Just to Live

Tabitha woke up half an hour prior to when Vanessa woke and was in the middle of combing the knots out of her hair when the redhead crept into her room in a spooky like state. Vanessa tiptoed into Tabitha’s room to wake her up. Both girls screamed at each other once Vanessa entered the room as quiet as a mouse.

“Jesus woman!” Vanessa shouted, placing her right hand over her fast beating heart.

“Why didn’t you knock?!” Tabitha sighed, setting her comb on her dresser.

Vanessa’s cheeks burned a scarlet red. “Well…”

“Never mind. Let’s go downstairs before they leave without us.”

The two girls walked down the set of stairs, finding the other 28 women standing by the door, conversing in light conversations. Tabitha laughed in embarrassment because she was the reason why everyone was waiting.

“Aw look how small and cute she is!” the tall man with very slimming physical features beamed, pushing his way past the other women. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and blinked at Tabitha.

“Hello sir?” she answered questionably.

The tall man’s eyebrows scrunched together in concentration and deep thought before they relaxed and he grinned broadly. “I’m Jimmy!”

“Tabitha, sir.”

“No, Jimmy,” he replied defiantly. “Johnny she’s almost your height. That’s so cute!”

“Oh shut up!” the man who responded to Jimmy’s comment sighed, rolling his eyes. Johnny was significantly shorter than the rest of Tabitha’s bosses, but still taller than she was. She found him recognizable due to his black and blonde messy hair.

Matthew chuckled, placing his sunglasses over his eyes. “Now that you both know her, can we leave? I don’t want to get stuck in the traffic.”

“Let’s go!” Jimmy declared, pointing to the mansion door with a determined glare.

After 15 minutes of driving, all the women and men stood in line at the Bank of America, waiting to deposit money into their accounts. When it was finally Tabitha’s turn with the unoccupied bank teller, Brian walked with her to make sure everything ran smoothly. After she gave him a thumbs up, indicating she wasn’t confused, he walked back to his spot near the entrance.

In a hushed voice, Tabitha asked the bank teller to withdraw half of her salary for the week—$250.00. Tabitha swiftly tucked the money safely away inside her bra so that no one would suspect she had any money on her.

Three hours ticked by until everyone was back at the mansion. Sunday was somewhat of an off day for everyone, so arduous work did not exist. Only small tasks such as cooking for all in the house and dusting antiques mattered. Tabitha was the only one who worked intensely to clean Matthew’s office since he didn’t trap himself in the room for once. She locked the door behind her as she walked into the room and carried out all the cleaning supplies she needed. She made sure to clean his office as rapidly as possible so she could spend some time rummaging through his drawers. She vaguely remembered Vanessa saying the mansion had a lock code for the security system. All Tabitha needed to do was find the code.

Smiling in succession, Tabitha took a pen and wrote the code on her stomach. No one would see what she had written and it wasn’t an obvious place such as her palm. Accomplished, Tabitha put everything back in its rightful place and went to her room to take a rest before she would have to leave later that night.

No one bothered to ask Tabitha if she was hungry when the sun no longer shined in the sky. She was surprised Vanessa hadn’t showed up either. She wasn’t complaining though, all she wanted to do was escape out of the mansion for a little bit of time.

That night at approximately 11 o’clock pm, Tabitha sneaked down the hallway and sat on the railing of the stairs to slide down them without a sound. It was much faster than running down the stairs, and she found it was enjoying and fun. She pushed the numbers on the security system, crossing her fingers in hopes she found the right code. After a second, the system beeped a low hum and the light flashed green. Grinning to herself, Tabitha pushed open the mansion door and ran out as fast as she could.

Tabitha was now on the poor side of town. Houses were significantly smaller, the streets dirtier, cars more common in manufacturers, and the people much ruder. One wouldn’t expect this. Many believed the wealthy were the ones who were less than helpful. If only they passed through the section of the city Tabitha coursed though.

Taking a deep breath, Tabitha sprinted through the nearby park, hoping to find the small cave she found a long time ago. Bushes and heavy branches blocked the entrance to the cave, but Tabitha patiently heaved the pests to the side and entered the dark opening.

“Mom? Erika?” she whispered. Her eyes squinted to near slits so she could try to make out any figures in the darkness.

A low rustling sound made Tabitha tense. She hoped with all her heart that some rogue animal didn’t take shelter of the hollow.

“Tabby?” a young girl’s voice crackled.

Sighing, Tabitha sat on the ground. “Erika, come on out. Where’s mommy?”

A frail girl with long wavy black hair walked towards Tabitha, a look of happiness in her eyes. She squealed and launched herself, hugging the elder girl with all her might.

“You got the job! How is it? Do they feed you? What does the house look like?” Erika grilled, staring at her sister in wonder.

“I’ll answer questions another time. Is mommy asleep?” Tabitha asked, smiling largely.

“I was,” Maria Escobar yawned, walking towards the glow of the moonlight.

“Oh mama,” Tabitha whimpered, hugging her mother.

“Don’t cry. We’re all okay. That’s all that matters sweetie,” Maria whispered, rubbing her daughter’s back.

“Yeah,” Tabitha agreed, wiping away her tears. She took out the money she withdrew earlier in the day and placed the bills in her mother’s hands. “Use this for food and clothes. I have to go. I don’t want to get caught. I love you both.”

Before Tabitha could depart out of the cave, Erika grabbed her bigger sister’s wrist. “Will you visit us every weekend?”

“Every weekend,” Tabitha promised.

Again, Tabitha was sprinting throughout the town, trying her best to reach the mansion in time and without anyone noticing she was not in bed. When she crept back into her room, she sighed loudly. Her plan worked, and it proceeded without obstacles for a month’s time. Then, one night when she twisted the doorknob of the mansion door, a sharp tug on her arm surprised and terrified her. She was now at the side of the house. Blinking in horror, she looked at Brian who stood there with a grim expression.

“Where have you gone Tabitha?” he asked seriously.

She gulped. “I-I-”

Brian’s grip on her arm tightened to the point where blood flow terminated temporarily. “You signed a contract devoting your loyalty to us. Are you giving information out to others?”

She had never been so scared in her life. She always thought of Brian as a very friendly person. He reminded her of a teddy bear of sorts. However, right now, she wished she never met him. “N-no,” she answered meekly.

“That’s hard to believe. You’ve snuck out once a week for the past month. I’ve noticed. Consequences must be taken. Let’s go.”

He dragged her inside the mansion, to a part of the house not familiar to her. The entire time she followed him, she couldn’t help but to think that she failed her mother and sister. Who would provide for them now that Tabitha couldn’t? She sobbed loudly.

Brian glanced at her quickly, wanting to take her back to her room, but knew damn well he couldn’t. “This is your own fault,” he told her.

“Oh God!” she cried, sobbing even harder. She knew now that they were in the basement. It was a forbidding place that was cold and dank. Goosebumps rose on her skin from the desolate area.

Brian sighed, pushing Tabitha into a small windowless room. He closed the door and locked it. He pulled open the shade on the door and stared into the room through the plastic window where Tabitha sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

“This is evil and I don’t want to do it, but until you confess, you’re staying down here,” he croaked, feeling a lump of sadness in his throat.