It wasn't at all cold outside even for an Autumn day. The young blonde was seated in the car with her mother. "Are you for freakin' real?" The older woman growled out as she stared at the stop light that refused to change. "How long have we been sitting here? An hour?" "About thirty seconds." Her small blue eyes cut to the small butcher shop on the right side of the road. "Finally." Her mother exclaimed as she shot across the small intersection. "What do you want for dinner tonight?" "Hmm?" The girl looked back to the road in front of her. "Dinner?" The woman asked again. "Oh whatever you cook." She bit her bottom lip and changed the radio station. "Maybe some fettuccine..." trailing off her mother sighed. "You know your father doesn't like pasta." "He's not my father." She snapped back. "Well I'm your mother and I'm married to the man, so that makes him your father." The girl folded her arms over her chest as little blonde curls fell onto her face. "He's not my family." She mumbled while her mother pulled into the long driveway. "No more." The woman stated sternly. Rolling her eyes and grabbing her backpack the girl exited the vehicle and walked to the door of the house she never called home. She pushed through the door and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. "Don't stay up there pouting all night." Her mother called as she shut the door. "I don't pout." The blonde poked out her bottom lip and laid on the bed. A picture sat on her nightstand of a small girl with light curly blonde hair and a tall man with short dirty blonde hair. The child was sitting on the man's lap as they smiled together. There was a loud knock on the bedroom door that awoke her from her trance. She stood up but, before she could answer the door swung open. Her soft blues eyes landed on the older woman. "What are you doing stuck up in your room? What's a matter you?" Her accent was thick but, her words were clear. "Nothing I was just studying." The woman raised a dark eyebrow. "Do you think I believe you?" "No." Her hair bounced as she shook her head. "Good you a smart girl." The lady sat down on the edge of the bed. "You don't need to study. You know everything." The girl chuckled. "I wish I did." She looked down to her hands. "Then I wouldn't have to go to that school or listen to anyone." "You will always answer to someone but, when you are grown you will choose who you listen to." Dumbfounded the blonde shook her head. "That makes no sense." She swept a stray curl from her face. "You are bella donna you will understand one day." She paused then smiled. "I used to know a girl just like you. She thought she would never get out of Italia, she wanted to see the world. And guess what?" "She married a wonderful man who took her to the states and she lived happily ever after blah blah blah?" The girl added. "Si wait no, well mostly." The older woman placed her finger to her chin. "Nonna I've heard this story a thousand times, I know you're just trying to tell me everything will get better but," "Elizabeth get down here!" Came her mother's voice from the kitchen. "Coming." She huffed and left the room. "Remember you" "I know!" She interrupted before the sentence was complete.
Elizabeth walked down the stairs to be greeted by her mother, "Dinner is ready." "Yeah, yeah I know, mom." She said with a pout. "Go wash your hands before you come eat." Elizabeth went to wash her hands in the kitchen sink but, a man with short black hair man grabbed her by the wrist, "Go to the bathroom to wash your dirty hands" He said angrily. Elizabeth huffed blowing her bangs out of her face before turning on her heels and walking down the hall and into the bathroom. She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror then turned on the water and cleaned her hands. "Elizabeth where the hell are you? We are about to say grace." Yelled her step father. "Coming, Bill." She said just to anger her mother. "Say Father" Yelled her mother as she walked out of the bathroom and back down the hall to the kitchen where her whole dysfunctional family. At the head of the table sat her step father Bill, to the left of him was her step-brother Alex, beside him was her step-sister Jesscia, on the right side of Bill sat her mother Daniela, and finally beside her sat her grandmother Adalina. Elizabeth took her seat at the other end of the table, looking at her plate of chicken, rice, and carrots. She made a strange face, she hated carrots and they knew that so why would they make them? After saying grace everyone started to eat as everything grew silent. Alex was the first one to get done, "I'm going to play the xbox!" He said before running off into the living room. Elizabeth finished eating her chicken and rice, pushing the carrots to the side. "You better finish the whole plate, Elizabeth." Bill said harshly to his step daughter. "You know that I hate carrots so no I'm not going to finish them. Now if you would excuse me I'm going back up to my room" She said standing to her feet about to take her dish to the sink. Bill jumped to his feet, slamming his hands on the table, "Sit your fat ass back down and finish your dinner right now Elizabeth." Bill yelled making Elizabeth jump. Daniela stood up from her seat looking at her husband, "My daughter isn't fat! Why can't you two get along with each other?" Daniela said defending her daughter. "You're way out of line, Bill. " Said Adalina not moving from her seat as she tried to finish eating her food. Bill stood in front of his wife, "Look at her. No one is going to want her she is so fat." He said pointing to Elizabeth. Elizabeth felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach, biting her lip trying not to cry. Why would he say something like that? She knew he didn't like her but she didn't know that he thought that way about her. Her grandmother slammed down her fork on her plate making a low noise, startling everyone. "That's no way to talk to a woman. Don't you have any respect? Or is a woman going to have to beat it into you?" She said coldly. Elizabeth ran up the stairs and into her room, jumping on the bed, she started to cry into her pillow. "I hate it here." She said to herself. She heard another knock on her door, "Go away" She yelled at the person on the other side. The door opened and her grandmother walked in with a suitcase. "Where are you going?" Elizabeth asked through quiet sobs. "Nowhere." Her grandmother sat down beside her. "You don't have to take that from him. He's not your father." "I know but, mom said" "It doesn't matter what your mother says. She's blinded by love, or so she claims." Adalina wiped her granddaugther's face. "I think you're old enough to make your own decisions." Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "I'm not even sixteen yet. I don't know anything." "You know everything you need. I have faith in you. You can make it. You are part of my family and we do not fail." The older woman kissed the girl's forehead then handed her the case. "Here Elizabeth. Pack your bags. I'm going to take you far away from here. As far as you want to go whenever you are ready." Adalina said to her granddaughter.
