Bought by the Boss

Chapter 1

"If you have any technical problems later today just call back at the number on your caller ID." Allana said in a falsely chipper voice while picking at her cuticles. The woman on the other end replied with some inane chatter that basically consisted of the customer assuring Allana she would be sure to do that.

"Have a wonderful day." She said hanging up. The last call on a Thursday. She was off the next two days. She dreaded this day every week. Two whole days at home, with him. She reached into the bottom drawer of her desk to retrieve her purse and stood to leave.

"Bye, Allana!" Chelsea sang from the desk beside her. "Have fun this weekend, well not too much fun" she said giggling to herself.

Allana flashed her go to over bright smile people always fell for. "I sure will. You off Sunday?"

"Yep!"

"Alright see you Monday. Have a good weekend."

"You too, girl. Go get drunk of something."

Allana rolled her eyes walking toward the door. "I'll see what I can do."

As she left Hoover driving toward the Birmingham skyline she let her mind wander. An activity she always regretted. Sure enough

Mother came to mind on the last day she saw her. She had been cremated so the last time Allana had seen her was on the last day of her life. Allana had been rushing out the door trying desperately to make the bus. She was in the 9th grade. Hard to believe it had been six years. She still remembered the smell of the bus. The way her mother waved from the porch, no clue that she would die in the arms of her lover. One canceled hair appointment. That's all it took. A wife coming home for lunch instead of going to the salon. A convenient gun led to the death of three people and her life was ruined.

Shaking her head, she turned the volume all the way up till she couldn't think over the pounding bass of Imagine Dragons. The rest of the drive passed uneventfully as she made the trip to the small town of Bayview, AL. A former coal town it was full of small houses separated by quarter acre lots, chain link fences and barking dogs.

Allana hated driving through here. All the families who had lived here for generations and knew everybody's business. It was probably a wonderful place to live for all the normal wonderfully nuclear bible-thumping families that this town seemed to be populated by. However, when your mother led a man away from his wife which ended with two murders and a suicide, which was the worst crime anyone could remember happening in the small town for generations. Add the fact that your father was the town drunk and this little town had become Hell on Earth for her. Parking in front of her house Allana plastered a fake smile on her face and did her best to ignore the pitying look on Mr. Marshalls' face next door she walked into the house.

Her senses were immediately assaulted by the scent of stale Marlboro's and cheap whiskey.

"What the f**k are you doing home so early?"

She turned to face her father who had actually bothered to look up from the tv long enough to address her.

"It's six o'clock, Daddy." She hated the slight quiver in her voice. He has insisted that she call him Daddy ever since the one or two beers a night turned into a fifth of jack and probably a case of beers a day and when Daddy insists something he usually does it with his belt.

"Oh, so it is" he says glancing at the clock. "Well don't just stand there start dinner."

"Yes, sir." She scurried to the kitchen hoping tonight she would be able to get through the evening without catching too much of his attention.

Thankfully, she had started a roast in the crock pot this morning so all that had to be done was making the sides. She started a pot to boil for pasta and began washing the dishes that were pilled up when she heard footsteps entering the dining room.

"Did you get my smokes?"

Shit! "No, daddy, I'm sorry." she hung her head her heart starting to race.

"What! What the f**k did you do during your break today? Sit around eating fast food and becoming a lazy fat ass." she winced at the painful insult.

"I'm sorry, daddy. Work was busy and I had to go to the bank on my break to cash my check and pay the cable bill."

"I don't give a f**k about your excuses! I need smokes now! Go get some."

"Yes, daddy." She started out of the kitchen but he grabbed her arm hard as she attempted to walk passed.

"Oww, Daddy, that hurts."

He smacked her ass three times with enough force that she knew if she were to look she would have a perfect dad shaped hand prints on her ass. Blinking back tears, she hurried out of the house.

Between the store and home Allana passed more pitying stares. She got home, finished dinner, ate, cleaned the kitchen and headed for the shower all without incident. Maybe daddy would pass out before she could piss him off any more tonight. She showered with the water as hot as she could stand, but even that didn't take away the aching pit in her stomach.

Climbing out of the shower, she wrapped a threadbare towel around her body, wiped off the mirror and stood looking at herself.

Normally she averts her eyes from the mirror, but today she found herself meeting the jade eyes in the mirror. The years had gone by as if she were in a living nightmare. Yesterday was her 21st birthday. She it wasn't shocked that it had gone by without a word from anybody. It was only two days after the anniversary of that day...since then her birthday usually involved massive amounts of alcohol being consumed by her father and often a beating for her. On her eighteenth birthday he had broken her collar bone because she had mentioned it was her birthday. She doesn't mention the date to anyone anymore, but this was her 21st for goodness sakes. She should be out getting drunk! Or having a one night stand! She didn't want to be a 21 year old virgin working full time at a dead end job to support her abusive, alcoholic father.

Allana couldn't do this anymore. She was done. It was time to stand up for herself and by stand up she meant sneak away in the middle of the night and never come back. Determined she grabbed a plastic shopping bag out of the bottom drawer and began tossing her toiletries in it as quietly as possible. Taking a deep breath her heart racing and her palms sweaty with a death grip on the plastic bag she exited the bathroom hurrying down the short hall to her bedroom locking the door and sliding the chain into place.

She grabbed a duffle bag from under the bed and started packing clothes in it. Once she had all the clothes she was going to take she scribbled a note and left it sitting on her dresser. She kept it short and sweet.

I'm gone! Good luck, Daddy

Allana

She flipped the mattress and ignoring the sound of her father calling her name from the living room she pulled back the Velcro she had sewn into the bottom of her mattress last year over the hole she had cut out and grabbed her savings.

By now daddy was banging at the door yelling demanding she open up, but she was packed and ready to head out the window. She had the lock flipped when she remembered the picture. s**t! It was the only one left of her mother. Daddy had burned all the rest.

She raced across the room where it was taped to the bottom of the nightstand. Ignoring the sound of her father body slamming the door she ran back to the window and threw it open. She was out about the same time she heard the crash of the door giving way to the angry 250 lb man. Allana ran across the yard hitting the unlock button on her key fob as she did. She jumped into the 8 year old maxima and pulled out. The last thing she saw was the sight of her daddy standing at her window a stunned look on his face.