CHAPTER 7
The drive was quiet except for my thumping heart. I was pretty sure that Mac could hear it even without his vampire powers.
I was still surprised with myself by telling Patrick that I loved him. I knew that it was wrong to say it and not mean it. But I know had more pressing matters at hand. I was never brought to the Volturi unless it was important, on any day other than Saturday and today was Friday. My dream from that night shot through my head. Was that going to happen now??
I knew that my mind was close to it's full capacity with unanswered questions, and that didn't make it any better. We pulled around the side of the giant castle that wasn't quite as intimidating as it had once seemed. Now that I had already seen just about all of the horrible things that would and could happen in here.
I got out, all of my nerves bubbling over into utter calm, it was a strange sensation.
I wondered why Patrick and William hadn't been able to find a way in. they must have been stupid to not see these giant doors. But maybe they could somehow disappear. We walked in and didn't even bother with talking to Gianna; we just walked straight down the hall to our normal room. A beat of relief passed through me as we passed the room from my dream.
We opened the doors to our normal room.
My eyes locked on one pair of green ones and I saw them brighten (in the literal sense). I felt Mac move away from my side and I knew that I was alone where I stood. But I was too fixated on the family that stood in front of me. My eyes strayed reluctantly from the blonde god to the small girl. Her size didn't represent any of her attitudes. She was strong in her ideas, with vibrant red hair, and skin the color of a cloud, Jill.
I saw the other boy crack a small smile.
His extremely dark brown shaggy hair slightly mussed his body the type you would imagine for a star quarter back on a high school foot ball team. Triston.
Elyse stood next to them all, her face holding no expression. She pivoted to look at me. Her eyes a more dull green than the others but still in the same astonishing beauty. Her hair was long and in that texture of waves that there were countless products in the market that still wouldn't make my hair that pretty.
Through their physical exterior though there were so many more stories. They weren't the perfect family that they presented themselves as. All of them had suffered hardship of their own.
But the self-centered being that was me couldn't help but marching up to the blonde god, yelling at him.
"What the hell are you doing here?!?" I shouted at him "you're ruining everything, don't you think that I got away from you for a reason!" I stood still waiting for his response, but it wasn't he who spoke.
"Cassandra, Cassandra, calm down. We sent for them to come here. It is not in your place to yell at them for something that is not their fault." I turned to Aro, a murderous glare in my eyes. I wanted to scream to yell at him. But though I may be ignorant at time I wasn't stupid.
"Why?" I said quietly.
"Why did we bring them here?" Aro said like it was an obvious answer. "Well you talked about them with such emotion, and then we found that Rory could use his power on you. We had to have him here."
I stared with utter amazement at the cruelty of the actions that had been done. They were inflicting horrible emotional pain on me because they were curious?
"I have to leave." I said. Though I had no way of leaving or if I did leave to go anywhere. "I can't stay here."
"Cassandra, we understand that you seem to have created some type of aversion to this family, but please work it out. It will make it easier to you, because they will be spending as much time here as you will." Aro said.
"Perhaps leaving them alone for a moment." Marcus said. I saw out of the corner of my eye my father's face move into horror. Whether it was at the thought that I might rip them apart with my anger or vice versa, I couldn't tell. Though both were somewhat possible.
"Perhaps." Aro said rising from his chair he walked and everyone in the room aside from the haven's and I left. I glared malevolently at the chair that Aro had been sitting in.
"Cassie," Jill began. If any one I would probably listen to her. "Just breathe, calm down. I' sorry we're here and that it upsets you."
"Maybe you are, but my life had just gotten in order here. And now it's back to crumbling." I turned and connected my words with a face.
"Look, we'll try to stay out of your way and not interfere, "she was cut off.
"What!" Rory said outraged. His voice was heart wrenchingly perfect. The type that is in movies but has been modified one hundred times over to be so divine. "You can't say that!"
My look moved over the shocked faces of his family to his.
"Why, you seemed to be able to leave me alone before." I said not yelling trying to stay calm.
