Yes, No, Maybe So: A Cimorelli Fanfic

Chapter 14

Lisa’s POV:

I brought Dani into our room. I knew exactly what had happened. My little sister pulled against my reach but I persistently sat her down on my bed.

“Okay, Dani,” I started. How would I say this?

“I know you cut yourself,” I blurted.

“Wow, you’re so smart,” Dani said sarcastically. “Katherine just had to point out the razor. I was trying to keep it a secret. I just…I never…”

Suddenly she broke down in tears. I had never seen her this upset. I honestly didn’t know what to do.

Dani finally looked up at me, wiping her eyes with her sweatshirt sleeve. “I’m sorry for that,” she said, her voice barely audible.

It broke my heart to see my baby sister this way. “Dan,” I said softly.

“Please don’t call me that,” she said quickly.

“Why?” I asked.

Her eyes welled up with tears again and she quickly looked away.

“Look, Dani, I have a feeling you have a lot to get off your chest. Whenever I feel that way, I just vent to someone. I let it all out,” I told her.

Dani didn’t answer. Instead, she just looked at me, her usually bright, cheerful green eyes dull with sadness.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Go ahead.”

Dani took a deep breath. “When I found out we were going to public school, I was really excited. But I never imagined how hard it was going to be. I got to school the first day and everyone looked at me all weird, like I didn’t belong here. I made one friend, Lilly, and she introduced me to her friends. But they all shared secrets and memories and inside jokes, and I didn’t feel like I belonged with them, you know?”

I nodded, listening intently.

“So then I heard some popular girls named Brittany, Gabby, and Ariana talking about me. I heard the words ‘new girl’, ‘Dani’, ‘ugly’, and ‘fat’. I knew they were talking about me. I told Lauren and she said they were just being brats. That was the day Amy had her accident, so I kind of forgot about it, shook it off.

“The next morning, the three of them talked to me before gym, which we all had together. They complimented me, and gave me their numbers so we could text. They told me to go to Mrs. Green’s class for study hall, because she let you text. At that moment, I felt so happy. I thought I had finally made more friends.”

Dani paused and blew her nose. I wrapped my arm around her. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “Keep going, it’ll feel better.”

Dani nodded, and continued, “So after gym, I showered in the locker room, and I go to my gym locker and my clothes aren’t there. The cute outfit I picked out that morning was stolen.”

That made me want to cry.

“So I put on my gym clothes and wore those for the rest of the day. Everyone stayed away from me, because obviously I smelled like the gym. It was horrible.”

“What about going to Mrs. Green’s class?” I asked. “What happened then?”

“Brittany and her friends saved me a seat. So I sat down, study hall started, and I take out my phone to text them, because she said it was okay. Then Mrs. Green came over and told me texting was against the rules. I heard Brittany laughing behind me. That’s when I realized…I was being bullied,” said Dani.

“So that’s why you were in your gym clothes that day when we went to see Amy,” I said. “And why you were so quiet.”

Dani nodded. “At the hospital, I got a text from Brittany, since I gave her my number. Here’s what it said,” Dani handed me her phone, biting her lip.