Chapter 2-My Nightmares unfold

"Jessica, wake up!" mummy said as she came into my room looking through my wardrobe. I woke up still feeling drowsy and greeted my mother good morning. "morning sweetheart, now get up take your bath, we are leaving for the Paris" she smiled at me and sleep flew away from my eyes instantly, I gasped in shock. "You mean Paris like pareé!!" I screamed. she nodded and threw a gown at me to wear, but it's a Monday morning. I should be on my way to school, "what's going on" I asked and my mum turned to me.

"Your Aunt Gina's husband is launching his book today and we need to be there as family, you know, tony refused to come with us so I think you should." I jumped out of bed "ofcourse I would love that" I said and started packing, I forgot all about school, I knew my mom kept it as a surprise for me, I always looked at the picture of the Eiffel tower with dreamy eyes and always wanted to be at the top of it someday so I was ecstatic about it.. Then my mom's phone rang, it was my teacher, she just told my mom about the impromptu fixing of the international spelling bee competitions to this morning at 10.

I screamed out! "what? not today! not when I ought to travel with my dad in his private jet to Paris!" I broke down in tears and threw a tantrum. I was so disappointed but I have to represent my school or we will lose face in the competition, and as far as I know I was representing my family and country as well, and I won't give Helen the liver to laugh at me, she was actually kicked out at the first round and me making it up to the 6th round I'm not giving that up, I'll mount to the last round, the seventh stage and come down with the golden trophy.

My mom comforted me and wired some money to my brother to spoil me, "you can always come with me some other time, I promise we are going next month okay just you and I love! Now get dressed and go win that competition for me, break a leg or even two for that matters." she walked out and got ready with my dad, I got dressed and left with them, they dropped me off at school, but I felt this tingled feeling and I felt like jumping in front of the jeep and stopping them from going anywhere but the car was long gone, I turned down my sad face and walked in through the gates and different people walked up to me with gifts for my birthday, I just put on a smile and waved, my Bestie collected all the gifts on my behalf and my teacher shooed them away like birds..

We hugged and brought me into the school's helicopter, we only use it on special occasion, being the countries best school, they couldn't risk traveling by road to the venue of the competition, we left and I broke legs like my mom asked me to, I got the medal and trophy and in a matter of minutes, my picture was all over the newspapers, the cash prize I won, I gave it to the school and half of it to my favourite teacher Tricia.. she was so emotional, I knew she was poor and I used that to help her, I was happy that I put a smile on her face. I don't have anything to do with the prize money I just entered the competition because I was bored of numbers and wanted to play with words for a while, I'm what you call an all time genius.

My parents called me and congratulated me and promised me a surprise gift when they got back! I got home to meet a welcome party waiting for me, my elder brother organized it for me but it looked too wild for me, I mean my brother spent half of his life in the us so he doesn't know how to organize a proper party for a girl my age but I appreciate the intentions towards me, so I ate a few doughnuts and slept off like a log of wood. It was midnight already when I got downstairs, I was so hungry so I needed to grab something to eat, I saw Nnena our maid crying as she watched the news, but when she saw me she smiled and said she was watching a sad movie, I just nodded and grabbed a bottle of groundnuts, one red apple and a bowl of ice cream and went to my room, I ate to my fill and I felt like someone came to my room and walked out, but my door is locked I called for Tony but he was sound asleep, drunk I guess.

I slept and woke up and looked out my window, my parents cars were packed outside and I quickly got dressed in my school uniform and brushed my hair, I didn't expect them to come home so quickly but I don't mind I just wanted to know the surprise they had for me so I came down the stairs and found the entire family sitting in the living room in a bad mood, all in black including tony, he was sitting on the floor next to uncle Jude and Helen.

I smiled and walked up to my uncle and greeted him but he stood and hugged me crying, I was surprised so I Pat his back, and told him to stop crying it's not like anyone has died or something. He stood in front of me and held me firmly, you need to be strong okay, Helen was suddenly nice to me her face was swollen with tears. I was getting scared, what's going on?

