The Misfit

Late night swims and cookie baking

After dinner I drove home but when I got there I was welcomed with an empty house. I looked around for everyone and even called a few of their names. Where is everyone?

I was torn from my thoughts by a ping on my phone. I got a text from Margo saying sorry they forgot to tell me, but they were going to the Minnie golf course and getting ice cream. I sighed and texted back that it's ok and to have fun.

I wanted to chuck my phone across the living room after reading that text.

Is it that easy to forget me?

I went into the living room and slumped back into the middle of the couch. It was weird I don't normally sit in here because it's the busiest part of the house, it's always loud and always causes my anxiety to worsen. It is weird sitting here and not hearing the slight chatter in the background or the banging of pots in the kitchen. Although it does cause me anxiety, I still enjoy seeing it from a distance.

With no one being here I decided that this was the perfect time to go for a night swim. I quickly grabbed the first bathing suit I found and put it on.

I went outside to the pool and jumped in. Ever since I was little, I loved swimming it was one of my favorite things to do. But I never liked swimming with my sisters because I found myself becoming jealous of the way they looked. After a while I just stopped all together. Every now and then I will go for an early morning or late-night swim to avoid others.

When I'm underwater I find it peaceful almost like I am in a different world. The water is soothing, it envelopes my body in silence, and allows me to escape the never-ending thoughts that swirl around my head.

When I'm swimming all my anxieties leave, and I enjoy the moment. I dove under the water and welcomed the sting of the chlorine in my eyes and let my hair float wildly around me. I felt weightless, I felt normal and not burdened with my weight.

When I resurfaced, I slicked back my hair that was coiling up into its natural curls, soon enough they would fall over my eyes and become a wild nest on the top of my head.

I swam for a little over an hour and when my fingers started to prune, I decided it was time to head in. The towel supplied me a little warmth from the cool night breeze. I could feel the goosebumps forming on my arms and legs, and a small shiver ran down my spine.

Slowly I made my way into the house while I was drying my hair with the towel. I closed the sliding door and locked it. When I looked down at my hand, I was fascinated by the little wrinkles caused by the water. They were weird and made me look old, but on my thumb the wrinkles almost looked like a little smiley face which made me giggle.

Then out of nowhere I heard a throat being cleared which caused me to jump back, I thought I was alone. When I looked up to find my brother and his friends around the kitchen island staring at me.

I instantly dropped the towel out of shock and quickly bent over to grab it. When I finally got it wrapped around me, I looked up with a deep blush on my cheeks. I realized I probably gave them all a perfect view of my ass. I'm mortified, the earth needs to swallow me whole right now. Warren couldn't take his eyes off me, which made the situation worse ten times. It was as if his eyes were piercing my sole and it was making me squirm.

When he caught my eyes staring back at him, I saw the slightest curve to the corners of his lips. He had an emotion I couldn't decipher, but as soon as I saw it was gone.

They kept staring at me and I felt self-conscious and tugged the towel closer to my chest. My brother noticed them all staring at me and cleared his throat.

"Now you decide to swim when I'm not here, that's so not fair". Alex said in a playful voice. I know what he was doing, he was trying to get the attention off me, which I was grateful for.