"What are you talking about!" he shouted again. He started to advance towards me. I saw Triston reach half heartedly to his arm but Rory shook him away. He was close now. The height difference was intimidating but I looked up so our eyes locked.
He was so close, so real. I was tempted to reach up and twist a lock of his hair around my finger.
"You came and then you left. About a month ago, at night." I said softly. I wanted to drop my head away from his intense stare.
"You left me! You left me and told me to stay away. I just came to check on you that night to make sure you hadn't been killed when you got here!" I cringed at the volume of his voice.
"You don't…care about me anymore. You just didn't want me to be killed and it be your fault, is that right?" I said, my voice threatening to break.
"Of course I care, I didn't check because I didn't want it to be my fault. I didn't want you to be killed because I didn't want you dead."
"Then why did you leave if you cared, why didn't you stay here?"
"Cassie! I don't understand you. You broke up with me. Avoided me all summer, and then left for Italy ! Now you're upset that I didn't come here earlier, but you're still mad at me for being here in the first place!" he said. That was exactly it, no matter how ludicrous it sounded. That was it.
I knew that it made no sense that I was acting egotistical to think that he should have stayed just because I was me.
"Cassie, what am I supposed to think, when you're mind is practically screaming that you're in love with me still, but your shouting at me to stay away?" my cheeks burned. His stupid gift.
I didn't answer and I heard the door open from behind me. I didn't move.
"Well, maybe another time you will be able to work this out. But it is late and it has been brought to my attention that you all need to eat, including Cassie." At this my head turned. How could I even care about food now? After that argument, now I would have to deal with myself, find out what was really going on with my emotions.
I turned and walked to Mac and my dad. As we were about to walk out the door I turned around. To see one more time the gorgeous family that had at one time made my life perfect but now made it disastrous.
I was tempted to shout at Rory to stay out of my dreams and house. But didn't.
We were driving in the car when my dad said something.
"You really messed that boy up." He said it solemnly like he was thinking deeply about it, maybe about the how or why. Of course he would have heard everything that went on inside the doors, wood wouldn't stop their hearing.
I recoiled at his words, they hadn't meant to rub in the confusion and contradiction that I was giving him but they did.
The sky had darkened and I could see the stars against the outline of the horizon. The tiny points of light that idled above me so perfect looking. I always thought it strange how the stars could have blown up hundreds of years ago, but we still saw the light because of the difference in space.
I guess that was like me. I still saw all of these possibilities that could happen but I was slowly eliminating them with my attitude.
I didn't reply to any of the words that anyone said that night. I sat in my room. Thinking.
What did I want?
I had never been good at making decisions. And now was not an exception.
The first thing that I needed to tackle was my mistake made most recently. I had told Patrick I loved him. But did I?
No, I didn't and that was horrible. It was part of what fueled my annoyance with Rory. He had told me he loved me but not enough to be with me forever. He only loved me enough to wait for me to be too old to be with him anymore. To wait and sit at my funeral.
I didn't want Patrick to hate me for my words. My good for nothing lying words.
I had said it to see if it would make it better. To see if once it was said, that I would fall in love with him. But today had just complicated it. I needed to do something. To take it back. But could I?
I reached for the phone. And dialed Patrick's number slowly. I got his message machine. I couldn't say this in a message, could I?
"Err, hi Patrick its Cassie… I um...oh never mind I can't remember…" I stopped; I couldn't leave it at that. "Ugh, I'm sorry Patrick but I need to do something that I'm not sure I'm really 'allowed' to do. I need to take back my 'I love you' I can explain really it's just" the phone line beeped cutting me off.
I'm sure he was going to love to get that message. I re-dialed his number. Again I got the message machine.
"I really can explain. I don't want to break up, I just…I'm not ready to say 'I love you' like that yet. I'll talk to you soon." I hung up myself this time.
Secondly. Did I love Rory?
I already knew that was a yes. Especially since he told me that my sub conscious agreed.
So what was I supposed to do about? Break up with Patrick and get back together with Rory, hoping things would be happy go lucky.
I could love Patrick, just because I didn't now didn't mean I couldn't. But I was more of the type of person to believe in one love, not two.
