Greek:
A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about not updating. Had to take a unexpected trip to my dads. Stayed there for a week...no internet. I almost died. BUT...I'm back now and am very grateful for all the reviews! Keep reading and as always your reviews are much appricated. Check out the lyrics for Again by Janet Jackson. Expect a quick update to make up for how long it took me to get Ch 2 up!
Chapter 2- A Wounded Heart You Gave My Soul You Took Away
Casey smoothed her floral skirt as turned the corner onto Gansevoort Street. Her eyes felt incredibly dry under her Prada sunglasses and her head was about to split open. She felt little comfort in the fact that her skirt was not wrinkled.
"You look fine," Kale said.
Casey turned her head slowly to the man walking next to her, giving him a weak smile. Yes, she silently agreed, she did look fine. Her hair was neatly swept up into a twist and she was wearing a casual black tank top from Amp3 with modest wedge sandals. They went nicely with her skirt. She looked fan-freakin-tatic but she felt like she was going to throw up.
"Thanks for coming with me," she said. She wasn't sure why but as she walked closer to the restaurant she felt a growing sense of apprehension. She was truly grateful for his presence.
"You know I'd do anything for you," he said in a low steady voice. Casey looked up at him through her sunglasses and her stomach twisted. There was something in the tone of his voice that made her nervous. Kale was her friend with occasional benefits and nothing more. She liked spending time with him but she wasn't looking for any kind of commitment. She'd been through too much. Casey opened her mouth to tell him not to say things like that but closed it as he turned his head to watch a twenty something year old redhead walk by in a denim mini skirt. Casey shook her head, remembering that Kale was also not the committing type. She decided that her paranoia and uneasy feelings had more to do with her hangover than anything else. On top of that, her mother was going to be present and eating lunch with her was like being covered in A1 steak sauce and throwing yourself to the wolfs. No wonder she felt anxious.
Her relationship with her mother had not gotten better since she graduated college. It had gotten worse. As far as Casey was concerned she had done everything her parents asked of her. She went to college, graduated with good grades, and got herself a good job. In the seven years that she had been working for Padilla Speer and Beardsley she had made a name for herself as one of New York's top publicists. She had many clients in the tristate area that not only genuinely liked her but also trusted her. One of her bosses, Don Padilla, even thanked her by name when they won PRWeek's Midsize PR Agency of the Year award.
Her mother was proud of her, of course, but Karen Cartwright just couldn't stand the amount of influence Casey had over her little brother. According to her mother, Casey had been a bad influence for Rusty ever since she could talk. It was Casey's fault, for instance, that Rusty had gotten mixed up with the Kappa Taus in their CRU days. It was also Casey's fault that Rusty moved out of their home in Chicago to live over eight hundred miles away in New York City.
"There it is," Kale said,. Casey looked up and saw the restaurant, Macelleria, across the street. It was a beautiful June day and about half a dozen people sat dining outside the Italian steakhouse. Casey spotted Jordan first. She was sitting at a large table near the door talking animatedly to Casey's dad, Russell Cartwright, who sat next to her. Next to her dad was her mom. She was talking to a brunette sitting across from her, who Casey had never seen before. The look on her mother's face was of polite interest but Casey could tell, even from across the street, that her mother was irked about something. Rusty sat across from Jordan and in between Rusty and the brunette was…
"On this day, our time at Cyprus Rhodes ends. On this day, we gather to celebrate the last four years. On this day, we remember our accomplishments and the friends we've made along the way. We remember that special teacher that sparked our interest in a subject that would eventually become our majors and minors. We remember that friend that stayed up half the night studying with us for our final exam. We remember our roommates and our favorite RAs who used to let us hang out in their room. On this day, our time at Cyprus Rhodes ends and on this day, our future begins. I remember my first day here…"
Casey listened as the valedictorian, a small Asian girl named Jenny Chu, remembered her first day. Sorrow filled Casey's longs as she took a deep breath, looking at the faces of those graduating with her. Some people beamed with pride, some had tears of happiness in their eyes, and others looked utterly bored. No one looked sad however. Except, perhaps, for her. She was happy to be graduating but she was sad that this was the end. She would miss everyone, but that wasn't what caused the lump in her throat or the stinging at the corners of her eyes. It was the sense of having unfinished business. As she thought this her head involuntarily turn to the left and her eyes settled on Cappie.
He was sitting only two people away in her row with the rest of the "Ca's", his hands resting on his knees, slouching in his chair. As always she was amazed that he had managed to file for graduation using his nickname rather than his real name, whatever that might be.
"Dude you actually made it to graduation."
Both Casey and Cappie turned their heads. Evan Chambers was sitting directly behind the person next to her. He was leaning forward in his chair, leering at Cappie as if they were sharing some private joke.
