Deadroses

Prologue

The world is cruel and unforgiving.

You know that.

You've been through so many unfortunate times. Your mother died on the day you were borned, leaving your father to take care of you. He remembered holding your petite body while tears made their way down his face. You wondered if he blamed you for the death of his beloved wife. You had refrained from asking, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

And so began your father's endeavor of being a single parent. He cared for you despite everything that happened. The early years passed by and by the time he knew it, you were ready to start education..

Your elementary school days were great, amazing even. The day you started kindergarten, you had made an abundant amount of friends. Everyone knew you. You were an absolute ball of sunshine. They all enjoyed your company and often invited you to go to their house. First grade was the same. Second grade was crazy, you had been the person that many had a crush on. Third grade was a little chaotic, but you managed. You struggled a bit with your math grade in fourth grade and studied hard to bring it back up. A new student was introduced and she quickly became popular. Your friends gave you the space you needed to study and befriended the new girl. You had a birthday party in fifth grade. Your father helped you plan everything and even took the time out of his busy work schedule to decorate the house and bake a special cake just for the occasion. You handed out the invitations with a giddy smile the week before, confident your friends were going to make it. After all, they did promise they were going.

On the day of the party, you woke up early, did your daily routine and dressed up nicely. You exited your room at 11:20 a.m. Your father was reading the newspaper on his favourite recliner when he wished you a happy birthday. Your quaint house was filled with colourful balloons, streamers and other festive decor. A banner saying Happy Birthday was placed on the wall near the table where the cake was going to be. You sat by the table and waited for your friends to ring the doorbell so either you or your father could answer the door. Probably the former as you could not contain your excitement.

You waited. And waited. Your father glanced your way. You continued waiting after checking the clock. 1:30 p.m. Your party was supposed to start at noon. You thought it was fine. They were probably taking their time to get ready. You waited more. And waited. Your father was becoming increasingly worried for you. And waited. And waited. And waited. By the time you knew it, five hours passed. No sign of your friends. Your father suggested that you guys should just start the party with just you and him. You shook your head to say no and wanted to wait for another hour. You trusted your friends would follow through with their words.

The hour passed. You asked your father if you could just skip to the part where you have cake. He obliged and went to get the dessert. He gave you a big slice because you were the birthday girl. You sat with him on the recliner, eating cake. After he finished his piece, he raised a hand to your face to wipe your tears away and placed your half-eaten cake on the table with his empty plate. You didn't realize you were crying. The tears had made its way on your plate. He hugged you and told you to stay strong and that sometimes, people don't make good on what they say. You first cried on your 11th birthday.

When you asked your friends why they didn't come, they replied with that they had been invited to another party. They thought it was going to be more fun since their friend, Sophie, was hosting it. The new girl from fourth grade. Although, she isn't new anymore, is she? They promised to make it to your next birthday. You lost your faith in promises that day.

You were outshined by Sophie in middle school. She excelled in academics and was athletic. Even puberty was good to her. Everything you were not. Quickly, you became average. You had difficulty making friends and trusting others. It worsened in high school. The little acquaintances you had left diminished. Sophie's new friends made it a habit to make your life a living hell every chance they got. You didn't suspect Sophie put them up to it. She was just too nice for her own good.