I let myself fall back into the pillows at the head of my bed.
This had all started such a short time ago. Barely a year. Right now was when about when Rory had first told me about him and his family.
We had sat on the swing
"I love you." I had a short pause. "It's okay if you don't love me; I just wanted you to know how I felt about you."
He nuzzled his lips to the spot right behind my ear "I love you too." He said, my heart fluttered. He took a long pause. I waited patiently
"I'm a vampire." He whispered.
That 'I love you' held so much more than the one I had given Patrick. I knew that I could never love Patrick that way. And I could only hope to have that perfect feeling and love that Rory and I had had then, once again.
I felt like my life had become so superficial, aside from the vampire part. When I had been with Rory, everything had some type of meaning, but now everything felt bland.
I shivered at the thought. It was scary. To think that the only time I felt any meaning was when I was with Rory. Did that mean that I know meant nothing?
I was too tired to cry at that thought, and merely let the possibilities torture me to sleep.
I was woken up in the middle of the night by Mac. I could see it was still dark out side, and I looked to the clock, it was two in the morning. I had only been sleeping for three hours.
"What?!?" I said. Annoyed that I had been woken on Saturday so early.
"The Volturi need to see you now." He said. His face looked pitying.
I pushed the blankets off me.
"If they are getting me there at two in the morning I am not changing out of my pajamas." I said irritably. My P.J.'s weren't that bad, they were just sweats and a tee-shirt
I climbed out of bed and headed toward the door, inhaling sharply when my foot touched the cold wood floor. I doubled back and grabbed socks and shoes. Mac watched me all the while, slightly amused but then walked with me to the car.
"Is my dad already there?" I asked. He nodded.
I turned the music on so I didn't fall asleep on the way over there. When we got there, Gianna wasn't there, probably asleep. I envied her for that. I walked effortlessly into the room I was accustomed to.
The room was not empty. The familiar faces of almost every other visit were there, including the haven's though this time I saw Damien and Melanie. I hadn't seen them in ages and it tugged at the strings of my heart.
Everyone looked perfect, not as if they had just rolled out of bed and were brought here. They looked like they were from the air-brushed pages of magazines, or movie stars that were born with amazing looks but still emphasized by the best make-up artist. But they hadn't just rolled out of bed, they didn't sleep.
"May I ask why I'm here at this hour?" I asked the politeness sounding forced and sarcastic.
"We were talking just talking and I just saw a bit more in depth of everything that happened with you and Kirsten, the Haven's showed me." Aro said. I knew that when he said 'showed' that Aro had seen it all through all of the family's different accounts.
"Please, I don't want to talk about this now." I muttered weakly.
"I just am so befuddled about how human's grudges can move on so potent to this life. How the silly emotions that you all rely on can be so lethal. I never would have thought that you, a small fragile human, could put up such a fight like that" he said. It was obvious that in the way he had said human he thought we were some type of inferior race.
"I am also surprised," he continued. "By the strength that the power that Kirsten had. To see that she almost had Rory kill you when I now know that he so obviously was in love with you." He said. It was like he was taking a serrated blade to my rawest nerves.
"Is that why you brought me here at two in the morning, to rub salt in my wounds. To show how through all that happened he still didn't love me enough to change me. He would rather see me die than be with me?!?" I said, my outburst lit by the way he had used past tense on that Rory was in love with me.
"Yes, but that isn't really a problem anymore, is It." Aro said still calm. I didn't say or do anything. I didn't have time to. There were two equally upset voices at Aro's words.
"What do you mean???" Rory growled. I was more interested in his response that my father's.
"Well, Marcus, Caius, and I gave her the choice between that and death. She chose to be changed. We can't have her stay human and walk around." Aro spoke in a condescending tone.
"That's an unfair choice, do you really think that she's going to pick death?" his voice fumed.
Aro then turned to my dad.
"Robert," he started. "You know our ways, we can't give her special treatment. I'm surprised you didn't expect it. Even after she talked to you about it."
My dad didn't say anything.
