Danitza POV
"Danii, sweetie. It's time to wake up." Marie whispered whilst shaking me slightly. I groaned at the thought of getting up so early. Is today the day, right? I'm finally going to Evercrest University, even though it is Sunday; people living in the dorms need to arrive a day early to settle into their rooms. I believe orientation is on Monday and classes official begins on Tuesday.
I sat up in bed tiredly and looked around my very empty room; it didn't have much to begin with, but still...
"Danitza, I am not waiting for you. Get your ass in the car in 10 minutes!" Anthony shouted. Sigh, I definitely won't be missing him. At least he gave me 10 minutes. I got up and grabbed my things to take a quick shower.
"Marie, could you help me put my things in the van, please?" I asked because I didn't want Anthony to feel like I wasn't being efficient enough. I started getting dressed, and I took out my clothes from last night. I'm wearing a white crop-top with my old navy black joggers. Let me tell you something about these joggers: they are beyond comfortable! I paired that with my black-and-white Nike shoes. I sprayed a little of my Black Opium perfume, which my best friend had given me.
I feel ready, and I think that was less than 10 minutes. On cue, I heard the car horn blaring like a train on firey tracks. I sighed and looked in my mirror. "Come on, Danitza, you got this; it's just another mountain you need to climb. You can do this!" I tried motivating myself.
I am really going to miss the comfort of my home, but it's not that deep, right?
I carried the rest of the boxes into Anthony's van. I turned and looked at my little home. I guess this is goodbye for now, "Danii, I'm going to miss you. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay. We will be proud of you no matter what, okay. Just don't get pregnant." Marie said to me sadly. She just had to mention me not getting pregnant, it's her biggest fear, not because she got pregnant early, but she doesn't want grandchildren because then she will definitely start feeling old.
"Okay, Marie, I will put it on my bucket list to not get pregnant," I said with a small chuckle and a roll of my eyes, which earned me a slap on my arm. "Owww!' I winced at the slight pain in my humerus.
The drive with Anthony is usually very quiet. I can't lie that I was sad that my father and I didn't have a good relationship; he always made me feel like a mistake. Maybe I was, but he could at least put up some sort of facade when he's around me, or at least be a father.
"So... I will be studying culinary arts, you know? I thought it would be best since I know how to cook." I tried to have a small conversation with my father.
"Will it give you a lot of money?" Anthony was hardly interested in this conversation. "Yes, definitely, I can even open up my own restaurant or something one day," I said enthusiastically.
"And, I will finally be able to help out you and Marie with any..." "You have to, you don't have a choice in the matter. We would have been okay right now if it weren't for you! Do you even know or understand how much we sacrificed for you!!?" Anthony cut me off to say. I sat silent for a while, because I knew my birth did indeed burden them, but it's not my fault.
"Look! Anthony, I believe you have made it clear that I am nothing but a burden to you. But that is not my fault. What did I ever do to you? I wasn't the one to lie in bed with Marie and get her pregnant! You did that! I know that I wasn't what you expected or even wanted, but it still doesn't give you the right to not be a father, to not have shown an ounce of care towards me for NINETEEN years of my life!!" I said with venom and frustration.
I can't continue my life with him behaving like I am the reason HE failed in life. Because I was not. Anthony kept silent, but I had a lot more to say.
"I have been trying so hard my entire life to meet your expectations when I don't even know what you are expecting from me. I got good grades, and I helped both you and Marie with work. I even started working at 15 while going to school just to help you guys with the bills. And all I ever received from you was a glance and a fucking forced head nod..." smack!!! My faced turn with the impact of the slap. Well, that will sure leave a bruise, and so at the wrong time, ughhh.
I wasn't surprise honestly. It's not the first time Anthony has slapped me out of anger, frustration, or whatever pent-up emotion he was feeling. He stopped when I was 16, and the only reason was that my P.E. teacher saw me trying to cover up my bruises with my hoodie and informed the guidance counsellor. Both Anthony and Marie got called in that day, and the school said that if it were to ever happen again, they would have to get the authorities involved, so the beatings finally stopped.
"Who do you think you are talking to? I am not one of the little manwhores that you are sleeping with!" Anthony practically shouted at me. No, I don't sleep around. I only had one boyfriend in my entire life here on earth, and he didn't have the luxury of getting in my pants.
The rest of the car ride, luckily, didn't consist of me getting slapped, which I was more than grateful for, but honestly, I blame myself; if I hadn't been trying to make conversation in the first place, it wouldn't have happened.
EVERCREST. Finally, I have arrived. I looked around the vast land as I took my last box out of Anthony's van, and no, he didn't help me with any of the boxes. Anthony drove off and just left without saying another word, but I really didn't mind.
Evercrest University sat proudly on a vast stretch of rollingland, its grand buildings rising like silent guardians of knowledge. Tall stone halls with ivy climbing their walls surrounded wide courtyards where students gathered beneath oak trees. The campus carried an air of prestige and quiet ambition. In the distance, elegant yet modern towers reached towards the sky, their bells echoing across the grounds as if to remind everyone within their walls that greatness was expected here. The atmosphere of Evercrest was both inspiring and intimidating, a place where dreams were built, rivalries were born.
I am so not going to fit in here.