The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

23. Something Only I Can Do

It was only once I was back in the safety of my room that I got very, very angry. It was the oddest anger that I had ever felt. A combination of betrayal, fury, and aching despair. The nauseating mix seethed within me, tearing and biting at my heart.

I stumbled across the room, clinging to my walls and furniture. My legs felt like jelly. 

They didn’t care about me.

I thrust my window open and clambered onto the sill. So what if my stitches were sore? So what if I wasn’t fully healed yet? So what if I wasn’t thinking straight, and was blinded by anger and hurt?

I wanted to fly.

Maybe I can do that better than Aaron… and Max… and Seth… and Cody.

Arms straining, I drew herself up onto the roof. That was one of the only benefits to living in the attic- easy access to the tippy-top of the house.

Standing on my roof, I was reminded of the old wooden swing-set-castle in our backyard. It had always seemed that the little wooden castle was the highest point in the world. Now I was on the roof of my house, and I felt the same. Could I ever go higher?

Hell yeah I could.

I stretched my wings out and moved them up and down experimentally. My back was still a little sore, but it wasn’t unbearable. 

I could do this.

I can do this. I thought. I’m Lia Davis. I can do anything. And then I began to run.

As I ran, I pumped my wings. I ignored the throbbing. I ignored the half-healed stitches. I ignored the tight, new muscles. I ran towards the edge, and on the last step I leapt into the air.

For a split second, I dropped towards the ground, and my stomach dropped as well. For that one little moment, I realized that maybe throwing myself off a roof because I thought that I might be able to fly was not a good idea.

But then air caught beneath my wings. I could feel it stream past every feather, and it lifted me over the treetops. I felt weightless, hovering in the sky. The moon was glowing, and the stars were shining, and how could anyone be angry when it was so beautiful outside?

I floated on the currents of air. I could shift each individual feather and the air would move around me differently. I stared down at the world below, and found that I didn’t fear heights anymore.

“I can fly,” I whispered, braid whipping behind me. “I can fly!” I screamed, and my voice was torn away from me by the fierce winds.

What are you doing?! Tony’s voice was sharp.

I’m flying! Oh my God! Tony I’m flying! I giggled, giddy, and closed my eyes. I could feel the air stream through my hair, and through my feathers. They pulled my sweatshirt and shorts away from me, and cool ari flowed underneath my clothes, a current of cool against my hot skin. The coolness washed over my stitches, soothing the burning. 

I felt free.

Maybe I couldn’t swim as fast or fight as well as some of my brothers could. Maybe I wasn’t a great actor, and hell yeah, my cooking was crap.

But I could fly! Could any of my brothers do that?

I didn’t think so.