Miss Independent (COMPLETE) **SAMPLE**

Chapter 3

Picture of Elijah above^

"Well Luna, your head wound has healed fabulously on the drive back over. No need for stitches but I will help clean the blood off" our pack doctor, Juliet, told me. She reached behind her and grabbed a white cloth and dipped it in a bowl of warm water before bringing it to my head. "I'm assuming your visit with your father was a pleasant one" she said sarcastically.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, "Just peachy" I replied. Juliet frowned and continued to clean the dried blood off my scalp, side of my face and my neck until she was satisfied. "You're good to go darling" she told me, patting my back gently.

"Thank you Juliet" I told her and I slipped off the bed and stood to my feet; I grabbed my camo jacket that was laid beside me and started to take my leave.

"By the way, happy birthday and that necklace never looked more beautiful than it does on you" she called to me as she washed her hands in the nearby sink. I touched the gem and smiled at her, she was there for all three of our births with my mom. It must be nice to see something of her that isn't a handmade painting of her on the wall.

"Thank you" I replied and walked out of the infirmary. I slipped my jacket back on me and made my way to the kitchen to get a snack. I can hear the sound of someone humming before I can see them but without giving it any thought, I simply walked into the kitchen and went straight to the snack cabinet.

"H-h-happy birthday Luna"

I turned my head curiously at the person who spoke to me and soon recognized the face of the girl who passed out this morning. She appeared to have showered and is dressed in leggings and an oversized sweater. Her light brown hair was pulled into a ponytail and she stared at me nervously with big, brown eyes. What was her name again?

I pointed to her and sent her a kind smile, "Olivia right?" I asked, praying I got it right. She smiled and nodded, "Yes Luna" she replied and took a sip of what smells like hot chocolate from her mug.

"Well thank you Olivia. How are you feeling?" I asked her, as I returned my focus to the snacks.

"Tired but okay. I want to thank you for what you did this morning after I embarrassingly passed out on your floor. I never thought that the ones I called friends would leave me like that" she said, her voice was hushed. She is obviously ashamed of what happened and hurt from being betrayed like that by people she thought she could trust. I'm glad to know that her 'friend' told her the truth like I asked.

I found the last bag of Doritos and happily opened them. "No need to thank me Olivia. But I do have one question: how did you end up being their friend in the first place?" I asked, putting a chip in my mouth. From my observations, Olivia has always been the quieter one in the group except when they all go out and make her drink. She's either reading, day dreaming, or simply listening to the others. She sticks out like a sore thumb.

"Well, I've always had a hard time making friends. I prefer to watch movies or binge a show than go out every weekend but my parents always wanted me to live a little and go out and party once in a while. I guess they were worried about me turning into a hermit and dying a virgin" she laughed and took another sip of her hot chocolate. "My parents are friends with Sarah's parents so naturally they meddled and got Sarah to start including me in her friend group. Sarah, Cole, Peter, and Roger are not bad people. They're loud, outgoing and adventurous but never bad. However, I never really felt like they actually liked me. We never had anything in common and I'm sure they just respected the fact that Sarah was forced to hang out with me so they did their best to not be mean to me. When Sarah told me what happened, I decided to tell her that she doesn't have to pretend to be my friend anymore. If I was home reading or on Netflix, I wouldn't have risked myself in that way and clearly none of them cared enough. So no hard feelings with us but I freed them from having to include me in everything" she finished her explanation with a meek smile.