Page 188 of As the Rain Falls
I was really late on all my assignments, and with the Christmas holidays right around the corner, the only solution left was to actually work.
“He told me, very vaguely, that Maria and Caleb are definitely trying to get back together.”
I bite my tongue, wincing with the pain.
“Like officially back together,” she adds, to clear out any confusion.
“Can I be honest?” I ask, lowering my voice to a whisper.
Kayla shakes her head, leaning closer. She tightens her grip around my finger. “Of course, Cassie. Always.”
I stare at her for a second, shame coiling in my stomach.
“I sort of had a feeling already,” I admit, and my cheeks are blushing. “I’ve been meaning to break up with him for the longest time now.”
Her gaze softens, looking at me like I’m the best person she knows. Without missing a beat, Kayla replies. “Can I say something else?”
“You knew that I knew,” I sigh with relief.
Kayla gives me a cheeky smile. “I did. You’ve been so sad the past few days.”
Thank God for Kayla Saint-Louis.
I bury my face in her bedsheets, and my next words come out muffled. “I don’t know what to do!”
“You just have to break up with him. One and done.” Kayla says like it’s the obvious thing to do. “You’re not about to win this fight, boo-boo. They have, like, crazy history together.”
“Bitch, I said that!” I gasp, flabbergasted. “I said the same thing before we got together, and you still encouraged me!”
“And now I’m encouraging you to dump his ass!” She hugs me, kissing the top of my head because she knows I find it condescending when she does it. “Oh, Cassie. Maria is going to chew you up and spit you out if she ever finds out. Remember how she beat that girl up for hitting on Caleb back in second grade?”
I freeze all over, feeling suddenly mortified. “Let’s not even talk about it. I swear to God, I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
“Rightfully so. She can’t hit your nose.” Kayla pinches my nose bridge, like she did when we were kids. I pout while looking at her. “It’s very tiny and cute, and your most perfect feature.”
“Besides my hair,” I remind her.
“Besides your hair,” Kayla agrees, letting me go. She looks at me for another minute or so, considering saying something. Her face does that thing between a frown and a grimace, and I know she’s holding back.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Alice sent me a text this morning.”
I frown. “What did she say?”
“She hinted at…” Kayla shakes her head, fixing up her dress. “You know what? Why am I even listening to her? It was something stupid about a dance, but who even cares? Want some popcorn?”
“You know I love popcorn.” I give her a tiny smile. “But if you want to talk about Alice, we can do that too.”
She never told me what happened or explained why she tried to protect Alice instead of Angelina during the fight. And I’d still like to hear about it sometime, even though I still don’t want her to get in too deep to the point of getting hurt.
Kayla glances at her hands, chipping her nail polish off. Her brown cheeks heat up, and it’s nothing like the peachy tone of her summer shade of blush. She’s totally shy, which is so unlike her.
Oh.
Maybe this is the time. Maybe I can be a good friend to her now and make up for all the tiny moments I’ve failed at it lately.
I can do that, right?
