Anonymous and Incognito

Six years ago... "Mother, father, I've made a decision. I want to start my own business." "You will do no such thing! You are a Lennox, you will continue the family's legacy. And that's that!!" My father demands while looking at me from across the table. "But father, I don't want to, I-" "What you want doesn't matter dear, this is about a family legacy we're talking and you have no choice whatsoever but to continue with it. You're our only child so do what's right." Mother speaks in a calm voice, as if not affected by my words. "For seventeen long years!! I have done everything you wanted me to do, I have lives by your rules and I've lived by the book!!" I get from the table and bang my fist against the table out of pure anger. " This one time I plead with you to grant me freedom but you refuse. What have I done to deserve your hatred and harsh teachings." I carry on trying my best to hold back the tears ready to stream down my face. "Sit your ass your down young lady-" My mother demands before I interrupt her. "Or what?" I challenge in a calm threatening voice. "If she says she has decided to go against our wishes, then we have no business with her." My father speaks from across the table giving me a slight smirk. "I'm sorry, what?..." I mumbled under my breath "I beg your pardon?" My mother question, looking at my father in horror and disbelief. "That's right. Since my dearest Annalise wants freedom, I shall grant her that freedom. Since you think its best to leave us and betray us, you have no business with us. If you go on with whatever this stunt is, then you unfortunately I will be forced to write you off and you will have to move out of this house and go start your legacy full of stuntmen since you want to pull all these little stunts." My father smirks at me before getting up from his chair and heading to his office. "Did I just get disowned by father?" I mumbled under breath "That looks like the case. I'm sorry but your father has a point, and you know better than to disobey us." My mother responds with a rather silent tone, as if she's as shocked as me. "But even then, you know there's nothing I can do to change his mind. I know better than to argue with my husband. At rimes like these, I sadly just have to sit back and watch." Her tones changes to a rather sad one, as if she too is holding back tears. "So you also disowning me..." A tear drips down my face... After everything I've sacrificed to please my family, this is what they do to me?? I've lost friends. I've lost a childhood. I've lost happiness. I've lost my mental health. But most importantly, I've lost myself. My mom pulls me in for a hug and I can't help but stand there and do nothing. My body remains paralyzed refusing to return the warm gesture. My mom looks at me for a moment too long with a warm smile and eyes holding back tears. "I'll fix this, I promise." And with that, she follows my father's direction and heads into his office. I quickly wipe away my tears and head up the stairs to my room. I sit on the bed and look at myself in the mirror. What am I gonna do now? I decide to get my s**t together and stop feeling sad for myself, as if that'll change anything. If I'm gonna be kicked out then I need some money to live by for the time being.  Then I realised, I don't have to play it safe anymore. And so I come up with a plan and I act on it before my dad has the chance to ruin it. I rush over to my laptop and start taking action, I use my card to get an apartment and pay the rent for the next six months. I quickly move to my bathroom where I pack all my toiletries into a bag and I manage to pack all my clothes into one large suitcase. Then I pack my electronics, chargers and wallet into my backpack. A few hours later when the sun is about to set I start making moves. I take backpack and decide to pack a duffel bag in my suitcase. I manage to sneak out of the house with all my luggage and I arrived to where I had parked my car earlier on in the day so people wouldn't notice me driving out of the yard. I put my suitcase in the trunk and I put my bag filled with toiletries in the front passenger seat. Luckily I made a deal with my landlord so I can move in today even though it cost some extra money. I start the car and luckily no one is around. I drive to the gate and to my surprise its the new guard on duty today, and he's alone. He opens the gate for me and to my surprise he doesn't ask me any questions. I drive off into the horizon. I drive into the making of a new life. I drive to my new apartment which is on the other side of town so it took me about an hour to get there. I park my car and head to get my keys and identity card. I get to my apartment which is on the third floor, I unlock the door and head inside. I put all my bags in the living room near the sofa, thank god it already came furnished or else I'd be dead. I take out all my electronics in my backpack, leaving my wallet in there and I head downstairs to the parking lot with my bag hung over one shoulder. I start the car and I drive out of the complex.  