Author's Note: I've been asked why I just don't post the entire story at once rather than posting chapter by chapter. For those not familiar with the process, each chapter takes approximately 5 minutes to upload. This story has over 100 chapters which means it would take more than 8 hours to upload all the chapters at once. Therefore I do it one at a time when I have a few minutes to spare. If you'd rather wait until the entire story is uploaded, I respect your choice.
Chpt. 3: Ana's POV
I wake up hearing yelling coming from the living room. I can't make out what they are saying but they are loud and I hear them both cursing. I hear things being thrown against the walls and glass breaking. I try to put a pillow over my head to drown out the yelling but nothing works. I can still hear them. I need to go to the bathroom, but I don't want to leave my room. I don't want to see them. I don't want them to see me. I don't want to get hit again. I try to hold it as long as I can but I'm going to pee my pants if I don't go to the bathroom soon.
I tiptoe out of my bedroom and head down the long hallway to the bathroom. There is only one bathroom in the apartment which is right off the living room where they are arguing.
"You Bitch! You only think about yourself!" He yells.
"Me? You gamble your money away and don't think about anything other than your next winning!" She yells.
SLAP
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again! Next time it will be worse!" He yells.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" she says while crying.
"You always say you're sorry but you never show it. This place is a disaster, you never cook dinner for me and it looks like we live in a pigsty! If you're really sorry, spend the rest of the night getting this place to look like somewhere I would want to live. If it doesn't look like I want to stay here when I get up I'm leaving and not coming back" he yells.
"I will make it better for you, I promise. I'm so sorry" she cries.
I finish going to the bathroom and think perhaps it's quiet enough for me to sneak back to my room without being noticed. I open the bathroom door and step out only for the floor to creak.
"Great…now you have woken up your bitch of a daughter. The apple clearly hasn't fallen from the tree with her. She is just like you…a no good peace of ass. You both have the same attitude and don't know who to show your appreciation for someone who works so hard for you," he yells and I can tell by his footsteps he is coming out of the living room. I freeze, suddenly I can't move but my mind is yelling at my body to get back to my room.
"Please don't hurt her! She didn't do anything" she yells.
"Didn't do anything is exactly the problem! She didn't clean the house while we were at the casino, she didn't make dinner or buy beer so I could have something to drink when I got home," he yells rounding the corner coming face to face with me.
He grabs my ponytail and pulls me towards him. He's holding it so tight I think he has pulled out a chunk of hair. I don't say anything. I've learned by now not to argue with him or it will just be worse. It's better to be quiet and do what he says.
"Get in there bitch and help your fucking mother clean this pigsty of a house! There is no excuse for the house to look like this when you were home after school today! I don't care if you stay up all night, I want this place shining when I wake up or their will be hell to pay," he yells pushing me hard into the living causing me to fall onto my hands and knees.
"And by hell, I mean hell for you because I'm sure I will be enjoying it" he yells as he storms out.
I wake up sweating with tears rolling down my cheeks. I look at the clock and I see it's just after 5am; it's been awhile since I've had a nightmare – probably close to a week. I glance up and see my door is still locked so I know I'm safe. I double check the window, which is also locked. I know the reality is that they are not out there, but after having a nightmare I always feel like they are watching me. It's been years since I have seen either of them but the nightmares still continue. I can only hope someday they will disappear for good.
Realizing I won't be able to go back to sleep, I gather my stuff and head to the shower. I take my cell phone with me and lock my door behind me. I've learned that if you want a shower in this place you have to do it first thing in the morning. If you wait any longer there is no hot water; if you wait until the evening hours you will likely find questionable activity going on in there. I always bring a bottle of disinfectant with me and clean the shower before I get in. I always wear water shoes in the shower as well. After living here for a couple of weeks I went to take a shower after my shift after the restaurant only to walk into several people having sex in the shower stall. After that, I always scrubbed the shower before I got in and started taking a shower in the morning.
After my shower I return to my room to gather a few things. I don't like spending time here unless I have to. The weekends are tough because I don't always have someplace to go if the restaurant doesn't need help. Today I'm going to Kate's but not until later this afternoon. I decide to pack my overnight bag and head to the college to get some studying done before I go to Kate's. It's next to impossible to study here and library is open at the college.
An hour later after 2 bus transfers I arrive at the college. I study for awhile, grab some lunch and walk around the track while listening to music. I manage to get all my assignments done that are due this week and start planning out winter break. Our fall semester is almost over and then we have a few weeks off for winter break before spring break starts. I've told the restaurant that I will be available for any additional hours they might have as holidays are usually pretty busy for them. I don't mind since there is no one I will be celebrating the holidays with plus it gives me another excuse to stay away from the house. Once winter break is over my final semester of college begins. If all goes as planned, in about 6 months I will be graduating with my bachelor's degree.