"Wait just a moment," Damien said stepping forward. "When would this changing would be happening?" He asked.
"Ahh, yes. The important question at last." Aro mused for a moment. "Well, it depends on the circumstances at each point in time." He said. A vague answer that gave nothing away. Damien though found it easier to take than I did.
My exhaustion was getting the better of me and I let out a yawn. It went unnoticed.
"You may go where you chose now." Aro said to the haven's after a bit of bickering that I didn't follow. No one moved though. "You may also go." He said to me. I saw Mac move back to my side and I felt a gentle push on my back. I stumbled forward a bit and then continued to walk.
The car ride, was just as boring as always. When we got home, I could see the sun starting to lighten the sky to a lilac color. We entered the house.
"Go back to bed." Mac instructed me.
"I don't want to." I said, even though I knew it sounded childish. Tired was an understatement at this point.
He watched me amused as I moved to the television and sat myself on the ground. The couch put too much of a threat that I would fall asleep. I didn't know why sleep sounded do horrible. But even as I could feel my eye lids slowly shutting I tried to move myself out of the feeling. I didn't win.
I woke up in my bed at about eleven in the morning. I crawled out and down stairs. As I was pouring my cereal I noticed a little light blinking on the phone. I went and pressed it. It said something about me having one new message then it continued.
"Hey Cassie, its Rachel. Look, I'm sorry but I don't think that it is such a good idea that you come with us shopping today. I know that that is a little rude, but it would just be awkward. Maybe you should talk things over with Patrick. I'll see you at school…I guess." She said and then hung up.
Could she do that? Could she withdraw her invitation for me to go shopping with them?
I didn't understand the message very much. I couldn't go shopping with them because I had taken back my 'I love you'. I didn't realize that they were such a tight knit group.
I picked up the phone and dialed Patrick.
It rang twice.
"Why are you calling me?" he spat. I was taken aback.
"I wanted to talk." I said feebly.
"Why so you can take back more things that you said?" he said bitterly. I was surprised by his strong reaction to my phone call, I hadn't taken him as someone to be so emotional about things like that.
"Can we just meet and talk or something?"
"No."
"Patrick, you're being a little…" I trailed off not wanting to upset him more. "Just please come and talk to me. Or I'll meet you somewhere."
"Fine." He said. "Where?"
"How about at the star bucks in the town?" I said.
"Yea, fine I'll see you there in an hour." He said. I hurried upstairs and got ready, stopping momentarily in my dad's office to tell him where I was going, he told me to tell Mac, which I then did before proceeding with getting ready.
As Mac drove me in the car I started thinking about what I would say. I was still confused about what he was upset about, which left me with nothing to say anyway.
When Mac dropped me off, he just told me to call him when I was done. I picked a table in the small room that was probably permanently stained with the smell of coffee.
I sat and let the girl who took orders stare at me. Probably because I wasn't buying anything. I continually checked the clock on the wall. It went from him being fifteen minutes late to forty five to an hour and a half. But I didn't want to leave. If I did and he came it would only make matters worse.
I tried not to look up every time the bell on the door rang.
I sat doodling with my finger on the laminate that covered the table.
"Is this seat taken?" a heavenly voice asked. I looked up, at Rory.
"Yes." I said. He sat anyway, I didn't make any objection though. It was better to have someone around. I returned to my finger drawing.
"He's not coming." Rory spoke the words sadly.
"You don't know that." I said.
"Actually I do." he said matter of factly.
"Why are you here, how did you know I would be here?" I asked, I was too drained to be upset.
I sat for the next three hours at that table. Neither of us ordered anything, occasionally when I thought he wasn't going to notice, I would permit myself to look at him. I was so amazed by how he looked. How nothing had changed in the slightest.
"Okay, get up." Rory said abruptly.
"What?"
"Get up, you're not going to just sit here like this, I don't want to see it."
"What if Patrick comes?" I complained.
"He's not." Rory said again.
"Well, what if I don't want to get up." I said. Rory took my elbow and pulled me to a standing position.
