husband?" And she let out cynic laughter. "You think I wouldn't find out?"
Alita could swear that for a few seconds after, her heart stopped beating. What the hell was going on? What did Mrs. Williams know? Had her husband gone on to take action following his threats? The numerous unanswered questions piled up in her head.
"I should have known." She said approaching her slowly. "I should have known that you were nothing but a little slut who tried to snatch my husband."
Alita shook her head desperately. "That isn't true."
"Really? What is the truth then? Go on, tell me." She urged.
"I have nothing going on with..."
"Don't you dare lie to me! He has confessed everything, how it was just a momentary thing but then you began threatening him, how dare you! Do you think because he had sex with you, his whole world should revolve around you? Asking him to divorce me unless you'd inform him yourself." She asked laughing.
Alita was stunned, where the hell was that coming from? That fucking old nitwit! He had lied to his wife, spun this whole story to his wife even going as far as implicating himself just to make her suffer for refusing his advances.
"I swear he's not telling the truth, I..."
The rest of her words dying in her lips when Mrs. Williams hand swung and came down on her cheeks, Alita gasped.
"You dare to accuse my husband of lying, you little slut! You must think you're special huh, look around, all these luxuries, they must have been so attractive to you, the closet you'd ever get to being surrounded by things like this and because you're a lowlife scheming, greedy bitch, you wanted it, you wanted everything and seduced my husband." As she spoke, she walked closer to Alita until there was barely any space left between them. "I know my husband and I know of his little hobby of looking outside, I'm not stupid Alita, but to have the audacity to come into my home and attempt to steal everything I've worked hard to build, no sweetheart, not under my watch!"
"I swear you have to believe me, ma'am, he's only angry because I refused to have anything to do with him! I've never had and I will never have anything to do with your husband, I swear you have to believe me!" She begged in a desperate voice because she was always desperate for a job. After all, not having one meant no shelter over her head or food.
It must be nice, for people who had grown up having everything handed to them and had barely ever had to work for half the things they enjoyed, the sort of people who were born with so much luck, they barely knew what to do with it, the ones who simply had to snap and they had the world at their feet, she had no idea what that felt like and she knew she'd never, it was why she begged, begged as her life depended on it because it did, she fell to her knees throwing her pride away.
"You have to believe me, ma'am, I respect you too much to do anything like that. I swear it." She begged as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Get the hell away from me!" She screamed.
"This is all him, he knew you were going to do this if he said all he'd said. He knew you were going to forgive him and take it out on him. Why won't you just believe me? I did nothing wrong, he's the pervert who uses every opportunity to sexually harass me and..."
The rest of her words died in her lips when she felt hot liquid run down her hair, down her face, the hotness didn't even cause her to flinch, she'd frozen instead, at the shock of it all, the embarrassment and degrading of having hot coffee poured over her head while she knelt at the feet of someone else begging and crying over something she didn't do.
"Get up and get the hell out of here before I call the police!" Mrs. Williams yelled kicking her so hard, she landed on the floor and for a minute, her vision blurred.
Alita felt nothing but self-pity for herself, she wished she'd just die instead, anything better than living a life as pathetic as this one.