"Yeah and its your damn fault," Cappie whispered back, returning the smile.
"But how'd you do it? I didn't think you actually had a enough credits in any major to graduate on time."
"CRU Baccalaureate Program."
"You mean that thing where you take a bunch of different courses and they combine it into an independent study degree?"
"Yep."
"Well congrads man. I'm glad to see you made it," Evan said truthfully, slapping Cappie on the shoulder.
Cappie beamed at Evan one last time before returning his attention to Jenny Chu on stage.
It was on the tip of her tongue. All Casey had to do was open her mouth and say it. If Cappie could accept congratulations from Evan Chambers, someone he hated, than he could accept it from her. She wanted to talk to him very badly and saying congrads to him might spark a deeper conversation. He was the unfinished business that weight so heavily on her heart, she realized, as she looked at him. They hadn't spoken since she told him how she felt about him at The End of the World Party. It had been very hard these past few months to not pick up the phone and call him or try to ignore him at Greek events. She hated that Rusty saw him on a daily basis and could talk to him. But now maybe she could talk to him too. He might even be expecting her to whisper something to him. His eyes had gone from the stage to her several times during the ceremony. He definitely wanted her to say something.
"Congratulations Cappie," she said in a low voice. Cappie slowly turned his head to look at her and when their eyes locked Casey could not breath. His blue eyes were so clear and so obviously full of pain.
"Thanks," he whispered back, turning his head to the stage once more.
"Casey?" Kale said, pulling her by the arm. He was standing in the street between to parked cars, looking concerned. Apparently she had stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, staring off into space for a few seconds.
"Are you okay?" He asked in that same loving tone from earlier.
Casey's gaze flickered across the street, her heart accelerating to an unreasonable speed. She'd dreamed about this moment for years, most recently last night, and this was not how she envisioned meeting the guy that had broke her heart. He was supposed to meet them in Lake George tomorrow night for the rehearsal dinner. She was going to wear her new blue dress and she was definitely not going to be hung over. She wanted to turn on her heel and run. Run all the way back to Brooklyn, to her clean, safe neighborhood.
"I'm fine," Casey said, squaring her shoulders and putting her chin up. She was far from fine.
Casey held her breath as she walked up to the table. Everyone had already ordered their drinks and it was apparent that they were waiting for her.
"Hi everyone," she said, purposely letting her eyes sweep over Jordan and her parents before turning to look at the man from her past.
"Cappie! Oh my god. It's so nice to see you." Casey said, putting her sunglasses on the top of her head. The blue of Cappie's eyes changed without the tint of her glasses and she found that they were even bluer than she remembered. The face was older but it still had a familiar youthful quality.
She had switched to the people skills she employed at work but her cool composure nearly fell when she realized that he was holding hands with the brunette.
"Hi Case," he said, her nickname slipping easily from his mouth. He was smiling awkwardly as if he too was thinking about the last time they saw each other.
"Casey, honey, sit down." Karen interrupted, thankfully thwarting an uncomfortable moment. "You're late and we've already…oh, who is this?"
Casey turned to see Kale standing at her shoulder.
"This is Kale Turner." She said. "Kale, this is my mom and dad, Karen and Russell Cartwright."
"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright," he said cordially, making Karen smiled.
"And this is Cappie, an old friend and Rusty's best man."
"What's up?" Kale nodded in his direction. "Hey Rus, Jordan."
"This is my girlfriend, Michelle," Cappie said to them. The brunette offered Casey a smile. Michelle was exactly what Casey would expect in a girlfriend of Cappie's. She was thin and had full lips and large breasts. Her hair was chestnut brown and long, the tips touching the middle of her back. She was pretty in a very obvious way. Casey hated her immediately.
"Excuse me," Casey said to a passing waiter. "We need another place setting."
Kale held out Casey's chair, prompting an even bigger smile form her mom, then sat and waited for his place setting.
"Casey, you haven't told me you were dating someone," Karen said, practically twitching with excitement over her daughter's new interest. "How long have you two been together?"
"Oh, we're not—"
"Keeping count." Casey interrupted as she watched Cappie put his arm around the brunette's chair. "We're not keeping count. It's been a while."
"Well, it couldn't be that long," Karen insisted. "I was just here in April."
The waiter came and put a water glass, napkin, fork, and knife in front of Kale.
"Oh, can I have a cosmo please?" Casey asked before he could walk away.
"A cosmo?" He repeated in a heavy accent.
"Yes."
"And for you sir?" The waiter turned to Kale.
"I'll just stick with the water, thanks," he said, eyeing Casey warily.
As soon as the waiter walked away Karen checked her silver wristwatch.
"Casey, it's 12:30 in the afternoon."
"I know." She said, trying to ignore the pounding in her head and the ache in her chest.
Today was so not her day.
