Deadlock

IV

Even in my dream, I still couldn't let go of the thought of Jake. I was eight years old again. It was Jake's ninth birthday. It was only weeks before my parents died. I was invited by Jake's father but of course, I wasn't really friends with Jake. He hated me. I knew he hated me more than he already had because of the mess I had created again in his birthday party.

I was so bored because everybody who attended Jake's party was friends with him. And so I was stuck in the corner talking to no one because I had no friends. So I decided to just leave but when I was just about to turn for the exit, I bumped into a waitress who was carrying a lot of food in her tray. Everything in it went flying over. It was a mess and I had caused it. I was so sorry but when I tried to apologize to Jake at the pool where he was, he wouldn't even want to talk to me. But I imposed anyway.

"I-I ahm, I'm sorry." My voice was shaking.

"Sorry?" He looked at me, he was smirking. "Why are you sorry princess?" After a long pause, he continued, "Did you really think that you could fool me?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"Oh please, don't think that I'm someone you could fool. I know that the incident last week was on purpose." Me bumping into him because I was looking for my mother to check out the butterfly in my room was on purpose? "I know you did that because you're the little princess right? No one's going to think that inside the princess' heart was a wicked brat."

He thought of me that way? "But I didn't mean it I..."

"Shut up. You just did that because you wanted to prove to me that you're superior, but of course you are, since you're the precious granddaughter of the chairman anyway. And this commotion at my birthday party, this just proved how vexatious you are. And don't act so innocent princess because that won't work on me."

"I'm sorry Jake, but I don't know what..."

"I saw how jealous you were a while ago. That's because you don't have a friend right? And you know what? You are never going to have friends because you are wicked. You're acting like you're someone so kind-hearted and caring but you're the complete opposite of it. You're just using your grandfather's name to do your wickedness. You're living pathetically behind your grandfather's shadows."

And that was when I learned for the first time that being the granddaughter of William Van Tassel was not very ideal. But even so, I will never exchange my parents and my grandpa, even if he was a grumpy grandpa sometimes, for anything in the world.

I woke up with my cell phone ringing. I looked at the caller and I saw Jake's name flashed on the screen. "Yeah?" I yawned.

"Good morning Em. Are you still at the mansion?" He sounded kind of worried and for what reason I didn't know.

"How did you know that I'm here?"

"Nikki told me that she saw Butler Lee at the school so she assumed that your grandfather wanted to see you. So are you coming to school today?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Nothing so see you." He hurriedly ended the call. This guy, he seemed like he knew something.

It was still early so I laid down in my bed for ten more minutes. I was thinking about what grandfather said. I wasn't able to call Aunt Sally last night because of that but I since Nikki saw Butler Lee yesterday, I'm glad I didn't make them worry unnecessarily.

Grandfather was going to make me marry who? Dang grandpa, could he really be this selfish? I have decided and I was not marrying anyone. Jake was right, I didn't want to live pathetically behind grandpa's shadows.