I looked at him. It wasn't cruelly or angrily. I could tell this as a changing point. We moved out into the daylight, a bit of a breeze picking up. It not only looked like four thirty, but felt like it. That late afternoon feeling.
I followed him, to no where. We were just walking around the shops.
"What are we doing?" I asked.
"I'm buying you a coat."
"A coat?" I stopped. "You have got to be serious, I'm fine."
"Yea, well it's going to get cold fast. And you're wearing a tee-shirt."
"I'll be fine. You buying me a coat would be awkward." I said. "I'm supposed to be…" I was going to say mad, but I wasn't sure if I was even supposed to be feeling something. Too many things had happened to warrant just one emotion. I closed my mouth and just followed him again.
We walked into a shop.
"If you won't let me buy you a coat, let me buy you a sweatshirt." He said smirking, it was like a loophole in my words. I moved around and picked up a plain black sweatshirt. I brought it to him. He took it to the cash register and paid.
I got it back when he was done, I ripped the tags off and pulled it over my head. I was glad to have it though once we moved outside. The wind had picked up.
We walked for a bit until we entered another shop. It looked mostly empty with a lot of crooks, Rory and I moved in silently and I moved us to a section that was practically empty.
"I'm sorry but I need you to answer me. Why did you leave after the first night that you came?"
"I knew that you would be angry. And I guess I was hurt." He looked away and laughed lightly at himself. "I mean, I guess it isn't that silly for me to be hurt. You did go halfway around the world to get away from me. " He said.
I took a deep breathe. I didn't want to fight. I was sick of it and it was doing nothing.
"I don't know, I really liked her." I heard a familiar voice say. I stood still, so did Rory. "I just don't see her as someone who would be so mean to break up over the phone, leaving a message." It was Alexis.
"We all like her. But I just think that we need to give her a bit of distance right now. I mean recently she's been not paying attention to anyone, and then she went and did that." This was Rachel.
"I guess that telling her that she shouldn't come was kind of smart, she'll probably get the point that we don't want to hang out with her when she does stuff like that mean." This was Jenna.
"What are we going to do tomorrow, though. Do we hang out with her?" Eliza asked.
There voices were getting closer.
"Move!" I hissed loudly to Rory.
"What?" he whispered back.
"Get out of here. You can't be with me if they find me."
He looked at me strangely.
"And don't let them see you!" I said pushing him forward. I saw him streak through the different racks of clothing.
"I don't know, didn't you tell her to talk to Patrick?" Allison asked.
"Yea, I guess it all depend on how things went today, it will kind of suck to lose her as a friend though."
"We don't have to stop hanging out with her because of that though, do we?" Alexis said
Shit! I thought silently I could hear them getting even closer. I was tempted to get on my hands and knees and crawl out but I knew that I would rather have some dignity and be standing if they found me.
Suddenly they giggled, I heard the bell on the door ring as someone either entered or exited.
"Was that Rory?" Eliza asked.
I took a deep breath hoping that they had been distracted by that and I tried to look like I was casually moving through areas of the clothing. I continued until I got to the door.
I walked slowly away from the window constricting my urge to run.
I pulled out my phone. And dialed Mac, he picked up and I asked him to pick me up, he said he would in five minutes where he had dropped me off.
I didn't know where Rory had disappeared to, but I was glad that we didn't have to go through any type of good bye. Those were hard and awkward, especially when I wasn't sure if I wanted to be mad at him or not.
"Where'd you get your sweatshirt?" Mac asked when I got in the car.
"Oh," I wasn't sure if I wanted to say the truth. "Bought it, I got cold." I made sure I didn't say who bought it, so it wasn't exactly lying, it was more just not telling.
At home my dad had made me food. I looked at it strangely before trying it. It was actually good.
"I did cook and eat my own food for a long time" he reminded me.
That night I wasn't troubled by any dreams. I guessed that Rory was smart enough not to come after his last encounter with Mac.
The next morning I woke up. I was worried about what I was going to do. I was still in a bit of shock that Patrick had stood me up. I got ready for school and Mac drove me.
