"For the first time in my life, I felt as if I mattered. On the surface, I was less than the dirt on someone's shoe. But underwater - I was a princess."
---
Born without a wolf, Charlie aspires to be a ballet dancer. But a deliberate sabotage crippl...
I took a deep breath as I navigated the flow of guests. They all seemed to not mind having me around, and before long, I was talking with a few here and there. They had all heard of the events of two years ago, of course, and they were all quite keen to find out how I was doing, and why I'd been secluded for so long.
I couldn't tell the truth, even with my precious freedom, so instead I told anyone who asked that I'd needed time to recover. But I was doing much better now, and I was looking forward to graduating the following year - having been held back a year after missing almost six months of school. I don't think anyone quite believed me, but I was okay with that. At least I knew I had more allies on my side than I realised, and it warmed me to know that, with any luck, I'd be able to call them allies in truth once I could break free from Sarah and expose her for the lying, manipulative bitch she truly was.
My own pack, as usual, shunned me, but that was nothing new. Having learned two years ago what they all really thought of me, I wasn't too hurt by their studious avoidance of me, and I busied myself at the other end of the pool, mingling with the guests and enjoying the freedom of just being myself for a little while. I still had to be careful, but after a couple of hours, I felt comfortable enough to lower my guard just a little. And I could tell by the looks in the guests' eyes that I was indeed worth more than I thought. It was a shame my own pack couldn't - or wouldn't - see my worth, despite my wolf-less state, but I didn't care. I knew I had friends outside the pack, and that made all the difference.
As the sun rose higher, and the day grew more warm, quite a few of us were soon cooling off in the pool. I did feel a bit self-conscious as I took off my sarong, but no one seemed to mind, and in fact, I found myself the target of male admiration. It was a bit overwhelming, having not had that sort of attention ever, so I politely deflected the males, telling them truthfully that I needed to get used to being the subject of such admiration. They seemed to understand and, thankfully, backed off, keeping the attention to simple compliments which did my sore and lonely heart quite a world of good.
Sarah and her friends, on the other hand, were being their usual, cold selves, and whenever they came near me, they always scoffed and called me names, much as they'd done before the accident, and it seemed to me that they were deliberately targeting me. I ignored them, and they got bored after a while, much to my relief. Sarah still side-eyed me from time to time, but it wasn't long after she and her friends lost interest in baiting me before she was back to what she was doing best; flirting with any unmated male she could get her claws on. I grimaced as I watched, remembering what had happened two years ago, feeling as if history might repeat itself. I was, by now, thoroughly sick and tired of seeing her strut about as if she owned the place, and decided to do the one thing I'd been craving for two years.
My mind made up, I took a deep breath and sank underwater, and all my cares melted away as the water closed over my head.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I swam down to the bottom, relishing the way the water felt on my skin and in my hair. Sunlight danced on the tiles in mesmerising patterns as I swam along, and I felt all my cares disappearing. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I mattered. On the surface, I was less than the dirt on someone's shoe. But underwater - I was a princess. I no longer had to worry about my damaged feet, or the scandal that I had to prevent tonight. Even Sarah's treatment of me ceased to matter. Down here, I was free, and I revelled in that feeling as I reached the shallow end. But, rather than going up for air, I decided to stay under for a bit longer, even though my lungs were now burning, telling me I really did need to surface. But though I knew I needed to breathe, I held out for as long as I could, swimming back along the bottom towards the deep end. Bubbles started to escape from my nose and mouth as my diaphragm spasmed, warning me I was running out of air, and though I longed to stay under for a bit longer, I had no choice but to swim up to the surface, breathing heavily once my head was above water.
