"The bittersweet about truth is that nothing could be more hurtful, yet nothing could be more helpful."
 

Just Another War Story by Mike Norton

I think this was the moment everyone was waiting for: the big moment when the big bad guy was finally faced.

Yeah...

I wish I could tell you that I was prepared for this, that I had no fear and knew exactly what to do now.

But... yeah.

I think I spent a lot of time looking at Izak's face before trying to break free, which was extremely stupid. Then I started to squirm and scream, which was even more stupid.

I only had Hugo, Tanya, Aline and Natalia for support.

Izak had at least twenty people in total.

So yeah. I was stupid.

Izak seemed to be finding the whole situation completely hilarious, which I would also think if my plans Cs had plans Cs. It was practically impossible for him to fail. It would be a miracle.

"Maisie Pereira, the soul that refuses to die." He said aloud, lifting me by the arm and showing me to everyone else, almost as if I were a trophy. "I have to admit, it's an honor to finally be able to talk face to face with you. I heard so much about you..."

I wish I could say the same thing, I thought as he launched me and I fell, in the worst possible way, into the center of the circle. The part of me that could think of something other than 'ouch' was extremely upset with the way he threw me away.

I mean, hey! I'm not a dart to be launched at a target shooting!

But before I could put my outrage into words, Izak's hand closed on my forearm again and, as if I was a doll, he lifted me up by the arm.

"So... are you missing your big sister?" He asked me, motioning for Joanne to come over. "We shall make this meeting happen, yes? Come here, Joanne, you're also missing your little sister, aren't you?"

He turned me around and pushed me towards another body, and I fell into the arms of someone who immediately pushed me away.

"But? How?!" Joanne's eyes were wide, the shock so clear in her expression that it was impossible to mistake it for any other emotion. "But for Heaven's sake Maisie! I already killed you twice, why do you keep coming back?"

I narrowed my eyes. I always believed that Joanne was being tricked, manipulated, or something, but a strange possibility was popping up in my mind now.

A possibility that I had never considered before.

"Did you know?" I couldn't ignore the question. "Did you know what you were doing ?!"

"But of course I knew, I just didn't know that you were worse than cockroach right?" Joanne replied, her eyes flashing. She was really beautiful, her face an almost perfect copy of what our mother had been when she was younger. "No matter how many times I step on you, you always come back! What the heck—"

"What did I do to you?" I couldn't help asking the question, I couldn't help expressing this question that seemed to burn like acid inside my chest. "Why did you do that?"

"You don't understand," Joanne laughed, but her laugh was strange, a lackluster laugh, without joy. "By God, Maisie, you never understand, do you? But okay, that doesn't even surprise me anymore. You have always been and will always be pathetic that way, you will never understand..."Joanne nodded, smiled. "Poor Maisie. The poor, timid, and fragile Maisie. Can't you see that everyone pities you? Always carrying your stupid books and reciting your stupid quotes."

I blinked in silence.

I would be a big liar if I said that Joanne's words didn't hurt - they did hurt a lot. But it still didn't make sense ... Nothing made sense.

"But why, Joanne?" I questioned, struggling to meet her eyes. That moment, that moment was ours: Izak and his friends did not exist, Jace, Ingreth and the others did not exist, nothing existed.

Nothing but Joanne and me.

That conversation, however painful, was one that we should have had long ago. We needed to resolve this.

We needed it.

"Why? Ah, Maisie, for Heaven's sake" She shook her head, laughing again. "Look at me! I am smart, beautiful, friendly, the natural heir to the Pereira Empire. And when Angels Magazine wants to do the marketing campaign that would be my chance, it would be the turning point of my modeling career, they want you."

Her gaze held pure contempt now.

I remembered the story. It had been at the beginning of last year, when I went to accompany my sister and mother to take the test. I didn't always go, but I had to go to the dentist and he was in the building next door, so Mom wanted to drive us both together.

