I took a sip of my drink and slowly swallowed it. I glanced at my phone, seeing we'd only been here for an hour. We wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
“You must be Nina,” A voice spoke up next to me, and I turned. A man stood next to me wearing a nice suit. He was handsome with light blond hair that was cut close. He had that attractive pull to him, and I couldn't help but squirm under his gaze.
“I'm Zanth,” he extended his hand. “Frank's wife, right?”
I nodded, shaking his hand. His hand was soft, and he pulled the chair out, sitting next to me. “You really are beautiful.”
I blushed, unsure of what to say about that. Had Frank commented about that? I looked around the room, trying to spot if anyone was watching us, but no one was even looking at us.
“Thanks,” I offered, shifting in my seat.
He flashed me a smile. “I haven't seen you on the dance floor yet. Do you want to dance?”
“I'm really not a dancer.” I offered him a tight smile. “I'll just step on you.”
“That's okay. I got steel toes,” he offered me another charming smile, and my inside melted a little bit. He extended his hand once more, and I stared at it. I looked for Jillian, but she was standing by the cake, her back to me. I looked at Frank, who was nowhere to be found.
What was so bad about one dance? It might be fun, and he was willing, which was more than what I could say about Frank right now.
“Sure,” I said finally, taking his hand. He pulled me up, and we headed towards the dancing area.
“How have you been enjoying our town?” Zanth asked as he twirled me. I stared for a moment, unsure of how I should answer that. He was clearly nice, but I didn't want to be entirely honest. I didn't want word to get back to Frank and then start a fight.
“I've been adjusting.” I offered another tight smile. I felt like I said that daily.
“Well, that's good. Moving away from places you care about to somewhere you don't know anyone is always hard. It can be a big adjustment.”
I nodded. “That is true. It was hard, but I'm managing.”
I pulled myself closer, and his eyes sparkled. “Frank can be hard sometimes, but once you get to know him, he's pretty relaxed.”
I didn't think I would ever see that side of him. Yet several people have told me that. He was that way.
“Give it time,” he said, swirling us again.
I couldn't help but feel a little relaxed. I didn't really know this guy, but his kind words were true. Maybe I just needed to give it a moment.
As we moved, I spotted Jillian standing near the tables. She looked at me, worried, and couldn't figure out why. And as he twirled me out, his hand left mine, and I lost my balance.
I stumbled backward, unable to catch myself, and I hit a table. I heard the sound of silverware and ceramic hitting the ground, shattering. I felt wetness cover me, and I looked behind me, realizing I had taken out the punch bowl as well as all the dishes next to it. Punch went down my legs, and I turned, trying to stop it, but the punch didn't stop. It covered my entire outfit, and I felt tears well up.
I turned back as people started to laugh, Zanth smiling proudly at himself in front of me. I quickly realized that it had been his plan all along. He hadn't wanted to dance with me to be nice. He'd done it to make a fool out of me, and I'd played right into it. He'd given me a few compliments, and that was all it took for me to agree.
“Why did you do that?” I whispered, trying hard to find my voice, but it came out broken. I felt my fingers shaking as I tried to pull myself together.
Zanth snorted. “Look at yourself? Do you really think you belong here? Do you really think any of us will accept you into this pack? Get a clue.” Zanth took a few steps towards me, his shadow masked over me, and I felt so small. “You're not one of us, and you never will be.”
I felt tears form, and I tried so hard to push them away. I couldn't let him see me cry, even if I felt it was the only answer.
“You're a terrible person.”
“And you're a fat pig that needs to know her place.” Zanth turned, walking away, and I bit hard onto my cheek. Jillian was rushing over to me instantly. “Oh my god, are you okay? Jesus, you're soaking wet.”
I could hardly look at her as I looked down at my dress. It clung to me tightly, soaking down my legs into my shoes. I felt sticky as I took a step to the side. I tried to take slow breaths to calm myself, but it didn't help. I felt my anxiety starting to grow.
“Here, let's get you cleaned up.” Jillian reached for my arm, but I yanked it back. I bit hard onto my cheek, looking around again, still seeing that all the eyes were on me. Jillian had been nothing but nice to me, but how could I trust her? How did I know she wasn't part of this? That she wasn't helping?
“Nina?” Jillian looked at me, confused. “Here, let me help you.”
