*THank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
"ANASTASIA!" yells my father waking me from my sleep on this cold Saturday morning. I groan as I roll over and cover my head with the blankets after I see that it's 6:30 in the morning. It is way too early for me to wake up especially since I was up till 3 in the morning thinking about Dean and talking to my best friend Aurora about my feelings toward him and how I feel. "ANASTASIA EVE!" he yells again. I groan out and throw my covers off of me and sit up. I take a minute to get myself together, throw my curly dark hair up into a messy bun and get out of my Queen sized bed. I walk over to the door and open it not ready to face my dad. I know what it's about and 6:30 in the morning is not the time to discuss why I broke up with Shawn. He's such a rat. "ANASTASIA!" he yells as I appear into the kitchen.
"Dad, I'm right here," I say, "what is going on? And why are you up so early?"
"Because I have to go to work this morning and then after work I have a business dinner tonight so I don't know what time I'm coming home."
"Is that why you woke me up?" I ask.
"No," he says as he crosses his arms as he leans against the counter in his black business suit and yellow tie holding his cup of coffee. "Want to explain what happened with Shawn last night? Would you like to explain to me why you broke up with him?"
"Because I don't love him," I say as simply as I can. "He's a jerk."
"This is not the plan," he says. "This isn't what we discussed."
"Dad, I'm not going to stay with someone I don't even love and someone that is a jerk to other people. That's not who I am and that's not who I want to be. How did you know about it?"
"Shawn told his father," says my dad, "and his father told me. You know what the deal is. Shawn is the only acceptable suitor for you."
"A suitor? Is this a joke? I thought we were in the 2000's not the 1800's arranged marriages are a joke. I am not happy with Shawn. I don't want to be with him and I never said I was going to marry him."
"He said you were on a date with another boy a poor boy, Anastasia is this true?"
"I wasn't on a date. I was celebrating his good grade on a test. He's my partner from English class. We just finished our project and I helped him get an A on the test. We were just out celebrating. It wasn't a big deal. Shawn showed up and made it bigger than it was. He was calling him a scoundrel and calling him trash. I don't want to be with someone like that."
"Is he poor, Anastasia?" he asks before taking a sip of his coffee.
"Why does it matter if someone is poor or rich? He's not a jerk like Shawn. It shouldn't matter."
"Is he poor?" he asks.
"Yes he's poor but that doesn't' matter. He's still a good person. He's misunderstood but he's a good person."
"Do you have feelings for this boy?" he asks.
"I don't know," I say. "I really don't know."
"Let me be frank," he says, "people like us don't get involved with people like him, Anastasia. You deserve someone better, someone that can support you and give you the life you deserve. We come from two different worlds," he says, "he doesn't belong in our world. I need to make sure that you aren't feeling anything for this boy. Shawn is absolutely right he is a scoundrel as far as I am concerned."
"You don't even know him," I say.
"And you're defending him. I know that look, Anastasia, you do have feelings for this boy. It will not go on in this house. You are MY daughter and the last thing you will do is get involved with some type of scoundrel. You are going to work for Bennett Electronics and you are going to marry Shawn."
"Dad," I say, "I don't want to marry Shawn and I don't' want to work for Bennett Electronics. I have an audition in a couple months for the Jeoffrey and if I get in I will be moving to New York City."
"Over my dead body!" he yells, "I told you that you will stop with this ballet nonsense. That is not what you're going to do. What you're going to do is work at Bennett Electronics and you're going to marry Shawn. You will not do that ballet audition."
"Dad," I say, "it's my life. I want to do what I love. If I never take this chance I'm going to be miserable."
"You won't make money being a ballerina. You'll never be happy without money," he says.
"I don't want money, I don't need money," I say, "money destroys people. It makes them careless it makes them rude and arrogant like you and Shawn. I am not going to marry Shawn because YOU tell me to. I'm going to marry whomever my heart chooses for me to marry. You don't get to determine my life. Why do you think I want what you want?"
"What do you want, Anastasia to be a ballerina and marry some scoundrel from the street?"
"Would you stop calling him a scoundrel; Dean is not a scoundrel and what I want, Dad, is I want to be happy. That's all I want."
"Oh his name is Dean now?" he asks. "You will not see him again, Anastasia am I clear? You don't get involved with boys like him. He's nothing but trouble. You're done with your project so there is no reason for you to see him again. Am I clear?"
"Yes," I say as I grit my teeth. "We're clear." And in that moment my heart is broken. I like hanging out with Dean. I like being with Dean. I don't' care where he comes from or how much money he has. What I do care about is how wonderful of a guy he is. He has done nicer things for me than Shawn has ever done. I don't want to not hang out with Dean those are the times I am happiest besides when I am dancing.
"I mean it, Anastasia, don't let me find out you're with that scoundrel again. And I don't want you focusing so much time on ballet. It's time to dream about something more realistic. Your future is laid out for you. All you have to do is accept it. No more ballet."
"Whatever, Dad, how can you tell me to give up something that I love? If you ever stopped working long enough to see me dance you would see why I love it so much."
