Dark Before Dawn

¿ Q u i n c e a ñ e r a

I'm currently fourteen...

I'm turning fifteen in about a week...

I'm half Spanish....

Yes... I  s h o u l d  be getting a quinceañera...

I've just always been afraid to ask for one.

The money... The time... The effort... It's a lot to ask for. But that's not even it...

My parents wouldn't even care enough to put it all together for me. They can't even be in the same room without nearly biting each other's head's off.

But stupid me... I felt the need to ask for one; To be a normal teenaged girl for a second. I knew this wasn't going to go well, but something was still telling me that it would be okay.That my parents would be all for it...

Girl, was I ever wrong...

I stepped into their bedroom, walked over to my mother's bed and sat on the ottoman. She glanced up from her book and quickly refocused her attention back to the thick novel.

"What is it Sonia?"

I sighed. "Nothing. Just... Um..."

There was a two minute, deafening silence.

My mother forcefully placed her book down and gave me her evil eye. "Well? Are you gonna speak?"

Wow. That stung. But then her words found meaning...

D o n ' t  l e t  h e r  g e t  a w a y  w i t h  t h a t. . .

And I didn't...

My voice rose in volume out of anger and frustration.

"Am I getting a quiñce or not?" I said, anger present in my voice.

My mother looked up from her book and shot me her usual look of death. Only this time was different than others. This time, I shot her the same look.

We looked at one another like this for about a minute. And then my father came in. I saw their lips moving and I knew that they were discussing it, but I couldn't hear them. I just looked forward and stood as still as a statue. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak.

Then they turned to me. They were speaking to me. I could tell that they were saying no...

But then I refocused.

Y o u ' r e I r r e s p o n s i b l e

U n g r a t e f u l

W h y s h o u l d w e d o a n y t h i n g f o r y o u ?

I blocked them out. I ran out of their oversized bedroom. I was in auto pilot. I packed the things I needed and I left. I didn't even bother to look back. I couldn't tell if they were running after me. Quite frankly, I didn't even care.

This was about so much more than a father daughter dance and a fancy pink gown. I could care less about that. I wasn't expecting anything of them. Even saying yes or agreeing to work something out would've made this situation better.

But that's not how Maria and Adrian Monardo work. All they care about is themselves. They don't even care for each other, let alone care about me.

My legs gave out after about eight miles. I looked up to find myself in a residential neighborhood. It looked like Aventura.

That's when it all finally hit me...

I w a s a l o n e. . .

I was completely and utterly alone in this large, corrupted world.