Page 133 of As the Rain Falls

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“It’s really okay for you to struggle, Cass.”

Cassandra blinks, looking down at me. Everybody struggles with something. Just because my grades were mostly good, it doesn’t mean I never had to work to get some of them. Noteverythingcomes easily.

“I know, I know. It’s not that big of a deal, I mean.” She shakes her head, sounding lost in thought. “But back then, it was. You won’t remember it because you were a third year student, but my first year at Sainte Madeleine was such a hard time for me.”

I remember her vaguely.Cassandra doesn’t know that, but I do.

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Her hair was a few inches shorter, a little more unruly. Lucia always talked about wanting to give her some kind of makeover because, in her words, she couldn’t go another year watching someone apply blush in all the wrong spots.

She was a cute kid, I mean. Quiet, reserved, and a little more nervous than she is now. Two years can do a lot—it can completely change a person.

“They weren’t very nice, were they?” I ask, thinking about how I was never on the receiving end of any form of bullying. People mostly left me alone, and I only really cared about Antony, Angelina, and Lucia. Eventually, graduation came, and I left.

“No, they weren’t.” She glances down, her fingers trailing over the sides of my face. I don’t think she even realizes she’s doing it. I hadn’t noticed either, at least not at first.

“I’m sorry, Cass.” I smile sadly. “I wish I could’ve helped you.”

Cassandra shrugs. “It’s okay. I don’t care about it anymore.”

Yes, she does.

I can tell she cares a lot, even.

“I won’t tell you what was written because I know none of it was true anyway.” A beat later, she adds, “And I know she didn’t think it was either. Lucia was a brave girl, wasn’t she?”

Lucia.

My baby sister.

I swallow hard, nodding quickly before averting my gaze. “She wasn’t much of a people pleaser.”

Cassandra laughs then, quietly but openly, as if the mere thought of my sister displaying any signs of weakness sounds like a joke to her.I find myself staring as a warm feeling starts to bloom in my chest.

I almost ask about the jewelry box. The question is right there, hovering at the tip of my tongue, threatening to come out. Something stops me, though. And when I open my mouth, nothing comes out.It’s not until hours later that I finally understand why. I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to risk ruining the moment. Because if the truth is going to hurt us eventually, I’d rather not know it at all.

TEXT CHAINS BETWEEN FRIENDS: PART NINE

NOVEMBER, 2016