My parents were the first people that came to my mind, I asked tony where mummy and daddy is, he just hugged me and said they died in a crash on their way back home this morning and their corpses are on the way, I got really angry at that kind of joke that I punched my brother and warned him never to say such a thing again, then I went upstairs and started calling out "Mum! Dad! where are you?" I shouted at the top of my voice, Helen kept following me like a dog telling me they were dead, I came downstairs and looked around the living room, I turned to everyone "where are the cameras, what kind of a prank is this?" I turned to Tony who was crying all over again and rolled my eyes at him.

"will you stop crying already and take me to school? nothing is wrong with dad and mom" I scolded tony as tears brimmed in my eyes I hated what I was seeing, I took my school bag and walked to the door, and all I know was the door was getting smaller and everywhere was getting darker and then that was it I fainted. My brain refused to process the information and it led to a black out. I was rushed to the hospital and I woke up 3days later, tony was beside my bed looking lean as ever, he has cried to the extent that his eyes were bloodshot, he was begging me not to leave him alone too or he will die.

I sat up and tapped him, "what happened" I asked and he said I fainted and slipped into a coma, I asked why and then he said it's because of the news, the memory started flashing through my head, I held my head as pain went through it, then I heard a knock on the door, I was beginning to believe the news is true, I told Tony someone was knocking at the door, he said he didn't hear a thing then he went to open the door to check, and then I bursted into laughter, "I was such a fool to believe you Tony, welcome daddy, see tony as been saying so many rubbish about you" I said as I looked at my daddy in his suit, he looked handsome as ever, he was standing by the door smiling at me saying nothing, tony stood alert like a scaredy cat and was looking around for a ghost. I stood and went to hug my dad, but the told me not to and he just waved at me and walked back out of the room through the wall, then I saw a funny looking knife decorated with red cloth stuck at his back and blood stained this back, he was stabbed in the back, then I knew the Daddy I saw wasn't human, I removed the drip pipe on my hand and ran out to look for my dad, I told Tony I just saw him now but the hair on his body stood and he said where.

Tony led me to the mortuary and I saw my dad with my own eyes, looking pale and wounded, I gasped and everything went black again.. I woke up after a week and with the look of things it looks like I'm an orphan now, I felt this gut wrenching agony surge through me and funny enough not a bead of tears came out of my eyes I really wanted to cry but the tears were not coming.. I haven't seen my mom's corpse and with the look of things it's lost to the sea or probably sharks food already, the thought made me want to kill the pilot but he's dead too, what's with the plane crash and the knife, does this mean their death weren't an accident.

The burial was held on Friday and uncle Jude insisted my dad be buried at the church cemetery, I found that suspicious but tony agreed because I was losing my mind already and I go to the mortuary 3 times a day to talk to my dad's corpse as if he was alive and burying him at home would only make things worse who knew uncle Jude had ulterior motive behind those excuses.. I mourned my parents for what seemed like months and I couldn't see myself letting go of them until uncle Jude mobed in with his new wife and Helen, the family held a meeting and decided that uncle Jude will be our legal representative and incharge of everything my dad left behind until when my dad set for us to take over, uncle Jude now is basically the man of the house, and how come he got married during this mourning period.

The day uncle Jude moved in all my dad's belongings were packed into his study room and his wife insisted she will use my mom's expensive clothes and jewelries, "who cares anyway" she said and took over her room, I was kicked out of my room and forced to sleep in Tony's room, Helen is now the owner of my room but my dog refused to stay with her, I was only allowed to pick my school uniform and a few old clothes , the rest were hers now, tony wanted to take actions but he didn't know how, Nigerian way of living was totally different from that of America and no matter how many times he sued uncle Jude it kept being tossed into the trash. uncle Jude froze Tony's account as punishment and we were left at the mercies of uncle Jude and his family.

