Spiralling Out of the Shadow (The Spiralling Trilogy) by Michelle Dennis Evans

lanes were filled with seasoned swimmers lapping each other.
    I dropped my towel onto an empty chair and dipped my toes into the water . The chill sent goose bumps up my thunder thighs. Wasn’t this pool meant to be heated? Freezing my butt off with a shiver, I walked towards the ladder to elegantly lower myself into the water as I glanced across the pool ... Danny? Blinking, I glanced in his direction again. He lifted his hand to give me a slight wave.
    My toes caught the drainage grid, jarring my body to a halt. I reached for the railing, grabbed it with one hand, but slipped. Stupid shiny thing hadn’t helped me in any way. I face planted. My stomach slapped across the lane ropes. Willing myself to die, I pretended I hadn’t seen him and faced the other direction.
    It would’ ve been pointless to climb out straight away. Everyone in the entire swimming complex had fixed their eyes on me. I ducked underwater for a minute.
    When I came up for a breath, Danny stood right in front of me, dripping. He still looked ridiculously like Mr Biceps, only slightly smaller. Perhaps he didn’t see me? I could live in denial.
    What , in the name of love, was I even thinking about Danny for? And why was I here? To burn off all of the agro-at-my-best-friend energy. I needed this swim so I could be the best friend I’d always been.
    With cheeks still burning I found a vacant lane and swam. Face down. Freestyle. Breathing every eighth stroke to keep my face in the water as long as possible. I punched every stroke. Angry at Steph. Angry at me. Angry at the world.
    After ten laps, every stroke became more like a paddle. A paddle downstream. A paddle to dry land. A paddle to kindness. To love my best friend. To get to know more people like Shelly and Priscilla. To make an effort to go back to youth group. Gosh I hadn’t been for over a month. My muscles soon tired and I took breaths every second stroke. I’d released the anger. A sense of peace and calm washed through me. I swam back to the ladder and climbed out.
    He was sitting right in front of me , holding my towel in his hands. Hands attached to the ends of those arms with those biceps. Danny.
    ‘ Hi,’ he said, glancing at me then back to the pool.
    ‘Thanks.’ I ripped my towel out of his hands and quickly wrapped it around my body to hide my thighs. I was thankful he’d kept his eyes focused on my face. ‘You waiting for something?’
    ‘ Yeah, just catching my breath after laps. I was about to head off.’ He stood. Our eyes locked on a level horizontal gaze.
    ‘ Oh.’ I pulled a little tighter on my security towel.
    ‘ Well, I guess I’ll see you around sometime.’
    ‘ I guess.’ I raised my eyebrows.
    That boy was so flipping weird. Sure , he had the looks of Mr Biceps, but he was seriously nerdish and just weird. I shuddered as we peeled off in opposite directions, him towards the door and me towards the change rooms.
    My left ankle had already ballooned again. Shades of purple streaked the sides but I refused to resort to crutches and hobbled my way around for the last few weeks of the school year. My perseverance was spent. Every spare moment I had my head down and ankle up.
    Janet was getting more messed up daily. That bothered me. I had a feeling she was sneaking drinks at night while her parents weren’t watching. She said her parents were fine and they’d sorted out their differences.
    Suzie retreated, becoming quieter by the day. That bothered me too. Her parents pulled her out of everything except school. I wracked my brain, searching for a way to help her, but came up with nothing every time.
    At least my end of year results were the best they’ d ever been. Thanks to a stuffed ankle.

CHAPTER 14
     
     
    On the first day of Christmas holidays, the sun streamed through my window, waking me up early to swim some laps, pack and eat breakfast before Peter had even shown his face.
The first night he’d slept in his bed for months. He told us it was so