Chapter 1: "One Last Job"
It was an early morning in a quiet little town at the edge of the country. Seagulls sang as they followed a rundown minitruck on a road leading to the manor atop a cliff. The driver was a 32-year-old Bryce, a handyman who received a call last night about a collapsed bed needing new legs.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Bryce muttered, slowing down as saw how treacherous the road up ahead was. The road had a lot of deadly sharp turns and the only thing stopping anyone from plummeting into the rocky shores was a weak-looking fence made of branches and twigs.
The brave handyman carried on. He had to. He had a job to do and he needed the money. He's been saving up to escape this boring town and live in the city where the streets were fuller and the nights were brighter.
See, back in high school when he was full of passion, Bryce made a very public confession of love to a girl who stole his young heart. But she rejected him.
The rejection stuck with him for years after that and he's been avoiding any kind of romantic relationship since. He spent the next years focusing on work and adopting a cold and emotionless exterior, only showing emotions when he's drunk or with his close buds.
But Bryce made a promise to himself, a promise he's been working up to. When he moves to the big city, he'll put himself out there again. He would open himself up to a possibility of a romantic relationship again.
His buds have been very supportive. They knew that he was getting close to making enough money for it and that he'll be gone at any moment now. They knew Bryce, and they knew that it would be best for him to start anew, especially with all the enemies he made in this town. Little did they know, Bryce just needed one last job.
After expertly navigating the twists and turns of the road he finally managed to reach the front of the manor. He took a moment to release a sigh of relief, driving through that road felt like walking on a tightrope. He could've sworn he saw a huge part of the fence broken-in but tried not to think of it. The shaken handyman made a mental note to make a complaint about the road when he got back home.
After freshening up, Bryce exited his vehicle with his toolbox in hand and approached the manor. He felt intimidated by the size of the door in front of him, and the walk through their front yard was pretty long. "Rich people," he thought to himself as he raised his fist to knock.
Before his knuckles could land on the door, however, he heard a click. The massive doors were opened and he was greeted to a surprisingly tall woman. Bryce was so used to being the tallest person in the room that seeing this lady tower over him felt odd.
The woman had smooth blonde hair that ended in round curls by her neck. She looked poised and proper, not a single mark or crease on her silky white dress and smoke black shawl. Body-wise, she was curvaceous, possessing the 'hourglass figure'.
"Oh! You must be the handyman I called for," the tall lady spoke, giving him a friendly smile.
"Yes ma'am..." Bryce smiled back, trying desperately to keep his eyes on the woman's face and not her breasts... which happened to be perfectly levelled with his head. "I heard you needed help with a bed?" he continued, maintaining his professional behavior. The tall lady smiled warmly and welcomed him into her home.
As he entered, he immediately got a bad feeling in his gut. But he couldn't explain it, so he simply pushed forward. As he followed behind the tall lady through the empty halls, he admired the furniture and paintings inside.
One painting in particular caught his attention, it was the biggest and most detailed one, it's of the tall lady and a younger girl that looks like she might be a daughter. "Are they the only two in this massive manor?" Bryce wondered to himself.
"Oh yes, that beautiful painting we just passed is me and my daughter, Lilith. We are the only ones living here," the tall lady abruptly said.
"...what?" Bryce muttered, how did she...
"My daughter is a pain, really... this isn't the first time she broke her bed. I think she might be getting too heavy for it. You specialize in woodworking, correct?"
"I uhm..." Bryce snapped out of it, "Yes ma'am I do."
"Good, I'll need her bed to be sturdier. I'm willing to pay however much that costs..."
Bryce was more than happy to do what the woman had ask. He smiled and nodded at the woman as they drew closer to a pair of large doors.
The lady abruptly stopped in her tracks. Bryce's face almost buried into her bosom as she suddenly turned around. "Oh! Goodness me... where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself!" she exclaimed, rubbing her forehead.
"I'm Ludella," she stepped back, reaching her hand out for a handshake, "I am the lady of this manor. And you are?"
"Bryce, ma'am..." the handyman responded as he shook her hand.
Ludella gave him a kind smile once more, "Brilliant."
As they arrive at her daughter's bedroom, the tall woman opens it for him and they both walk in. Bryce is immediately distracted by an intriguing smell... It was familiar yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was. The walls were pastel pink and the floor was white. There were stuffed toys of all sizes scattered on the floor. The room was untidy to say the least.
"Ugh.. Pardon the mess- LILITH!!!" the disappointed mother called, walking towards the bathroom.
"What are you doing here!?" a voice called out from the bathroom, presumably Lilith's.
Bryce stood awkwardly as he listened to Ludella and her daughters' exchanges. They don't seem to be on good terms at the moment.
"Didn't I tell you to clean your room!?" Ludella scolded as she stood at the doorway of Lilith's bathroom.
"I forgot!! A lot has happened! Give me a break!"
"Young lady, I need you to be more respectful to me. I AM YOUR MOTHER! And you have done nothing but make a mess that I have always had to clean up afterwards!!"
"Okay!! Geez. I'm sorry! I'll clean my room now!"
Ludella sighed, "clean yourself up, the handyman is here," she said before she walked up to Bryce. The handyman's gaze was effectively stuck on the woman's heavy pair of breasts as they moved towards his face. "I apologize for the fuss... I'll leave you to it," Ludella said before exiting the room and gently closing the doors behind her.
It was quite the fuss, but Bryce had a job to do so he wouldn't think about it too much. He took out a tape measurer from his toolbox and began to measure the dimensions of Lilith's broken bed. While he worked, he kept hearing wet, squelching sounds coming from the bathroom. The curious guy couldn't help but wonder what the girl is doing in there. Once he was done with his measurements, he was able to go back to his truck to get the wood planks he'll need.
"Miss Lilith, I'm gonna go get the materials for your bed." Bryce called out as he left his toolbox by the door. He noticed what seemed to be men's clothing sprawled out on the floor but didn't think much of it. Lilith wasn't responding so he decided to just go and get the planks.
