In Quick of Grace

The room was bright with snow white walls and lavender drapes. The dark, hardwood flooring looked as though someone had just waxed them; the furniture had just been dusted. David was sitting in an armchair quietly, a cup of tea sitting in front of him. There was a woman walking through the hallways who was cleaning the house quickly as a man with sleek, raven hair appeared in the doorway.

“Mister Younger,” the man spoke.

David looked over to him and nodded. “Yes?”

“You are my daughter’s chauffer, correct?”

“Yes,” David said once more. He found it hard to say anything else; he was afraid he had done something wrong.

“Arrah speaks very kindly of you, which is why I have asked you to come here,” the man stepped into the room, sitting down in the armchair across from David. He lit a cigarette quickly with a match and then reclined back.

“My I ask why, Mister Sinnett?”

“Please, call me Walter.”

“Walter,” David mused. “Why was I asked to come?”

“As of late, my daughter’s nanny has grown ill. She requires someone to watch over her,” Walter leaned in on his seat. “Are you a man of God, Mister Younger?”

“Of course—“

“So you would not touch Arrah in ways considered inappropriate, correct?”

“Of course not!” David shook his head quickly. “I wouldn’t lay a hand on her in any way.”

“Then you are now hired as Arrah’s supervisor.”

“But why does she need one?”

“She is ill. She has the mind of a child, so she requires protection.”

“She’s 18 year old! Can she not make her own decisions?”

“Her decisions require supervision and outside influence,” Walter stated.

David didn’t speak for a moment. He felt that this was incredibly barbaric of Walter to dictate his daughter’s every action.

“Victor will be back with Arrah any moment. Introduce yourself and then spend the rest of the day with Arrah to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

The two waited in silence for several minutes. David wanted to argue with Walter terribly to try and change his mind about Arrah, but he knew that Walter was a stubborn man and wouldn’t agree. The sound of a door opening came from the hallway and the two looked over quickly.

“Dear girl, what has you so chatty today?” Victor, a man with thick, brown hair and dark eyes asked as he adjusted his suit when opening the door. He had an annoyed expression painted on his face as Arrah strolled in with a grin.

“It’s just a lovely day out, isn’t it?” Arrah smiled as she looked around the place and slipped her white, lace gloves off. She then set her sunhat on the coatrack as she headed into the main living room.

“Yes, yes, let’s just sit down,” Victor had rolled his eyes when Arrah turned her head.

When the two entered the room, Arrah sat down next to her father and gave him a rather serious expression. “I went and saw a movie today with Victor.”

“Yes, Arrah. Please be quiet for a moment. I have news,” Walter had dragged from his cigarette before turning to her. “Nancy has grown ill and will no longer be working here.”

“Ill? How? She isn’t coming back?” Arrah frowned.

“She isn’t expected to live past this week, so we’ve hired someone new for you.”

“I don’t need anyone else though,” Arrah narrowed her eyes. “I’m 18; I can take care of myself.”

“You are still only a child!”

“Well that’s because you treat me like one!” Arrah crossed her arms. “Who are you to decide where I am within the stages of life when you’ve never been around to watch them happen?”

“Don’t you raise your voice at me!” Walter’s hand had quickly flashed past her face, backhanding her in the jaw.

Arrah had yelped lightly and held her jaw quickly as she looked away from everyone, trying to hide the embarrassment she felt. The room had an unsettling silence and David found himself getting apprehensive. He wanted to defend her so badly, but knew that it wouldn’t be any help. He could see Arrah’s anger and wondered why Walter was so controlling of her… he said she was ill, but she seemed fine.

“This is Mister Younger,” Walter then motioned over to David. “He will be your new supervisor. You are to behave in his presence. No funny business, do you understand?”

Arrah looked over at David with an emotionless gaze. “Don’t you worry, father, I’ll behave.”

“Good! Now then, Victor, how about a nice round at the golf course?” Walter had gotten up.

“Of course,” Victor smirked as he lit a cigar. The two of them quickly exited the room, leaving Arrah and David alone in the stubborn quietness.

David was nervous, feeling as though all this was going to do was have a girl angry at him. It would cause problems and get him fired, most likely.

“So, Arrah, would you like to do anything?” he asked, trying to relieve the tension.

“No, sorry, but I don’t go out with strangers,” Arrah gave an indignant sniff.

“I’m not a stranger though,” David said quickly. “It’s me, David. Your chauffer.”

Arrah’s eyes softened for a moment. “Really? There’s blonde hair under that hat of yours? I never would have guessed.”

“Well you’re always hiding your pretty face under that sunhat of yours. I barely recognized you,” David replied. Looking at her now, he could feel the essence of her beauty. She had long, red hair that was curled at her shoulders and bright, blue eyes. Her makeup defined her features and he felt mesmerized in her presence.

Arrah’s cheeks flushed as she looked around the room when she noticed that David was analyzing her face. She then shook her head. “My dad says I’m sick. I’m not though.”

“I never thought you were,” David said quickly.

“Really? My dad is so famous now; it seems like anyone will believe what he says.”

“Well I don’t. You seem normal to me.”