Looking at my watch, I realize it's almost time to head to Kate's so I grab my bag and start walking towards her condo. The walk takes less than ten minutes and I arrive at her place.
"Hey Kate!" I say after she opens the door and hugs me.
"How are you Ana? I feel like I barely saw you this week!" Kate exclaims.
"Good Kate and you? How did the interview go this week?" I ask; Kate had previously mentioned some big interview she was doing for the school paper that she was really excited about.
"Oh Ana, it got rescheduled. Now I have to wait until after winter break. Apparently Mr. Big Shot is too busy to meet over the break so we had to reschedule for the middle of January!" Kate complains.
"What happened that it had to be rescheduled?" I ask.
"His assistant said he had to leave the country suddenly for some big project he is working on. I don't know…he probably just didn't want to do it anyway. It took me months to get the interview in the first place! One way or the other I will get my interview with Mr. Grey for the school paper! Anyway, what's new with you? Did you meet anyone recently?" Kate asks.
"Well…I didn't exactly meet someone but…" I begin, taking a bottle of beer Kate offered.
"What?! When? Who is he?" she asks excitedly.
"Haha, I don't know who he is!" I begin and tell her all about my meeting with Mr. Gorgeous as I now call him in my head.
"Oh that's so sweet! Maybe you will run into him again! You always walk the same route from school to the restaurant to it's bound to happen!" she says.
"I doubt it. He didn't look like the type who was just out walking. He was wearing dress pants, a shirt with a tie and what looked like expensive dress shoes. He looked like he was in between meetings or something." I admit.
"Well we can always hope can't we?" Kate asks smiling.
I smile back but tell myself no we can't because nothing we hope for ever happens.
Kate and I settle in for pizza and a movie. We watch several chick flicks which just seem to get funnier and funnier as the night progresses. Of course it might have something to do with the beers we are drinking or the couple shots we have done. Neither of us are drunk but have had enough to drink to be very giggly.
We say our goodnights and head to bed. I am so thankful that Kate lets me crash here so I don't have to get back to the house so late when drinking and drug use is going strong. Plus her spare bed is so comfortable and I don't need to worry about locking my door before I fall asleep. I decide to take a shower before bed since this is the one place I can take a long shower in without feeling like I come out dirtier than when I go into the shower. After probably a good half an hour, I turn off the water put pajamas on and head to bed. I'm always nervous that I will have a nightmare when I spend the night at Kate's and occasionally it has happened. Only once or twice it woke Kate up but I was able to convince her the nightmare was related to the scary movies we had just watched. It's nearly 3am before I fall asleep, having learned a long time ago if I stay awake really late I will eventually pass out and not have any nightmares as I won't sleep very long. I have set the alarm on my phone for 7am which should be enough sleep to feel rested but not enough to allow me to risk having a nightmare. I doubt I could convince Kate that the nightmare was related to the chick flicks we were watching tonight.
"Ugh what are you doing awake so early?" Asks Kate as she stumbles out of her bedroom a little after 8am.
"Making breakfast of course! Here have coffee" I answer, handing her a cup of freshly made coffee and a plate of chocolate chip pancakes.
"Thanks. But why so early?" Kate asks grumpily; she is not a morning person.
"Couldn't sleep, besides it's a beautiful day out" I respond happily.
"You're too cheery this early" Kate says and starts eating her breakfast.
Kate and I spend the entire day together mostly watching movies but we do grab a bite to eat at a local diner for lunch. I make us chicken alfredo over pasta for dinner which Kate says I don't need to do; I tell her it's my way of thanking her for letting me spend the weekend at her place. It's partly true, but I also miss cooking. I can't exactly cook in the house I'm staying in; sure there is a kitchen but the dishes are never clean and I don't even want to think about what might occur on those counters. Instead I resort to eating food that I can make in my room using the hot plate or my microwave. It's not ideal and certainly not very healthy but there isn't an alternative until I am able to afford my own place.
Kate and I say our goodbyes shortly after dinner and I start walking to the bus stop to head back to the boarding house. Kate offers to give me a ride but I make an excuse about having to run a few errands before going home. I could never let anyone see where I live; they wouldn't understand and would look at me with pity. Although the room isn't much and the location is not very good, I am proud that I have been able to get this far on my own. When I left I swore I would never rely on anyone for anything again as it only seems to lead to disappointment. I managed to graduate from high school while homeless, attend college and now have a small place to call my own all without support from anyone else.
An hour after leaving Kate's I get off at the last bus stop and begin walking a few blocks to the boarding home. As I get to the block I see police lights down the road and my stomach suddenly drops. The cars are in front of the boarding house.