Chapter 2 The Fight Back

LISA FERNANDO

My alarm went off and woke me. I jumped up in fear of my father and hastily shut off my alarm, afraid that my father would be unhappy and pissed off. Well, I was right, because immediately, I heard footsteps rushing in my direction. I was definitely sure he was angry. I saw his face as soon as he pushed the door open and looked at me. He was furious.

"What did I tell you about that fucking alarm? You don't need an alarm to get ready to work, you cocksucker!" He hit me across the face and yelled. Tears began to fill my eyes again, and I was trying to prevent myself from crying.

I stood up, ignoring him. "Are you deaf, because I'm sure you heard me? Are you stupid?" His rant continued. "You know you want me to be a bad father so bad when you're the bad child. Ever since you came into my life, we've been poor."

Now, that was not true. We were never born with any money. We've always been poor, never rich. That could have even contributed to my mom leaving me and running off.

"We've never been rich!" I trailed off, and he carried me up with him and pushed me into the wall, slapping me countless times on the cheek. "What do you know about wealth? Never talk back to me again in your life!" He thundered and dropped me to the ground before leaving my room.

I began crying even though I didn't want to. Hot tears streamed down my face as his words echoed in my ears again. I squeezed my eyelids shut in the hope that my tears would stop. I just wanted them to stop. It had to.

When it did, I changed into my clothes and decided to go downstairs. I didn't know what was in store for me, and in all honesty, I didn't want to know. When I headed down the stairs to the kitchen, I found broken picture frames scattered all across the living room floor. This was definitely what caused the noise last night. My dad was busy destroying his properties.

My father smiled as soon as he saw me. "Morning, dear," he said as he gulped down the contents of the glass cup he held. "I started taking green tea; I heard it does a lot of things for the body." He continued.

"Yes, Dad, it's good." I murmured back, scared of what my dad might do. One minute ago, he was calling me a slut, and now he's praising me. What the hell is wrong with him? I took out a trash bag from the kitchen and started cleaning up the mess on the floor.

When I was done, I went to make breakfast in the kitchen. In a hurry, I prepared it, grabbed a plate, and served my dad. I was too in a rush to even taste what I had prepared. I put it down on the counter and went to get another plate for myself, but my dad came up behind me and gave me a hard smack on the hand. The plate broke onto the ground and broke into pieces, and I was shocked.

"Your dumb ass doesn't need any food." He said.

For crying out loud, I wasn't a student anymore. I was working for a book publishing organisation and receiving a small amount of money, but that didn't mean I should continue to be controlled and insulted by my father.

"I'll leave your house, I promise."

"That should sound like you're threatening me, but it made me feel good. Leave my house like your mom did. Both of you are cocksuckers!" He clapped back.

"My mom is not a..."

He cut me off. "You didn't even see her face for a second; oh, shut up!"

He was right! I didn't even know what she looked like, where she lived, or what she did for a living. All I know about her is her name. Marie.

"Dad, can I just have some food to eat? I didn't eat last night; I'm begging you." I pleaded, but it felt like dead ears. He obviously didn't care if I would starve to death.

"Your grandma's in a coma in the hospital; she hasn't eaten yet... Don't be selfish." He replied. "Besides, food is not necessary for you to stay alive. Eat when I leave the house; I don't want to ever see you use the same mouth you use to suck dick on my spoon."

That was a really vile thing to say to someone, no matter how much you hate the person, and I couldn't believe my own father was saying it to me. Not just any father, but my father. It was the most heartbreaking thing I ever did.

"Cean up this mess and get me something to eat from a mall; I don't want your tasteless trash." He gave me a hard slap on the cheek before leaving. I cleared the area as soon as possible and left the kitchen. My dad tossed me a wad of cash as I reached the door. "And make sure your dumb ass doesn't get kidnapped." He said that and walked back into the house, slamming the door in my face.

Faking a smile and lying to myself, saying it would be okay, I hurried to the food store. I strolled over to the shop and started shopping. I didn't know what he'd love to eat, so I just got anything that might taste great.

Surprisingly, I saw Tonia, my best friend, for whom I rented an apartment because of what was going on in her life. I didn't have enough money, but I rented her an apartment.

"Hey, what are you doing here late this morning? Shouldn't you be going to work?" She asked.

"You're so.... To be honest, I should be at work right now, but a lot has happened." After gathering the necessities, we both made our way to the register.

We completed the grocery payment and went outside the store. "You seem really worried and stressed. What's going on in your life?"

"I got a job as a stripper... I've done a lot of things. By the way, will you walk me home?"

"My dad." I finally murmured as soon as we started walking together. A tear starts to roll down my cheek, and I control myself quickly before she can see it.

"What happened to your dad? What's wrong?"

I faked a chuckle. I didn't know if I could trust anyone, and I didn't want to make my dad look like a bad person to people, even though he was. I guess he was my father after all, and I was supposed to defend his wicked ass.

"Nothing serious; he just told me that he wants me to get married." I lied, but I noticed my response didn't seem to have satisfied her. I wasn't going to blame her. That was one of the dumbest lies I've ever told someone. It just didn't feel real.

We finally arrived at my house, and she gave me a smile. "If you need anything, come and meet me; it's big enough to take the both of us. My house..." She paused and smiled at me. "Our house needs you back." She added and left.

When I opened the door, my father was furious. He dragged me inside immediately and pushed me to the ground. He closed the door and kicked me repeatedly in the stomach.

And this time, I fought back.

I got up, ran to the table, picked up a glass from the table, and smashed it on his head before bolting out of the house. I was leaving his house this time around, and I wasn't going to come back. I was going to stay with Tonia and use any means to get money so I could become rich.

"I, Lisa Fernando, will make a lot of money, and you'll beg for mercy. I'll make your pay for all the maltreatment you've shown me, Father." I swore as I got into a taxi, ready to leave.

"Take me home!" I told the taxi driver as my mind drifted back to my father. I genuinely hope he was just unconscious and I didn't totally knock him out.

"Girl, I don't know where the fuck your ass stays!" The driver replied, bringing me back to reality.