My Bosses (18+)

Chapter 1

"Annabelle! Wake up!"

My roommate Calli yelled through my door.

"What?" I grumbled.

"Your interview is today, is it not? I suggest you get up and get ready."

I'm usually early bird between Calli and I, but I guess she beat me to the punch today.

"What time is it?" I asked, my face in the pillow.

"It's 9."

"Shit!" I yelled.

"What?!" She asks frantically.

"My interview is at 10. I have to hurry."

"Okay, calm down! I'll get your clothes ready while you get a shower."

"Thank you so much Calli! You are a lifesaver."

"Yeah, yeah."

Calli has always been there for me. She was my best friend throughout high school. Even though I never told her the truth of what my family life was like, she was there for me. She saved me from a very long and destructive path.

I went to the bathroom and started undressing. As I waited for the water to heat up I analyzed myself in the mirror. I have a semi-fit body and wide hips. Most everything looks normal except one thing: I looked at the scar that ran from the bottom of my bra to my waist and sighed.

Flashback:

"You ugly bitch! Why must you disobey me constantly?! I told you to clean the house!"

"Father, I did!"

"Then why are there dishes in the sink?"

"You just put them there Father."

"You dare to accuse me of that?!"

I looked down, tears in my eyes. I've heard these names countless times but it never hurt any less. The one person in this world who is supposed to love me unconditionally, hates me.

"I'm sorry, Father."

"Too late for apologies."

I closed my eyes and tried imagining a happier time. I imagined the days when Mom was alive. Dad was much nicer. We had cookouts, he smiled and kissed Mom constantly and he used to hug me. He would kiss my forehead and say, "I love you Bug, you know that right? You will forever be my little girl."
What I wouldn't do to go back to those days.

Dad had come up behind me while I was reminiscing. He pushed to knife into my side and slowly drug it down. I screamed in agony, trying to pull away from him but he held me in place.

"It's your fault she's dead. You needed stuff for some stupid project. You're the reason she isn't here."

I've heard this all before. That's the one thing that he was right about. I am the reason she died that night. I needed supplies for a school project and even though it was storming, she left to go get it for me since Dad was at work. On her way there, she was hit head on by a car that hydroplaned.

Once he was satisfied he threw the knife into the sink and walked out of the house. I heard the sound of his truck cranking and driving away.

I tried my best to lean up and reach the counter. I grabbed my phone from the countertop and called Calli. I weakly told her to come and take me to the hospital.

She drove as fast as she could to the ER, crying the entire time.

"Stay awake Anna, please just stay awake." But the blackness won.

When I woke up Calli was sitting in the chair next to me with her head in her hands. I saw her shoulders shaking and I knew she was crying.

"Cal?"

She jumped at the sound of my voice and then sobs overtook her body.

"I thought that you were going to die," she said between sobs. I grabbed her hand and squeezed. I knew she would want answers and there was no way I could lie my way out of this one like I had all the other times. Dad had never done anything this bad or noticeable before. I had bruises and things to that nature. She rarely saw them but when she did I would just brush it off saying I had fallen.

"What happened Anna? Tell me the truth."

So, I jumped in. I told her everything. I told her how I had been lying to her all these years. I told her that I was miserable but I couldn't get away. She sobbed as I told my story. She kept saying that she should've seen the signs and that it was her fault that I was here. I reassured her that none of it was her fault.

She begged me to stay with her. I told her that I would but that I needed to get some things from home first, before he got home.

A couple months passed and he never did come back. I never knew what happened to my father. Calli's family welcomed me with open arms and never judged me. They saved me.

End flashback.

I'm 21 now and I still hear his remarks in my head.

"No one will ever love you. You're too broken and you'll never be good enough."
"It's your fault she's dead!"

Even after all these years, he still has power over me. I don't know if I will ever fully recover from the pain I endured but I do know one thing and that is that I'm okay. I'm okay without him. I'm okay because I had an amazing family take me in. I'm okay because I had a best friend who became my sister.

After I finished in the shower, I walked into my bedroom and saw a black pencil skirt and a blue blouse laying on my bed.

I looked at the clock. 9:20.

I went back to the bathroom, did my hair and makeup, and walked to the kitchen.

Calli had even left me breakfast on the bar. I ate it very quickly and left the apartment at 9:45. I hailed a cab and jumped in.

"Where to Miss?" the cab driver asked.

"C&C Editing. Do you know where that is?"

"Of course Miss, everyone does."

"Well, I guess I'm the only one in New York who doesn't."

"Don't worry Miss, you'll get the hang of the city eventually."

"I sure hope so." I muttered.

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