I stood at the curb for a while even after he left. I was debating what I should do. I ended up walking right to Patrick though I wasn't meaning to. I had been heading to English, being the coward that I was.
Sometimes my choices are just made for me.
"Err, hi." I said.
"Hi." He sneered.
"You didn't show up yesterday."
"I know."
"Why?" I asked, I didn't get how someone could do something that hurtful on purpose.
"I didn't feel like you deserved my words in person." He said. He was acting like a complete jerk.
"What?"
"You know kind of like how you didn't think that I deserved to be broken up with in person." He paused. "God, I've never met someone as cruel as to do it over a message machine."
"I didn't break up with you, did you even listen to my second message?" I said annoyed.
"No, when I heard it was from you I deleted it."
"Well, I said on it that I didn't want to break up." I pleaded with his eyes.
He sighed.
"Well, I do." he said before walking away.
I stood in the commotion of all the people around me, they were oblivious to everything that was happening outside their own little bubbles. Oblivious to the fact that I was crumbling. Every good thing that was happened was always reversed in a cruel twist of fate.
Every action has its equal and opposite reaction.
---
I stood in the middle of all of these people. I just stood. It was like how yesterday I had just sat.
I had been waiting for something then, and I felt like I was waiting now. But for what?
I moved blindly through the crowds to my Language Arts room. I suddenly felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I sat in my seat. Not oblivious to how William hadn't even looked at me when I passed.
This seemed so familiar, but why?
I sat and watched every move that William made. There was barely any. But I noticed how he shifted his weight from side to side when the teacher called on me. The tension could be cut with a knife. As the bell rang I wanted to say something, but there was nothing to be said.
I moved on to my next class. There, like always, was at least Eleanor. She talked to me. I was reluctant to really speak with her, but I figured that I should at least be on good terms with her in case I found myself friendless.
I didn't even want to deal with break-up. I skipped out on it and captured myself with learning new words in Italian.
Science and English were brutal. Not so much as first period. At least Jenna and Rachel glanced in my direction. As soon as the lunch period began, I held myself up in the classroom, deciding to organize my binder before leaving.
"Cassie, hurry up, I too would like to get to lunch" Ms. Remly said.
I gathered my things and passed the door. The cafeteria was crowded and I couldn't help myself from starting in the direction I was used to sitting. But my steps faltered, then restarted. I was going to at least talk to them.
But then I stopped. Not faltered again. Stopped dead. In the middle of the cafeteria. I knew why this seemed familiar.
I was on repeat of last year.
No.
No. I thought horribly. I don't want that, not again. 'It doesn't have to be like that again.' said a very small weak voice in my head.
But no matter how small, I heard it.
I could see Rachel getting up and walking toward me, concern on her face.
"Umm, hi Cassie." She said, obviously uncomfortable herself. She opened her mouth, but I pulled my hand up in a motion for her to stop.
"If you are about to ask me not to sit with you…fine. I just, I need you and everyone else at the table to know, I'm sorry. Especially to Patrick. However I have acted or done or said something that has upset them, I'm sorry. I understand that you have known each other longer than you have known me, but I don't want you all to hate me. You can dislike me, sure…just not hate, please." I said before changing my direction.
My small speech hadn't been as theatrical as the one back in Marin. I hadn't gotten everyone's attention that was in the room. And I could already tell that it was better that way.
I didn't know what I was doing exactly, but I walked right up to the table where Rory and his family sat, along with Kayla.
"Do you guys mind if I sit here?" I said the elation at my epiphany of knowing that my life was going in circles, not having worn off yet. Jill smiled and moved over a bit to accommodate space for me. I smiled, and sighed.
Sitting here felt right. I felt at home. Yet I had no idea how I would handle next period.
"Hey kid, you've changed." Triston chuckled.
"It's not in a bad way is it?" I asked nervous.
They all laughed.
"No, not in a bad way" Rory answered for Triston. I was almost happier that he had said it. We…well I, still wasn't sure what terms we were on. I loved him. But I didn't really know how he felt about me.
"So…what have you all been up to?" I said not knowing what else to say.
"Nothing much, just school." Jill said, "it really was different without you."
