Cadence.

The amount of pressure in my heart rose quickly when I heard him calling me Cadence. Uncle Richard never called me by my full name. It was always either Cade or honey, sweetheart etc. I took slow steps towards him. He was standing in the middle of living room. Myra and Aunt Melissa circled around him, evil smile playing on their lips.

"I'm back." I smiled weakly not sure what to say.

"Go freshen up and come down I need to talk to you." He gravely said, making my heart pump even faster.

I nodded and escaped from the his calm but intense stare. 

Uncle Richard never trusted whatever nonsense Myra tried to feed him about me so he could kick me out of this house. That's why I never cared whatever stories she created with her twisted mind because no matter what she told her father, he always trusted me more.

However today it seemed like he had believed her.

***

"So I heard you were offered a job." Uncle Richard said looking straight at me.

We were sitting around the table in the kitchen.

"She slept with him dad!" Myra screeched scratching the table with her nails. I was a little relaxed though because Aunt Melissa wasn't here anymore. She had left the room after having a small argument with her husband.

"That's not true and everyone knows that Myra." Uncle Richard shot her a sharp blazing glare which made her shut up.

"Also can you go to your room now, I want to talk to her alone."

Myra hissed but left the kitchen after giving me a death glare. They were her favorites.

"So Cadence, can you tell me about that job?" Realizing that I still had to continue this, I gulped.

"Yeah." I tried to smile at him but he didn't smile back. Oh god.

"You know the Collins right?" I asked knowing that he obviously knew them.

He nodded for me to continue.

"Their son goes to my school, Hugo Collins. He kind of asked me for the job of his assistant." I talked looking down at the table as if uncle's face reflected in it. I was too afraid to look at him.

"I'm back!" Cole came suddenly singing to himself. He was humming until he spotted us in the kitchen.

"What," he paused, joining his brows in confusion,  "are you guys doing in the kitchen without food?"

I sighed internally.

"We're talking about something important. Why are you so late?" Uncle asked and Cole suddenly froze. His shift at the convenient store also ended at eight but he was an hour late today. He was probably with Sarah.

"I was helping a," he was lost in thoughts for a moment before he continued. "a cat. There was a cat stuck on a tree. I was helping her to get down"

Did he think our uncle was that stupid? Yeah he might. He was Cole. He always thought everyone who wasn't him was stupid.

When uncle didn't say anything Cole quickly made his way up to his room but then uncle decided to speak.

"We would like to meet that cat someday."

I laughed out as I heard Cole falling on the stairs and then he grabbed himself bursting inside and shutting the door behind him with a loud thud.

"Let's come back to where we were?" Uncle Richard said in warning tone.  My laughter died down in a second. Great. How could I forget?

"So this Hugo guy, do you know him?"

Obviously, everyone knew him.

"Yeah, I mean he's pretty popular at school." I didn't even know where this conversation was going anymore.

"He wants to hire you as his assistant, is that correct?"

Why I didn't know, but he was sounding more like a cop with every ticking second. What was got into him?

"Yes." I replied, feeling droplets of sweat forming on my forehead.

"Why does he need an assistant anyway, he's just a kid!" He snapped, hitting his hands on the table. Things didn't look good. Was uncle angry because he knew I was ready to do this job?

"Well I'm not really sure about that either." I muttered, remembering Hugo's glare.

"But I think I should give it a try." I stated before he could say anything.

"Uncle, I know you love me and Cole as much as you love Myra." I paused, looking down, finding the top of the table interesting all of a sudden.

"But both of us know the financial burden you have because of us. You can't deny it. Myra hates me for a reason. She had to adjust and share her house,her toys and many things just because our parents couldn't-"

I felt my throat thickening. Tears brimmed at the corner of my eyes, threatening me to speak another word.

"You know, I don't want to be that burden to you anymore. Hugo said he was going to pay me way more than my job at the Cafe and of course he is." I stopped or else my voice could have started to shake.

I looked up and felt like someone just had shot me with a gun. Uncle Richard was weeping like a child. His eyes were covered by his hands and his body shook in sadness.

"Oh God!" I exclaimed as I got up from my seat.

"I'm so sorry. I know you love me! I know you never felt a burden because of us Uncle! I'm so sorry!" I hugged him, couldn't stop my own tears anymore.

It felt like million years had passed when Uncle spoke.

"Cade, sweetheart." He pulled me closer to him, cupping my face with his wrinkled hands. "I'm worried about you. We don't know how disgusting these rich people can be. I can't let you live there sweetie I'm scared."

I understood him. I knew he was scared that something might happen to me. I just had to convince him that it wouldn't.

"Uncle I assure-"

"No. I have meet the guy myself." He said letting go of my cheeks.

"What?" I blinked.

"Tell him, if he wants to hire you for real, he has to come and meet me." Uncle Richard dismissed the conversation and left the kitchen like it was nothing.

How was I supposed to convince this to Hugo Collins, the guy to whom nobody ever questioned anything?


__END__



A/N : I hope you like this chapter! vote and comment if you did! Thank you for reading! See you next Friday!