The meeting with Cassidy actually went better than I expected it to. She didn’t kill me, and other than threatening, neither did her mom. It was strangely nice chilling in her living room. There wasn’t the usual animosity that she threw my way at school.
We actually had a good talk. And Cassidy did make some good points. I should try talking to my parents about dropping the class. Why am I wasting my senior year taking a class I hate and don’t need?
Another study hall would be more helpful, or I could take Psychology. That might actually be useful in what I want to do. I’m actually thinking about taking child psychology classes in college. I mean, I want to work with kids, so it would be beneficial.
So as we sat down for dinner, I decided to take her advice, sans telling them to shove anything up their asses. “So, did you manage to get a tutoring schedule in place with Cassidy?” Mom questioned as she served up eggp
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Riko, however, squeezed his forearm, and bam, the angry giant, was tamed. “I suppose that’s true. Thankfully I am a detail-oriented person. I have too much respect for each of them to call them by the wrong name or just call them Frost like a blanket name.” she smiled.“Ooo, burn.” Isaiah smiled, offering his fist to her. Riko seemed confused at first, so Darius lifted her hand and helped her fist bump.The table all laughed as Riko blushed. Seriously, where is this girl from? She’s too damn adorable. And somehow not only managed to tame the Frost boys, but she’s got Cassidy in her corner.“Sorry, not used to the idea of fist bumps,” she admitted shyly. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. There’s plenty of things that my brothers and I will teach you.” Darius winked, making her blush brighter. “Stop it, Darius.” she nudged him with her elbow.“Is he always li
All-day Wednesday, I dreaded Collin trying to talk to me at school. Sure I hoped he wouldn’t because our business was concluded. No more reason to talk at school. I only have to deal with him twice a week after school. Given all of that. Why am I disappointed as I get on the bus with Riko after a day where he didn’t say a word to me or, from what I noticed, looked at me? What is wrong with my brain? I should be happy. I should be fucking ecstatic. I went a whole day without hearing his mouth. He’s just another douchebag jock who leverages athletic accomplishments to climb the caste system that is high school to sleep with as many girls as he can. He’s the enemy. ‘Is he? Or are you judging him without knowing him? Are you profiling him because of Brant? Keeping him at arm’s length or further to protect yourself from your own unresolved issues?’ I sighed as I slumped into the bucket seat. Great, I’m hearing my therapist in my h
When Zach called me up asking me to hang out, I was down. I’m all for hanging out with my friends even if I’m exhausted from work. It’s the good kind of exhausted, like after a game. So I picked him and Justin up and met up with other guys at A4cade. Everything was great. Enjoying some sodas, snacks, friends, and arcade games. A hell of a way to spend a Wednesday night. Or it was until Brant Jones showed up. The smug fucker crashed our night, and of course, most of the guys were cool with it. Me, I was seething. Brant shows up and then insists we go somewhere else. He apparently booked an hour at Key To Amaze, the VR place. And while I have nothing against playing VR games, I have a lot against spending any time around Brant Jones. But everyone else was down, and I go along since I’m Justin and Zach’s ride. It’s getting late as I’m following the others from the arcade. I frown as I watch Brant’s car, and then the other car I’m follow
What the hell just came over me? I intended to just clean him up and get some ice on his hand. That’s it. End of story. It was supposed to end there. So why the fuck am I kissing him? I can’t blame him. He didn’t start this. I mean, unless I can blame him for being surprisingly awesome, badass, and hot. Can I blame him for that? Use that to explain this away? No, that wouldn’t be fair. I own my actions. For a second, I worried I totally read all this wrong. And that I was now one of those dumb girls and asshole people who kiss someone that doesn’t want to be kissed. But just as I was going to pull away and apologize for my mistake, he started kissing back. It was tentative like he was afraid. Is he afraid I’m going to kick his ass? If so, why? Does he think I’ll kick his ass if he doesn’t kiss me? I don’t want this kiss to be like that. I don’t want anything about this to be forced on either of us. His lips were following my lead, certainly some
This woman is going to make me pull my hair out. I’m getting whiplash with this hot and cold. And I want to be mad at her. I want to throw it back at her, but I can’t. She’s been through something, something that left her scarred in ways I can’t begin to imagine. And so, however, she feels even if it changes direction faster than the wind, I can’t fault her. And she’s right. It was easier to believe his story when she and Brant broke up. That they hooked up, and she thought it meant more than it did. It wasn’t the first situation like that among guys I know. Look at Jane and how she’s about Darius, and he wasn’t even her first. So yeah, it was easier to write it off. To believe Brant that Cassidy was just another clinger. Even if, at my core, I couldn’t fully buy it. Nothing about Cassidy Summers ever made me think she’s a clinger. If anything, she always seemed the indifferent type. The one to dump a guy leaving him broken.
