"You went to the Kappa Tau house the night of the Greek ball?" Casey was astounded by this revelation.
True, at the beginning she'd trusted Frannie, opened up to her even, probably more so than she'd done to anyone else on campus. She'd trusted her, relied on her; even before Cappie and Ash were introduced into her life, she'd allowed her mentor to see more of her, the real Casey, than any one else had even glimpsed. Frannie held the key to some of her deepest and darkest revelations. Her steadfast support always guaranteeing Casey counsel in times of need. When she was trying to decide whether she was ready to finally sleep with Cappie; it had been Frannie who advocated waiting until she was completely sure, to be confident that she wouldn't regret it. When she had thought for that one harrowing week as a freshman that she might be pregnant it had been in Frannie whom she confided. Frannie who consoled her. But the last year had coloured her expectations of her 'Big Sis' and all her previous actions. The dogged trust and reliance she once held, had vanished, replaced by a wariness, a need to keep her barriers well and truly in place around this all too familiar individual.
"You were my little sis what was I supposed to do"
It was impossible to deny that Frannie had changed, morphed back into the girl that Casey had once known: the informal clothes, the laid-back atmosphere, her unwavering support, all pointed to that obvious conclusion. But for some reason Casey just couldn't shake the feeling that it was all an act. That she'd open her eyes and the old Frannie would be gone again, substituted by the cold callous ZBZ President of the past semester. That the girl sitting in front of her, the girl she'd once held so much faith in, would evaporate all over again. And the truth was she wouldn't be able to handle that. Not again. Casey desperately needed someone to rely on, someone to confide in, to simply talk to. Not that Ash wasn't great, because she was but sometimes Casey just felt like she could use a little perspective on her troubles. The type her older, and for the most part, wiser sister could give her the type she used to depend on. Because at this moment in time her life was an indisputable mess and dear god how she would appreciate some guidance.
"But...you never said, no-one ever told me" Frannie avoided her eyes, resorting to simply a shrug of the shoulders and a nonchalant "why would they?"
Her cavalier attitude revealing more that words ever could. Casey, all most at once, felt her eyes water. As memories of the last year saturated her thoughts, recollections of times passed forced her eyes to spill tears; reminiscing times past, memories shared, all of which had led her to this time, this place.