Daddy's Little Assassin

Chapter 11

The time came when I finally had to leave for college. I hadn't wanted to be too far away or completely leave the city like Dominic had when he went to college. I had decided that attending college three and a half hours from home would be alright for me, even though I still had to move out and went to board.

“You know there are colleges located approximately twenty minutes from home that you could still get into,” Dad said to me when he and mom had dropped me off and helped me moved into my dorm room.

“Honey” Mom had warned him.

“What? You know that I'm right. She doesn't need to come out here” Dad had responded.

“Winchester university of business and technology still offers the best degrees in New York though,” I said to him “Haven't you always told me I should strive for the best? It was either here or California”.

“I guess here is fine then” Dad sighed defeated.

“You'll be only three hours away. We can come to visit anytime, and you can always come home whenever you feel like it” mom said.

“Exactly” I had agreed.
“Besides, we won't even notice, but before we know it, three years will pass by so fast, and I'll be done with college”

“Trust me, it is going to seem like an awful lot of time,” Dad said.

“Only because you'll be counting the minutes as hours” Mom had said to him “Honey, Lexi needs to have a life of her own. She's grown up and finally in college, and you know what next. Before you know it, she's going to be finished with college, and one day she's going to move out like Dominic and probably get married, and you're going to have to accept that”.

“Not if I can slow down that process,” Dad said “When you do get back, I'll have a business ready for you to handle. I want you to live at home with us for as long as possible. You don't need to rush”.

“I know Dad, and I won't,” I said to them “However, all of these things will be years away. First allow me to finish off with the dreaded college experience then all the other plans for my life can follow. In fact, this is just the beginning”.

When I made that statement to my parents, I had no idea just how fast my three years would really run out.

~|~|~

The time went by faster than I thought it would. I tried to remain focused while I was in college. I had an aim when I started and that was to keep my eyes on the prize. That prize was my degree and graduating with honors. I tried my best not to get too close with anyone and I most definitely didn't have time for dating. I hadn't even entertained the idea of dating again. I hadn't gone to college to make friends or get a boyfriend and that was my mantra. I also found it hard to trust people after the experiences I have had. The only communication I did was for group and class purposes or whenever I passed one of my classmates in the hallway or something. I didn't want friends. I had heard the saying somewhere that friends were liabilities and not assets. I only needed assets.

Whenever I got midterm break and holidays, I went home and would catch up with family and my friends Zena and Kameron whenever they too were in town. Whenever I visited and saw Dominic too, it was like he had gotten bigger and bigger. He was built and looked more manly now. I was glad that over the years we had both grown up and that we had managed to bury the hatchet. The fact that I was finally aware of the truth about the Luciano family and the whole mafia thing made things easier between us. It turned out that one of the reasons Dominic had been cold towards me when Dad just took me in, was because of the secret he would have to hide from one more person. Another reason was that he had been jealous of the fact that his parents had taken me in, but I had forgiven him a long time ago. And I understood everything.