****CONTENT WARNING**** THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DISCUSSIONS OF SEXUAL TRAUMA. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. ****** I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age. Ha, cause seventeen is old. I don’t know. But I made up my mind, and I can’t just change it now. So I let Collin into my house. Leaving him alone in the living room while I went upstairs to change. As I shut my bedroom door, I consider taking a shower. Wrinkling my nose as I smelled the fried fish on me. I almost consider jumping into a quick shower but then rethink that. I’m not leaving Collin unsupervised too long in my house. So instead, I quickly change out of my work clothes, using my Bath & Body Works Strawberry Pound Cake body spray to best mask the smell till I can take a proper shower… or two. Taking my hair out of the bun I spray my brush with the same body spray and quickly brush out my ha
I’ve had this sinking feeling about what Brant did, how he could have traumatized Cassidy to the point of the panic attacks I’ve witnessed. I’ve been dreading hearing the truth. I knew whatever it was, it would make me angry. But I was not prepared for how angry I got. Brant raped Cassidy. He tied her up, hit her, and took so much from her. And fuck, she’s so damn strong to keep fighting. To continue to stand against him and people like him. I want to find Brant and bash his brains in. That no justice was given for what he did. He got away with it because of his fucking daddy. The fact he’s still walking the streets, and fuck that he’s walking in general, astounds and angers me. And of all this, what I can’t understand is James. He’s Cassidy’s brother, yet he hangs out with Brant and is his friend. Unless it’s an act and he’s just getting close enough to off the fucker without anyone thinking it was him, there’s no reason to be Brant’s friend.
I can’t believe I just told Collin Cole the truth. I told someone who’s not my family, therapist, or cop what Brant did to me. And he believed me! He held my hair when I threw up. And got pissed at Brant and even James. He was seriously going to blacklist my little brother. And I don’t want to inflate his ego, but while Collin doesn’t have the name-brand pull of the Frost triplets or the sleaze Brant Jones, he is still one of the most popular guys in our school. If he told people to ignore James, they would without question. And as much as James probably deserves it for not believing me, for not standing up for me and with me. I can’t let that happen. I know my brother better than anyone. His need to be popular, to have friends, and feel like he belongs stems from unresolved issues with knowing we will never find out who the sperm donor was and his feelings of incompletion and abandonment. I sighed, pushing off the door after shutting it.