I looked away blushing and caught a few of the eyes that stared at us, me. I could understand why, I was sitting with a bunch of new gorgeous students. Some of the eyes held confusion, but most jealousy or awe. I wanted to look to my normal table I wanted to know how they would react. But I didn't. There was no point.
The Haven's asked me a lot of questions. They were mostly superficial; trying to keep away from anything that might disturb the balance I had just created.
Kayla didn't say much. But then again she didn't know me in the first place.
Eventually the bell rang. I got up and realized that next period would be awkward in the extreme. I was quiet as Rory and I walked to class…together. I saw people glancing our way still. Though I liked the stares of envy I was still a bit worried of what people were thinking, especially my old friends.
I smiled at Rory and Kayla before going to change. Once I moved out of the locker room, I could see Rory and Kayla on one end of the gym. I started my way towards them. In a second I saw Rory's expression change as his head snapped in one direction then back to me.
He rose fluidly, but still faster than he should have. I saw Kayla reach out and slap his arm before getting up herself. They were both making their way toward me with each step, slightly faster than the last. I didn't understand why until I was intercepted.
"Hi" I said to Patrick. His face looked disgusted. He raised an eyebrow.
"I hope you know that it isn't nice to take advantage of new students." He said.
"I'm not taking advantage of anyone." I said. I saw Rory standing still listening intently to our conversation. Kayla stood ready to stop him from doing anything rash, but inconspicuous.
"Right and you really do love me." he said pointing out that he had thought I was lying.
I clenched my jaw at his words. I knew that he had a right to be mad, even though I had never pinned him for the type to overreact like this. But I knew that everyone dealt with rejection differently. I knew rejection hurt.
"Really Cassie, you already have this guy." He gestured to Rory. "Wrapped around your finger, he's waiting for you there like a lap dog. It's just mean."
"That isn't true." I said under my breath.
"You're right. He's out of your league." He said. That stung. I knew I wasn't perfect like Rory. I knew that the differences between him and me had always been huge, but I had never let myself see them. Let myself accept them. But now that he said it I felt stupid, measly… ugly.
"Or maybe he just thinks you're a slut." Patrick said venom in his voice. This was when Rory intervened.
"Hey! Shut up, and stop being an asshole." Rory said moving forward. I could see Kayla struggling with herself about whether to intervene also.
"What are you going to do?" Patrick taunted Rory.
I felt my pulse quicken. Rory couldn't touch him…well he could. But not without killing him. I could see Rory clenching his own jaw holding himself back from anything. I could see it was hard. I was worried. I knew Kayla was there but I still didn't want him to do anything that could give him away…again.
"Yeah, that's what thought." Patrick said. I wondered if Patrick had been like this and I just didn't notice.
Rory was barely holding himself together. And I did the only thing I could think of in my little time. I reached up and slapped Patrick hard across the face.
I realized that I had done the same thing to Lena. I took a step back. Patrick stood in shock.
I felt as Rory took hold of my arm and started to guide me somewhere. I complied but didn't break the eye contact that Patrick and I held. I felt a rush of air as either Rory or Kayla opened the door.
Patrick stood still his expression unchanged. I felt bad. I did the only thing I could think to do. Something that had been pushed into my head since before kindergarten.
"I'm sorry." I shouted to him before being pulled out the door.
My body was flipped around to face Rory and Kayla. Kayla's expression was surprised, Rory's worried. But then his arms wrapped around me in a tight hug.
My cheeks flushed. His marble skin's iciness was palpable through his shirt. I couldn't even make out coherent single beats from my heart, it was moving so fast. I breathed lightly wrapping my own arms around him, inhaling his perfect smell.
He released me though I didn't want him to.
"Thank you." He said.
"For what?"
"For hitting him before I did." He laughed. I did too. There was a slight bit of hysterics behind mine though at the abruptness at which my life had changed.
I saw Kayla glance at a watch on her wrist.
"Are we going to cut, or go back in?" she asked merely out of curiosity. I looked at Rory. He shrugged.
