“We’ll get him back, Case. I know we will. He won’t let you go that easily. He’ll come back to us and if he doesn’t, we’ll get him to,” Preston sounded so determined that if I wasn’t there myself, I wouldn’t believe that he was the douche who implied I was just another toy his brother would discard after he gets bored of me.My hands rubbed my face, wishing I could just rub all the worry and anxiety out of my system.I knew I should be grateful instead of hating the situation. At least I would still get to see him. Even though he wouldn’t remember who I was, I would still remember who he was and that was supposed to be enough.To even imagine him waking up and look at me as if I was a complete stranger was enough to cause the ache in my heart to reach its peak. I didn’t want to lose him, not after what we’ve gone through.Through the hospital window, lighting flashed and a th

I straightened out the blue graduation dress and fixed the slightly out of place cap. Looking around for any familiar faces, I fidgeted with the rope that dangled off my graduation hat, trying to shake the nerves out of my system. ‘Bravo, Case. You’re able to street fight like you’re cycling but you can’t even walk with your back straight and a confident look on your face in these heels,’ my conscience chided me. I sighed, my brain’s right, this is stupid. Get a grip, Case. It was like ever since I left that hospital, everything in my life fell apart and everything that I’ve planned perfectly was shredded. I was no longer the same Cassandra. After everything that has happened, from being the small little girl who was lost in this world to that girl who fought through life, I have been reduced to simply being that girl who’s trying to survive. My mind decided to wander off to the previous night w

I woke up to the light buzz in my pocket and a sore neck. I reached around under me to find my phone and finally got a grip on it, answering the call without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?” My voice was groggy and raspy from sleep. I squinted through my drowsy lids and saw the sun just about to rise in the horizon. I didn’t dare straighten my legs, knowing that they’ll feel stiff from being folded all night long. ‘If my back is in this much pain, God have mercy on my legs,’ I thought silently with a wince while trying to stretch a little. “It’s me. I just wanted to tell you that we finally managed to calm the idiot, knowing you’re probably worried about him,” I heard Preston say into the line and I immediately perk up at that. “Is there a park nearby where we can meet up? I think it’s going to be better to not talk about this over the phone,” I replied and I coul

“Next time, I’m driving.” “There will be no next time,” I growled out in annoyance. It wasn’t my fault Jake was pushing my buttons. He did, after all pop out of nowhere. Not to mention that he stupidly decided to bring Monic along. “Come on, Case. You can’t be mad at him, I bribed him to come with me and you can’t blame me for being worried. The last time we saw each other was during Carla’s funeral. Then there was that incident and you completely pushed everyone away. Is it wrong for me to want to spend some quality time with my cousin?” Monic ranted and I sighed, resting my hands limply on the wheel. “That’s not the problem, Mo. This could barely passes as quality time we are in a street-fighting competition, an illegal one, might I add.” She and I both knew that this is far from being a normal quality time between cousins. God knows how freaked out I was wh

I veered around the big crowd, annoyed at all the elbowing and shoving. I grimaced in pain as another elbow dug itself against my bruised side. Damn uncivilized baboons. Two can play that game. I sucked in a sharp breath and dove into the pool of nauseating body odor. I kept my head down and elbowed my way, shoved whoever shoved me even harder. Annoyed Casey is not a very nice acquaintance. When I finally managed to eject myself from the rest of the crowd, I stopped walking for a while and took my time in catching some needed breath. The humid air surrounded me, sticking to every part of my exposed limbs, The smell in the air was contaminated with the smoke from car engines and the lit cigar of a near bystander who was leaning on a pole, talking on the phone while smoking on the cigarette he held between his fingers. The sound of an oncoming train filled the station and people hollered for each other in the midst of the crowd. They hustled th