Harvard alumni?

 My brother Dante tells me not to let my anger and bitterness consume me.. but I’m a teenager and if I don’t let my anger and bitterness consume me? What do I do with my time? It was my god given job at this point. 

Still, my anger started when dad called, (no surprise there.) whereas Dante dismissed our father, I waited for his calls, amazingly, hanging on his every word, (especially given that he killed my biological mother. A person, no matter how much Dante and I try and dig up information on? Remains a mystery, except her face and when she’d sing “Hush little baby” in Spanish to me. My only memory of her. Instead I  had memories of dad, my mother’s murderer (family was complicated, I still never knew WHY he murdered her. Or who my biological father was. And I didn’t really care. My father took some joy in ignoring me or leaving me locked in a boarding school until Dante came and brought me home, I was fourteen at the time.. Lucky him.)  

Now I was seventeen and I’d just got accepted into Harvard. I’d worked my ass off for that acceptance letter and now that I had it. I was thrilled. So when dad called, I grabbed the phone eagerly from Dante’s hand, earning a glance from him. And answered. “Dad, finally. I have to tell you— something. What? What’s wrong with Sera?” Irrational jealousy took over, which was ridiculous. I adored Sera, she took me shopping, helped me with girls… and boys. She was great. My jealously was ridiculous. So, I let out a breath and nodded, handing the phone to my brother. It was a small sign of defeat from me, my joy diminished a little. I never felt like I fit in, no matter how much Dante and Sera tried. I was a human in a family of vampires. I was.. adopted. It was a painful truth. And worse than adopted… I was shoved in a boarding school and left there. But fuck that. I was going to prove myself. I got into fucking Harvard. I did that. I would… I would become the best lawyer I could be, I would be better. And better than that, I already had a plan that my best friend, Kat would turn me. As soon as I was settled in college.. or maybe after college, I couldn’t be eating my roommate in after all. I had too much work to do.

But I was getting ahead of myself. Dante held the phone out to me and I grabbed it. “Dad. I got into Harvard. I did it.” He congratulated me. Told me he’d pay for it. It wasn’t the celebration I imagined but it was better than nothing, besides I had to pack, get my class schedule. I had things to do, I couldn’t be hanging on my dad’s every little praise and love, which… he’d never told me he loved me. Daddy issues to the max, I must’ve looked upset. My brown eyes holding that usual anger and non of the playfulness. I allowed myself to be the joke, I laughed and made fun of my own trauma before anyone else. When I heard my favorite, a smile appeared. 

“I got into Harvard. Can you fucking believe it?” What I didn’t mention is hoe long I’d say on that acceptance letter. Giving myself time to process and now that I had. I grinned excitedly. No matter what happened now. I was going to be someone. I was going to prove… to myself that I was worthy. That I was someone. A typical teenager response. I knew. But still I went to my room and started packing… 

Life was looking up… or so I thought… truthfully, when was life ever easy for me? But they say it makes the strongest warriors, when did I sign up for fucking war? It was a bumpy start to my life to college, but after a month I was here. I had arrived…. What the fuck was I thinking? I’m not cut out for this, I’m not a Harvard guy. Should I leave? I couldn’t. This was my freedom and it was my chance, I would always be grateful to Dante. He was my family. But he’d also taught me never to quit and I wasn’t about to stop now.. 

So, I took a deep breath and stepped onto the campus. I studied like I did everything else. Obsessively, compulsively. I become a lawyer with the same determination that kept me alive as a child, fear and I were old friends as long as it respected my boundaries. 

And I was just getting started….