Alchemized (Michael Jackson Fan fiction)

Returning to Astina

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Present Day

(Dawn)

I dug my phone out of my single shoulder bookbag as I walked off campus. I shouldn't have been surprised when I saw it was my father. I had half a mind to ignore it, but that would only be fuel for more calls. "Morning, Elijah," I said innocently enough.

"Explain to me why your car is still in the driveway," he demanded.

I rolled my eyes grateful he couldn't see me. "You should be proud you have a daughter that's so keen on getting in her exercise."

He groaned. "Dawn, you know how I feel about you walking. You don't have a car so you can commute on foot!" Elijah pronounced every syllable when he was upset.

"You know I'm not far. U of A is only ten minutes away from us, two if I'm in my car. It doesn't make sense to waste my gas for a two-minute drive."

"What doesn't make sense is you caring so little about your safety!" I pull the phone away from my ear when his voice started to rise. It was impossible to reason with him. I let him ramble on for a while until I heard him say, "Do you get a thrill out of near-death experiences?"

I stopped in front of a big black gate that guarded some kind of gothic mansion. I hated when he tried to find ways to toss the past back in my face. "You know I don't. I told you a thousand times I wasn't trying to be reckless when I climbed that tree. And I don't understand what that has to do with me walking home from class. It's daylight and I'm on the damn sidewalk!" I immediately covered my mouth. I was never one to disrespect anyone, especially my father. We may have bumped heads often but I had never spoken to him in such a manner before.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that, Dawn Rayna Wright! I am your father and I will not apologize for wanting to protect you and keep you safe!"

I shouldn't have let him get me so riled up. Our screaming matches were never healthy and the guilt was eating me alive. "Sorry, Elijah," I muttered.

He went quiet. Elijah never said anything about it, but I knew deep down he hated when I called him by his name. We've just never had a real father-daughter relationship. I had always been closer to my mom growing up, but she remarried when I was ten and when I was fifteen, she started a new family with my stepdad. I wasn't forgotten about, but things just weren't the same after that. That being said, both parents were estranged from me in their own way. I wanted to be closer to my father and call him by his title, but each time I thought about it, I lost my bravery. After all, old habits die hard.

"If I don't see you in five minutes, I'm getting in my car and coming to get you."

"Elijah—"

"Five minutes, Dawn!" My call ended.

I wanted to scream and throw something. Even at the prime age of twenty I couldn't even take a two-minute walk back to my house without getting yelled at. I had no idea what made him the way he was. I could say it was the accident I had five years ago, but he had been somewhat of a lunatic long before then.

I was just about to continue on my short journey, when I heard a woman say, "That name..." I glanced up at the locked gothic gates and found a middle-aged black woman watching me from the other side. She hesitantly came closer.

I watched her with indecision.

The black bars on the gate were spacious enough for me to get a decent view of her face. Her skin was almond brown, a shade lighter than mine. Her face seemed frail and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. They also looked fearful and sad. I could see sliver streaks in her mostly black hair that was combed up into a bun. The woman grinned as if to assure me she was harmless, but I had the feeling if I was the one who made wrong move then she'd be the one to flee. She had a very timid nature. "It's been years since I've heard that name," she said tenderly with a hand pressed to her heart.