Butterfly

4. The Dinner

"Good day?"

I nod, opening the fridge, pulling out an apple. "Decent."

"Made any friends?"

I turn to see Sandra now sitting at the kitchen table, her chin on her hands, smiling expectantly. I hesitate, then lean against the counter stiffly.

"A couple. Not people I want to be close with."

"Well, I'm sure once you settle in more, you'll find more people." Sandra smiles at me and I nod. We just stay there for a minute, neither one of us sure what to say, then Sandra stands. "I'm going to try and get some more boxes unpacked."

"All right."

She smiles at me, then walks into the living room. I walk to the door, heading out, up the stairs to the roof again. I slow near the door, opening it quietly, poking my head out to see if he's here.

Seeing no one, I let out a breath, opening the door fully and walking out into the breezy, warm day. I walk over to the empty pool slowly, just looking at the blankness, the empty hole, and I sit down on the edge, slipping down into it. It's an odd feeling, surrounded by concrete, and it's deeper then it looks, more than I am tall.

I sit down, cross legged, and I take a bite out of the apple, taking in the feeling of the emptiness, the eeriness of what used to be a place I would have sunken into, swimming laps, rolling and shooting through the water, weightless.

Now, though, a weight fills my stomach at the thought, and I let out a slow breath, pulling up my knees to lean my arms on them, the beating of my heart louder than normal in the enclosed space. I take in a deep breath, closing my eyes, trying to block out my thoughts.

The peace of the quiet night broken by the smashing, the shattering of glass. The splash, unheard, swallowed into the blackness of the night, the darkness of the water closing in slowly, the struggle fruitless.

I shudder, resting my forehead on my arms, letting out a breath. My phone buzzes, a long continuous sound, and I open my eyes, shifting to pick it up from where I set it next to me. Sandra. I swipe to answer, pressing the phone to my ear.

"Where are you? Jimin's here, for dinner."

I let out a breath at her voice, and I can hear her tone change, worried. "You okay? Where are you?"

"I'm coming. Sorry."

I hang up, walking over to the ladder, climbing up, out of the darkness of the empty pool. I brush the dirt off my skirt, tossing my half-eaten apple into an old, rusty trash can, and head down the stairs, dreading having to see him.

I unlock the door, stepping inside cautiously, and I can hear my sister laugh from the kitchen, a light sound I haven't heard since it happened.

I close the door behind me and Sandra appears in the hall, her face bright. "There you are. You're filthy, what were you doing?"

"Just...hanging out."

"Where, the basement?"

Jimin appears in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe, raising an eyebrow as he surveys me. I shoot him a glare and he just smirks slightly, straightening up to run a hand through his hair.

"Wow, you should wash that shirt before that dirt stains it. Make sure to set a timer or something, though, so it's dry for school tomorrow."

I shoot him a nasty look. "Well, I've noticed people in this building can be real assholes when it comes to simply hitting the 'on' button of a dryer."

Sandra wrinkles her brow, confused, but doesn't say anything about our apparent fascination with laundry. "Y/n, go throw on some other clothes, the food will be ready in a minute."

I nod, walking to my room, ignoring Jimin's eyes on me. I change quickly, not wanting to leave him alone with my sister for too long, and I head back into the kitchen, where Sandra's setting plates on the table. She glances up at me. "Would you get out glasses?"

I nod, walking over to the box they're in, pulling three out and setting them on the table. We sit down and Sandra hands Jimin the rice, smiling at him.

"Go ahead and serve yourself, don't be shy."

"Thanks, Sandra." He smiles at her and I glare at him, annoyed at how sweet he's being.

"Dinner looks good."

Sandra flashes me a surprised smile. "Thanks. So, Jimin, how long have you lived here?"

"About two years."

"Oh wow. And you've lived alone since then?"

I glance up, realizing that I never have seen anyone else go into or out of his apartment, not heard him say anything about his family. He catches me looking at him and quirks an eyebrow slightly. I look away.

"Yeah, I've lived alone for a while now. Long story, you don't want me getting into it."

Sandra smiles. "Well, if you ever need anything, we're right here."

I'm silent as they chatter about the building and the best coffee shops around, eating slowly.

"So, you go to the same school as Y/n, right?"

I glance up at my name. "Yeah, he does." Jimin nods agreement, taking a drink of water.

"I keep telling Y/n, she should join clubs or something, didn't that make it easier for you to make friends when you moved here?"

"Yeah, I joined the swim team and the dance team, so that made most of my friends easily."

I almost spit out my water, choking slightly, and neither of them even glance at me. I stare at Jimin, realizing now why he's so muscular. Damn it, I should have known.

Sandra pounces on the opportunity. "Swim team? You swim?"

Jimin nods, taking a sip of water. "I've been training for a couple years now, mostly freestyle and backstroke. I really like it."

"Y/n's a swimmer too."

I glare at her and Jimin catches it, a slight smirk pulling at his lips. "Is she really?"

"Yeah, last year she placed second in FINA worldwide for women's 100 meter butterfly."

I stiffen.

Jimin raises an eyebrow, looking impressed in spite of himself. "She even qualified at sixteen? And was it the juniors FINA or?"

Sandra shakes her head, smiling. "No, the real event. Fifty-eight point oh-three seconds."

"That's incredible." Jimin turns to me. "Why haven't you - "

I stand abruptly, my chair falling backward with a crash. "I don't swim anymore."

Sandra's eyes widen slightly and she presses a hand to her mouth, realizing she did it again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I know I shouldn't be this angry, shouldn't be taking it out on her, but I can't help it. "You told the school administration, you told the fucking neighbor boy, who's next? I've told you. I'm. Done. Swimming."

She's silent, and I wheel on Jimin. "And I swear to God, you tell anyone, I mean anyone that you know I used to swim, I will rip you limb from limb."

I don't wait for any response, turning and hurrying for my room, slamming the door behind me, locking it.

As if that can keep my thoughts out too.