Eleanor
The hot water cascaded over , scalding yet soothing as it washed away the chlorine and the lingering chill from the pool. I let out a slow, asured breath, pressing my palms against the cool tiles for support.
After finally convincing Jake that I was okay, the first thing I needed was a hot, steaming shower.
My muscles still ached from the tension and my body was still trembling slightly from the shock of nearly drowning.
I tilted my head back, letting the water stream through my hair, past my shoulders and down my spine. The warmth seeped into my skin, lting away the frustration, the humiliation, and the pure, unfiltered rage that still simred beneath the surface.
That fucking brat.
The mory of her smug smirk burned in my mind, but I forced myself to exhale and just let it go.
None of this was supposed to happen, we were supposed to et at the cafeteria when Sofia, Jake and I were having lunch. And that was where all of it was supposed to happen.
Naomi was supposed to trick one of the staff into putting shellfish into my pasta sauce just to spike , knowing fully well I was allergic to it. And then I'd start reacting to it and end up going to the nurse.
Then I'd die a few hours later after being rushed to the hospital.
I don't even recall reading any pool scene in the book.
Suddenly, a thought ran through my head.
Unless....
A gasp escaped my lips as I absent-mindedly reached for the shower handle, turning it off with my widened eyes.
My palm rested on the tile wall as my mind began to race.
If I think back now, Theadora never stood up to Naomi, and she also never outshined her in a volleyball practice ga. Did my actions cause the story to change paths?
Because that would make a whole lot of sense. Naomi only spiked Thea's food in the novel just to taunt her. Now she was doing this as payback.
"God." I sighed as I wiped my face with a dry towel. "Now what am I supposed to do?"
If just a little act like that can make such a huge change in the story then how do I know if saying what I'm not supposed to say or not being where I'm supposed to be won't cause another huge change.
"Ugh!" I groaned out, even if it didn't help ease my frustration.
I quickly changed into my normal clothes before heading to class, the thousands of thoughts still lingering in the back of my mind.
What was Naomi going to do to now?
~~~~~~~~~~
A sudden sneeze ripped through , making my whole body jolt as I barely managed to keep my phone steady in my hands.
"Bless you," Sofia said from the other side of the screen, raising an amused eyebrow.
"Thanks," I muttered, sniffling. Turns out, falling into the pool did get to and now I had to stay ho and get well as soon as I could. "I wonder if Naomi has a cold too." My voice ca off muffled due to my blocked nose.
"Nah..." Sofia said, sounding sowhat disappointed. "...saw her in school today and she didn't look like she was going to catch a cold anyti soon." She continued as I blew my hair out of my face.
Sofia rolled her eyes. "You should've gone ho after that. Seriously, I don't even know why you ca back to class and sat through the rest of the day like nothing happened."
"Because nothing actually happened. Naomi just happened to push into a pool and I did the sa and after that I had a hot shower that I thought fixed everything but apparently it didn't." I sniffled.
"Mhmm." Sofia said, giving her knowing look.
"Besides, I didn't want to give Naomi the satisfaction of seeing back down." I said, leaning back against my bed.
"She already got what she wanted by throwing into the pool. No fucking way was I letting her win twice."
Before Sofia could probably comnt on my cursing habit, my bedroom door swung open grabbing my attention, and Brianna waltzed in like she owned the place.
"Heyy..." she waved before moving to the corner of the room, where all my purses and handbags were being hung.
She then grabbed one of the tiny pink purses and clutched it to her side before glancing at the mirror. I was starting to see why Theadora didn't let her touch her things.
"Does this match my outfit?" she asked, holding the purse up for to see.
I blinked, taking in her ripped jeans and pastel pink sweater.
My pink sweater.
I was about telling her she looked just fine when I switched it up. "Depends. Are you going to a family dinner or are you going to be the one doing all the dishes?"
Brianna gasped dramatically. "Ew, Thea! I decided to give you a chance to comnt on my outfit today but it's clear you still have no fashion sense."
"Mmm." I humd in reply as my phone vibrated with Sofia's laughter. She wasn't seeing Brianna but she definitely had ears.
She finally spoke after she had been listening silently. "Do you always have to tease her so much?" My eyes flicked down to Sofia and from her background and the little noises that ca from her end, I could tell she was at the supermarket.
"Duh, she's my little sister."
"I thought I was the one who always teased you." Brianna sneered, bringing my attention back to her. She then tossed her dark curls over her shoulder pretending I didn't see the embarrassed flush on her skin when she realized I was on a call with Sofia.
