Chapter 1.

Anastasia's POV.

"Mom, please don't do this to me” I found myself screaming and crying, begging my mom not to leave me with my abusive father again because I knew that the possibility of making it out alive was very slim and, frankly speaking, I would just give up.

My dad came out with a gun, pointed it at my head and told my mother that if she didn't leave immediately he was going to kill me, I was only 12.

I hugged my mom one last time as she turned her back, and I head a gunshot! I squirmed in fear thinking I was going to die, but I examined myself and I could not see any blood, my gaze went straight to my mother and I could see the blood gush out from her back and she mouthed the word “run” to me.

“She did not deserve to die like that” I mourned

Kendra pulled me into a tight hug as I kept mouthing the words “she did not deserve like that”

Nights have been like this since Kendra and I moved in together, I would always wake up sobbing and weeping uncontrollably and Kendra would always be by my side to pull me into a hug and tell me it's okay that my dad can't hurt me anymore., but how can I be so sure when the man who killed my mother still lives freely, I was too young to be traumatized like that.

“I ran away at 15, my dad had gone out, and It took everything in me to flee, I remember stepping out the door and just running, running like my life depended on it, maybe because it did. I heard my mom tell me not to stop, that I could do it. All I needed to do was to take just one more step and one more step took me to three, then four, then where I am now” I sigh.

“It's fine now Ana” Kendra said, still holding me

Ana is the nickname Kendra gave me because my name was too long for her to keep yelling except when she’s mad though.

“Thank you…. I'm so glad I found you, perhaps I would've been dead by now” I giggle!

“I remember when we first met, we looked like two wretched beings. You had only a bag pack and I had a box and a bag of sandwich I stole from my school cafeteria” Kendra laughs.

Kendra constantly tries to lighten the mood. Kendra didn't have a perfect life as well, as a matter of fact, she has scars that she still needs to heal from and maybe that's just what made us whole, each other.

I giggle at the memory of the very first day I met Kendra

“I love you” I whisper to Kendra as she lays on my bed with me and we fell asleep

********

“I slept like a baby!” Kendra stated, as she had managed to tap me into waking up.

“Just 30 more minutes” I yawned and tried closing my eyes again

“You said that like two hours ago”

“But-”

“No more buts”

“It's Saturday, I don't understand why we can't just stay in bed”

“Girl, get that flipping ass off that bed or remain there if you want us to sleep on the streets by the end of the month”

“Alright fine! You win”!

There's something I've always loved about Kendra, Kendra never judged me for my terrifying nights, and she never complained about it too. She had her ways of making me feel comfortable no matter the situation. It's safe to say Kendra is my best friend, she's the closet thing I've had to a sister since I was the only child from a toxic family.

“You can't put that on!” Kendra says as she nearly slaps away my almost faded red gown from my hands.

“Girl today is Saturday, all we need to do is get dressed for grocery shopping then know how much we have left to get you clothes”

“My clothing can't be that bad, it's still manageable, slightly” I say, looking at the piece of cloth in my hand and wondering if Kendra was right

“Anastasia!!! Don't act like you're a poor wretched being for fuck's sake, we have to work our asses off to get what we need, but we can obviously afford clothes, at least better-looking clothes than that rag”.

“Girl, take a chill pill, I've got like only $100 in my account, what can I do with that?” I say, showing Kendra my phone account balance.

“Oh right! I have about $250 so guess we can do something with that”.

********

Kendra and I headed to the grocery store to get relevant items and when we were done we had a couple of dollars to spare, so we decided to go shopping for clothes

“This gown looks pretty on you” I say, holding a short black sleeveless gown

“It is gorgeous!” She exclaims!

In less than two minutes, I see Kendra smiling at a tall, slim guy, and he smiles at her too.

“Girl not today please!” I say.

“C'mon, this body needs to get laid!”

Kendra has always been a lover of sex and is sexually attracted to tall slim guys, I can't judge her for that because Kendra would never judge me for anything.

The guy walks over to us, holds Kendra's hand and kisses her palm

“What's the name?” He asks with a strong British accent.

“It's Kendra, and that's Ana, my sister” she says

“Nice to meet you Kendra and Ana..... my name is Joel” he smiles

“You've got a nice smile” I compliment as Kendra gives me the stare that says stop trying to flirt with my man and I immediately mouth “sorry” to her

“Thank you, I see you're trying to pick outfits, mind if I join?” He asks.

“Of course not” she invites

********

“Everything will be a hundred and fifty dollars” the cashier tells us

Kendra and I stare at ourselves because we know that that would cost all of our money, but we attempt to play it cool

“Let it be my treat to you, my lady” Joel says

“Don't worry, it's fine” Kendra replies, and I stare at her in shock, but I let it slide

Joel hands over his credit card to the cashier, ignoring the words of Kendra and Kendra blushes.

“Thank you” Kendra and I say in unison to Joel

“It's fine, mind if I drop you off?” He offers.

“Not at all” I say, not giving Kendra the space to refuse and make us walk home.

******

“It's here” I tell Joel, and he parks right in front of our house

“Want to come in for Dinner?” Kendra offers.

“Maybe some other time, at least I know where you live” he winks

******

“Girl you cook good food” Kendra compliments as she has a mouthful of spaghetti meatballs

“As expected, I learned to cook when I was 5, mom always told me to come........”

“Come learn how to cook, so you could always prepare dishes for your husband when you get married, since home cooked meals are better than takeouts, you've told me this a thousand times” Kendra interrupts

“A thousand and one won't hurt” I giggle

After breakfast, Kendra decides to go to the library to read some books, she has always been an avid lover of books and often reads books when she has to clear her mind from reality.

Since I was the only one at home, I decide to binge-watch any movie I could find on my laptop.

I heard a loud knock on the apartment door and I realized I had fallen asleep while binge-watching a movie.

I looked through the eye hole and see a frustrated Kendra with a bag of only God knows what

“Kendra what's wrong” is the first thing I utter while opening the door and helping her with her bag

“I got kicked out of the library for laughing too hard, common the book was funny” she exasperated

“Don't fucking kill me, you look like a fuming Tom from Tom and Jerry.... What's in the bag?” I ask between laughs.

“It's not funny” Kendra says and giggles a little

“Since I got kicked out, why not just borrow some books to read here instead” she smiles

“Did you borrow them, or you stole them?”

“It doesn't matter, all that matters is that I have my books with me”

I shake my head and laugh at Kendra's childish behavior.

The night came by fast and so did Sunday, and before I knew it, it was Monday again and I had to go to work.

Waking up is always the most stressful part of my day but I guess I need to find out what the world has in store for me. It may be pain, it may be joy.