"Ballet is nothing, Anastasia. Your future isn't in ballet it's in Bennett Electronics," he says. "You're 17 it's time to start focusing on that. It's time to give up on this ballet dream you have and focus on something real."
"Ballet is real to me, Dad," I say with tears in my eyes. "That's my life. When I dance," I say.
"I don't want to hear it, Anastasia. I have to go to work. I will be home later tonight. You have a good day and no more of this Dean or ballet stuff. You will do as you're told," he says.
"Whatever, Dad," I say with tears in my eyes before I go upstairs to my room to take a shower and get ready to spend my day at the dance studio. I am hurt, lost and confused. I like Dean and I don't want to give up my friendship with him and I love ballet. I don't want to give up my hopes and dreams. This ballet audition is something I have worked for my entire life. I don't want to give it up. I can't give it up. I can't walk away and wonder what would have happened if I had taken it. I can't walk away from Dean and wonder what would have happened if I stayed friends with him. I hate to be defiant and I hate to go against my father but at 17 I know my life and I want my life to go the way I want it NOT the way my father has planned for me. I don't understand why everyone insists on calling Dean a scoundrel. He is far from a scoundrel he has more heart in him than my father and Shawn do combined.
DEAN's POINT OF VIEW:
The screams of my mother startle me awake followed by the sound of glass breaking. The yells of a man and the sound of skin to skin startle me further awake. I look over at my alarm clock on the side of my bed and see it's well after 2 in the morning. I stumble out of bed as my mother cries out and the skin to skin blows it sounds like continue. I run out of my bedroom to the living room to see my mom laying on the floor crying out in pain while her friend Mack stands over her kicking her more. "Knock it off!" I yell as I run over to him and push him away from my mother. I've seen him beat her up too many times and enough is enough. I can't watch it anymore.
"What are you going to do little boy?" he asks with a smirk on his face. "Grown folks are talking go back to bed before I kick your ass."
"I'd like to see you try," I say getting in between him and my mom. "Come at me, Bro," I say not backing down. "Beat up on someone your size."
"Dean," says my mom, "go back to bed."
"No," I say. "I am tired of this bullshit every night. It's time he beat up someone his own size. Come on, Bro, hit me like you hit my mom. Do it. Make my day."
"Your mom took my money," he says, "she's getting what she deserves."
"She is a 135 pound woman you are well over 200lbs. Keep your hands off of her. You want to beat someone around you want to fight someone; fight me, fight someone that is going to fight you back, Asshole."
"Ellis, get your son out of her," he says, "before I kick his ass."
"Dean," says my mom as she struggles to get up from the ground. I help her up and help her sit down on the couch. "I'm okay. Don't do this," she says brushing my cheek. "Don't do this. Just go back to bed."
"I'm not going back to bed until this asshole leaves," I say, "are you okay?" I ask. "You're bleeding. Let me clean you up," I say as I touch the cut on her cheek.
"Dean, no," she says, "I'm fine, just go back to bed. I can handle myself."
"You're doing a fine job of that," I say. "Let me clean you up," I say.
"Dean, no," she says as she grabs my wrist. "I'm okay. I promise. Please just go back to bed."
"Listen to your mother," says Mack with a smile of arrogance on his face. "You don't want a piece of this. I'm too man enough for you," he says.
"Too man enough?" I ask as I stand up. "A man doesn't beat a woman around like you were just doing. You're not a man," I say standing in his face. "Hit me. Fight someone that's going to fight back."
"You asked for this, Kid," he says as he balls his fist up and swings at me connecting his fist to my eye. Rage fills my body and I push him back against the wall as my mother screams out. I start throwing punches left and right and fighting back through his assault. He keeps punching me in my ribs and anywhere else he can reach but my fists are going too fast for him to keep up with. He surprises me as he picks me up and throws me through the coffee table and it breaks in two. I lay motionless as he stands over me. I did my best to protect my mother. "Don't mess with a man," he says before he kicks my ribs as I cry out in pain. "And Ellis, I want my $150 by tomorrow or there is going to be trouble," he says before he slaps her across the face before she cries out. He grabs his jacket and walks out the door.
"Dean," says my mom as she stands over me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I say as I groan to sit up. "Are you okay?"
"Dean," she says, "I'm fine. You should have gone back to bed. Mack was only taking care of business."
"He has no business beating you around, Mom. You don't deserve that. He's a coward. Either you kick him out and keep him out or I'm leaving."
"I love him, Dean," she says. "I can't kick him out."
"He doesn't love you," I say. "If he did he wouldn't beat you around like this. Look at you," I say brushing her cheek. "He hurt you badly. He keeps saying he ain't gonna do it again but he keeps doing it, Mom. You don't deserve that. Mom," I say.
"Dean, don't' worry about me. I'll be all right. This is my life. This is how it's always been. Don't try to be my hero. I don't need saving."
"I love you, Mom and I don't like to see you hurt," I say holding onto my ribs. "I promise, Mom, one day I am going to do something with my life and I am going to give you the life you deserved the most. I promise, Mom, our lives aren't going to be like this forever."
