Page 24 of The Housemaid
I grab a pillow from the couch to conceal my flimsy gym shorts that I’ve been sleeping in. Also, I’m not wearing a bra. “I was going to buy a set for my room.”
“It’s fine to use our monitor, Millie. You probably won’t get much reception up there anyway.” The whites of his eyes glow in the light of the television. “I’ll be out of your hair in a minute. I’m just grabbing a glass of water.”
I sit on the couch, clutching the pillow to my chest, debating if I should go upstairs. I’m never going to fall asleep now because my heart is racing. He said he was just getting some water, so maybe I can stay. I watch him shuffle into the kitchen and I hear the tap running.
He comes back into the living room, sipping from his water glass. That’s when I notice he’s only got on a white undershirt and boxers. But at least he’s not shirtless.
“How come you poured water from the sink?” I can’t help but ask him.
He plops down next to me on the sofa, even though I wish he wouldn’t. “What do you mean?”
It would be rude to jump off the sofa, so I just scoot down as far as I can. The last thing I need is for Nina to see the two of us getting cozy together on the sofa in our underwear. “Like, you didn’t use the water filter in the refrigerator.”
He laughs. “I don’t know. I’ve always just gotten water from the sink. Like, is it poison?”
“I don’t know. I think it has chemicals in it.”
He runs a hand through his dark hair until it sticks up a bit. “I’m hungry for some reason. Any leftovers from dinner in the fridge?”
“No, sorry.”
“Hmm.” He rubs his stomach. “Would it be really bad manners if I eat some peanut butter right out of the jar?”
I cringe at the mention of peanut butter. “As long as you’re not eating in front of Cecelia.”
He tilts his head. “Why?”
“You know. Because she’s allergic.” They really don’t seem very respectful of Cecelia’s deadly peanut allergy in this household.
Even more surprising, Andrew laughs. “No, she’s not.”
“Yes, she is. She told me she is. The first day I was here.”
“Um, I think I would know if my daughter were allergic to peanuts.” He snorts. “Anyway, do you think we would keep a big jar of it in the pantry if she were allergic?”
That was exactly what I thought when Cecelia told me about her allergy. Was she just making it up to torture me? I wouldn’t put it past her. Then again, Nina also said Cecelia had a peanut allergy. What’s going on here? But Andrew makes the most valid point: the fact that there’s a big jar of peanut butter in the pantry indicates nobody here has a deadly peanut allergy.
“Blueberries,” Andrew says.
I frown. “I don’t think there are any blueberries in the refrigerator.”
“No.” He nods at the television screen, whereFamily Feudhas entered the second round. “They surveyed a hundred people and asked them to name a fruit you can fit in your mouth whole.”
The contestant on the screen answers blueberries, and it’s the number one answer. Andrew pumps his fist. “See? I knew it. I would be great on this show.”
“The top answer is always easy to get,” I say. “The tricky part is getting the more obscure answers.”
“Okay, smarty pants.” He grins at me. “Name a fruit you can fit in your mouth whole.”
“Um…” I tap a finger against my chin. “A grape.”
Sure enough, the next contestant answers “grape” and is correct.
“I stand corrected,” he says. “You’re good at this, too. Okay, what about a strawberry?”
“It’s probably up there,” I say, “even though you wouldn’t really want to put a whole strawberry in your mouth because it has the stem and all that.”
The contestants manage to name strawberries and cherries, but they get stuck on the last answer. Andrew is cracking up when one of them says a peach.