Now I need a game plan on how I'm going to make a living on my own. What am going to do and where do I eve begin? I'm just so lucky my dad bought me this car when I was 16 or else I would have worked extra hard to get out of the yard without anyone noticing. I wonder if anyone has noticed if I'm no longer in the house. I hope my mom is doing okay. I arrive at the bank and luckily they haven't closed and its actually pretty empty. I walk up to the bank teller trying to this over and done with and finish as quickly as possible. "Good evening miss, how may I help you?" Is all she mutters. She eyes me from head to toe as if already knowing what to say about me during gossip sessions with her colleagues. I give her a smirk knowing the amount of money in my bank account can support a family of four for ten whole years. Now I just need to take that money out of my account before my dad beats me to it. "I would love to withdraw some money from my account." I respond in a calm and confident voice. "Okay, but uhm what's stopping you from using the ATM?" She asks in a judgemental tone looking at me as if underestimating my wealth. "If I used an ATM then I don't think you would have any business working here now would you?" I lift my eyebrow examining her facial expression. "Sweetie now be useful, do your job and help me do what I came here for so I can get it over and done with. And do us both a favour and mind your own bees wax, and quit your crap with the attitude it could be the reason you loose this job in the first place." I change my facial expression to a much more serious and threatening one. An hour later I walk out of the bank with two duffel bags each carrying two million, five hundred dollars.  For a second I stand still on the road thinking about my next move. Holding so much in cash is dangerous I need a place where I can store it and keep it safe but I can't make a another bank account otherwise my dad will be able to track where his five million dollars went overnight. But I mean I left him a good amount of money to mourn my disappearance with, I mean after all that man does love money more than anything. I walk to my car and place the duffel bags in the trunk of the car and I lock it up and I drive off to a supermarket to get some food and go job hunting. I park my car and head into a shop with my backpack hanging over my one shoulder. I grab a big  trolley and I start wandering around the shop for some groceries and toiletries. I grab some tampons, pads, baby wipes, toilet paper, deodorant, aqueous cream, hair spray and a whole lot of soap. I debate on whether I should buy some groceries or should I wait until I've figured out what exactly I'm going to do with my life. So instead of grabbing groceries I just decide to grab a whole lot of ready meals for the time being. I get to the till so I can pay for my stuff and head back to my apartment before it gets late "Aren't you a little too young to be running around alone in this side of town?" The cashier, a middle aged looking man with black hair and steel framed glasses, ask me as if curious about my story and what business I have in this part of town. "Well, when life throws you a bunch of rotten avocados, you might as well use those big ass seeds to just grow some fresh new avocados, hear what I'm saying?" I respond trying to hint to him that I don't wanna reveal much about myself and my story. "Smart. Well be safe young lady, I'd suggest you go back home before the streets get quiet." The cashier replies giving me a genuine smile and luckily, he caught the hint. "Thank you sir, have a great evening." I say my goodbyes returning the smile and I head out of the shop. I quickly drive over to the gas station so I can fill up the tank. When I'm done, I instantly drive back to my apartment. It doesn't take me that long to get to my apartment. I get inside  and don't even bother packing my toiletries in the bathroom. Instead I just dump the duffel bags onto my bed and pack the ready made meals in the fridge. And now I need to come up with a proper game plan. If I'm going to run away from home then I should move to another town, right? But where? One month later... It takes me a month to get everything in order and I was able to sort out some basics for a new life. Over the past month I've been able to plan my life... across the country. I purchased a building and in this building there used to be a coffee shop which I'm planning to keep but renovate since I'll be the new owner. I've decided that I'm gonna use the money to get the coffee shop up and running so it can be my main source of income. I've also decided that I'm going to university next year and of course I'm paying with the money I... borrowed from my account which also lowkey belongs to my dad. I bought a new car and some new electronics and sold my old car and electronics so my parents wouldn't be able to track me. I also bought an apartment which is twenty minutes away from where my coffee shop will be. I've also been able to just get all the licences needed to start a business and own a coffee shop. Tonight is the night I drive away from hell on Earth. I'm driving into a new life... across the country.