Arrah smiled lightly and David smiled back. “Well then, mister Younger, shall we go to the park?”

“It’s David,” he responded. “Of course we can go to the park.”

Arrah got up quickly and then hurried to the door. “Well come on then! The sun goes down in a few hours!”

David quickly got up and followed her out the door. They then approached his car and set off. He wasn’t really sure if he knew much about this girl. He had heard her talk before while he was her chauffer, but it was usually just her complaining to Nancy, her nanny at the time.

“So who was that man you were with when you came home?” David asked.

“Victor Lynch,” Arrah rolled her eyes. “He’s this man who works with my father. I’m supposed to marry him, but he’s a pig. Every time we go out, he’s staring at another woman.”

“That’s terrible,” David frowned. “Why would he do that when he has someone so pretty?”

“My father convinced him that I’m sick, so he treats me like a child just as everyone else does.”

“Well any time he does that, call him out on it. Tell him he’s technically a pedophile then,” David laughed. “He’d be dating a child if he treats you like one.”

Arrah couldn’t help, but laugh. “That’s incredibly childish of me to say to him!”

“Well then it wouldn’t change a thing between you two!”

“I suppose that’s true.”

When the two arrived to the park, Arrah and David sat down on a bench that was at the top of the hill. The sun was still high in the sky and people were on strolls by the river in view.

“So how long have you lived here?” Arrah asked.

“I moved here a few years ago or so. I was 15. I still live with my parents; they don’t have much money and we need to take care of my sister,” David explained.

“Your sister? How old is she?”

“17. She’s blind though,” he sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Arrah frowned.

“It’s fine. She never lets it bother her and she gets around pretty well,” he smiled.

“Well that’s good. What’s her name?”

“Edith,” David looked down at all the people who were walking along the stream. “We don’t make much money, but we manage. We’ve had to pick up extra side jobs a few times.”

“I can’t imagine how hard that is,” Arrah sighed. “My father makes so much money for barely doing anything. It makes me sick sometimes.”

“What do you plan on doing career-wise then? Not acting, I presume?”

“Of course not. Maybe I’ll do something exciting—like travel the world or join a gang.”

David’s eyes widened. “You’re not serious, are you?”

“Maybe. Why?”

“Joining a gang isn’t something to joke about. They’re dangerous business. One wrong word and you’re dead!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t join a gang. I don’t even know the first place to find one!”

“You’ve never heard of the Hounds?” David asked.

“I’ve heard of them, but I never bothered looking for them. Why would I need to?”

“Okay, never mind then. Good.”

“David!”

“What?”

“Are you hiding something?” Arrah tilted her head curiously.

“No, not at all,” David laughed lightly as his eyes fixed to his hands on his lap.

Arrah narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. “You’re hiding something.”

“Look, I just don’t want you getting involved with the wrong crowd.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, David. I won’t go looking for them.”

“Good.”

Days went by like these with ease. David and Arrah went to the park almost every day, talking for hours. The two had a lot in common and soon they were almost inseparable. They even considered each other their best friend. There were some days where David just couldn’t provide Arrah with conversations of substance though. Late nights at the other job made it hard for David to stay awake some days.

“Why can’t you ever tell me about this other job of yours?” Arrah frowned.

“It’s complicated,” he’d always reply. Indeed, it was.

David was a member of the Violet Vendetta, a gang that was held in secret. Although no one knew much about them, they had made a name for themselves once they had started stealing business from the Hounds.

Wayne Russell had started the Violet Vendetta in hopes of bringing down his rival, Lloyd Shattuck, who lead the Hounds. David wasn’t proud of the fact that he was in a gang, but he wasn’t ashamed of it either. It was something that he’d have to live with for the rest of his life, but in a way, the boys were like family.

Getting into the Violet Vendetta wasn’t easy. With his family struggling, money was hard to come by; especially when a member of the Hounds found it easy to pick on them. David had enough of it, and he had gone to the Violet Vendetta offering his services if they had taken care of the man. He was first assigned to them as their getaway driver.

David was promoted quickly when he had first joined, and soon he was running errands for them and clearing out crime scenes. They had paid off the police whenever things got too messy. This was the life that David could never tell Arrah about. He couldn’t get her involved or she could be in danger or have some issues with the boss. Wayne Russell wasn’t exactly a man who liked to have his information known by just anyone.

Arrah was one, who looked fair and innocent, but the ideas of crime and gang wars fascinated her—which is what worried David.

“One day, I want to leave this place,” Arrah said as she laid out on the grass. “Victor wouldn’t like that, though. He doesn’t seem to like anything I like.”

David turned to her and frowned. “Why marry him then?”

“I have to. My father had already releases it to the press. Calling it off would look terrible for Victor and him.”

“Why do you care though? They never treat you with the respect you deserve, so why should you do that for them?” David shook his head.

Arrah shrugged. “Maybe because it convinces me that I’m not as horrible of a person as they are.”

As true as that was, David didn’t want to agree. Maybe it was jealousy taking over, but he didn’t want o see her marrying a man whose eyes lusted for another woman every day.

“You deserve someone better,” David mumbled.

“I know,” Arrah laughed. “But life sucks, and then you die.”