Episode 1|| Welcome
"Papa, I have to go somewhere I can't be home right now!" I yell for the hundredth time to my father who can't seem to take a fucking hint.
After the school day ended I was about to jump in my car to take Ander to where he needed to be, but my dad called to inconveniently tell me I needed to be home right after school. And when I told him about my plans he said he didn't care and my presence was needed at home regardless my plans. We've been arguing for the last 15 minutes about it.
"Daniella, I do not have time for this. Be home, or you can start walking to school in the morning."
..........The line went dead.
"Fuck!" I yelled and dialed my father once again to reason with him more, but to no surprise he doesn't pick up.
Carmen Diaz is no two call man. When he says he wants you to do something it's either do it, or the consequences hit you harder in the ass than anything before. I learned that the hard way when he put me on house arrest for 2 weeks because I went out to a party even though he said to not leave the house. Except it was the opposite of house arrest where he locked me out of the house instead of in. I had to blow six thousand dollars on a hotel room for those two weeks and another two thousand five hundred because I had no other clothes.
The jackass didn't even give me the courtesy to grab some from my room to take with me. Or get the hotel room for free since he was the owner of the damn building anyway.
"I guess you should be home by now." Ander sighs and looks at me with a light smile.
I look at him defeated. I don't usually like to talk about my family with anyone because I don't have the kind of courage to admit to myself that there were problems. But somehow, this boy in front of me just knew what was going on. He knew what a jackass my father could be, but what an amazing man he was too. It just sucks that I have to fall victim to his mood swings daily.
"Ander, I'm sorry. I can get a car to bring you if you want. Here—" I begin to dial Sergio, my dads butler, but Ander grabs my hands to stop me. It wasn't rough at all, just gentle hands grasping my own.
"No, it's fine I'll get myself a ride. I don't need Sergio telling me about milking off rides from him." Ander explains as he shuts off my phone while still keeping his eyes locked on mine.
"Are you sure? I know he likes to tease you, but he doesn't actually mean it." I try to tell him. Sergio has a...bright soul. He's known my father even before I was born because he'd been assigned by my grandfather to look after him. And even now he still has such a uplifted personality that sometimes gets taken the wrong way.
The first time Serg met Ander, he thought I was paying the boy to be my assistant. It was funny through because Ander had been carrying my things all day, it was coincidentally the first day Ander and I met too.Three Beautiful years ago.
"I'll text you after I'm home." I sigh and give him a kiss on the cheek and a little smile just because I feel like it.
"If you're free after whatever your dad has planned for you is it cool if I come over?" He says as he opens the door of my car for me, I slide in quickly after but he doesn't shut it. He waits for my answer.
"Sure, but I just have a question."
"Shoot." He says.
"Aren't you supposed to be at practice right now?" I ask in a sly tone because I know damn well the only reason this boy wanted me to take him somewhere was so he could blame me for him ditching practice with his dad.
Ander may be a little more on the quieter side and a lover rather than a fighter ( thought i've never witnessed the lover part first hand ) but he's quite the sportsman. Since before I've met him, he's been playing tennis and was a great player at that. Any time I see his father he's always bragging on about how great of a player Ander is, how far his talent will get him in the feature and what titles he'd win. Ander was as passionate as I am about volleyball.
I've seen at least every single match he's had for the past three years and it's more than enough for me to say he's earned every single trophy he's won. It's nice too because I actually have someone to talk to when it comes to hitting a ball over a net. Guzman, Polo and Lu all have taken up swimming as their choice of sport while Carla was more of a runner. Though she didn't nearly take it as seriously as the rest of us. When I play volleyball, it feels like living in a world away from worlds. A sanctuary where I can freely be myself and no one else can say anything because I have the skills and talent to prove it. And if people do question me, they can take a spike in the face for it.
"Yeah, but dad had some things to take care of. Gave me the day off." He says shrugging his shoulders. That's weird. Anders father wasn't usually the type of coach who just gives the boy days off. That's when I knew what was truly going on. He was skipping because he didn't want to be there.
"Are you sure?" I already knew the answer to that. If I said that Ander was passionate about tennis as much as I was about volleyball, I would've emphasized the was a bit more clearly. I've noticed that he was getting less and less enthusiastic about going to practices and making it to matches to the point of getting there late sometimes.
I've never asked him about it because I didn't want him to lose this sense of himself because Tennis was his entire thing. His reputation. Everyone knew him as the Tennis prodigy. The guy who beat anyone and could beat anyone.
