Page 152 of As the Rain Falls
Cassandra stumbles back two steps. I reach for her, but she stops me with a single look. “I’m sorry. I have to… I have to go.”
“You have to go?” I echo, confusion gripping me. “What’s going on? Who were you just talking about?”
She hesitates, then exhales shakily, “My brother, Beckett.”
“Your brother?” I echo as my stomach drops, a feeling of nausea overcoming me. “Did your brother order the jewelry box as a gift for your birthday?”
It all seems so obvious after I say it out loud.
“Yeah. Just please, let me deal with it, okay?” she pleads. “I won’t let him get away with doing this to you, but don’t come after me, or else he’ll just see us together and freak out.”
Cassandra squeezes her eyes shut, pain flickering across her face, and for some reason it makes me want to bolt. She turns around abruptly, opens the door, and disappears into the crowded room.But I won’t let this go so quietly. Not without confronting the one person who clearly has it out for me tonight.
Nathaniel Rivera somehow found my sister’s drawings. Something that was personal to her.
Did he come into her room?
Why would he do that?
I don’t know. All I’m certain of is that he wanted Cassandra to have them, too.
A piece of Lucia as a gift.
A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Cassandra
NOVEMBER, 2016
I find Nathaniel inthe parking lot, talking to Kayla. They’re arguing about something and she’s throwing her hands up in the air, but her entire face softens with relief as she sees me walking towards her.
“Oh, there you are. Your asshole of a brother was looking everywhere for—”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
Beckett’s voice explodes behind me, louder than I’ve ever heard him speak to anyone before. I wince, spinning around, trying to hold him back. Of course, he followed me. Of course, he couldn’t let it go. Let me handle it. Why would he?
He throws the sketches in Nathaniel’s face, unflinching, gauging for his reaction. My brother barely glances at the drawings before sighing.
My heart drops. Something terrible must be showing in my expression, because Nathaniel grins after a beat, entertained now, and the look on his face makes me want to gag.He tilts his head to the side, eyes flickering back to me.
“What? You think Cassandra won’t like it or something?” Beckett takes a step forward, right as Nathaniel deadpans. “I thought the drawings were quite fitting for a girl.”
“Nathaniel!” I gasp, dread creeping up my spine. “Are you kidding me?”
“This guy is demented!” Beckett’s eyes burn into mine, pleading with me to let him go. His hands close around my wrists, trying to pry me off him. “How did you get her drawings? Who gave them to you?”
Nathaniel smirks lazily, grabbing my arm. It’s the wrong move to make, because Beckett immediately pushes him, forcing him to stumble back. His voice cuts through the thick air, sharp like a blade.
“Don’t touch her!”
My brother chuckles in response, drunk and out of his mind. Of course, he thinks this is funny. He doesn’t take this seriously at all. But Beckett does. I do.If Nathaniel thinks we’re all finding this funny, he’s in for a rude awakening. Beckett clearly doesn’t like him. Not his arrogance or his games. How he made me walk under a storm one time instead of just driving me to school.
What did he call him back then? A useless fucker.
Lucia isn’t a joke. She isn’t some prank material. And Nathaniel is way older than I am—he should know better than to stir shit up like this.
“Come on, man. You’re too uptight,” my brother’s voice drags, echoing loudly through the parking lot. “It’s just a drawing. Why don’t you relax? Go back to the party. Grab a beer for me, will you?”
