His Responsibility

    My name is Cordelia Lando, but I go by Summers, my mothers maiden name. She died giving birth to me. My Father Marcus raised me alone. As a child I was always protected, although I never understood why. I had guards always around me. It was a normal occurrence for me to be suddenly whisked off to a safe house by one of them when I was a child. My father is a very successful business man, which makes him a target to rivals, at least that's what he always told me. Him being a target made me a target, one that he said was too precious to not have protection. I used to run away from my guards, making my father scold me. He never stayed angry at me for long though.      I'm nineteen now and I moved out last year to try and stand on my own two feet. Father was not happy about me leaving the house, but I don't want to live off of him my whole life. I got a crappy apartment and a job as a waitress at a local pub. It was hard work, working the night shift with really handsy men some days but it paid well.      Walking over to the bar to place my tables order I see out of the corner of my eye my boyfriend. Jason, Blonde hair and blue eyes, he's a skinny guy but makes up for it with enthusiasm.  "Hey babe, almost done?" He gives me a peck on the cheek "I still have half an hour, take a seat I'll bring you something to snack on" I turn away with my order, going back to my table I go to the kitchen and ask Bobby our cook to make a small serving of sliders for me.  "He's early again?" He shakes his head "Yep" I say making the P pop.  Bobby laughs and slides over a plate a few minutes later,  "Thanks B" I smile      I get back to the bar and Jason is talking up some girl, I clear my throat, making them both turn. She has her hand on his arm, I send him a small glare.  "Here's your food" I slam the plate onto the bar in front of him "Wow, Service here sucks, want to get out of there baby?" The bimbo says to him, slurring her words slightly.     I turn towards Jason, waiting to hear his answer, He was a massive playboy before we met, I guess he still kind of is. We've been dating for four months, my dad hates him. I am starting to see why, he treats me like s**t, he's alright in bed, I guess he has to make up for his weak bedroom game by being a total d**k.  "Well babe, you see I'm kind of seeing someone at the moment. I don't think she'd appreciate me f*****g your brains out" He whispers to her, trailing his fingers down her arm. I roll my eyes and walk away, not wanting to listen to anymore of his bullshit. Why do I keep this bastard around? I honestly don't know anymore. Tonight I will break it off, I decide. Enough is enough.       Finally my shift is over. I grab my coat, stuffing my tips into my pocket. I say goodnight to Bobby and our bartender Jaxson and walk right past Jason.  "Hey Cordelia wait up!" He shouts at me as I start walking back to my place, it's eight blocks from the pub.  "What do you want Jason?" I snap  "Well I thought we were gonna.... you know.." He runs his hand up my arm, I pull away disgusted by the action. At one point I thought this man was irresistible, but now I am revolted by him.  "Seriously? You think we are going to f**k after how you treated me tonight? How you always treat me? No, you know what? I'm done. We are done. Goodbye Jason" I hiss and turn to walk away. He grabs me by the arm, spinning me around to him.  "What are you doing? Get off of me!" I scream     He slams me into the side of a building, into the alley way. He is surprisingly strong, for his thin stature. He has never been rough with me before, always extremely gentle, this took me by surprise.      "You think you can just leave me? Like it's that simple?" He smashes his mouth onto mine, he tastes like vodka and peanuts. I resisted the urge to hurl into his mouth. I pulled away quickly, turning my head. He grabbed my face, turning it back to him. His other hand going into my coat, I felt his hot breath on my neck.  I took all my courage and lifted my knee as high and as hard as I could, planting a powerful jab into his manhood.      "f**k Cordelia!" He screamed as he staggered backwards, hitting the wall behind him. I took my chance and ran, as fast as my feet could carry me. Running for eight blocks is not easy, especially in heels, but I managed to reach my building. I ran up the stairs to my apartment, fumbling with my keys, finally opening the door and slamming it behind me. Locking the door, I slumped down and started to cry. I pull off my coat, throwing it to the floor, ripping off my work shirt and throwing on a white t-shirt. I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket, I pulled it out seeing my father on the call display. "Daddy?" I sobbed "Princess, what's wrong?" He asks, clearly not expecting my outburst. "Can I come home for a few days?"  "Of course Princess, I'll send someone over right away to pick you up"  "Thanks Daddy" I hung up the phone and tried to stop my body from shaking, to no avail.      I don't know why I felt the way I did, but I was terrified. Jason was my first everything and for him to attack me like that scared the s**t out of me.  I quickly went to my room stuffing clothes into a backpack, there was a knock on the door. "W-Who is it?"  "Conner, your cousin. Your father sent me to fetch you" A unfamiliar voice spoke from behind the door "Conner?" My voice shook     "You remember me don't you? We used to play together when we were little. Don't tell me you forgot?" His voice sounded disappointed. I unlocked the door, there he was, but not how I remembered him. His eyes were the same, as was his smile.      His hair has grown out, sweeping his shoulders and he was very muscular now, with tattoos littering his arms. He was wearing a t-shirt, tattoos poking out from the sleeves. He was tall, maybe 6'2". I felt like a little kid standing in front of him. My 5'2" small body barely reached his chest.  He looked down at me smiling. "You haven't changed a bit little cousin" He chuckled as he spoke  "You have!" I blurted out before thinking     Sadness crossed his face for a moment, "Are you disappointed?" I didn't know what to say so I just looked down and grabbed my bag. "Ready to go?" He asked, taking my bag off my shoulder, slinging it over his own.  I nodded and locked the door behind me, following him down the stairs. "I'm surprised your dad is letting you live here, it's kind of a dump Corey" He says  I blush at the nickname, he hasn't seen me since we were eight and he always called me Corey. Nobody else has ever given me a nickname.      "I wanted to live off my own means. I can't expect dad to support me forever" He opens the door for me, as we exit the building I see it has started to rain, hard. I am only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Conner grabs an umbrella from the entrance and grabs me by the waist, pulling me closer to him and he sprints off to his car, pulling me along. He opens the passenger door for me, allowing me to slip inside before he closes the door. He tosses my bag in the back seat along with the umbrella. Getting into the driver's seat he starts the car and turns on the radio.  "What are you in the mood for?" He asks turning the stations. "Something quiet, I'm really tired and it's late" I yawn looking at the clock, it's past 4AM now. I wonder if I'll even get a blink of sleep.      Conner puts on some soothing music and I feel my eyes droop. The drive back to my dad's place is almost an hour, as he lives outside of town on a very large chunk of land.  I fell asleep about fifteen minutes into the drive.