Quentin woke up at his usual time, six-thirty. After the wedding and dinner with part of his family, he was faced with so much fatigue. Once at home, he changed into some plaid flannels and a random plain shirt and passed-out under the covers.
This morning he was still feeling fatigue, but a little better. What got worse was his behavior. He woke up already irritated. If someone even tried to bother him, he was going to start swinging. He got changed into work-out clothes and went downstairs to make his protein shake.
Already downstairs and dressed for the day, drinking coffee at the kitchen bar, was Ms. Birdie.
"Good morning, sir! Would you like me to make something for you?" Ms. Birdie asked, in a hushed tone.
Quentin didn't want to lash out on the poor woman. She was just being polite. To control his mood, he took a deep breath in and out. Through his teeth, he said, "No. I like to cook on my own. Please do not ask again. If I need something from you, I will address you."
Ms. Birdie knew to shut up at this time. But before she did, she responded, "Of course, sir. I'm sorry."
Quentin, facing away from the woman rolled his eyes. He couldn't help the fact that any voice was like knives in his ears, that he couldn't be bothered by anyone. He blended up his protein shake and left in a hurry upstairs.
For the majority of the morning, Quentin worked out his frustration.
Penny woke up in the mid-morning, from another stress-filled dream. They seem to be getting worse. She doesn't want to call them nightmares, afraid of the consequences they bring.
This time she was at her wedding, but at a church. She was wearing a long white gown, similar to the original. Beside her was her father, reincarnate, to walk her down the aisle. Penny in the dream tried to struggle, but her white pumps were stuck to the ground, no matter how much she moves, she could leave her spot. With his classic sinister grin, the grin that came alongside pain for Penny, he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the altar. She kicked and she fought. It did nothing.
Mr. Marshall threw his daughter beside a pair of feet. Penny looked up to the owner of the pair of shoes. It was Quentin Romano, with the same grin her father had.
Penny woke up at this point in the dream, with her heart racing.
She wanted to get out of bed right away and wash away the awful dream she had. So, she did just that. The shower was scolding, like she wanted to burn whatever sins she had off her body. She put her hand on the shower wall, hung her head low to let the water slide down her back, and just breathed. She just needed a second to regain her strength to put on a façade.
Out of the shower, she put on some comfy clothes. It just black leggings and a large, short-sleeve shirt. Nothing interesting, just something to move in.
In the kitchen, Penny drank coffee and ate some oatmeal. Penny was feeling rather boring today. She didn't know how to explain what she was feeling. Maybe empty.
At her first home, everything happened so fast. Her father would hit her, called her names, and threatened her day in and day out. After she went to work, she came home to him, if he was home. When she wasn't home, she took the advantage of sleeping. It was hard to sleep when he was home. He could barge into the room at any moment.
Now that she was away from it all, it just left her to her thoughts and memories.
Both things not fun for Penelope.
Like clockwork, when she was done with her food, there was a knock at the door. Just as she thought, it was the movers with her stuff. She got Ms. Birdies attention, and together with the mover, they went downstairs to the truck.
A good majority of the stuff from the house held no sentimental value, so the moving truck was fairly empty. Ms. Birdie didn't have much in the house either, only whatever was in her room.
After about two trips up and down in the elevator, all the boxes where in the Penthouse.
Around this time, Quentin finished working out. He walked down the third floor stairs and looked over the balcony. He saw Penelope and the main below his with a few boxes. He lets out a signs, pinches the bridge of his nose and scurries to his room to shower.
The two women did not notice Quinn peaking on them and just continued with their day. They carried all of the boxes to their individual rooms and started unpacking. Penny didn't pack much, and what she did was mostly her mom's. The object that Penny loved the most, and the biggest item, was her mom's mirror. It was a gorgeous rectangle mirror that could show the full body. A once shiny gold boarders the edges, with ornate details. When she was younger, she would play dress up in her mother's clothing and stand in the mirror.
