Selling Myself to the Devil

Chapter 1- What Do We Have Here??

Alana's POV

"Alana, here's your mail." My roommate Paige tells me as she tosses it on my bed.

I look up from my law book that I am studying before my finals tomorrow. That's right. I am going to school to become a lawyer. So I spend most of my free time with my nose stuck in a book. Not that I mind because I love school. I always have. I have had straight A's every report card, every year since kindergarten. I am an extreme perfectionist and put 110% in everything that I do. School is my life. I have no real friends, just acquaintances. Just like my roommate. We live together and are cordial to one another but we don't hang out. I have never been a social person ever. My father says I have "emotional damage" from losing my mother at a young age. To be honest, while I wish I would have had my mother growing up I barely remember her. She died when I was 2. I have no siblings. It was always me and my dad growing up. He never remarried. I became his life along with his business. He managed to create a very successful business all while raising a daughter. My father and I are extremely close. He raised me to take no shit from anyone and to work hard for what I want.

That's why I am currently a sophomore at NYU. I can't wait to get out into the working world and to help people. As much as I am not very social I do love to help people. Whether it was helping them to solve a problem, working on school work, or just being a volunteer for various things, I always have found a way to help others. I also have a passion for the justice system and laws, so being a lawyer just made sense. My dad always tells me how proud he is.

I look through the mail my roommate has laid beside me and one thing stands out. It's a letter from the university. I open it quickly thinking I might have received a scholarship for law school but I am sadly mistaken. My heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest and my throat tightens as I read the letter to myself.....

Dear Ms. Bowers,

We have yet to receive payment for this semester. If we do not receive payment by September 18, 2022 you will be officially unenrolled for the spring 2023 semester. We hope to get this resolved quickly, but your attention to this matter is extremely important so it does not interrupt your studies. Contact the Office of the Registrar as soon as possible to take care of this debt.

Best regards,
Robert James
President of NYU

I feel like I am going to be sick. But before I go into a full blown panic attack I decide to think rationally. Surely my dad just forgot to send the payment. I will just call him up and he will take care of it and all will be good. I get my phone out and quickly find his contact and hit send. The phone rings what seems like forever before he answers.

"Uhhh Lani....you ok?" My dad stutters on the other end of the line.

What is wrong with him? He doesn't sound right.

"Dad....are you ok?" I ask unsure.

"Yeah sweetie...what's up?" He asks. Still sounding odd.

"Umm...dad...I got a letter from the University telling me they haven't received my tuition payment. Have you sent it yet?" I ask.

"Oh...uh..about that sweetheart...can you come home this weekend so we can talk? I really need to tell you some things."

God that doesn't sound good. Dad never asks me to come home out of the blue.

"Uh...I guess. After I take my test tomorrow I can head that way." I tell him.

"Great sweetie. I will see you then. Love you Lani." He says.

And before I can say anything back he ends the call.

Ok that has to be the strangest phone conversation I have ever had with my father.

I try not to stress too much and think about it the rest of the night, but it doesn't work very well. I get up early the next morning to take my test and I don't think I do very well. For the first time in my life! That thought just makes me sick. 

After finishing my test, I catch the bus and head home. Luckily my dad only lives an hour away so it's a quick ride. When the bus pulls up in front of the house, I notice a few vehicles that I don't recognize along with my dad's.

That's very odd. Especially in the middle of the day on a Friday. Why isn't my dad at work?

I get out and run to open the front door and head inside in search of my dad.

"Dad....Dad!! Where are you?" I yell.

No answer.

I look in the kitchen and living room and don't find him. Suddenly I hear a noise come from his office upstairs. I head up the steps quickly and swing the door open and I scream bloody murder.

My father is sitting before me tied up and mouth duct taped while he looks back at me with a pitiful look in his eyes. Looking back at him I wanted to burst into tears. My thoughts are interrupted though by a voice. A voice so cold and scary it sends a shiver down my spine.

"Well, well, well...Mr. Bowers...what do we have here??"