"You're sending me away?" She sat up and looked to her 'nonna'. "No I'm letting you live." Her slender arms wrapped around Elizabeth's shoulders. "I'm not sending you into battle empty-handed." Adalina's voice was smooth against the girl's ears. "Anything you need I will provide for you. Money, food, shelter. I will give it all to you." She slid an envelope into her granddaughter's petite hands. "There is enough money for you to live off until you find a job. When I first came here it took me a long time to find work but, you are beautiful madonna Elizabeth. You will find help in the big world I am sure." She searched her grandmother's eyes for doubt but, she found none. "You believe in me?" "Of course child." Her laugh was hearty and filled with mirth. "You remind me of an amazing woman I knew, I can't remember her name." "Was it Adalina?" The younger girl smiled. "Grazie I am amazing." Her face turned somber. "Hurry with your things. I want you to make your choice now. Where do you want to go?" Elizabeth fiddled with her long hair as she pulled her lips into a frown. "I want to go to the city." Adalina opened the suitcase. "Then you shall go."
The dark eyes of the well-traveled woman rest on the black asphalt as she sped along the road. "I'm so tired." Came the small voice of the girl in the seat next to her. "You can sleep on your flight. Right now I need to explain to you the city." The girl rolled her eyes. "I know all about it. I will make sure I stay in the good part and don't go out at night because of criminals." "Are you pazzo? There is no good part of the city. The criminals they will come to your house, you don't have to go out." This statement earned a chuckle from the blonde.
They continued to chat until the airport was within sight.
"There is no turning back." Adalina helped the girl with her luggage. "I'm not going back." Her toothy grin reminded the elder lady of her own. "You will grow." "What?" Elizabeth looked to her grandmother. "You will be strong girl. And dignified. You will always remember truth." She raised her eyebrow in question. "What's the truth." "Trust everyone in the game but, always cut the cards yourself." A blank stare was all she received. "That's a contradiction." "You better hurry don't want to miss your red eye." The girl was pushed through the airport right up to the gates. "L'amo Elizabeth." Adalina kissed her forehead then her both her cheeks. "L'amo."
Elizabeth had a rude awakening by a short woman with red hair, "Hey the plane has landed this is the end of the line for you." The flight attendant said with an impolite rubbed her eyes sitting up in the seat before standing to her feet and getting her stuff together that they let her take on the plane. Once ready she looked around to see that everyone else had already got off the plane. It didn't take her long to make her way to the front and out of the plane. Elizabeth stepped into a whole different world of New York City, "There sure is a lot of people out here." She thought to herself. She went to gathered the rest of her luggage before walking out of the airport. The curly haired girl wonder to the road and flagged down a taxi, getting inside it smell of smoke and ass is what she thought to herself. "I need to go to this place." She said holding up a map with the address circled, "Sure thing" the man said with a crooked smile. "So sweet cheeks where are you from? You sure are a very pretty girl." He said making Elizabeth cringe at his comment. Who did this guy think he was, hitting on her like that? The thought of him made her want to retch. The ride from the airport to her new apartment was quiet and it seemed like it took them forever to get there. Elizabeth sighed in relief as they pulled up to the to her new home, getting out quickly she handed him the money and ran up the stairs with all her bags in hand. When she made it to the top she took a deep breath then walked the rest of the way to door 201, pulling out the key her grandmother had given her she unlocked the door to her new life. "Watch out world here I come." She giggled while turned the key.