My sister had spent hours taking the photos while I glanced through fashion magazines and tried to pretend I wasn't bored to death. My mother, sitting next to me, alternated between praising Joanne, looking at her cell phone and asking if I was okay, needed pain medication, or wanted ice cream.

I tried to be silent, like one of those little animals that knows that the predator was around and tries to camouflage itself according to the environment.

It seemed to be working, because everyone was doing the usual ooh and ahh for Joanne who, as always, seemed to flourish with all that attention. It never bothered me, I liked to see the joy that seemed to overflow from Joanne.

And I liked not being the center of attention. I never understood how Joanne managed to like this, but, well, to each their own, right?

The problem was when the CEO of Angels Magazine entered the room. He greeted everyone, talked a little with Joanne, and went to talk to my mother. After a lot of praise in the direction of my sister and a lot of blah blah blah about the campaign they wanted to launch, my mother had the brilliant idea to introduce me.

"This is my youngest, Maisie." She said with a proud smile, giving me a slight push as a sign that I should say something.

I gave an embarrassed smile, as I always did in those situations, and waved.

"Nice to meet you," I said, my voice a little weird the way it usually gets when I take anesthesia from the dentist.

So imagine the situation - Joanne is beautiful, makeup, with hair and nails done and perfect clothes.

And me, with a puffy face from the dentist's anesthesia, an old light blue blouse, and a pair of old jeans, along with my favorite sneakers that were already a bit grimy from overuse.

She looked like the Princess herself and I was Cinderella herself ... before the fairy godmother.

But it wasn't anybody's fault, it's just that I went to the dentist, which I hated to do, so I wanted to be comfortable. And honestly, I had forgotten about Joanne's thing until my mom told us we were going there before we went home.

In short, I understand that Joanne was furious when the CEO gave me a huge smile and said that I 'was chosen.'

He wanted me to star the campaign, and he refused to take 'no' for an answer. I don't know what he saw in me, but he was so sure that I was the right person for the job that he even canceled the campaign when I categorically said I wasn't a model.

"Oh, so cute! You're just shy, " He smiled, ignoring me completely. "No, no, this is your job. Either you do it, or this campaign will never get off the ground!"

After that, he called my mom every month asking if I had changed my mind, which I didn't, of course. I doubt if I would ever change my mind - the mere idea of ​​standing in front of all those cameras gave me nightmares.

So, honestly, I had forgotten about that. I only remembered it when Mom came to ask me if I really didn't want to try having a new experience, and how I could end up liking it.

"Joanne, I said I was sorry!" Although, in fact, the whole situation wasn't even my fault. "I never wanted to take photos, so much so that I never even took them, by the way."

"But how could they want you ?! You are a fashion catastrophe!"

Um, yes, I probably was.

"I—"

"You are always looking down, you can barely form a sentence in front of strangers, you have no class, no posture, no glamour!"

I frowned, feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"And is that your justification?" I asked, feeling my heart beat faster. Amazingly enough, I was getting angry. "You don't get what you want and, instead of working to get it, you decide to blame me, period?"

Joanne screams in anger and jumps on top of me, and I internally prepare myself. Yeah, it looks like we were really going to fight.

I was not going to lose.

Deciding to give the first tug in her hair, I grabbed the golden strands as soon as they were within reach and I felt victorious when she cried out in pain.

And then I felt a little guilty, and I started to think that, well, if we fight each other in the middle of the cemetery, it won't do any good to either one of us.

I tried to push Joanne away from me, determined to be the voice of reason. Joanne was my sister, we could certainly understand each other if I only tried a little—

The reflection of the candlelight on the blade was the only warning I had, seconds before Joanne stuck the knife with all the force she had in the earth, two millimeters away from my neck.

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Hello everyone!

Happy belated birthday to me, yay! >.< (Yes, it was yesterday! I'm still accepting gifts, thank you very much lol)

And wow! Hahaha girl's fight! Sorry about leaving you hanging (not really - grin-) but next chap is coming soon!

Stay safe!

Originally published: May, 15th 2020

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