Chapter Thirty-Eight

He loves me, he loves me not

The plane ride back was the longest two hours of my life. Caius remained silent the entire time, even when I tried to make conversation.

"So, do you like to read?"

"How about movies? Do you like to watch movies?"

"If a book series became popular, would you read the book or watch the movie first?"

I was met with silence for every question. Eventually, I just gave up and put my headphones in, blasting ACDC. Currently, I am unpacking my bags in my room, still blasting 90s rock music. A hear a small knock on my door. "Come in!" I scream over the music. Jane steps in with a sympathetic look on her face. "What happened?"

I break down and tell her everything. Even the kiss. Why is this affecting me so much? I don't like Caius! Oh my god, I like Caius. I like Caius! I look at Jane with wide eyes. "I like Caius."

"As in like Caius or like like Caius?"

"As in like like Caius."

Jane squeals and starts jumping up and down like a little girl. She starts dragging me towards the door with all of her strength. "Come on! We need to go tell him!"

"What?" I say stopping dead in my tracks. "We are not telling Caius!"

"Why not?" she asks obviously confused.

"Because he doesn't love me back!" I yell. Love? Did I just say love?

Jane stares into my eyes and says, "You love him. Oh girly, come here."

She opens up her arms and I sob. She rubs soothing circle in my back and mutters random supporting nonsense into my ears. She pulls away abruptly and exclaims, "Crap!"

"What?" I say suddenly worried.

"Aro sent me here to bring you to the throne room!" she says rushing me out of my room. We speed through the halls as fast as possible, completely disheveling our hair and clothes. We speed into the throne room, looking like a complete mess, and stop in front of Aro. He raises an eyebrow, but says nothing. It is only then that I realize how bad I look. My hair, though perfectly shiny and golden, is a complete mess. My black tank top is slipping down my shoulder and my makeup is ruined. I give the Volturi a "don't ask" look. Aro seems to get the message and begins to speak, "As you probably noticed, your friends are not here."

Oh, crap. I didn't notice that! I feel like a bad friend. I realize that Aro is still talking so I focus my attention back to him.

"They told me to read this note," he says pulling out a folded loose-leaf piece of paper. "'Dearest Cassandra, knowing you, you probably didn't notice our absence. Well, we had to leave before you got back from Paris because a tragic accident happened. Ally's dad got into a car accident and is now in the hospital in a coma. By no means do you have to come immediately, but Ally is a wreck. I hope you had an enjoyable time in Paris with you-know-who. And, no, I do not mean Voldemort. Your lovely friend, Jackie. P.S. Get some.'"

I snort with laughter when I hear Aro say "get some". I manage to calm down to ask, "Is that all?"

"No, it seems Jacqueline left some sort of symbol. It is a colon and then parentheses," he says holding up the piece of paper. I see the winky face and explain, "That is a winky face. It's a kind of smiley face that you can do when you are texting."

"Texting?" Aro asks very interested.

"Well, you first need to get a cell phone with a data plan. Then, you can give you friends your phone number. If they have a phone, you can talk to them from basically anywhere in the world."

"Demetri! Go buy some of these 'cell phones' for the entire guard!" Aro says. "Get the best phone you can!"

I begin to walk out of the throne room, but Aro has other ideas. "Miss Casey! I need your number so we can text!"

I reluctantly jot down my number and exit the throne room. I go back into my room to process all of the new information. I can't believe got into an accident and is now in a coma. I need to go visit him. No, you need to start severing your ties from mortals. Since you are now apart of the Volturi, you must focus on your coven. But can I really say goodbye to all of my friends? More confused than ever, I freshen up and go wander the hallways. I hear Aro's voice echo down the hall. Not wanting to have to explain any texting techniques, I fly up to one of the rafters and hide. To my surprise, Aro is not alone. Marcus and Caius walk beside him. Marcus looks up and spots me hiding. He gives me a look, but does not say anything.

"Brother," Aro says to Caius. "Marcus has seen the bonds I have read your thoughts. Your feelings for the girl are quite obvious."

"I do not love her!" Caius shouts. He calms down and a look of worry crosses over his face. "I do love her, don't I?"

"Don't ask me, brother," Marcus says. "I can't tell you how you feel."

"What do I do?" Caius groans.

"It's simple. Tell Casey that you love her," Aro says. Did he just say my name? They have to be talking about a different Casey.

"I can't! I don't know what girls like her like! She is stubborn and sarcastic, but also compassionate and funny. How did you guys do it?" Caius asks his brothers desperately.

Marcus is the first to respond. A distant expression is on his face as he says, "I took Didyme on a walk through the gardens. We talked normally for a while before I eventually just stated 'I love you'. Didyme said she loved me too, and just like that, we were in love."

"I wrote Sulpicia a poem. She was still mortal when I met her. I can remember the poem so clearly. It went like this: The shine of her mahogany hair/ the playful spark in her blue eyes/ when I talk I know she cares/ I want to give her everything money can buy/ she makes me smile/ she makes me cry/ I can't wait to walk down the aisle/ I can't wait to call Sulpicia mine."

"That poem sucks," Caius states. "Mine and cry don't rhyme."

"It is a great poem!" Aro says defensively. "The point is it worked."

"But I can't write Casey a poem! She isn't that kind of girl!" Caius says.

"You must find the courage to tell her how you truly feel," Marcus says.

"But what is she doesn't love me back," Caius whispers.

"That is a risk you must be willing to take," Aro says. They go into a nearby room, bickering about how "great" Aro's poem was. I fly back down to the ground and rush into my room.

Well, at least I know that Caius loves me back. Obviously, he will not be confessing his feelings anytime soon. I guess I will be the first the say something. As always. But how should I do it? I got it!

So, I am currently on vacation so I won't be able to type much. But, I hope y'all really like it! I'm going to do a little shoutout. If you are an awesome reader, you should go follow my Instagram account! It is just_some_fandom_girls! Well, I got my second piercing! Yeah, it only took 6 months to convince my mom, but it's okay! So, have a nice day! Feel free to contact me by PM!