The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

27. The Gift Of A Seat At The Table

The next morning, I was rudely awakened by the sound of laughter. 

For a long moment I just lay on my stomach, staring straight ahead, wondering if the whole science trip had just been a dream. A nightmare, really.

But then I shifted to the side, and my ears were drawn to the ruffle of feathers right behind me.

Not a dream. 

Getting up was hard. My arms hurt. My legs hurt. My abs hurt. But most of all, my wings were sore. Two strands of pain lacing from my back towards the floor.

Getting dressed was a chore, one that I wished that I didn’t have to do. But imagine my father’s face if I walked down to the kitchen in a sports bra and booty shorts. He would disinherit me. He would kick me to the curb.

Davis’ were dignified.

So I threw on a pair of ratty,  huge sweatpants and a black tank top. An old sweatshirt covered my wings.

The only thing that really bugged me was that with my shoulders as sore as they were, I could not reach back to french braid my hair. So it hung, feeling awkward on my shoulders.

And then I went down to the kitchen.

My brothers were always very loud at the table. They would throw food or yell, and my parents would just sit there, looking amused. Lucy would squeal, wanting attention, and they would all bow before the little princess, catering to her every whim.

Don’t get me wrong, I dote on Lucy, too. But I don’t worship her, and I don’t resent her for getting more attention than me.

At least not much.

Today, when I walked into the kitchen to get my breakfast (an apple and some juice) they went dead silent in the next room. Sighing, I turned to look.

What’s wrong now? I really didn’t want to have to deal with being teased today. I was too tired.

The first thing that I noticed was that there was an empty chair in the dining room, right between Seth and Cody, the twins.

Then I noticed that my brothers, all of them, looked guilty, and my mother and father looked annoyed.

Sorry for burdening you with my presence.

But Lucy beamed at me, and pointed at the empty chair.

“We got you a chair!” 

And then I was close to crying once again.

So maybe they had forgotten that I existed, but at least now I got a chair. I could sit at the table with them like a real human being who wasn’t always being shunted to the next room.

“Thank you,” but they couldn’t know that I was angry.

I squeezed in between my youngest brothers. Almost immediately, Seth had his arm over my shoulders and Cody was shaking me playfully. My heart melted.

Is this really what I had been missing out on all those years? 

Aaron was trying to talk to my father, but had to ignore Lucy, who was tugging on his shirt, and Max, who was throwing balled-up paper napkins at him. Seth and Cody had started singing, each with their arm over my shoulder, rocking from side to side.

And I was laughing. For the first time in years, I was laughing at my brothers, and not in a mean, sarcastic way.

It hurt.

It hurt me to know that they were only noticing me now because they felt guilty. They may not have known that I was kidnapped, but they had noticed my absence, and felt responsible. Now they were trying to repay me, and as soon as they were done they would ignore me again.

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout?” Seth asked around a mouthful of pancake and sausage.

“Just… nothing important,” I shrugged and tried to shake off my gloominess. Even if they did leave me, I should enjoy their attention while it lasted.

“Lia?” I looked over at Cody curiously. His brows were furrowed, and he looked more serious than I had ever seen him before. “Can we talk?”

I nodded and stood. My brothers followed me out the sliding glass door onto the backyard, and from there we walked to the old swing-set.

My castle, I thought, looking at it affectionately. That was once the highest place I could reach. The tallest tower. Now I can kiss the stars and the moon goodnight. I can swim in clouds. Now I’m free.

I was free.