Craves

“Mr. Mosley, I believe you forgot your backpack.” I step over to the young boy hunched over in front of me ready to hand him the backpack. He doesn’t even look m way.

“I don’t want it. I’m not going to school today.” The child finishes tying his shoes and stands up.

“Your father would have a fit if he were to hear you say that. An even bigger one if he finds out you have been skipping school.”

“Shut up! You’re just a maid! You can’t tell me what to do!”

I sigh out loud. I really don’t have time for this spoiled brat today. I do feel bad for him though. I know where all that hostility is coming from. What’s brewing up inside this small soul. I know about the bullying not just at the school but at home two by his step-siblings and his stepmother. I know his real mother is too drunk on “love” to do anything for him but for some reason he still loves that woman. I don’t get it and the whole situation is frustrating. Life can be so cruel because you cannot choose your parents.

Like that, a lightbulb went off in my head. As Ethan heads to the door, I step out in front of him, blocking it from his line of sight. “Alright, today you’re supposed to be going on a field trip, yeah?”

His big green eyes stare up at me like I’m a roach on the doorframe. “Out of my way! I’m not going on a field trip!”

“Oh, yes you are! But not with the school you’re coming with me back home. You see because of an annoying little brat my time at home with my adorable siblings has dwindled to nothing. The little tyrant likes to try and roam the house like he pays the bills. But there is just one big problem with that. I’m actually old pals with his dad, whom by the way, is the one that pays the bills. So I’m gonna give him a call and let him know that I’m taking his little tyrant prince with me for three days.”

I finish my rant with a puff of my chest. Holding my finger high in the air as if I had just done something profound.

I look back down at the boy. He looks absolutely terrified. Good, that’s what you get! Even if I get fired it would be worth it. Almost everything I said was complete hogwash. I had no intention of taking the kid with me and I certainly wasn’t on ANY terms with his father. I had managed to get a scholarship to his father's high school when we were younger so I knew quite a bit about him and his family through all of the rumors. I never spoke to him then and made sure to stay far away from him even now.

This boys' father...well the father, the step-mother, and his real mother really... were all bad news. They weren’t people who you would want to associate with lightly. His father is a wealthy businessman with a habit of seducing women. Giving that he is the successor to his family's longevity and wealth this doesn’t bode well for any of the women or their offspring that sleeps with him outside of his marriage.

The woman that he married May Osa Collen also went to that high school and is just as cold, mean, and money-hungry as she was then. She doesn’t care what her husband does as long as she has his name and a large allowance. She doesn't even take care of her own kids. However, she has yet to bare any sons for her husband and only has two daughters. So, she takes this frustration out on the women that have and the boys themselves. Her daughters didn’t fall too far from the tree and so behave in the same way.

This child is but a victim of that brutality.

The horror of what adulthood can be.

And his mother is the worst in all of it.

Doesn’t mean I’m gonna allow him to take it out on me though. We will see who wins this battle. I’m here to get paid not to be some little boys punching bag. Call me childish! I don’t care!

The boy seems to shake out of his stupor and then looks at me with disgust again. “Yeah right! Like that man would go for a woman like you. You’re a liar, and when the head of House Management--Mr. Cellin hears about this from me, you will be out of here before the end of the day. Locked up for the rest of your life for threatening me!”

He takes a step around me and I block him again. “Oh really?”

The expression on my face must have been something straight out of a horror movie because now he looks about ready to pee himself. He steps back one step—but too late! I grab him by the back of his pants and pick him up. Tucking him under my arm, I turn around to open the door, and then head outside.

I wasn’t planning on doing this job long anyway. I just needed the extra cash to get by this month. Soon everything will line up and I’ll have my nest egg. Plus, my work has really been selling like hotcakes. In the meantime, I figure, this was the best time to teach the little titan a lesson.

He struggled in my grasp making an attempt to escape but I’m built strong so of course it doesn’t work.

I get into the driver's side of the car and throw him over to the passenger side. He tries to quickly right himself so that he can make a break for it, but I'm too fast. I lock the doors and press the button to engage the child safety lock feature. Then I crank up and drive off.

Now, I’ve really done it. But I don’t like being called a liar. Even if I actually did lie a little. So what? What does this kid know?

Actually, quite a lot, considering what his family has put him through. For too much for a child of only ten years old. Whatever happens, the only time his family is gonna notice he’s missing is when they want to torture the boy anyway. He should thank me.