Danica POVSneaking back into the was easier than I thought. There was a large lattice with overgrown vines beneath my window.I think my grandmother put it there to give me a chance to have an adventure one day. Though that day hadn't come until now.The last time I was weighed in gym class, I weighed one hundred and twenty pounds. I wondered what the weight limit was for a lattice that hadn’t been reinforced in years. It's been here since I was a little girl and my grandmother used to take good care of it.I remember my grandfather checking the veins on it, but I wasn’t sure if he checked anything else.I looked through a few windows looking for signs of Rick. The house was silent and dark.Cautiously I placed my hands on the lattice, pulling at it for a false measure of security. When I thought it was safe, I began to climb until I was at my window. Placing my fingers between the open space I’d left on the way out, I lifted it enough to pull myself in. Grateful the window sat above
Danica POVI felt a lump form in my throat as I picked up my pace hoping the question wasn’t directed toward me. I only made it a few more steps before I heard her call out again.“Is that you Dani?”I swallowed the lump and mustered a smile. I wasn’t sure how far Angel would go in a crowded store. Especially this one. She liked to cause a scene in the locker room, but this was different. This was public and without her friends.I turned to see her standing behind the cashier station with another girl standing a few inches behind her. My smile faded as the girl quickly reminded me of her lackeys back at school and I remembered she only needed an audience of one to put on a show.“It is you, Dani. I didn’t recognize you in those dressy clothes. Where are you off to? Church.” She smiled while holding a grunted laugh. The other girl covered her mouth to hold in her snicker.I looked down at my button down shirt, skin tight skirt, and tried to understand her joke. “No. Umm, I’m here to fi
Dmitry POVMy best friend, Cory, called this morning to say he needed some much needed guy time. He’d been spending too much time with a girl his mother introduced him to a few weeks ago. I told him I couldn’t dedicate anytime to drinking like we normally do, but he could tag along while I run a few errands.I listened while he rambled on about how persistent this new girl was. Though he believed his mother had more to do with the girls determination. She wanted him to marry a “good” girl as she would put it. Someone from a “good” family. But what she really meant was a rich girl from a rich family.“It’s not like she isn’t good looking, because she looks amazing. And she is a fun girl to hang around.” He went on. “But we just don’t connect. It’s like every time we talk, we are on two didn’t trains.”My friend let out a sigh as we pulled into the shopping center. He was beat and I could tell.“Cory, just tell your mother, you want to find your own wife.” I laughed but he didn’t see th
Danica POVDmitry rang my phone once after I left the store, but I didn’t bother answering. I was too embarrassed about the way I ran out. I started imagining every possible insult Angel could have said in his presence.I caught the bus home not giving another place a chance. I couldn’t believe I was saying this but at home, in my room, was the only place I wanted to be.I spent the entire Sunday morning locked away in my room. I was safe there inside those four walls. That is until my father began stumping up the stairs. I felt myself shrinking into my bed when he walked past my doors.A few moments later, he stumped back down the stairs grunting incoherent words until he was out the front door.I walked out quietly my room and made my way through the living room to the nearest window. I looked out and saw Rick in his Sunday’s best clothing. Khaki pants, white shirt, and a sports jacket.I wasn’t sure where he was headed, but I knew he would be gone awhile if he got dressed up. This
Danica POVSobs flowed evenly with the sound of the shower as tried to calm myself. Rick was extremely angry with me, but this was the first time he had held on for so long.My neck was red and sore. I cried even more at the sight of my neck in the mirror. Rick was no longer trying to hide his marks and I knew somehow, I would suffer for it more.The next morning, I stared in the mirror for almost thirty minutes before I reached into my cabinet and pulled out a bottle of foundation.I’d become a pro at covering the smaller and lighter bruises. I added the foundation to my neck and my face to cover my puffy eyes.‘Six more weeks.’ I said to myself while getting dressed. ‘I only have six more weeks until graduation.’I checked my phone while walking to school.Dmitry texted me last night. A simple, ‘How are you doing?’I didn’t bother to text back. I didn’t know what to say.I took my time getting to school. I knew Angel would have told everyone what happened Saturday.When I stepped in
Danica POVI wish I could say I was happy when school ended that day. Most students loved the last bell. It was the sound of freedom. But for me, it was like a death toll. I was walking from one cage to the next.Rick was arguing with a customer and they both were giving me the side eye when I arrived home. From the few words I could hear, they were discussing the safety of the man’s car while being stored here at our house.A little guilt bounced around my stomach Rick’s eyes darted from mine to the customers. He reassured him that he would work on his car right away, so it would have to be stored for more than a day or two.I picked up my pace, no longer wanting to be near the heated conversation. I caused this. Rick would lose business because of my carelessness. All the more reason for me to leave this place behind.I didn’t see any food in the fridge for me to cook, so I ran up to my room to get changed and ready for a night of cleaning.I pulled on some tights, and an old tee sh
Danica POV She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips. “Are you going to answer me? Or do I need to call the police?” Her eyes were focused on me. She took a second to take me in before demanding an answer again. And I did the same. This girl could have been a model. Her thin frame made her somehow look tall, but she was only a few inches taller than me. Her natural red stopped just beneath her shoulders. She had small perky breasts which didn’t need a bra, but I was happy she’d been wearing one at the moment. She stared back at me with sea green eyes waiting for my reply. “I’m Danica. Who are you?” I asked not moving an inch from the spot I stood. I tried to keep my composure, but my voice still came out in a tremble. “Ok. Danica.” She stretched out my name with a little hint of disgust behind each syllable. “Are you going to tell me what you are doing here? In this house?” She looked down at Dmitry’s balled-up shirt in my hand. I’d been clenching it since the moment
Danica POVIt took me a little longer to clean his room once I made it back upstairs. Nancy left him a little trinket of the red silk variety in his bathroom and I purposely discarded them in the trash. There was no way I was going to aid in her love life.How disgusting did she have to be to leave her worn panties on his bathroom counter? Or how disgusting would it be if he was into that sort of thing? Did he like to collect ladies’ underwear?I heard at least one girl in the locker room say she liked it when a guy kept her panties. Though I never really thought that would turn a girl on.When I was done with the bathroom, I moved on to the bedroom. I still needed to make take care of the bed.As soon as I walked back into his bedroom, I was caught off guard again. Dmitry was now leaning against his dresser. Watching me blow through his room with a quickness. Picking up whatever I could find.He was quiet until the moment I reached for his sheets.“You don’t have to clean those.”My