"An aspiring young girl, my Olivia is," My dad brought his glass to his mouth, took a drink, and set it back down on the golden tablecloth. "She's been accepted to some of the finest colleges in the country."

I took a deep breath, staring at my string peas blankly.

It was a calmer, classier night in the Bellamy family home tonight, but that was only because we had a guest, I was sure.

Thomas Montgomery, Jr., was my dad's boss, and he was the kind of guy with golden wristwatches that look like shackles on pudgy wrists, with cologne that is so overpowering it has the capability of knocking out anyone within a five foot radius. The kind of guy that is easily hated in business and social excursions alike. And, I noticed, when a boss has no one else who will willingly adore them, they have to resort to taking advantage of helpless employees.

My dad, Fred, isn't particularly helpless—he's high enough on the corporate ladder to make heads turn—but he'll do whatever it takes to make his family's lifestyle as extravagant as possible. Emerging from modest beginnings, my father was young blood compared to the commercial big shots, and he was a hell of a businessman. And, in my opinion, his ethics were in the right place, but his decisions were garbage. He'd always told me that he never had any secrets, but his karma was so terrible, I knew he had to be lying. Being the man to beat in all of the northern east coast was a thrill for him, sure, but he wouldn't be the one laughing when the stocks fell and his housewife couldn't find work.

My mom, Beth, was the avidly social type, who animatedly conversed with the other mothers at school and kept up a spotless reputation by polishing her image. I knew she didn't marry my dad for selfish reasons, but, when we moved east, she left her old life behind almost too eagerly and traded it for BMWs and thirty acre real estate. Considering her and I had ended up on two different ends of the spectrum, we weren't especially close. I'm sure my parents were shocked more than any one else when the DNA of the esteemed Fred Bellamy and gregarious Beth Landon landed them with a quiet, hormonal loner of a girl.

Beth told me once that she was shocked that I could survive with only a couple friends. The only way to get far in life is to associate yourself with everyone and everything. Otherwise, you'll become a drifter, and no one likes drifters. They're beggars and they smell funny. Little did she know, I had considered—on more than one occasion—running away from home and backpacking across the country. The life of a drifter was far more exciting than whatever I was labeled as now…. A civilian, perhaps.

Fred continued on to Mr. Montgomery. "She's studying abroad in her second semester. It sounds exciting, doesn't it?"

"Very," Mr. Montgomery couldn't care less. He carved his knife through the steak and, before popping it in his mouth, waved it on his fork in the direction of Beth. "Your sirloin in wonderful, Mrs. Bellamy."

"Why thank you," She beamed. "It took me hours." If I recalled correctly, she had called the caterers.

My older bother, Eli, looked up at me from across the table, rolling his eyes.

"Where do you go to school, son?" Mr. Montgomery asked him.

He leaned back in his chair, picking up his drink as if it were a beer bottle. He raised the glass towards Mr. Montgomery and smirked, "I'm currently studying the art of the faithless."

"Atheism?" Mr. Montgomery's eyebrows furrowed.

"No," Eli took a drink, winking at me. "Politics."

Eli was twenty-one and already a restless soul. He had dug so many holes for himself in his first few years of adulthood that his easiest solution was to simply give up and live in a cave. He was, more or less, an alcoholic and a cynic, which made a major in affairs of state and a minor in economics the perfect occupational direction for him. He had moved to New York at the age of eighteen for college, but no more than half a dozen weeks into it, he met an exotic dancer and fell madly in love with her. He'd quietly dropped out of school—quietly, because he was dirt broke and Fred was making bank; it was nice to get a fat check from the old man every month—and eloped. As far as I know, I was the only person who knew of all this as it was happening and I've been sworn to secrecy ever since.

"You'll have to be graduating soon, my boy," Mr. Montgomery nodded, chewing loudly.

"I've convinced my parents of an uneventful graduation," He shrugged. "It's all superfluous anyhow. Besides, I'm sure they'd rather go the whole nine yards with their darling baby girl, am I right?"

"Oh, Eli, don't even say that!" Beth laughed, bringing her hand to her chest. "Olivia still has three months of high school left. Don't tease me with her college graduation. God, just look at her. She's a grown woman now."

"Life's in your face, my dear," Fred grinned. "And I don't think anyone is better suited to take on the world than you are."

I swallowed, looking away from him. "Yeah."

"Olivia," Mr. Montgomery's brow furrowed as he smiled toothily. "What is that bracelet on your arm? What an interesting crest. Is it the Bellamy coat of arms?"

I looked down at the metallic wristlet and then back up again.

"It's the Cullen coat of arms," Beth exhaled with a giggle. "Have you ever heard of the Twilight films? Olivia's positively infatuated by them."

"Mom," I hissed silently. No one heard.

"No, I haven't," Mr. Montgomery rested his fat elbows on the tabletop and brought his hand to his chin. Clearly he'd forgotten that putting your elbows on the table was disrespectful. "I haven't any children."

"Romantic fiction," Fred sighed. "A vampire falling in love with a human."

"Hmm," Mr. Montgomery looked down at his meal. "How impractical."

I bit my lip. Surely, at the age of seventeen, I was still allowed to enjoy things that transcended practicality.

"When I was a boy, my father wouldn't let me read anything fictional," Mr. Montgomery announced proudly. "He wanted to prepare me for the real world. And I completely agree with him. There's no use filling your head with invented characters and imaginary situations. You can't learn cent from them."

I grimaced.