"I'll just ask Mum. She actually has taste." She said, purposely trying to spite .
It was that ti of the month again when we went for family dinners, but since I wasn't feeling too well, they all insisted I stay back and sit this one out.
"Go ahead," I called after her as she stomped out of my room. "But when she says exactly what I just did, don't say I didn't warn you."
Brianna let out a small groan before slamming the door shut behind her, and Sofia and I burst out laughing.
"If only she knows how her face turns beet red when she's angry..." I said between my chuckles which was then interrupted by a small sneeze.
Oh God.
"Oh sorry boo. You know I would have loved to keep you company but my mum wanted to help her with so shopping and other stuff today imdiately after school."
"I know." I said before blowing my nose.
"If it helps I sent Jake." She said casually and my eyes popped open as her words reached my ears.
"You did what?!" I didn't want to raise my voice for so reason so I just hushed shout.
"Honey! We're leaving." I heard mum yell from the living room.
Yeah...maybe that was why.
"We'll be back soon." Dad's voice followed.
"Don't miss us too much." Brianna's squeaky voice ca after and Sofia and I remained frozen as they all spoke.
"Ok, bye." I raised my voice to the loudest point possible. I doubted if they heard but they left anyway.
Giving Sofia and I the privacy we needed.
"You sent Jake?"
"Is that a bad thing?" She asked picking two boxes of detergent from a shelf.
"Wha...but why didn't you tell ?" I said, wriggling on the bed so I laid on my back. I was tired of sitting. "I an it's my house."
"I didn't think it was necessary?" She said, lifting a brow before picking a bottle of wood polish from the shelf and throwing it in the roll cart, where her phone rested perfectly.
"Well it is." I said before letting out a small grumble.
"I honestly don't get why you're so worked up." She said, picking her phone up from the roll cart with a small shrug. "I an this is Jake we're talking about, not so stranger." She chuckled.
"The sa Jake you've been eyeing for like forever." She said with an eye roll. "You should even be happy I told him to co keep you company. Now you guys can be alone, together and talk things out." She pouted, wiggling her fingers at before placing the phone back in the cart.
"I an don't you guys want to be together?"
But that was the thing.
We were already together and now after avoiding being alone in the sa room with him...
"We're friends, Sof. And I'd love to keep it that way." I tried to convince her. I was sure the real Thea and Jake had already unknowingly made their known to Sofia.
Even if they didn't, she obviously found out herself because of how observant she was. The only thing was, she wasn't aware we were already together.
"Oh stop lying to yourself, Dori." She waved off my comnt with a grin. "You know you want him...anyways I forgot to tell you. Guess who I bumped into while I was checking up on my mum's store the other day..." her voice dropped to a small whisper as she leaned closer to the screen.
"What?" My brain glitched, not being able to catch up as she switched topics so quickly.
"Liam." She said suddenly. "You know the guy back at school."
"Huh? You saw Liam at your mum's store?" I arched a brow.
Then it hit . I recalled reading the sa thing in the novel. This was the first ti that Sofia and Liam were supposed to et outside school. Sofia would recognize him but he'd only think she looked a bit familiar and then after that they'll keep bumping into each other at school and with that Liam would finally notice her.
"Weird right?" She picked up her phone, bringing it closer to her face as she stood by a shelf. "I always thought that he was one of these rude, quiet guys who were naturally intelligent and a problem to their parents at ho but after he stopped at our store the other day to get so groceries...I've just been thinking. Maybe he's not as bad as you say he is."
A small smile ford on my lips. Even though my part of the story might have been falling apart, I was glad Sofia's part was going well.
"Mhmm." I narrowed my eyes at her. "What if his mum forced him, that's definitely not enough reason to change your perspective." I teased, knowing fully well I was lying.
"But it didn't look like his mum forced him. You know..."
"Relax Sof. You're starting to sound like you have a crush on him or sothing." I wiggled my brows playfully.
"I do not." She glared at from the other side of the screen.
"We'll see." I giggled but it was cut short when a knock on my door pierced through the silence, startling . My family had already left so it couldn't be them. A pair of brown eyes and brown hair flashed in my head but I shook the image off.
"What's that?" Sofia asked when she realized I wasn't paying attention to her again and just when I was about to ask who it was, a voice ca from the other side.
"Thea...can I co in?"
Panic surged through , glueing to my bed.
Oh no.
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