Elena's POV (May)
"You must be having a hard time, ain't you? This is the first time I've felt this way, and now I can truly claim to be superior to you," Misty smiled smugly.
She is presently instructing me in kungfu. When Grandma Diane discovered that I had no knowledge of martial arts, she became extremely angry. Elena Perez, according to Grandma, should know everything.
"Elena, you were the best of the bunch! I forged you flawlessly in every way! You're supposed to be perfect! And now you can be defeated by Misty?! What's the worst that can happen?!" grumbled Grandma Diane.
"Hey, old hag! What do you mean even me? I'm not weak you know," Misty shouted angrily.
Grandma asked calmly, "What did you call me again, Missy?"
Misty's expression changed as if she was lamenting what she had said, and she rapidly turned her attention to me, kicking my left foot with no word.
"As for your punishment, you must teach Elena everything until she defeats you again," she orders, clearly infuriated by what is going on. "Winter, you must teach her from the beginning because her communication and social skills have deteriorated significantly."
"What?! That's such a pain in the head, grandma! I have no time for such—" Winter whined but immediately changed her mind when Grandma Diane raised her brow. "Okay, fine," Winter said defeated, turning her gaze back to Misty. "I'm going to kill you, Misty."
"Don't you have any pride left, Elena Perez? I can't believe you let a low-life species defeat you," Winter made a point of saying. "And you call yourself a Perez, tsk."
"Shut up, kiddo!" Misty shouted back.
Winter stomped her feet and glared at Misty. "Who are you calling a kid? Stupid!"
Before punching Misty, Winter looked at me. I noticed the two were always arguing from the first time we met and since I was with them, but I also noticed that they are close and comfortable with each other.
"Elena, I'm going to teach you during my holiday or in my spare time," Winter informed, but the next thing she said was almost a whisper that I missed. "I can't believe I'm going to lecture my older sister, who is far superior to me before."
"What was that, Winter?" I clarified.
She simply shook her head and walked away, picking up her doll.
"Are you ready, Elena?" Misty challenged.
It was as if something had become lodged in my throat. I could clearly hear my own heart beating. I took a stance. Misty is incredibly strong... so, does this imply that Elena is even more so?
A memory flashed through my head... "Tsk, wherever you go you're really a burden. You serve no useful purpose at all, it might have been better if you haven't survived. You're really a stroke of bad luck."
"Oops! Hey, are you okay?" Misty rushed up to me.
I clutched my aching belly. I was in agony when I noticed Misty scratching her head in frustration.
"You were zoning out, what's up with you?" she sat back. "Hey, hey! Did I really hit you that hard?" Misty inquired, puzzled.
I don't know anymore. Papa was completely right. I am insignificant, worthless, and weak. And the Perez family was affected by the misfortune I always bring... even Elena who did nothing wrong suffered too.
My memory serves as a constant reminder of anything I do. I don't have the ability to change everything, even if I wanted to. Papa is correct...
"Ugh, you're so obnoxious, can you please stop crying?" Misty commanded, perplexed.
In desperation, I closed my eyes. I know, I know. This is all I'm good at... crying. Having to live as Elena Perez is a dream come true, but even if the world turns upside down. In reality, I am May Gonzales and will never be Elena Perez. To my surprise, I felt someone envelop me in a warm embrace.
"This is so disgusting, you know," Misty said quietly. "I know that old hag can be a pain in the a$$; you've been through a lot, and I'm sorry."
When I looked up at him, I noticed her cheek was red as a tomato and she was looking away. I couldn't help but bawl my heart out. Is this the feeling of belonging to a family? Is this how it feels to be truly loved?
Elena, you are truly blessed... many people care and love you.
"Ooh, I didn't you know you have that sweet side, Misty. It's creepy and I wanna literally vomit."
We looked in the direction of the voice and noticed Winter teasingly grinning. Misty quickly separated from me and threw a rock at Winter.
"Violent as ever," Winter said still smiling. "Some things never change, ain't it?"
"Hey, girls!"
The three of us turned to face the newcomer. Why is Jake Javier here again? I heard Misty cough as if implying something. Why does he come here so frequently? How did he know we were here if Luke had no idea where I was?
"I guess, it's time for us to go," he whispered and pulled Winter away
"No! Are you attempting to be a matchmaker now?" Winter asserted angrily.
Misty only smiled mischievously in response. Winter's brows met, and aggravation replaced her expression.
"Elena is for Luke!" argued Winter.
Misty just sighed and suddenly lifted Winter like a sack of rice.
"Let me go! Let me go!" raged Winter. "You stupid Misty!"
They soon vanished from view as well. They seem to get along but don't at the same time. Is that how siblings usually are?
"What was that about?" Jake, amused.
I simply shook my head. I have no idea what the two are arguing about. All I know is that I'm in tremendous pain now. I mean, it's foolish of me to think up until now that I had hoped Luke and I could be. Yet what Winter pointed out was not wrong. Elena is always going to be for Luke and that will never change.
"He's fine."
My attention was shifted to Jake as he mentioned him. Is he talking about Luke? I immediately noticed the wry smile etched on his lips.
"I was expecting you to notice me if I started talking about him, but it still hurts, even though I know I can't help but be hurt. Aren't I funny?" Jake murmured.
Jake and I aren't that different, I thought bitterly. We're both idiots in love. Love has hurt both of us... however, he is not like me. I know someone who will love him will enter his life.... someone who can reciprocate his love, and that is something I lack.
Jake is not hard to love. Actually, many women would be begging for his love. He's just a bit unfortunate to fall for someone who could never be his... just like me. I just sighed and lay down on the grass. I'm not Elena, and I know I can't be. The moment I woke up in her body I knew... despite knowing, I tried to deceive myself. Even though the fight hasn't begun, I knew that I have already been defeated.
"Being able to love Luke is like a dream come true for me. In that beautiful dream... I love him and he loves me, it's a dream I don't want to wake up from... I'll still have to return to my life full of nightmares," I said to myself before closing my eyes.
"I'm at a loss for words. If breaking up with my brother gives you pain then... why?" Jake desperately asked. "Why did you break up with him? I know you love each other so much, please tell me why."
"Because it's not right, it's wrong to stay in that beautiful dream because I'm already hurting him. I'm already hurting two people who love each other," I explained.
I broke two people who truly loved each other. I lied to them just for my own benefit. I took advantage of them even when all they showed me is goodness in their hearts. I opened my eyes when I felt Jake sitting beside me. I could see the perplexity in his eyes. I just smiled, knowing he wouldn't get it.
"Are those riddles?"
"You know that feeling, you know it's wrong, you know you've hurt innocent people... but you're still happy it happened. You're happy with your situation because you've got the things you only used to dream about?" I asked, looking Jake in the eyes.
"Come on, I really don't understand," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Everything in the world has a cost," I continued as I turned away from him. "Come on, come with us to dinner; Grandma Diane will be absolutely livid if I'm late."