Penny placed the mirror in a corner since it was too heavy to hang up. She stood in front of the mirror and saw herself. A naked face, pulled back hair, and boring clothes. She used to stand in front of this gold mirror with her mother smiling behind her. She used to stand in front of this mirror to see how bad her father hit her. Now, she stands in front of this mirror with no purpose but to see herself, for who she truly is.
But she doesn't know who that is.
The rest of the day was spent unpack more knick-knacks and items that held sentimental value, such as her framed degree and a bottle of sand she got on her first vacation. Little things that decorated the room. A majority of the stuff was actually things from all the plays and musicals she did. Penny, with the director's permission, liked to take small items from the show to always remember it.
She only stopped for lunch and was done by dinner time. She ate with Ms. Birdie in the kitchen. Apparently, she hasn't seen much of Quentin, but knew that he came out to eat once she left the main area. Afterward, Penny bravely decided to ask Quentin for the WIFI password.
She grabbed her computer from her room, and knocked on the door to his study, which was where Ms. Birdie speculated, he would be.
She was right...
"WHAT?" Quentin roared from inside the office.
Penny flinched a little from the noise, but carried on in a timid voice, "Hi, it's me. Uh...I was wondering what the WIFI password was so that I can do some work on my computer?"
There was silence, and then stomps.
Then the door flew open.
Quentin stood in the doorway, towering over the little girl. Penny stood below the man, trembling. It started to trigger bad memories as he screamed, "I TOLD YOU TO NOT BOTHER ME, EVER. TODAY YOU CAME WITH ALL YOUR BOXES AND MAKING NOISE WHILE I AM TRYING TO DO WORK! GET OUT OF MY FUCKING FACE YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
During his mini-rant, Penny closed her eyes and placed her arms around her body to protect her mid-drift and the computer. She still stood up strong. If her posture was weak, it would be easier for her to fall down and for anyone to kick her. She flinched at the last sentence.
Worried that he was going to be worse, she carefully took a step back. However, he slammed the door in her face.
Even though it only lasted a few second, Penny was distraught and confused. Old memories started to resurface; old feelings bubbled up as well. Ms. Birdie heard him screaming at her little girl and came running up the stairs to comfort her, like how she always did.
She found Penny standing by the door, frozen. She didn't know what to do, she mind locked up. Ms. Birdie placed a gentle hand behind her, and so, Penny turned her head to look at the woman. Tears lined her eyes, but once she saw her old friend, they poured down her face. She started sobbing that she was sorry and didn't mean to break the rules. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, afraid that it was going to fall out.
It was a reaction, Penny did something wrong and now she had to apologize. Penny always saw these things as her fault.
She thought she was safe, but that was the biggest mistake.
Ms. Birdie ushered her back to her room and laid her down under the covers. She held the babbling girl until she fell asleep.
Back at the home office, Quentin was pacing back and forth. He was frustrated for no reason. The two women barely made a noise while unpacking in their rooms. But barely is still something. Every single noise felt like nails on a chalk board to him. Noise usually doesn't annoy him this much, but today was an extra special day for him.
He didn't want to yell at her. It's not her fault for not knowing the WIFI password. It was a simple request. However, seeing her face, just pushed him over the edge. After getting his frustrations out, he is just left to stand there. The feeling of guilt slipped in.
He left his office once he was done with work and saw that Penelope's door was open. He couldn't help but peak in and see what is going on.
His cold heart broke, just a little bit.
Penelope was laying in her bed with Ms. Birdie holding her. Her cries have died down and became more of a whimper, while she quietly mummers, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break the rules. It's my fault."
Ms. Birdie just sat there as a support, telling the girl that everything was going to be okay.
Did he really do this? He has never really brought someone to tears before, not like this. He wanted to pity the girl, for not having a strong enough backbone to withstand someone yelling at her. However, pity wasn't the emotion he could conjure.
Feeling that he has seen too much, Quentin went to his room for the night.