That Monday morning Casey immediately headed to Paul's office. Paul, for his part, had grown accustomed to Casey barging in unannounced, even though their scheduled meeting time was on Thursdays.
Paul smiled at Casey as she sat down in the seat across from his desk. On closer inspection he soon realized she looked exhausted.
"Casey, are you all right?"
She stared at him through bleary, blood-shot eyes. "I'm fine. Ju…just tired," she said, yawning.
"Does this have anything to do with Derek?"
"What? No! Why would you say that? Max and I are very happy," she said, suddenly in a blind panic.
"Relax, Casey. I only brought up Derek because when you're upset these things tend to relate back to him."
Casey moaned. "Have I honestly become that predictable? If I'm constantly talking about him no wonder the rest of the school…Oh, no. No," she said, once again in a panic. As she began hyperventilating she grabbed Paul's lunch sack and dumped the contents of his lunch onto his desk. As she breathed deeply into the bag she waved at him and headed off to class.
Paul stared after her in bewilderment, wondering if he'd see her again before the day was over. At least she'd come to some sort of realization. That was something.
That afternoon Sam met Derek at his locker before their last class.
"All right. Who is she?" he asked, grinning.
"What?" Derek asked, so startled by his friend's question that he dropped a textbook on his foot.
"You know, the girl that's got you smiling to yourself when you think no one's looking."
"Oh, uh, I don't…I mean…" Derek stammered. This was so not good. Normally Derek was a smooth talker, but lately he wouldn't have recognized himself. And it was infuriating. He cleared his throat. "It's no big deal, dude. I mean, sure she's cute, but it's not like she's my girlfriend or anything." No, it's worse. She's your step-sister. He struggled not to moan outloud.
"That's cool. So is D-Rock still playing at your house this weekend?" Sam asked. Derek sighed happily. A safe topic. Nothing that made him feel like he was riding on a roller coaster, trying his best to keep his lunch from coming back up.
"You know it. Friday night our house is gonna be party central. Even with the rest of the fam there," Derek replied, grinning, trying his best not to cringe at the thought of his family hanging around his friends getting all buddy-buddy. Well, with the exception of Casey of course. No, that was just going to be awkward.
As predicted, Casey stepped into Paul's office later that afternoon. Paul looked up with a smile as she entered the room.
"So, how you holding up?" he asked. Casey sighed heavily as she sunk into the chair across from Paul's desk.
"I've been thinking."
"About?" Paul prodded gently.
"Derek."
Paul nodded. He'd been wondering when she'd bring her step-brother's name up in conversation again. "All right. What about him?"
"When he's not tormenting me, he…he can be a really great guy. Even when he is bothering me he always manages to be there for me. I was so wrong about him," Casey admitted softly.
"So this is a new development?"
Casey nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Well, it's good to hear the two of you are able to support each other. Seems you're maturing in your relationship with Derek."
"Yeah, I really think I am. I better get to class, Paul. Thanks."
"Okay. See you Thursday."
As Casey shut the Guidance Counselor's office door behind her, she struggled to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. It was official. Her life was far more complicated than it had been a mere month ago. She'd fallen in love with Derek. And she wasn't sure how to right her world without having it come crashing down around her. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Derek watching her head to class, concern more than evident in his features.
tbc...
