Fates, Furies and Freckles(Watty Awards 2013)

δεκατρία

                                                            {Present Day}

                                                              Point of View:

                                             ++Pelops/Aaron++(Tantalus's Son)

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I didn't mean to hurt her.

I didn't mean to hurt her.

I didn't mean to hurt her.

I didn't mean to hurt her.

I didn't mean to HURT HER. 

I never imagined she'd get hurt. I guess I assumed she was as strong as I was- which is stupid. She's tiny. She's fiery and stubborn, sure. But I still win on brute force. I didn't even think about it. I just acted. 

It was a complete accident.

I watch, helpless as she coughs up water, and rasps for breath. I can't do anything to help her, and when she gets up and walks back to the place where we were sitting and wraps herself tight in my green towel, a miserable feeling takes hold of me.

So, I go to my car. So I can be miserable by myself. I turn on the car and A/C when I get in so I don't roast. A song comes on, but I don't even bother turning it down. I rest my head on the steering wheel and pound my fists into the dashboard of my car over and over and over again.

I am so stupid.

I could have killed her.

I hear the passenger door click open, and then close. A hand reaches over and flicks the radio off.  A towel finds it's way to my shoulders, the soft cloth resting in between me and the seat. Fingers wrap around one of my fists.

That's when I look over.

She's sitting next to me, cold fingers wrapped around my fist. She smiles, just a little, and I feel like crawling into a hole and dying. I know this makes me sound like a girl, but I could have actually killed her.

That scares me.

I pull my hand away from hers, and a look of pain flits across Dani's face briefly. But she hides it quickly and purses her lips.

"Your next heat is in about five minutes," She says, and I pull the towel closer to my body.

We sit in silence for the next two minutes. She's looking out the windshield at the pool, and I'm looking at her.

"I'm really sorry, Dani. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She turns to look at me, and know automatically that she isn't angry. There's something in her eyes that tells me she knows I didn't mean to.

Dani nods, "I know. It's okay."

 A ringing sound erupts from her hand, and she clicks open her phone. She purses her lips, and I can't tell if the text was a good or bad one.

She types out a response with one finger and sets it down on the console between us. I'm tempted to turn it on and read it, but that would be really not cool in a normal situation. In this situation that might be the final straw.

"You have to swim," She says softly.

She opens the door and grabs her phone before running back up to the pool to take pictures. I'm right behind her.