The President's Daughter (REWRITING)

Chapter 3

J A M E S

A soft murmur woke me up from my half-sleepy state. I looked behind me to find the damsel I had rescued still asleep. I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Back at the party, I had searched her purse and found her address and other important details. Now, she was in the backseat and I was driving her home, wherever that was.

Uncountable hours of traffic later, I arrived at the damsel's home. I got her out and knocked on the door. A butler answered the door and I quickly narrated what had happened to her. He gave a slight nod, took the damsel in and closed the door.

I hopped back in my car, the events that had taken place hours before replaying in my mind. Truth be told, it all seemed like a dream. I smiled to myself, delighted that I had done something worthwhile.

J E S S I C A

My head was pounding like crazy. I got up from bed and fell back again. The pain was just too much. A knock on the door made me get up from bed again.

"Jessica, are you okay?" Dad asked me.

I couldn't say anything but only held my head as another wave of pain crashed over me. Before I could say anything, I felt the bitter taste of medicine in my mouth and I went back to sleep.

Recovery took a few hours and I was back to normal. I was in my room reading a novel, when a maid came over to inform me that Dad wanted to see me in his office.

The walk up the stairs to my Dad's office felt long. My feet felt heavy and my heart started beating loudly in my chest. It's not that I was scared of my dad. Absolutely not. It's just that I had never been in trouble this deep and I was unsure of what would happen.

Before I realized, I was standing in front of Dad's office. It seemed that the huge, mahogany doors were laughing at my predicament. I ignored them, knocked on the door and entered Dad's spacious office.

"I hope you're feeling better now", Dad said in a soft voice.

I nodded.

"Do you remember what happened yester night?" Dad asked me.

I nodded again. While asleep, bits of images of what happened the night before flashed on the screen of my mind. I knew I had acted foolishly, and I honestly didn't know what had gotten into me. The atmosphere was plunged into an uncomfortable silence as Dad and I stared at each other.

Dad held up a newspaper, showing pictures of my embarrassing state the previous night. The caption read President's Daughter Gets Wasted.

Great, my embarrassment was out there for the whole world to see.

"You know I'm disappointed in you, right?" Dad asked.

"Yes, Dad. I'm really sorry. I don't know what's been happening to me lately", I admitted.

"Does it have anything to do with Dustin?"

"Maybe."

"You know, if you need any help, you can tell me. You don't need to keep everything bottled up. We don't need a repetition of last year."

"Why does everyone keep reminding me of last year?" I cried out in frustration.

"I just want what's best for you. There's a better way of handling this."

"Which way is that?"

"Getting yourself involved in an extracurricular activity."

"Like the way you get yourself involved in work?"

"Jessica, you know it's not like that."

"It's exactly like that. You never take a day off. You're so busy that you forget birthdays, Christmas, Easter, New Years, every single thing!"

"I don't forget, Jessica. It's just--" Dad couldn't finish his statement. He sighed and pulled me closer to him.

"Sometimes I just want someone to talk to."

"What about Sally?"

"Sally? She's not a friend, I don't even know what she is but she means nothing to me! I was forced into a friendship because of a stupid contract!" I said, letting all my anger out. "I miss Mum so much."

"I miss her too."

A buzzing sound came from Dad's pocket. He took out his phone and looked at the caller ID.

"Sorry, Jess. I have to take this", Dad said and walked to his desk.

I knew Dad drowned himself in his work so he could forget about Mum. Mum's death had really affected him, but he didn't show it, knowing he had to be strong for me. Sometimes, I wish he would stop thinking so much about the past and Mum's death and focus on the present, focus on me.

Mum's anniversary was coming soon and I honestly didn't know how I would be able to handle it. I think about her so much and I just wish she was still here. Warm tears started dropping from my eyelids and I wiped them with the back of my hand. I needed some supernatural strength to get through the next few weeks without breaking down completely.