The Cheerleaders Daughter

Epilogue

Hey guys here's the epilogue to this story. Hope you all like it! Comment and vote to let me know your thoughts. :)) 

Epilogue

Zalee's POV

I was sitting out on the roof where Lissa always used to sit...usually when she would sketch or need to get away from everyone. I now understood why she liked it up here so much; it’s so calming and so easy to lose yourself.

But she’s gone now.

                           

She and Trey could be halfway around the world at this point.

I had told her to go, packed her stuff and driven her there but now I feel so lonely.

Who am I going to hang out with for the rest of summer? I had grown really close to Lissa and now I’m not really sure what I should do.

I could hang out with Lianne and Zoey, but they’ve been inseparable lately and if they weren’t together Lianne was with Alex and Zoey was hidden away somewhere, reading. Ian had Ellie. I could hang out with Jace? Although lord knows how moody he’ll be now that Lissa left him here. Maybe I could cheer him up? Make him feel better?

I had always found him so interesting, although he had never paid much attention to me. None of the boys liked to hang out with the girls when we used to come here with our parents.

I usually just spent the summers with Lianne and Zoey, but this summer changed everything so far. I became closer to Lissa while distancing myself from the others.

Now that Lissa is gone, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

“Zalee!” I heard Ian shout. “Dinners ready!”

I sighed and rested my chin on my knees. I think Ian knew that Lissa had left with Trey and that she wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

I hadn’t told everyone not to say anything to any of the parents yet. I planned on doing that tomorrow.

I heard Ian call for me again so I carefully crawled back inside through Lissa’s room.

Once I got downstairs I sat down and watched while everyone else ate.

“Are you gonna eat anything?” Jace asked after a few moments of silence.

“Hm?” I said not fully hearing him because I had been thinking about where Lissa and Trey were in that moment. He raised an eyebrow and pointed at my plate. “Oh...I’m not hungry.”

Ian had made pasta and garlic bread, I honestly didn’t feel like eating all those carbs. I was trying really hard to watch my figure.

Maybe I could go on a run after everyone else was done eating. That might help get my mind off things.

“Zalee!” Someone said breaking me from my thoughts yet again.

“What?”

“Are you sure you’re not going to eat anything? There’s plenty left,” Zoey said hesitantly as if I would snap at her.

“No, I’m fine. I just don’t feel like eating,” I said before getting up and leaving the room.

I had just passed the doorway when I heard Ian mutter, “She never feels like eating.”

I walked upstairs to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.

Everyone insists that I’m pretty. I think my face is pretty but I feel a sort of responsibility to keep it that way. To make sure I stayed pretty.

I was always the pretty one. Lissa was the adventuress and reckless one, Zoey was the smart one, and Lianne was the sweet one.

Although honestly I thought they were all pretty.

It just so happened that people thought I was prettier.

I hated it.

I hated that people always commented on my face instead of my actions or my personality.

My family called me their ‘pretty girl’ and my friends had given me the nickname ‘gorgeous’. It made me feel that if I wasn’t pretty I wouldn’t be anything. I wouldn’t be important. What am I, if I’m not pretty?

I turned to the side and grimaced. My stomach still isn’t flat. I ran my hands down my sides. How can I feel my ribs but still not have a nice stomach?

People would comment on my body and say things like ‘God you’re so skinny’ or ‘Zalee your ribs and collar and hip bones stick out, you should eat more’. Why should I eat more if my stomach still doesn’t look nice?

I pulled my shirt up to the edge of my bra. My bones did stick out but I don’t like how I look.

The door opened and I heard a deep voice say “Woa, sorry.” I yanked my shirt back down as Jace looked away. “I didn’t realize you were changing, next time I’ll knock.”

“Oh I wasn’t changing,” I said automatically before cursing myself. I just should’ve gone with what he said.  

He scrunched his eyebrows at me. “Then what were you doing?”

“Just...I don’t know looking at myself in the mirror.”

“Is that why you didn’t eat? Do you think you’re overweight?”

“I know I’m not overweight...I just don’t like how I look,” I said looking at the floor so I didn’t have to meet his eyes.

“Will you come downstairs with me?”

“Why?” I asked while squinting at him.

“We’re going to go eat something.”

“You just ate,” I pointed out.

“I don’t mind.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I don’t care. You can eat a piece of bread or something...just as long as you eat something.” He started walking out the door.

“Why do you always try and fix people?”

He stopped to look back at me. “Because I care about them.”

He walked out and I looked after him. “I care about you too,” I whispered before following him out the door.