Page 317 of As the Rain Falls
The truth is, I worry about the thoughts she keeps from me.
They’re the most dangerous ones.
“Let’s go?” I ask, and she lets out another shaky smile.
“Yes.” A pause. A breath. “Let’s do this.”
***
The group sits in tense silence, the only sound coming from Cassandra’s unsteady breath. Deleting the pictures is taking more time than expected—not because Caleb refuses to cooperate, but because Cassandra struggles to look at them.
Her fingers hover over the screen, swiping back and forth through the images like she can’t even recognize herself in them. Her face is tight with the effort of holding it together.
Angelina, who’s seated beside her, watches with quiet concern. She absentmindedly slides an ice pack to Caleb, barely paying attention to him.
“For your face, asshole.”
He shakes his head. “It’s cool. I’m all good.”
“No, you listen to her.” I insist, playing with my rings. “Ice it.”
Caleb straightens up, taking the ice pack and placing it over the swollen bump.
“Take your time, Cassie,” Angelina speaks up, but her voice is gentle as she addresses my girlfriend. “My mom won’t care about us being here as long as we clean up the kitchen.”
Antony sits stiffly across from me, his gaze locked on the wall. His thumb taps anxiously against the table, a nervous habit of his. Our eyes meet, and I mouth.
What’s wrong?
He just shakes his head.
Nothing.
“It’s done,” Cassandra finally announces a few minutes later, setting the phone down like it burns her. “Are you sure this is really everything?”
Caleb exhales sharply, “I’m not out to get you, okay? It wasn’t just a joke, Rivera. If I said this is everything, then it is.”
“Watch your mouth when you’re talking to her.” I snap, cracking my knuckles. My girlfriend shakes her head slightly—a silent request for me to stop. I immediately go quiet again.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Then, she rises unsteadily, sparing me one last hopeless glance before disappearing behind the door, shutting it softly.
Kayla and Mateo are whispering to each other in the kitchen, too far away for any of us to hear them. Angelinaglances at them, then Caleb, her expression shifting between disappointment and anger.
She knows.
Whatever is wrong with Mateo…
Sheknows.
“Alright,” Antony exhales harshly, his voice cutting through the tension. I notice the way his fingers are now curling into the edge of the table, and his gaze slides from the bathroom door right back to Caleb. “All this because you couldn’t keep it in your pants.”
“Tony.” I shake my head, staring as his knuckles whiten. “Let it go.”
He shakes his head, staring at the bathroom door again. There’s something in his eyes—regret, maybe?
It throws me off a little, but Antony has always been like this, quick to change his mind about people, volatile and impulsive.
