01-I Miss You Dad!
Anita's POV
"Papa, I can't take it anymore, I'm so tired of this life" I sobbed
I'm sitting under the tree where my dad was buried
Crying my heart out
"Pa, I'd rather die right now cos at least then I won't have to feel all these pain and agony" I say wiping my tears with both my palms
"I know, I have to keep fighting but sometimes it's just so hard, you know?"
You know that feeling when you talk to your dead father and you actually feel like he speaks to you?
Yeah, you probably don't, my mom's constant complaining probably made my delirious
I don't know if it's just my imagination but when I feel discouraged, as if on cue, flowers start to fall and I feel his presence
I know, you probably think I'm crazy
If this really is my imagination, I never want it to end cos I probably wouldn't be able to keep living
I lay right there on the grass and flowers beneath the tree
The beautiful smell of the garden, the relaxing and peaceful scenario
"I miss you, Pa" I mutter before drifting off to sleep
*
"Anita!! Anita!!" Someone called as I stood in my beautiful ball gown
"Anita, where are you?" The person call again
"Over here" I answered and continued to paint a beautiful picture
"Anita, you little brat, where the f**k are you?" Now that snapped me out of my dream and back to reality
Oh mama's calling, I hope I'm not in that big of a mess
I fell asleep on father's grave and who knows how long that had been
I pray she doesn't kill me
Then again, maybe she should
"Anita, you stupid little girl" she yelled again, sounding really upset
No, I take that back. Please don't kill me.
"Coming Ma" I call as I get up and sprint towards the kitchen door
And I was immediately faced with a really furious mama
I could literally see smoke coming out from her ears
Oh, I'm screwed
"And where the f**k have you been?!!" She yelled and I flinched at the harsh sound
"I..I" I tried to get the words out but..
That doesn't matter anyway, she didn't leave enough time for me to answer
"Do you know what the f*****g time is?!!" She yelled again and took a step towards me as I also take a step back
"I..I'm" I try again but...You know by now how that goes
"Shut the f**k up" she yelled, taking more steps towards me and I take more steps away
I keep moving backwards until my back hits the door
I only have 2 options now: Run, but I'll just be in even more trouble when I get back
And of course, the other option, Stay put and take whatever is coming like a man...girl...woman...whatever you know what I mean
I go with option 2
I close my eyes and brace myself for the impact
1 second, nothing
2 seconds
3 seconds, still nothing
I open one eye slowly and that's when I feel it
The sharp pain on my cheek
I quickly shut my eyes again and this time really tightly
"You stupid child" she yells as she plants another slap on my cheek
I turn my head so she can hit the other side
"Do you f*****g know what the hell the time is? The Rubensteins will be here for dinner in an hour" That sharp pain again
I don't even try to respond anymore
"You're gonna make this dinner spectacular and I don't care how you do it" she backs away and looks me dead in the eye
I nod and avert my eyes
"Get to work" she yells and slams the kitchen door shut as she makes her way out
With both sides of my face throbbing, I move to get cooking
I've only got an hour
I make the fastest thing I could think of
Honey mustard chicken and broccoli
I pull out the mustards, honey, chicken breast, broccoli florets
I put the chicken in little olive oil and cook over medium heat and then move to whisk the honey and mustards together
This should be ready in a bit
***
When that's done, I pull out the appetizer from the freezer
Looking at the Crab cakes with horseradish cream I made yesterday, I smirk
"I knew you'd come in handy"
Great now I'm talking to food
I heat it up and go to prepare the table
***
After setting the table and doing a little cleaning, I go back into the kitchen
And for dessert, they'll be having cheesecake
Good job, Annie I mentally pat my shoulder
I hear some voices from the living room and I know they've arrived
I know better than to go out there now
"Here, put this on" my brother, Colton rushed into the kitchen and threw some clothes at my face
"What's this?" I look confused at the clothes now in my hand
"The Rubensteins are very fancy people, you have to look like a worthy house keeper" he says walking to the fridge
"Yeah, of course" I roll my eyes well, because I had my back to him
"What was that?" He turned with a frown
"Um, nothing, I was saying this is such a fancy clothe" I lied and hope he buys it
He sent me a glare but at least he's not hitting me so I'll take it
***
"Good Evening ladies and gentlemen, I'll be serving you tonight" I say with a fake ass smile to the Rubensteins and my mom and brother
"I'll be serving the appetizer first which is Crab cake with horseradish cream" I inform and they all nod
"After that will be the main course, which will be Honey mustard chicken and then dessert"
I give another fake smile then a small nod before exiting the dining
The dinner went very well in my opinion
At least, I did my part very well
I don't think it went well for mama and Colton though
They've been cranky ever since so I'm just gonna steer clear of them
And avoid getting hurt
"Anita" mama called and I rolled my eyes
Talk about avoiding trouble
"Coming Ma" I call back and head for her room
"You little brat" she yelled and yanked me in
What did I do?
"You're the reason we didn't get the contract" she yelled and yanked my hair
How is that my fault?
But I don't dare say that do I?
"You..You little witch" she yells again and throws me to the floor only to bend next to me and shower me with painful slaps
Well, this is my life
I don't even cry anymore
I just close my eyes and suck it all up