Desperate Measures

Chapter Two- College Struggles.

Amy and I grew up together. We know each other extremely well. I am just waiting for her to tell me about Jenson. She will eventually. She has worked for them every summer since we started. She also goes in for a few hours after her last class of the day. I know she goes just to see Jenson.

I finish the chicken and get it in the oven. I wash my hands and dry them as she walks back in with the letter. She hands it to me, and I open it. There isn't a check. There is a letter from my Dad.

~Letter~

Hello Cinnamon,

I am afraid I will no longer be able to pay for your tuition. Margie is pregnant, and we will need the money for the new baby. I am sorry it has to be this way.

Love,

Dad

~End letter~

I sink into a chair behind me as tears form in my eyes. I only cry when I am mad. He promised me. I am his child too. The asshole has never done anything for me. Why did I expect different this time? The son of bitch couldn't even call and tell me to my face. The asshole sends me a fucking letter. What a dick.

Amy: "What's wrong?"

The other two had come downstairs by then. They caught what Amy said. We don't usually keep secrets, so I say it with all of them there.

Cinnamon: "My Dad is no longer paying for my senior year. It seems my step-monster is having a baby, and he feels he needs it for that baby."

Brittany: "What are you going to do?"

Cinnamon: "I have enough to pay for the first semester. I'll have to figure something out. I refuse to ask my mom. I know she used her 401k to pay last year."

Amy: "Your Dad is a dick."

Cinnamon: "We both know this."

Amy: "That we do."

Brittany: "Couldn't you apply for FASFA?"

Ebony: "The deadline has passed. It ended last Thursday."

Brittany: "That's really dirty of him to do."

Cinnamon: "It is. I can at least get through the first semester."

I should have known not to count on my Dad. He was a great weekend Dad, but he never paid his child support or did anything for me. I feel sorry for his new child. It's probably going to have to deal with the same shit when it comes to money.

The fucked-up part is my dad has money. He acts like he's broke all the time. He has more money than he will ever spend. His parents left all of their money to him. They were wealthy. My grandpa was the owner of a very lucrative clothing company, and my grandmother was the sole heir to a bank chain.

He doesn't want to help me. He takes the divorce from my Mom out on me. He's the one that cheated on her. She was heartbroken. I watched her wither away. One day she said I can't do this and she picked herself up and put herself back together. She has been good ever since. I hope that I have her strength.

I finish dinner and got it on the table. We eat in silence, which is rare. I brought everyone down unintentionally. It was never my intention. It's not their fault I may not get to finish school. It's my dick of a Dad.

We finish eating. When I cook, Amy does dishes. It flops when she cooks; I wash dishes. The other two do the same thing. We've done it since we moved in together. We have a routine, and we all like it. That's why we all get along so well.