"So how's life been, Casey?" Aaron asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice. Casey caught it, but chose to ignore it. She hadn't come to New York to catch up with old friends.
"Um…alright," she replied, not wanting to completely lie. Alright didn't mean good or bad, although bad would've been the more honest of the two choices.
"You lived with…how many kids in one house?" he inquired. She knew that this was his technique. This was how he always got her to tell him what was bothering her, but this time she wouldn't give in. She hadn't talked to him in years, and she wasn't about to suddenly become buddy-buddy with him again. He was the one who'd ditched her, it wasn't up to her to mend the friendship. If he wanted to make amends, his interrogation wasn't the way.
"Four, besides me." Aaron nodded his head, as though taking in the information.
"And one of them is our age, right?" he questioned.
"Technically a year older. He was held back," she informed him. Her father and Doug were in their own conversation, obviously not suspecting that Aaron was trying to dig into Casey's subconscious.
"Anything hot happen there?" Casey's eyes widened. Aaron knew he'd struck a nerve.
"No," she stated quickly. "He's my stepbrother, and he's just like you." Casey shot him a look only to find Aaron smirking back at her.
"Sounds like a guy I'd be friends with," Casey nodded.
"Yeah, you two would be tight. You could form a "Make Casey's Life Miserable" fan club. Co-presidents even." Her sarcasm was thick in the air, but Aaron barely took notice of it. He had her right where he wanted her.
"Come on, Casey, you know that I made your life way more miserable." Casey knew what he wanted. He wanted her to remember what had happened that night he'd taken her to the park. He wanted her eyes to widen. Her fists to clench. For her to walk away in order to cool down. But she didn't think to that moment. In fact, her mind didn't wander to that moment, nor all the moments she'd had with Derek. It came to Max. She kept her gaze strictly on the table. Aaron thought he'd finally won.
"So easy to break," he thought to himself, but when she looked up, he immediately saw her cold eyes. Emotionless. Numb. Not the Casey he'd grown up with. Aaron was shocked, unable to speak. Luckily, he didn't have to, Casey's dad entered the conversation.
"Casey, do you know what you're ordering?" Her eyes suddenly returned to the normal Casey look, but Aaron couldn't shake the eyes that had just been staring at him.
The rest of dinner went by as uneventfully as any dinner could. The talk was cheap, and emotionless. Casey didn't make eye contact with Aaron again, and Aaron didn't say a word to her. She didn't want to rekindle the friendship they'd once had, and expected the same from him. His uncivil behavior towards her said it all. He thought she hadn't changed, but she had. And she didn't have to prove it to him.
"So what did you think?" her father asked as they drove home.
"About what?" She knew what he'd say next.
"Doug and Aaron. I know that you and Aaron had a little falling out a few years ago, but…" Casey let out a deep sigh.
"It was fine, Dad," she assured him, trying to seem as sincere as possible, but knowing that it didn't sound as it should.
"Well, maybe you'll get to know each other better at school." he suggested.
"Yeah. Maybe." She honestly didn't want to see him at school. Or anywhere. She had no wish to see someone like him. Like Derek. Thinking that they could take advantage of whomever they pleased, and they'd be willing. Her time with Derek had taught her to stand up for herself. And if need be, she'd do the same with Aaron. She wasn't going to be pushed around ever again. She wasn't going to watch her heart break ever again.