"Well seeing as we're all going to have to take gym for the rest of eternity, I think it will be okay for us to cut." What he said hit me with a bit of panic. The rest of eternity. It was what I wanted. I reassured myself.
"We should all probably change out of our P.E. outfits." Kayla said. I nodded.
"I'll meet you two back here." Rory said.
Kayla and I turned to head toward our locker room.
"You know, I didn't think that you would actually hit him." Kayla commented out of the blue. I turned to look at her.
"I kind of wish I hadn't." I said, still worrying about the effect that it would have. "Aren't you supposed to stop that kind of confrontation?" I said.
"Well, I'm supposed to stop it if Rory does anything, which I guess he could of. But that kid was asking for it." I looked up to her, she was a tad odd. I would think that she would worry about possible exposure by Rory hitting someone.
I guess she saw the confused expression on my face, because she started to explain why her reasoning was so.
"You see, when I was well…human, I was picked on a lot. I was made fun of, bullied. All that stuff. And it was when I was in high school. So I know how brutal it is. I understand that some people just need to be set straight. I was changed by some idiot who went to our school. I didn't even suspect him. But whatever, he changed me then never came back."
"Oh." I paused. "Do you have a…gift?"
We were in the changing room now.
"Well, the Volturi think that I am 'emotionally and physically strong'" she said and I could hear the quotation marks in her voice. I could here just how much she thought that it was bull shit. "They think that because I was bullied and stuff that it made me tougher or something."
"Oh." I said again. I changed and met her at the door. Of course she could change super fast. I thought. We walked back to Rory.
"You think you took long enough?" he said jokingly.
"Don't you think that it's sort of bad that you guy's cutting the second day that you're here?" I asked.
"Like I said before, we have eternity to make it up." I pretended to laugh.
"Where are you living now?" I asked.
"Well, since we had to come on a bit of short notice, we are living in the Volturi castle." He said. I picked up on the hint of reluctance in his voice; he was probably worried how I would react.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"We could go to your house." Rory suggested. I wasn't all that keen on the idea.
"You two can go there. I have better things to do." Kayla said. I knew instantly that things would become more awkward once it was just Rory and I, but I didn't speak up. "Plus, I should probably tell Mac that you have a ride home. Oh and I'll keep your dad from knowing that you cut class." Kayla finished. She turned, looked both ways like she was about to cross a street, and then ran; turning almost invisible with the speed.
Rory and I continued to walk towards the parking lot. But instead of moving in direction towards the car, he turned toward the street. I quickened my pace to keep up with him. When I was right next to him, he turned in an impossibly fast movement and scooped me into his arms.
This was a sensation that I felt like I hadn't experienced in forever. I looked to him and he looked to me, flashing an annoyingly perfect ultra-dazzling grin. And then he was off, running. The wind pushed me to his close to his chest and I felt my heart swell and about to burst, with some emotion that I felt I had chose to keep locked away. An emotion I could only give to one person. Love.
We stopped at the front of my house. He put me gently on the ground. I could feel my cheeks that had been bitten by the wind. We walked to the door and inside.
I stood, not sure of what to do.
"Do you want to see my room, you know in the daytime?" I asked then blushed fiercely at how what I said could be taken. "Well, not like that. Just to see it." I blundered. Rory laughed. Then he headed up the stairs and I followed. I wasn't surprised that he knew where my room was.
He opened the door.
I walked past him, slipped off my shoes and sat on my bed. I rested my back against the pillows at the head of the bed. He moved slowly and slipped off his own shoes. He moved to sit in the same position next to me. He moved one of the pillows that I was leaning on and pivoted so that I rested against him.
We were there for at least two and a half hours before either of us said a word.
"Do-do you think that maybe we aren't supposed to be together. I mean when we are, it always causes confrontation." I said.
"No, I think that we are supposed to be together. There is no way possible that it is any other way." He said confidently.
"And what makes you so naïve to think that?" I asked half teasing half serious.
"Because, I love you so much, that even if we weren't meant to be, we would anyway." He stopped and I felt him run a hand through my hair.
"I love you Cassie."