But I just haven't seen that guy in a while.
"I'm sure," he clears his throat and stands up more straight like he was putting up a front to hide something. It hurt my pride a little bit. "You should go home. Your dads probably looking for you."
My words got caught in my throat when I knew that I had probably hit a nerve that he didn't know he had. "Uhm, okay. I'll see you later then?" I said and closed the door before driving off without another thought. I couldnt think anymore right now because if I did, I would end up crying and wouldn't stop.
And I can't do that ever again.
•••
"Are you fucking kidding me?! You made me come home for this?"
"Mija, watch your mouth, we have guests here." I laughed dryly at my dad because everything that came out of his mouth sounded like a fucking joke. Leave it up to my father to have stupid ass reasons for the shit that he pulls, such as this.
After I had said goodbye to Ander I drove home pretty kissed off. Mostly because I had to cancel on my plans with him but also because my father has the worst timing in the fucking world.
When I walked in the house I was ready to blow off this motherfuckers head but to my surprise he wasn't the only person roaming around the house. I found him sitting at the dining table with two people, a man and his wife, who were sharing a glass of wine with my father. Except it was only them drinking the wine while my dad had his usual whisky on the rocks. They were talking lightly and seemed to be having a good time until I had walked into the room.
"Oh, I didn't realize you had company." The man had said when he saw my figure lingering in the entrance. And it didn't slip my mind that he took an extra second to stare at me especially when his wife was right beside him.
"I didn't either," I replied almost venomously. My father turned and glared at my comment for a split second but stood up quickly, regaining his composure.
"Please excuse me, this is my daughter, Daniella." Papa laughed me off and stepped away from his chair towards me. "Mija this is Mr and Mrs Consuelos. I invited them over for a little drink."
"Oh, have you?" I hummed and looked at my father before glancing at the Consuelos who didn't look like they were being affected by this stupid tension. "Well, don't mind me I'll just be in my room. Have a nice day."
After I said my goodbyes I tryed to make a beeline out of the dinning room but papa clearly had different plans. He weaved his right arm around me to hold me tight while the other was stuck out towards the dinning table.
"Have a seat, Mija, I've told the Consuelos all about you. You should tell them about the beach— My daughter is in love with that beach. Always goes there to clear her head truly a magical place..." My fathers voice echoed out of my mind, going quieter as I zoned out of the conversation at hand. I knew what this was now, I knew exactly what the fuck was going on. The reason why my father wanted me home so soon.
He needed me to pucker up against some fucking snobby clients who are looking for someplace to settle down. He's been doing this for god knows how long. Ever since I was little he'd ask me to have dinner with clients, or anyone else who's fallen into my fathers trap, so that I could help persuade them to buy property and get my father to help construct their perfect home. He'd get me to talk about how beautiful the land was and how great it would be to see more people around. It would work even better with newly wed couples who were finding a place to settle and start a family. They loved me.
It's how I learned to pull people. How I learned to use certain words and phrases to get them to be on my side. If someone was looking for a good view of the sea, i'd recommend a great area near the beach saying that they wouldn't be able to get a view anywhere else. That you would sometimes see dolphins if you found a spot good enough to see. You didn't but I would still tell them that cause it was what people wanted to hear.
I never said I promised anything either.
And now we can get to earlier to right after I excused myself and proceeded to curse out my dad after he followed me out to the hall.
"Papa this is ridiculous. I had plans, important plans, and you made me leave just because you wanted me to suck up against these old losers, who are just going to waste their money into buying something they'll regret in 5 years." I spit and almost throw my bag at my fathers stupid, dumb head.
"And that money goes into paying ur credit card and car insurance, at least be an adult and work for it, hmm?" Papa replies and gestures out his hand to lead me back into the dinning room.
"I'm not going back in there. I refuse."
A sadistic smile graces my fathers face, "great then that means a call to the bank to cancel your cards and the insurance on your ride to school."
Fucking asshole. Always has to have a knife above my neck with me at his mercy. Ready to kill me with things that i have no control over. It fucking sucks. But it's not the fact that he has the power to take away these things it the fact that I care so much about it that it gives him the power. But this world that I live in, these rags and riches I have at my feet have almost swallowed me whole. Taking every ounce of myself that I couldn't help but indulge in anything it gave it. Money is an addiction.
That's why I put on my best selling face and walked right back into that dinning room to earn my father another fat pay check.