I do not own Vampire Diaries
Tomorrow came by quicker than she had thought as she woke up to the familiar sound of her alarm. She had set it for 5 o'clock as her dad said they were going to leave at 6. She hadn't even realised that she had actually slept last night, normally she stayed awake in fear of him getting up and hurting her daughter while she slept so she used to distract him most of the night and once he finished using her, he was tired himself so he slept for a long time, that was the only time she had to be with her baby in the morning so if letting him do whatever he wanted to her in the night, no matter how rough or painful he made it, was what it took to get some time with her baby, than it was worth it.
She had once wanted to crush some sleeping pills and put it in his coffee but she knew that he monitored her every action so if on the off chance he caught her, she didn't have only herself to protect because at the time, she knew she had been pregnant with her firstborn and later on, it had just become harder to do because everything she bought he knew, everything she did he knew and everyone she knew he knew so it was impossible to even think about doing something like that without her heart beating like crazy in her chest. What if he found out? What if he suspected? What if he hurts her friends of her dad because of her? What if, what if, what if, that had been the trajectory of her thoughts for the entire duration of their relationship and now she was finally free. It was still so surreal and she was beyond thankful to Death because she could share this freedom with her apparently now awake little girl.
She saw Liana look around frantically for a second before her eyes settled on her and she visibly relaxed as she snuggled closer to her. Anastasia smiled sadly at this, many a time her little girl had been privy to her being beaten up so she was always afraid in the mornings when her mother wasn't with her, before she gently asked, "Do you want breakfast baby girl?"
"Yes mommy! Can I have pancakes pwease?" Lilliana asked with the most cutest pout in the world and she couldn't even say no even if she wanted to, which she didn't of course, her little angel was going to be spoilt rotten after James's treatment of her.
"Sure baby. Why don't we go to the bathroom first and freshen up." Anastasia said to her as Liana nodded dutifully, her baby had become accustomed to doing many things herself despite how young she was and she felt sad for that as she picked up both their clothes and made her way into the bathroom with her. Anastasia desperately wanted to have a bath but she knew that it was a horrible idea with the stitches so fresh so she looked away from her daughter and waved a hand over herself and all of a sudden she was clean, though she did feel a slight twinge in her stitches. She double checked her bandages to make sure that she didn't rip her stitches before she sighed in relief when she saw no blood leak through, Ok she was not doing that again until she was sure it wouldn't rupture her stitches.
Once they both finished everything they needed to do, Anastasia went downstairs to start making breakfast, she had already changed into her clothes behind the screen in the bathroom so she was already ready to leave. She felt freer than ever as for the first time in 5 years, she chose the dress she wanted to wear.
James had always chosen it for her, and not in some kind of sweet gesture form boyfriend to girlfriend but because he wanted her to wear the least attractive clothes so that nobody else would ever look her way. He made her buy the cheapest clothes because he didn't want to waste his 'hard-earned money' on her and only let her get another when the previous wouldn't fit her anymore and that never happened because she had only gotten thinner as the years passed because of the diet he set her on. He wouldn't let her eat anything else and she couldn't disobey him without facing the consequences. But now she could eat whatever she wanted and wear whatever she wanted and the thought brought a smile to her lips as she put the pancake batter on the pan before taking them off when they were cooked perfectly. She then piled up three plates of fluffy golden pancakes with golden syrup for her, blueberries for her dad and obviously chocolate for her little girl.
As she was taking knives and forks from the drawer and putting them on the plates, her dad entered the room already dressed in his uniform. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward as both father and daughter didn't know what to say so she just slowly sat herself down next to her plate, wary of her stiches, and began eating waiting for him to do the same. She noticed her father hesitate slightly before he walked towards the table and looked at her for a moment as if contemplating the idea of saying something before he thought better of it and sat down on his stool and began eating the pancakes she made for him. After a few seconds she heard him say, "I didn't know you could cook?"
"Yeah. I had practice." Anastasia said shortly as she remembered how she had gotten beat up whenever she burnt the food, undercooked or overcooked it so she learnt quickly how to do it right.
"Right." Her dad said awkwardly before he looked at her in something akin to concern as he said, "How are you Ana?"
Anastasia stiffened slightly at that, she hadn't been called that in a while from him not since her brother died and he seemed to realise it to for her turned back to his food immediately. Anastasia shook her head slightly as she said, "I'm OK."
Her dad nodded at her, though it was clear that he didn't believe her, from the slight frown on his lips and just as he was about to say something else, her little angel came downstairs looking adorable in her cute little outfit despite the bruises marring her complexion.
"Hey baby, you look absolutely adorable." Anastasia said as she went and picked up her little angel and sat her down on the high stool that she couldn't reach.
"Thank you mommy. You look pwetty too. Like a pwincess." Lilliana smiled at her mommy before her eyes suddenly found the plate of chocolate covered pancakes and she squealed in happiness before she said, "Thank you mommy. You the bes." before she began digging into her food with gusto. If she were any other four year old, Anastasia was pretty sure the dress would be completely ruined by now but because James was a neat freak, they both learned pretty quick how to make sure there wasn't even a spot anywhere so that he wouldn't throw a tantrum that more often than not landed her beaten up and her baby hiding under the bed silently crying. She mentally shook her head to push the thoughts away, she didn't need to think about that now since there was absolutely no point though she did wonder where the bastard was now in this world.
Once they all finished eating, and after a brusque thank you from her dad for breakfast, they got all their stuff loaded in the car before sitting down, Anastasia opting to sit in the back with Lilliana, as they began their journey to Mystic Falls.