"Speaking of which," Mr. Montgomery looked to the other end of the table. "Fred, I recently purchased a spectacular book on tape …"

I stood, setting my napkin down beside my plate and heading for the hallway.

"Olivia, where are you going?" Beth asked.

When I looked back at them, Eli was the only one looking at me, and his expression was that of utmost understanding.

"The bathroom," I answered, leaving the room without another word.

Mr. Montgomery cleared his throat. "Yes, well, about the book on tape …"

My evening dress swayed around my knees as I walked and my shoes clicked as I made my way down the hall. I shouldn't have been offended by the conversation, but, at the same time, I was completely infuriated. It wasn't the vampires or the romance that I was infatuated with—it was the idea of a world beyond my own. I half wished that I could leave what I had now and be somewhere where all that fantasy actually existed.

Twilight had plenty of educational value. Should I find myself caught in a love triangle between two attractive monsters, I'd know what to do …

Once in the bathroom, I shut the door and stared into the mirror, fixing my hair so that my bangs were on the right side and the part was straight. I regretted not straightening it this morning—it had frizzed to the point that it resembled a lion's mane.

I dreaded going back to the conversation at the table. It would be another hour and a half, at least, of talking about futures and expectations…. I felt suddenly sick to my stomach.

"Hey," Eli's voice made me jump. He pushed the door open and leaned against the doorframe. "You okay?"

"I could've been peeing," I spat. "Don't you know how to knock?"

He smiled. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

"I'm sorry," I shook my head. "This is all just so stupid."

"You think I don't know that?" He looked up at the ceiling contemplatively. "There's a reason I try to keep a state's distance from this place."

I took a deep breath. At least he had the opportunity to escape.

"In a couple months, you'll be up and out of the nest," He reminded me. "You won't miss it, I'm tellin' ya, but there's nothing you can do about it right this second. Go back in there, quietly munch on your steamed carrots, and play the role of content daughter. All these years with those two has probably made you a magnificent actress."

I grinded my teeth and turned off the light.

"Hey, one more thing," He stopped me. "If you're fuming, could you try to make a scene in there for me? I warned my subscribers that I was dining in hell tonight and, if you'd be ever so kind, I'd like to upload an entertaining narrative to my Tumblr tonight."

"I could get dad fired," I began to walk back to the dining room. "… Would you rather I dumped hot meat into Montgomery's lap or threw a tantrum?"

"The tantrum sounds compelling enough," He grinned, lowering his voice as we entered the room. "But you better make it good."

"All refreshed, Olivia?" Fred eyed me carefully. I knew I would be scolded for my attitude before the night was done. And, by the look on Beth's face, I knew that she would be the one to see to it.

"Uh-huh," I lowered myself into my chair, glimpsing at Mr. Montgomery.

"So, tell me, darling," Mr. Montgomery weaved his chubby fingers together. "What is so fascinating about this Twilight of yours? What's the premise?"

"That love prevails over damnation," I said tersely.

"Aha," Mr. Montgomery's eyebrows rose.

I evaded Eli's bright eyes. "And, when it comes to love, if it's not rough, it isn't fun."

"I'll drink to that!" My brother laughed.

There was a short silence.

"Aha," Mr. Montgomery said again, only with a more condemning tone this time. "Well, personally, I don't think that's something a young woman should be reading, then."

"Well, personally, I don't think it's any of your business what I read," I sighed.

Beth dove in to save the sinking ship. "It's not quite as risqué as you're thinking, Mr. Montgomery. In fact, Twilight's primary audience is teenagers. It's very PG-13."

"Hmm," Mr. Montgomery grunted. "At least now I know where Miss Bellamy's priorities lie. It's good to know this generation's young people are so engrossed in educational reading."

"Your sarcasm is unnecessary," Eli responded gruffly.

"You know, Mr. Montgomery," I folded my arms across my chest. "If I were you, I would be disappointed that my father wouldn't let me read fiction. Because without fiction, you haven't got an imagination. And, without an imagination, you haven't got any worthwhile expectations and you'll be living under a glass ceiling your entire life."

"Is that so, Ms. Bellamy?" He retorted. "I'll have you know that I am the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the largest grossing technological production corporation in the world. I'm not much of a fan when it comes to limits, as you may notice."

"But you're a sixty-year-old bachelor," I replied coolly. "And you're going to go home to that big mansion of yours with nothing more to do than crunch numbers …"

"Olivia," My father said sternly.

"I bet it's lonely up there," I continued. "And to not even be able to dream beyond your awful life must be a nightmare. I'm living a nightmare, too, you know, and I might have been able to relate. But the difference between you and I is that I can escape and you cannot. You're a loser and a scammer, and I pity you."

"Enough!" Fred shouted, standing. "Olivia, go upstairs."

I stood hesitantly. "For a timeout?" I muttered.

"Olivia," He clenched his fists. "Get your head out of clouds and stop being so dramatic."

"I'm not a child, dad," I scowled.

"Alright," He loosened his curled fingers. "Then stop acting like one, dammit."

"That means stop arguing with superiors and stop reading fairytales," Mr. Montgomery said smugly. It really wasn't his place to admonish me, but he was in control of Fred's paycheck, so there was nothing anyone could say.

I stood once more and quietly left the room.

My bedroom was dark when I walked slowly into it, and I didn't bother to turn on the lights—or even change out of my dress, for that matter. I fell onto my bed, longing to fall asleep as quickly as possible, because, I figured, the only one to escape this world was to dream myself into another one.