I resumed back to school, there's still so much to cover for, I received so many condolences gifts from students and teachers and the principal awarded me a full scholarship till I finished highschool, including my exam expenses I was the best student in the school and they wouldn't want to lose an asset like me.. my bestie had written up all my notes for me, all I have to do is to read them and understand so that I can bounce back in shape.

Now Helen could pick on me anytime she wants to, she's clearly the princess of my own castle and I can't wait to be 21 so I can kick her out of my father's house, I'm literally the maid now, I do sorts of work, I'm not just talking about sweeping, I can do house chores well but I never thought in my life that I would was Helens sticky undies and wash her toilet, I mean I give her pedicure and manicure every weekend, tony tries to fight for me but I calm him down always to avoid trouble of any sort. She boasts of it in school all the time and even bullies me when my teachers are not watching.

My monthly allowance stopped, and ofcourse I knew that would happen when my brothers account got frozen, I can't be living on like this but I just have to endure, even though uncle Jude never starved us, I could still feel the gap my parents left behind, my mom's mass burial was done along side my dad's since her corpse were no where to be found, my big brother couldn't sit around so he got a job at a construction site, just to save money for my upkeep, I swear I was so ashamed but he told me it was better than stealing and he's the only one left behind to take care of me. All the domestic workers that stood up for my brother and I were sacked

Helen keeps getting meaner by the day both in school and at home, she begins to party and litter everywhere in the house there's always a party going on all the time and I could remember one evening when my brother wasn't around I confronted Helen to stop bringing in strangers to the house but instead she asked 3 of the guys to beat me up. While they were beating me something fell out of my pocket, it was my mother's heirloom, the necklace she gave to me, Helen bent and picked it up, "Give me that! it's not for people like you" she took it and some of the guys were suggesting Helen sells it and they share the money. I cried non stop and begged Helen to give it back but she hit me instead so we got into a serious fight, the others were hailing Helen on, I will never give up the only thing that reminds me of my mother.

I would rather fight with the last drop of blood in my veins, the others saw clearly that I was having a upper hand and I didn't really want to beat Helen I just wanted my jewel back, uncle Jude came in with his pregnant wife and shouted "what the hell is going on here" the others ran out one after the other remaining just the four of us in the living room, everywhere was scattered and I was also a mess, with bruises and scratches all over, tony came in just in time and Helen ran to her dad and lied that stole the necklace from her, before I could defend myself I felt a deafening slap on my cheeks, uncle Jude hit me for the first time in my life and Helen was so happy about it, the wife didn't expect such, she knew Helen was lying so she felt sorry for me, but uncle Jude warned her to stay out of it and then he turned to slap me again but tony caught his hand in midway..

Lucky, my puppy knew the necklace was mine and bit Helen and took the necklace from her and gave it to me, everywhere was in chaos, I've never seen tony so mad in my life, "Lay your filthy hands on my sister again and I swear to God Almighty I am going to kill you and feed your guts to the hounds outside, I would gladly go to jail for murder!" I never knew my brother had this crazy side of him and they got into the most serious fight I've ever seen, wrestling can never be this bloody, and Tony had a upper hand, his wife screamed at the top of her voice for them to stop but she was pushed to the wall by her husband, and she started bleeding meaning was losing the baby.

The fight stopped and she was rushed to the hospital, I was also taken care of by a nurse likewise Helen who has been shooting deadly glances at me. The next day, uncle Jude's wife moved her things and left, she couldn't live with a family so messed up as ours.

Helen still managed to snatch the heirloom from me again and uncle Jude fought tony again because he tried to defend me, uncle Jude pulled my hair and forced me to go on my kneels to beg Helen, my hair is extremely long like indians and that's why they all take pleasure in pulling it to give me pain and force my obedience. Uncle Jude looked at tony and sneered while still pulling my hair "you both are spoilt breath especially you Tony! watch your tongue or you will end up like your father, being arrogant and fearless won't get you anywhere idiots.