Maya woke up with the biggest yawn in her life. At least it felt like that as she stretched, her alarm going off the entire time.

“Stop,” She said and on her command the alarm shut off. 

She sat up, placing her feet on the floor, as she looked at her phone sitting on her nightstand. The screen was still on, so she could see that she had a text, a few emails, and a few twitter notifications. She didn’t have a chance to really notice much else before her phones screen went to sleep.

She pulled herself out of bed and walked into the bathroom.  As she stopped before the sink and stared at her reflection she noticed just how much of a mess she looked at the moment. Her blonde curly hair was in knots and sticking up here and there, her grayish colored eyes had some serious bags resting underneath, and she had a puddle of drool soaking her pajama shirt. 

She grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth before hopping into the shower. With both of those jobs out of the way she got to work on her hair, which had a better chance of getting under control when it was still wet. It was another half an hour before she stepped out of the bathroom. Her hair was as straightened as it was going to get and she had a modest amount of make-up on.

She was happy that she no longer looked like a mess. In fact she thought that she was beautiful today. Those days were rare nowadays. It was all in head of course and she knew it but as much as she tried to fight the thoughts she couldn’t win. Maybe it was her height at 4’8 which was, for some reason, starting to hit her more at the age of 32. 

She walked out of her room and went downstairs to see that her boyfriend was already sitting at the table. Playing on his portable gaming system. He looked up as she entered and then looked back down at his system.

“You look like a skank,” He said, “Go put on something else. You can not leave the house like that.”

She liked what she was wearing. A purple crop top that went down to just above her navel, a pair of pre-ripped jeans, and a pair of black heels that made her 2 inches taller.

“What’s wrong with what I am wearing?”

“For christ’s sake Maya you look like you are asking for people to hit on you but maybe that is what you want. Is it?”

“No. You know that.”

“Good. Then get upstairs and change,” She turned to do what he said and as she did so he barked, “And wash that fucking make-up off your face. You look like a fucking clown for christs sake.”

She wanted to cry but she refused to do so in front of him. She knew that it would only make matters worse. He would get upset and angry and she didn’t want that today on a good morning. At least what was once a good morning anyway. It was another twenty minutes before she came back downstairs. 

The make-up now washed off of her face and her clothes changed. She now wore a t-shirt that was a size too large, a regular pair of jeans, and a pair of shoes. He looked up when she entered and smiled.

“That’s better. You know I am just looking out for you? Right? I mean last thing I want is to get a phone call that you were raped or something. You know? So what's for breakfast?”

She looked at him stone faced but inside she was dying.

“You didn’t eat,” She asked with so much composure that she deserved an oscar.

“No. I wasn’t in the mood for cereal and you know I don’t fucking cook. So what's for breakfast?”

She looked at the clock. She only had about thirty minutes to get to work. She was just planning on making some toast and taking it to go.

“I have work. I can make something when you get home?”

“Work,” He said, putting down his system and making quotations with his hands, “I bet you don’t do jackshit. You just go and have a good fucking time. Chatting. You talk about me?”

“No,” She lied.

He picked up his game and Maya couldn’t tell if he bought it or not.

“How long are you going to be gone for?”

“The usual hour and a half.”

“The fuck it take so long?”
“We have gone through this before. She needs help-”

He faked a yawn cutting her off, “I don’t really care. Ok here is the deal. You go to work and help the crippled bitch and when you get back you are going to make me the best breakfast I have ever had. Then when we are done you are going to suck my dick.”

She wanted to say no. To tell him to take a hike but that thought only lasted a few precious seconds before it was whisked away. The next thing she felt was guilt for thinking such thoughts. This man paid for the roof over her head, the food in the fridge, and she was here feeling angry at him. She didn’t deserve him was the truth. 

So instead she smiled and nodded, “Of course.”

She then walked over and gave him a kiss. As she began to pull away he grabbed the back of her head and forced her to kiss him longer. Only releasing her a minute and half later when he was done. Gently pushing her away afterwards.

“Get the fuck out of her then.”

She moved to go make her toast and he cleared his throat. She turned to look at him.

“If I don’t eat, you don’t eat. Get the fuck out of my house.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, what?”

“I love you, sir.”

“That's my girl.”

With that she turned to leave. Ready to get away for a time, her morning ruined, but not having the strength to tell herself that it wasn’t her that caused it. It was nice to have a job, even if for a few hours a day, where she could go and talk. She wasn’t sure what being a personal attendant was going to be like but she found a friend in Emily. A friend that she could confide in. A friend she knew wasn’t going to talk to Blake.  That meant the world to her.