Meeting Daddy

The Trip

It was hard to sleep as she tossed and turned with thoughts flooded her head. She hated everyone at this point and wished there was a way out of the damn situation. Her heart was broken over the fact that Calvin didn't bother to say a word after he returned home. It hurt to know they used to be close and now she hated him almost as much as their mother.

She dressed and joined her mother and brother at the kitchen table. They were usually quite this morning and that made the knot in her stomach tighten. Was something wrong? It wouldn't matter either as it was made clear, she was to keep her mouth shut unless spoken directly to.

"We don't have a lot of time to play around or we'll be late. You will have two pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice. I will drop you off at the bus station since I have a few hours free on my schedule."

Amanda nodded her head and grabbed a slice of toast as soon as the plate was sat in front of her. Her stomach flipped over and over again, but she managed to hold down both slices and half of the orange juice. The food would hopefully settle and it wouldn't be a long ride.

Calvin refused to make eye contact with her and that made her want to cry. What did she do to them for both of them to hate her? Even if it was worse than what she knew, at least the man wasn't family that should love each other.

"Get ready for work Calvin, I need to get dressed for this ride with Amanda. She has some rules to follow even when I'm not around."

He nodded his head as he grabbed his plate, his eyes stayed downcast. Her mother sat there until he was out of the kitchen and rose from her own chair. Her eyes dull of emotion when she locked eyes with her daughter; there was definitely no love from her.

Amanda didn't know what to do since she was given any instructions. She took a deep breath and took her plate and glass to the sink and filled it with dish soap. She knew better than to leave her mothers kitchen in perfect condition. No dirty dishes no matter how many there were and no dirt on the floor, though their driveway was all dirt.

She made sure to dry them and put them away in the cupboards. Took a look around to make sure there was nothing else to do before she walked into the living room and waited to leave. It was hard to sit still as she sat on the couch picking at her nails, that was a new habit that she picked up when she was alone and felt nervous or anxious.

The footsteps caused her to stop and hold her hands in her lap. Her mother stopped and stared at her for a long minute before she walked into the kitchen. When she walked back into the living she just nodded for her to grab the bags. It was time to go, she took one last look at the house her dad bought with his hard-earned money. He was the only person/thing she would miss from there.

Neither of them spoke as they first got on the road. Her nerves were so bad it was like peace without a word being said, but of course, her mother must have picked up on it.

"You will obey and behave yourself. You do not want to know what will happen if you have to be sent back home. Kevin spent a lot of money on you and he expects obedience from the moment you step on that bus. It doesn't matter no one will be around to see your bad behavior, it will come to light."

"Of course, I want Kevin to be happy." She said with a smile though she didn't care about his happiness.

What about her being happy and free?

Her mother pulled into the parking lot and walked into the bus station with her and that was only to pick up the ticket, as Amanda doesn't have a type of identification. As soon as she handed for the ticket she gave one last smirk and left her there in a sea of people.

She gripped her bags with white knuckles as her eyes roamed around the building quickly. It felt like everyone had their eyes on her. It was nice enough to sit outside and wait.

Twenty minutes later it was time to board and since one bag was for the beach and the other looked more like a cloth purse, so there was no need to have to check baggage or put anything underneath. She handed the bus driver the ticket, which he marked to let know that she was in her seat. She sat back with her hand over her heart as she tried to calm down. It felt like she was going to have a panic attack.

It was hard to catch her breath and her palms became sweaty. Before she knew the world started to spin and she needed to kneel down for a moment.

No one sat in the seat next to as they took off from the station. There were three or four long stays or layovers, but there were six small side stops as well. Being scared of the unknown and no one on the bus would never see her again, she pulled out the white dog with brown ears which was old and tattered.

The first two stops she was still alone, other passengers got off to stretch or into the gas station. The second stop was technically a gas station but it was out front of it and we picked up a couple of passengers before gassing up. It never got easier no matter the distance that was between her and the only home she knew.

Eight hours on the bus and she couldn't hold her eyes open any longer. She snuggled the dog closer to her face and used him as a pillow. If she slept it would give her less time to worry about her new life.