T H E light of the sun hardly remained on the sky. As the bright afternoon sky began to turn a beautiful pallette of purple and pinks. The first of the stars began peeking out as Angelica entered her bedroom. The soles of her feet began to ache as she finally took off her Jimmy Choos. The constraint of the tight pumps on finally being removed felt heavenly. She looked at herself in the mirror.

Her thick, silky indigo-black hair reflected the warmth of the illuminated light bulbs on her vanity. Deep turquoise eyes shined and the barely there highlight gave a soft glow to her button nose. The full, heart shaped pink lips pulled up into a smile. Winking at herself she ran her fingers through the waist length hair. She absolutely wanted to cut it off, however, her parents would never allow her.

Angelica Roosevelt, was the youngest out of four. With two elder sisters and two elder brothers. Her sisters, Rosamund and Melissa were twins and at the age of twenty nine were happily married to their husbands. Rosamund was married to a businessman, Jacob and Melissa had been tied in a nuptial bond with a famous NBA player, Ralph. She then had a brother who was twenty seven. Steve, was the closest to her out of all meanwhile her other brother Riley, at the age of twenty five was closer to her elder sisters. Angelica, or as her family liked to call her Angel, was twenty one and a cosmetology student.

Having been born to a rich couple that made their money from the stock exchange, she had all comforts of life at the tips of her fingers. She went to one of the most prestigious schools all her life and her results reflected that. Angel was a poised and mannered lady who had a full grip over her emotions. You would never see her wearing anything informal. Playing dress up as a child, she stuck to the habit of dressing proper everyday. Obviously, her feet did not like it so much.

Hence as soon as she had returned and changed into a set of comfortable clothing, she fell atop her large bed. The plush bedding cushioned her fall as she tried to get comfortable. The silky sheets caressed her porcelain skin. Her tiny hands pulled the heavy comforter around her body as she finally found that spot.

"Miss Roosevelt, dinner is served in ten," their butler called through the intercom. Sighing, the young girl stood up and entered her large closet. Selecting an ankle length silk dress with her favourite pair of beige heels, Angel headed out of her bedroom. Her heels clacked across the marble flooring. The large stairs all but engulfed her tiny 5'5 frame. As she entered the unnecessarily huge dining room, she greeted her parents.

"Hello mom, dad," she passed them a smile and waved, continuing "where are Riley and Steve?" She inquired.

"Hello darling. Your brothers are at the steakhouse on fifth avenue with your sisters." Her father told her. Inside her heart, Angelica felt a bit hurt that they had chosen not to invite her. It was not the first time but it hurt just as much.

"Sit Angel. Let's eat. Your favourite shrimp pasta has been prepared by chef," her mother tried to lighten the mood. Angel thanked her and dug in. No one knew that she never liked shrimp pasta. She just ate it a lot as a teenager because that was the only times her sisters would be with her. They would all cook together. However, after the first time Angelica had told them about being touched inappropriately by Jacob, the rest had begun to keep a distance.

Her life was dull and slow moving. She would attend her university in the day and in the evenings she would be in her spacious bedroom, working on a business idea for a cosmetics company. Her family, was so busy with their jobs and business that they had forgotten her. That she needed their presence in her life. Only Steve made an effort - a very small effort - so she considered them as close. But that was relative. Deep down she knew they resented her.

Playing around with her pasta, Angelica waited for one of her parents to recieve a phone call. Anytime they were on the dinner table, one of them would get a call which ruined the only thirty minutes she had with her family. And just like that her mother's phone began to ring. The worry on her botox filled face was a dead give away that it was either one of her many boy toys or her assistant had called to tell about a loss in one of the companies she had invested in.

"Excuse me, I need to take this," her mother excused herself and left the father-daughter duo all to themselves.
"So honey what did you do today?" Her dad tried to lighten the mood.
"Nothing much dad. Just had my classes and went out for cof-" before she could end her sentence, her father also rushed out to answer a phone call.

Angle huffed. She was raised in a very dysfunctional family. Her parents were in an open relationship. Her sister hated her for being "naive" and know for being a liar. Her brothers were neutral but chose to spend time with her elder sister rather than her. Ever since a child she had felt a resentment radiating from her family anytime she was present. Perhaps it was to do with the fact that instead for opting for a career in the financial world and sports she had chosen to study cosmetology, which according to her family was a "dead end".

She entered her room and changed into one of her night suits. Getting into bed she prayed for a better day and cried herself to sleep. Wondering when her family would love her without looking for any benefits.

[ T R I G G E R W A R N I N G]

That night, like most of her nights since that fateful event, she dreamed of the horror. Her sister, Rosamund had married Jacob when she was sixteen. Around the time she turned eighteen, she was sleeping in her room. She felt it first. The hand slowly creeping from her bosom to her private area.

It was not unexpected of Jacob and Rosamund to stay over. Especially since the next day was Melissa's wedding day. So it had not been hard for him to creep in her room. Her slumber was broken due to the rough way he grabbed her. Opening her eyes, she was met with his. The look inside of them was inhuman. It chilled her to the core. She shouted at the top of throat, warm tears falling down her cheeks as she pushed him away. Her parents came in but he acted like an angel and told them that he too had rushed in to see her.

Angelica tried to convince her family. But all her pleading fell on deaf ears. None of them was ready to belive her. That day a rift was caused. It was such a deep gash that could never be filled. Since that day, Jacob had assaulted her multiple times but she remained silent. Angel knew that no one would belive her words.

[ TRIGGER WARNING OVER]

Angelica woke up with a start. A chill ran down her spine. No matter how many times she dreamed of that day, it would always cause her raw pain. And the rest of the night was spent in agony.

Waking up early in the morning, Angelica headed into her bathroom for a warm shower. She lathered her body with vanilla scented body wash and shampoo. The loofah ran on her smooth, waxed skin and gave her a therapeutic feeling. Rinsing it off, she got dressed in order to not be late to class.

She wore a crochet top with bell sleeves and tucked it into one of her black jeans. She rolled up the ends of it and wore her favourite Chelsea boots. Wearing her favourite nude lipstick, Angelica spritz some Chanel no.5. She decided on wearing her YSL cross body bag before heading out.

"I am leaving, goodbye everyone," she waved to her family and headed out. Angelica had decided that she did not have the courage to face anyone that day and so made a decision to eat breakfast at one of her favourite cafés. Plus not that anyone would miss her. Her heart ached at the thought but she brushed it off and smiled to herself.

Sometimes that blinding smile seemed real to even herself.

Ahh I couldn't help myself. Since I am the birthday girl, I decided posting one chapter would not hurt!!

Gotta Fly!!