"Dean," she says, "this is OUR lives. There's nowhere else for us. This is where we belong. This is where our lives will always be, Dean. You can hope and dream all you want but I don't' have money to send you to college. I don't have money to give you the opportunities you want. I'm sorry."
"Mom," I say.
"No, Dean," she says, "no more of these empty hopes and dreams. This is your life. This will always be your life so no more fighting with Mack."
"I only did it to protect you, Mom," I say.
"I don't' need you to protect me, Dean," she says, "I can do that myself."
"Yeah you did a pretty good job of it while he had you on the ground kicking the shit out of you. I guess you'd rather have him than me. That's fine. I'll find a place to stay."
"Dean, I don't' want you to leave," she says as I stand up. "I love you. I just want you to know that this is our life. There is nothing else beyond those streets. You can hope and dream all you want but there is NOTHING beyond those streets. I used to think the same thing. I used to think that. I thought there was more for me out there. I thought I could go to college and that I could become better but you know what happened? I met your father. I met him and thought he loved me. I thought everything would be perfect and then at 15 I got pregnant with you. I had to drop out of school, I had to get a job to take care of you. Your dad got to live his life, he got to finish high school. Then when you were 3 years old he wanted to go to college so he walked out the door. He never came back. He left us alone because he knew that there was nothing in the world for us. I did what I needed to do at 18 years old to be a mother of a little 3 year old boy by myself. The streets provided me with the money to support us. WE don't' have much and we will never have much but I love you, Dean. Of course I want better for you than these streets but the reality is you're going to go out sell your drugs, get some teenage girl pregnant and then your life will be over. There is no college or better life for people like us. I'm sorry to break your heart but there is no better life for us. This," she says pointing to the window toward the street, "is our life. Nothing will ever change that. You can hope and dream all you want but the cycle is still going. I want better for you and I wish I could give you better but, Dean, let's face it. There is no better for people like us. I'm sorry."
"Mom," I say. "I have to get out of here for a while. I can't stand it here," I say.
"Where are you going to go, Dean?" she asks as I stand up.
"I don't know but I can't stay here not after tonight because if Mack comes back I'm going to kill him. I can't do that not now, not ever but I have to go."
"Dean, don't leave me," she begs.
"Mom, I have to," I say, "It will only be for a couple nights. I'll be back when everything calms down."
"Dean," she calls for me as I make my way to my bedroom. I throw on a sweatshirt over my white beater and pull on a pair of jeans. I start to pack a few outfits and my school stuff not knowing where I'm going to go or what I'm going to do. It's late at night and early in the morning. There isn't really anywhere for me to go. I grab my jacket and throw it on. I throw my bag over my shoulder and make my way to the living room. "Dean, please," cries my mom.
"I'll be back," I say. "I love you, Mom." I kiss the top of her head softly before I open the front door of our house and walk out into the brisk cold air. I start walking down the street with no idea of where to go in mind. As I am walking I come to a phone booth and an idea pops into my head. I get into my book bag and pull out the piece of paper Anastasia gave me. I look over it at her beautiful handwriting and walk into the phone booth. I dial the numbers into the phone after putting in my change. I listen to the phone as it rings. I doubt she'll answer since it's well after 3 in the morning but it's worth a shot.
Surprise fills me when I hear her voice. "Hello?" she says.
"Ana," I say with relief.
"Dean," she says.
"It's me," I say, "Did I wake you up?" I ask feeling bad that I am calling her at this hour.
"No," she says, "I just got off the phone with my friend Aurora. What's up?"
"I hate to ask this and I hate to do this to you but I kind of had a fight with my mom's boyfriend or whatever he is and I need a place to crash for a couple days," I say.
"You can stay here," she says before I even ask.
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"Yes," she says. "You're more than welcome to crash here for a couple days, I just can't tell my dad but he's never home so it doesn't matter."
"If it's a problem I can go stay at the park or something or maybe room with some other friends."
"No," she says. "You'll stay at my house. It's okay. Where are you? I'll come pick you up."
"No, Ana, you won't," I say, "not at this hour. What's your address? I'll take a cab to your house."
"All right," she says before she gives me her address. "Are you sure you don't' want me to come pick you up?"
"I want you to stay out of this area at 3:30 in the morning," I say. "I'll be at your house shortly. Thank-you, Ana."
"You're welcome," she says. "I'll see you when you get here."
"Bye," I say.
"Bye," she says before we hang up the phones. I call for a cab and use the last bit of my money I have left to get to Ana's house. There's just something about her. I don't know what it is but I like being with her. I like spending time with her and I enjoy talking to her. I enjoy her.
*A/N: What did you think of Ana's dad's opinion of Dean without meeting him? Where do you think Ana gets her big heart from? What do you think of her dad forbidding her from ballet and Dean then her defying him? Do you think Ana is taking a stand for her own life? What did you think about Dean getting into a fight with Mack? Do you think Dean could end up repeating the cycle his mom is talking about or do you think he could achieve more in life? What did you think of Ana offering him a place to stay at her house? IS that a bad idea? And do you think anything could transpire between the two of them while he's staying there? What do you think it is that they both enjoy spending time together? Please review and thank-you for reading.