The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

56. Honestly The Name Thing Was Just Dumb Luck

“This isn’t what you want to do,” I said softly. “You can get help. You can talk to people. They’ll help you.”

“Who did you lose?” He asked, looking over at me sadly. It struck me, that he was no longer crying for himself, but for the both of us. Both unloved, both unlucky. Both dealt a crap hand at life. But I was stronger than he was. “What happened to make you so wise so young?”

I opened my mouth to answer, and the words failed me.

“My… little sister,” finally, I spoke, editing my answer. “Juliana. She got kidnapped. When she came back… she was different. A shadow of who she used to be. Hardly ever spoke, barely ate. Always skittish and afraid. They… they changed her.”

“Juliana and Julie? Your parents were cruel.” Steven laughed bitterly.

“Julie isn’t my real name,” I smiled.

“What is your real name?” He asked.

“How about we go inside and I’ll tell you?” I stretched out my hand, and it hung between us. A promise. A lifeline.

“Deal,” Steven said, and reached out for me.

And then he slipped.

I saw his eyes widen, and his mouth open in a cry. I saw the regret, the shame, and most of all, the fear. And once again, I didn’t think.

I threw myself after him, and wrapped my arms around his waist. Now I could really hear the screaming. They thought that we had jumped. They were waiting beneath us. Waiting for blood.

There would be no dying today.

Steven was screaming and thrashing in my arms, crying and sobbing, and we kept getting closer and closer to the ground. By some miracle, the scarf stayed over my nose.

I extended my wings and caught the air.

Holding both myself and Steven aloft hurt. I think the wings they sewed into me were proportioned so that they could carry my body weight. Steven was much heavier than I was, so it put a strain on my muscles.

I wasn’t about to let him die.

So I grit my teeth and flapped harder, trying to catch an updraft.

“Stop thrashing!” I commanded. It took the man a second before he realized that we were no longer plummeting toward our deaths. Then he looked up at me and my wings with huge eyes.

“Are you an angel?” He whispered. I shook my head, grunting at the stretching muscles of my back.

“I’m just me.”

“And who’s that?” He asked. “You never did tell me your name.”

I set Steven down on the pavement slowly, never touching down myself. There were too many people around. Too many onlookers who were frozen with cameras out.

Horrible humans, I shook my head. A man was about to jump off of a building, and they take pictures instead of trying to help.

“My name,” I murmured. “Is Lia.”

And then I shot upwards, never looking back to see his awestruck face.