13 REASONS WHY// Glorybringer [Completed]

Extra Chapters 4

"Tsunami," Glory had said once, in her room. Sunny was sleeping, filling the room with calm, soft snores.

Glory seemed different in that moment. Different, unlike her usual sarcastic, nothing-ever-bothers-me attitude. She remembered being surprised.

"We'll always be friends, right?"

Barely a whisper. But the pain in Glory's voice woke something in her, like a burst of determination to protect her friend from anything, from everything.

It made her think of her mother, who always said she loved her but didn't care about her. Who barely even give her a glance. All Coral cared for was things she could control: books, stories, and herself.

It made her think of her quiet, rich life, the expectations, the desire to break free. To be herself.

"Always," she whispered back. And that moment, she swore she would always keep them together. No matter what it took. It would always be the five little kids against the world.

Glory smiled in the dark.

~

The night she heard the news, she went swimming.

They had a pool in their house, but Tsunami almost never swam there. It was decorated with all sorts of things— certainly a waste— but she preferred the swimming pool downtown.

It felt safe, although it was quite the opposite. It felt like home, through it was far from it.

Perhaps it felt safe because nobody was watching her. Judging her.

Swimming helped her clear her tortured mind. She belonged in the water. The water knew her, and she knew it. The water offered protection.

The water was always there for her, even when nobody else was. Not her mother, not her siblings.

She swam an effortless lap. Were her legs actually moving across the water? She couldn't even feel anything. Everything was numb.

Glory is dead.

What was she going to do without her best friend? The one with the cocky smirk, the sarcastic remarks? The one that had been in her life ever since she could remember? The one she had argued with almost everyday, the one she promised to protect?

She felt lifeless.

Glory is gone.

She didn't know what to do. So she swam.

Many people came and went, but she paid them no attention. For the first time in her life, she ignored their whispers as she swam without stopping. How could she?

She just swam until her legs felt numb. But she didn't stop.

You couldn't even protect your friend. You couldn't keep your promise. You couldn't protect any of them.

She stopped at the end of the pool, gasping for air. Her entire body was shaking uncontrollably. From the cold, from bitternness, from misery.

Yet she belonged in the water.

You couldn't protect anyone.

She swam again.

I was supposed to make sure everyone stayed together...Everyone stayed safe...

She swam and swam and swam until tears were streaming down her face. She was like a helpless fish in a bowl, nowhere to go except forward and backward, swimming for infinity, finding no end.

The calm water suddenly seemed like a pit of fire, rolling against her, slowing her down. Her shoulders shook, tipping her balance.

She felt her chest heaving, and every breath was painful. The water was trapping her, just like her mother, just like her life. Gulping her and sending her to its depths. She struggled against the pain, but it sucked her in.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't beat the water. She couldn't beat the agony that was erupting within her. The water was too deep, and she was so weak.

Even then, she swam.

~