destroy a person before they ever knew what was happening. He had done it with my mother and would no doubt do it with Anna whenever he got tired of her. Well, he’d made one critical error when he thought bringing me here would break me—he had already turned me to stone.
I looked at the large silver wall clock that hung over my corner fireplace. It was 6:30, leaving me thirty minutes to get ready. I swung my feet over the bed and headed towards the armoire with a purpose. Thirty minutes was plenty of time.
By the time I bounced down the stairs for dinner, I had a nice buzz going. Everyone was already seated when I came in the dining room and placed a small peck on my father’s cheek.
“Hi, Daddy,” I said sweetly as I took my seat. Then I nodded in the witch’s direction. “Anna.”
I saw a small smile start to move on my father’s face before he caught it and scolded me. “You’re late, Issy.”
I looked up at the wall clock that showed I was exactly three minutes tardy. Good grief. “My mistake, I’m still on college time, I guess,” I continued sweetly as I loaded up my plate. The one saving grace in this prison was Rosa’s cooking. She had perfected the art of a family dinner.
My father cleared his throat and then began asking Anna and her illegitimate child about their day. I stopped listening the moment she opened her mouth and concentrated instead on the food in front of me. I went to reach for my glass when it dawned on me that they hadn’t served wine with dinner. We ALWAYS had wine with dinner.
When Rosa returned to fill our glasses, I asked her to bring me a glass of Merlot. She looked up at my father, and he informed me that we wouldn’t be having wine with dinner for a while. I just shrugged my shoulders and continued eating in oblivion until my stomach was full.
I was starting to believe I would get through this dinner unscathed until I heard my father’s voice turn to me.
“So Issy, classes at Carolina start next week. I spoke to an advisor at Winsor and registered you for some basic courses you seem to be missing. They should transfer back easily.”
“Basic courses for what degree, Dad?” I asked sarcastically.
“Business, of course. What else would you take? It’s nothing difficult, college algebra and Intro to Business will likely be the hardest ones on your schedule.”
“I don’t want to major in business.”
“Ok, what do you want to major in then?” he asked calmly. I didn’t have an answer and just stared at him, silently challenging his control. “Exactly what I thought,” he continued. “This is a good course load no matter what you want to do.”
The discussion was over, a fact left very clear by his body language. I realized sitting there that this was my father’s best-case scenario. I had screwed up enough for him to take absolute control of my life, and no one would stop him b ecause they believed as he did—that I was incapable of managing my own life. I felt the anger surge in me again as I fought for control.
“Can I please be excused?” I asked through gritted teeth.
My father saw my expression and nodded. I guess his tolerance for my outbursts was done for the day. I was moderately grateful and stormed through the door and out to the lake. The cold breeze from the water chilled me to the bone, but I liked it. I needed to feel numb.
6 . western carolina university
After almost a week in captivity, I actually felt a little grateful for the escape that school brought, even though I had no intention of doing any more than was necessary to stay enrolled. My father had finally brought my car down from Winsor, so I at least had transportation again.
I stood looking in the mirror before leaving for school and smiled. My hair was a beautiful purple color , and I put back in my nose ring that I only wore when I wanted to tick off my father. My ensemble of tight black jeans, knee-high black boots and a tight black
I looked at the large silver wall clock that hung over my corner fireplace. It was 6:30, leaving me thirty minutes to get ready. I swung my feet over the bed and headed towards the armoire with a purpose. Thirty minutes was plenty of time.
By the time I bounced down the stairs for dinner, I had a nice buzz going. Everyone was already seated when I came in the dining room and placed a small peck on my father’s cheek.
“Hi, Daddy,” I said sweetly as I took my seat. Then I nodded in the witch’s direction. “Anna.”
I saw a small smile start to move on my father’s face before he caught it and scolded me. “You’re late, Issy.”
I looked up at the wall clock that showed I was exactly three minutes tardy. Good grief. “My mistake, I’m still on college time, I guess,” I continued sweetly as I loaded up my plate. The one saving grace in this prison was Rosa’s cooking. She had perfected the art of a family dinner.
My father cleared his throat and then began asking Anna and her illegitimate child about their day. I stopped listening the moment she opened her mouth and concentrated instead on the food in front of me. I went to reach for my glass when it dawned on me that they hadn’t served wine with dinner. We ALWAYS had wine with dinner.
When Rosa returned to fill our glasses, I asked her to bring me a glass of Merlot. She looked up at my father, and he informed me that we wouldn’t be having wine with dinner for a while. I just shrugged my shoulders and continued eating in oblivion until my stomach was full.
I was starting to believe I would get through this dinner unscathed until I heard my father’s voice turn to me.
“So Issy, classes at Carolina start next week. I spoke to an advisor at Winsor and registered you for some basic courses you seem to be missing. They should transfer back easily.”
“Basic courses for what degree, Dad?” I asked sarcastically.
“Business, of course. What else would you take? It’s nothing difficult, college algebra and Intro to Business will likely be the hardest ones on your schedule.”
“I don’t want to major in business.”
“Ok, what do you want to major in then?” he asked calmly. I didn’t have an answer and just stared at him, silently challenging his control. “Exactly what I thought,” he continued. “This is a good course load no matter what you want to do.”
The discussion was over, a fact left very clear by his body language. I realized sitting there that this was my father’s best-case scenario. I had screwed up enough for him to take absolute control of my life, and no one would stop him b ecause they believed as he did—that I was incapable of managing my own life. I felt the anger surge in me again as I fought for control.
“Can I please be excused?” I asked through gritted teeth.
My father saw my expression and nodded. I guess his tolerance for my outbursts was done for the day. I was moderately grateful and stormed through the door and out to the lake. The cold breeze from the water chilled me to the bone, but I liked it. I needed to feel numb.
6 . western carolina university
After almost a week in captivity, I actually felt a little grateful for the escape that school brought, even though I had no intention of doing any more than was necessary to stay enrolled. My father had finally brought my car down from Winsor, so I at least had transportation again.
I stood looking in the mirror before leaving for school and smiled. My hair was a beautiful purple color , and I put back in my nose ring that I only wore when I wanted to tick off my father. My ensemble of tight black jeans, knee-high black boots and a tight black
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