Becoming the non existing character

Elizabeth’s Pov

Being the only daughter in a family of three brothers has never played in my favor.  Of course,  many times,  it would seem that looking up to my brothers for protection and care was the most rational way possible. But not with my family. Not with my situation. Things were tight right now. Not that anything has been better for the past few years but at the moment, the financial problem at home has been getting out of hand.

I help out where I can. I pay the bills and do a little cleaning here and there when I don't have class. But based on the fact that I'm also the one paying for my Law School,  working two jobs at the same time does not provide enough financial assistance for me. 

There are a lot of things that I have given to my family. Things that have left me with scars.  After finishing High School,  I had already saved up enough for my University admission. And while I was preparing to leave home and go to the big city in hopes of starting Law School,  Dad revealed that the large debt he owed needed to be paid quickly. He had taken a loan from the wrong people. In adherence to this, I found myself working as I maid for six months in an extremely dangerous household. I've always suspected that they were the mafia or something. And things were extremely difficult there. The man of the House,  whom I assumed was the person my father had taken the loan from,  ended up falling in love with me. Or at least trying to give me the deception of love. I was supposed to be a slave in that house for two years. I overheard the conversation he had with his brother over the phone. That he planned on taking me somewhere different. making me at a  slave in a completely different country.

While the imagination of that scared me more than anything, that night that I decided to make a run for it also seemed to be the night that everything fell apart. When the authorities raided the place. when I came back home everything was perfectly normal. They didn't even seem like they worried about me. They were all ok I'm stuck with my absence. with the burden of working in that house,  and the reality that I couldn't change my family even if I wanted to,  I enrolled in law school and started working on my dreams and ambitions.

Even though I still live in my parents' house,  it has enabled me to cater for the bills as much as I can.

‘Bella!’ I hear my mother calling out to me from the kitchen.  Rolling my eyes,  I fight the irritation that creeps up before I rise from my chair, setting down my laptop, and advance towards the kitchen. It's like I already knew what she wanted to tell me. I wouldn't be surprised if it was yet again another complaint from her. 

‘You need to take the cake out of the oven? It has been 3 seconds past..’ She says with a frustrated tone, setting down the carrots she’d been peeling before turning to the side of the sink.

‘Mum I'm busy with school right now and I have an exam coming up. Can't you just do the baking?’ I ask,  irritation flagging down my senses once again. I hated this. But for some reason, my mother acted as though today was going to be something special.

‘ We have guests today.’  she finally spoke,  avoiding my eyes as she opens the oven and pulled out the carrot cake she had backed just earlier this morning.

‘What kind of guests? You did not tell me we had guests?’ I speak, panic suddenly rising inside me. My interaction skills with other people have never been great. I'm always an introvert. I prefer being by myself than making conversations with other people. I have social anxiety most of the time and the idea of having people in the house doesn't sit right with me.

‘We never have guests. And you're even cooking for them. What are you not telling me, mother?’  I ask with sudden suspicion.

‘Elizabeth,  come on daughter… There is no need for you to worry yourself so much. You are going to love the visitors that we are having today. And besides, it's time for you to get out of that shell and meet new people.’  Comes the booming voice of my father. When I turn around I notice yet the same excited expression on his face that is on my mother's.

‘And by the way,  I used the money for groceries that you gave me to have the house cleaned by a professional.’ 

Those words only cause my eyes to widen. And here I was thinking that I'm going to have a break this month. That I do not need to worry about anything. but it would seem that trouble always follows me. 

“Elizabeth you don't need to worry about anything. it is all going to play out. you'll see. you're going to thank us later. and besides…’  She doesn't finish her sentence before a fleet of flashy cars moves past our house. Advancing towards the open kitchen window, I stare with furrowed eyebrows; wondering who the hell had even arrived in the neighborhood.