Page 257 of As the Rain Falls
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Me: Hi… text me if you need anything.
Ireally hope you’re okay.
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Me: I miss you.
Her bicycle is stationed in the middle of the sidewalk, a poor thing forgotten, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I text her about it more than twice. She doesn’t respond.
And here’s the thing: I’m a bad texter by nature. I never text first, not even with my closest friends. But if I had a penny for every time I reached out to Cassandra and got nothing back, I’d be turning into a freaking millionaire any day now.
The worst part?
I can’t let it go.
It follows me while I feed the chicken and pull out the bad weeds. It nags at me while Well tries to drag me into pettyconversations. It even interrupts my afternoon nap after lunch. So, by Saturday evening, when she still hasn’t answered, I go to the only three people who might know what’s going on.
“I haven’t heard from her either.” Angelina admits, sending Mateo a guilty kind of look. “We shouldn’t have let her walk home alone.”
Mateo winces. “I couldn’t force her into your mom’s car.”
Their words make something in me jolt in warning, anxiety starting to gather in the pit of my stomach.
“Something feels really off about her,” Antony mumbles, his gaze distant. “I’ve always said so.”
“I thought you just hated her father.” I point out, remembering how we’ve talked about this once or twice before.
“And I do.” He shrugs. “But I’m just saying, if I missed class as much as she does, I’d have been kicked out of Sainte Madeleine already. But because she’s the principal’s daughter…”
Suddenly, I’m sick of this. Sick of the push-and-pull.I don’t care about Cassandra’s parents or about her brother. I care about her. I want to know howshefeels, ifshe’ssafe.
“Whatever stupid thing you’re about to say, Antony, keep it to yourself.” I grimace, waving at Silvio for another round of tacos. “I’m really worried about her.”
“Relax, bro. I wasn’t going to say anything bad.” Antony grips my shoulder, his gaze softening a little. “Gabriel, back me up on this.”
“Stop calling me that.” Mateo flicks the ash from his cigarette before using it to point at Antony. “And I’m with Beckett on that one. I’m cool with Cassie.”
Antony sighs. “So, you think this is totally normal?”
“I’m not saying that.” Mateo clears his throat, blowing the smoke the other way so it won’t get in Angelina’s face. She lets her head fall against his shoulders, and he presses a kiss to thetop of her head before adding. “Give the girl a break, dude. She’s having a hard time.”
“Fuck you, get your facts straight. I’m notagainsther. Not totally.” Antony taps a finger against the fresh cut on his cheek. His lip is busted too, slightly puffy. “I think this proves it.”
I give the three of them a long look.
“Say what you want to her face, or don’t say it at all. I’m not here to talk trash about her.” I take a sharp breath. “Clear?”
Mateo and Angelina exchange a long look, like this is an interaction they’ll definitely be revisiting later for a debrief. I groan, starting to feel hopeless.
“Alright.” Antony raises his hands, acting defeated. “If you say so.”
Angelina sighs, her fingers drumming against the table. “They’re calling her all sorts of names. I swear to God, Beckett. It’s bad.”
I shrink, biting into the food.
It tastes like nothing.
