- 4.
I looked up at her face, trying to find some
trace of the old memories.
I first met Emily at a party, where the other
L
They made fun of me for how I dressed.
I was insecure and didn’t know how to fight
back, couldn’t even bring myself to speak up.
But Emily stood up for me. She slapped one
of them across the face and told them off,
and they all ran away.
She frowned and told me,
“You’re a Stark. You don’t have to be afraid
of anything. They’re the ones who need to
impress you. You need to act like it.”
“I don’t want them to hate me.”
“Hate? You need to remember that they can’t
afford to hate you. And they can’t be the
center of attention, got it?”
く
I remembered that for five years. But then
Emily started yelling at me in front of
everyone, telling me I was a hothead who was
always ready to explode.
Even though they were the ones who started
- it.
Emily’s face didn’t have any love for me
anymore. She pressed me.
“Have you thought about it? Don’t be greedy.”
“I don’t have time for this.”
I leaned against the wall. The pain in my leg
was throbbing, and kept my mind in the
moment.
How much did I suffer because of her?
L
I told them who I was, I recited Emily’s phone
number, every time I begged for mercy. That
number, burned into my brain, brought me
nothing but pain.
She was getting more and more impatient.
“What kind of game are you playing now?”
“You’re always hanging around with those
rich guys. I don’t see any drive in you.”
“The Stark family doesn’t need a loser like
you.”
Her words reminded me of when she yelled at
the loan sharks, and made them even angrier.
They took it out on me. They made me slap
myself until my face was so swollen that my
aums burt
<
I couldn’t eat because my face was so
swollen. I couldn’t even swallow a soft roll, so
they ground it into the dirt and forced me to
eat it.
My stomach churned at the memory.
I fought down the urge to vomit.
“Sorry, I don’t want anything.”
Emily frowned, looked at me suspiciously, and
said in a warning tone.
“The offer’s been made, you just didn’t take
- it. So don’t come complaining to me later.”
“I don’t have that much patience.”
Г
I nodded, hoping she’d leave.
“I won’t.”
Emily didn’t try to pressure me. Maybe she
didn’t want to give me anything in the first
place.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
She took a few steps, then stopped and
faced away from me.
“Don’t bother Jake anymore. We’re just
friends.”
And before I could answer, she was gone.
