Page 322 of As the Rain Falls
“Tell Caleb I’ll pay him tonight.”
“Full price this time,” her voice is stern.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring the money.” Noel doesn’t spare me a glance as he turns and walks away.
Maria, however, keeps her gaze locked on me. I drop my head and walk away from the scene, speeding my steps. Whatever this is, it’s none of my business.
I’m reaching for the bathroom door when I hear footsteps behind me. I turn, noticing her pause a few steps back. My voice is flat as I inhale sharply. “What do you want?”
“Ugh!” She makes a frustrated sound. “I wasn’t doing anything!”
I scoff, “It sure looked like something.”
Maria exhales, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Well, it wasn’t. I’m not a cheater.” Her expression shifts, and for once, I see genuine sadness. “Caleb broke up with me again after the parade. We’re just friends now.”
My fingers tighten around the door handle. I don’t know what to answer, finding it difficult to show sympathy towards her when she had none for me before. But then—
“You’re with Evans, aren’t you?”
I pause.
Look back.
Our eyes meet.
I inhale deeply before nodding, slow and careful.
“I am.”
She hums, tilting her head to the side. “I saw you two near the gas station. You looked real cozy.”
Maria takes a step forward, slow and deliberate.
I don’t cower or flinch, not this time around.
“Glad you could enjoy the show.” I snicker, but in reality, it unsettles me.
My moments shared with Beckett are all so intimate, and I don’t like to think about the rest of the world perceiving us.
“I’d watch my back if I were you,” Maria warns and smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She looks tired, exhausted even. “Wouldn’t want anyone setting their sights on a boy like him.”
I blink slowly, trying to make sense of her.
“You’ve already won, Maria,” my voice is as steady as it can be. “My reputation is ruined, I’m barely scraping by as is, and Caleb ran right back to you the second I broke up with him. What else do you need?”
“I want you gone,” she sneers. “But Caleb is obsessed with you.”
I frown, watching her place her hands on her hips as she stares at me.
“Cassandra listens to this song, Cassandra loves this show, Cassandra wears this dress!”
A laugh, honest and bitter, bubbles before I can stop it.This time I let it out.My throat tightens with nerves.How dare he?
“Are you being for real?”
Maria’s mask cracks.
