The Inheritance Games Chapter Rewrites

The Art of War-V3

"Why would you do this?" I asked Thea, amending my question.

"It's what Emily would have wanted." Thea pulled a tube of lipstick out of her purse. "If it's any consolation," she said, once she was finished turning her lips a sparkling ruby red, "I didn't do this to you."

She'd done it to them.

"The Hawthornes didn't kill Emily," I spat. "Rebecca said that it was her heart."

Technically, she'd said that Grayson had said it was her heart.

"How sure are you that the Hawthorne family isn't trying to kill you?" Thea smiled. She had been there this morning. She'd been shaken. And now she was acting like this was all a joke.

"There is something fundamentally wrong with you," I said.

My fury didn't seem to penetrate. "I told you the day we met that the Hawthorne family was a twisted, broken mess." She stared at the mirror a moment longer. "I never said that I wasn't one, too." Like that was a good excuse. I told her as much, "That's no excuse for what you did. Who are you to decide? Who gave you that right?" I would tell her that she needed therapy, but what good would that do? It was way too late for that and all the same, she was too far gone. She was too deep into Emily's cult of followers and instead, what she really needed was a mental asylum. Luckily, I could offer that to her or even force her into it; it would be beneficial for everyone involved. It would do the world a load of good.

"Perhaps it's not an excuse, but they deserved it. They killed my best friend." Her voice sounded bitter.

"No, they did not. It was her own fault and you know it. Don't pretend she's innocent, that she wasn't capable of using her mind rationally and not only in sick, twisted ways for her stupid games. If she was manipulative enough to get Jameson and Grayson competing over her, I think that's enough to say she was definitely not dumb. She brought her own death upon herself."

Thea stared at me incredulously, blinking slowly in disbelief. "And who do you think you are that you get to say that? You didn't even know her. You don't." At that, I scoffed and rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"Get over yourself, Thea. Like I don't? Listen to you; those are the words of a hypocrite who just likes to talk and think she has the upper hand every time. Well, news flash; you don't. Ever since I've arrived here, all of you have made some sort of conscientious effort to compare me to her or put me in her place in similar situations. You're simulating a false reality but face it, she's gone. The whole reason why I look like this tonight is because you made me, to be their so-called penance. I may be dressed like her but I'm not her. The only reason this problem exists and continues to persist is because you can't let go; you're possessed by her and think that by making me look like her, you can get back at the boys. They're already grieving, reminded by her death constantly and I've seen it for myself. Stop it. I'm not Emily, I'm pretty sure I can safely say I'm a better person than she ever was and whatever you do, won't succeed in the end." 

I was finally done holding back and holding everything in but still held back the idea of throttling her. "Here's some advice; go to therapy, stop messing around and put that mastermind of yours towards something useful in your life. It might just do you a favour in helping you move on because something tells me you were just as manipulated by her as the rest of them."

Seeing as we were getting nowhere, no matter the justification of my points, I decided to leave before Alisa made it her job to hunt me down. Thea just wouldn't give. At best, she was trying to get under my skin and I wasn't about to let her; I may not know her well enough but neither does she me. She underestimates me and that's a grave mistake on her part. 

"You know, maybe in another world we could've been friends but seeing as there's a slim chance of that happening, I'll leave you with this. I hope you find peace, really I do." And then I left.