Nine, nine years! Can you believe it? It’s been NINE years since we graduated from Ravenwood. It’s insane how much life has changed since my senior year of high school. I know you’re all here to get the deets on our lives since Cassidy and I got together. And I’ll tell you everything, promise. I think I’ve got time to recap nine years before we meet our friends for the holiday lights at the waterfront park. So you already know we both were going to Boston University. We got an apartment together with mild concerns, prompted mainly by my mom. It wasn’t anything super big or nice like Riko and the brothers shared. We didn’t have that kind of cash. So we split rent on a one-bedroom place near campus. We quickly learned that living together would be a nightmare if we didn’t start making some changes. Like I learned, if I left dirty clothes on the floor, they would be thrown at me and told to clean up. I also learned that I get a bottle thrown at my head if I don’t separate recycling
“Collin, come with me.” I whispered, grabbing his arm with our stuff in hand. “Um… okay. Where are we going?” Collin furrowed his brow as I led him out of the dance. I feel no regrets for leaving early. I told our friends we’d find our way home before I went to see him at the drink table. “You’ll see.” I answered, leading him into the elevator. I didn’t let him ask more questions in the elevator as I pulled him down, kissing him. I wanted to stop his questions and ease my nerves. His lips are damn good at putting me at ease. Time to see what else they are good at. My plan was working, at least for the elevator ride. But as soon as it dinged, I had to pull away and lead Collin down the hall to the deluxe garden view room I reserved. “Um… Cass. We’re in the main part of the hotel. What’s going on?” Collin questioned, looking around a bit confused. “While being clueless is one of your cute qualities, I know you are smarter than this.” I rolled my eyes, put my keycard into the l
Things were all falling into place. These last few months of school have probably been the best since I transferred to Ravenwood. And as unexpected as it is, Collin Cole is the reason why. Brant got expelled, and I haven’t had to see his face. Sure, he didn’t do time for his crimes, but he lost his followers, got arrested, and was forced to pay fines for trespassing and damaging Collin’s car. Riko’s been making great strides in her therapy. She was not just getting past her fear of being in the front seat of a car, either. She’s told me she opened up and is working on her issues with her dad and talking about her mother, a woman she barely remembers. Her facing her trauma head-on got me back to my therapist more regularly. My therapist has praised the progress I’ve been making. Mainly my progress in my aversion to intimacy. No, Collin and I still haven’t gotten past heavy petting. But I’m ready for that to change. I want to move forward in our relationship, to know that as we atte
So other than the whole Brant situation, the dance was a good time. Zach’s the only miserable one, and I owe that guy two dozen vegan donuts from Dunkin. Mostly their banana pudding, pb&j, and the pistachio raspberry. The dude would live on those three flavor donuts if he didn’t know he’d have to work twice as hard to keep in shape. I don’t know. Personally, I’m not a big donut guy. To each their own. Speaking of each their own, I’m shocked Amy agreed to come with James. I knew that James asking how I snagged his sister was sus. I just didn’t think he’d have set his sights on Amy, a girl he helped torment about her weight. He better not screw it up. Amy’s a sweet girl, and I know his sister would kick his ass all over the city if he messes with Amy. And how close the girls are, if our girls get pissed at James, we guys will have to beat his ass. Not an outcome he wants, especially with Isaiah and Lucas. But he was good the whole dance. When I managed to take my eyes off Cassidy, I
I don’t know what, if anything, Mrs. Cole did. Collin told me how she made him tell her about Brant hitting him and how pissed she was. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. Mrs. Cole seemed like a sweet lady, maybe a bit pushy about his academics but still sweet. I don’t know if she’s made any progress with the Brant issue. He’s still at school, giving us dirty looks whenever he sees us in the halls. Because of what happened between him and Riko, he got a schedule change, so he’s no longer in the same English class with her. Riko said Mister Frost managed to make sure of that. And well, I guess that shows the Frost name is more powerful than Jones. At least he’s kept his damn mouth shut, and beyond the dirty looks hasn’t come near any of us. I have this feeling something big is coming. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. But I can imagine Brant is just biding his time to make an asshole move. For now, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, which can I say is fucking weird saying. All I
It would be an understatement to say my mom was livid about me getting detention, especially for being tardy to Trigonometry class. She ripped me a verbal new one on the phone when the office called her to advise I would be staying after for detention. She had Mrs. Clark put me on the phone to give me a lecture. Despite that, I drove myself to school my mom was waiting for me after detention ended. Cassidy’s moms were waiting as well. Unlike mine, they didn't look pissed. When your daughter is Cassidy and is known for protests and stirring up trouble, her getting detention is almost expected. But I’ve never had detention before. I’m smart enough to know which teachers will let a tardy slide and which won’t. Mrs. Graham is one of those that doesn’t make exceptions. No official tardy note from a teacher or school administrator, and she gives you detention. At least the bitch is consistent. I watched Cassidy leave with her moms before daring to approach mine with my head down. I knew
It was very suspicious that I didn’t see Collin after fourth period. The boy had been more reliable than the bus schedule when it came to being there to walk with me after class. It made me nervous. Like, did something happen? He hasn’t texted me. Or is he up to something? Ugh, he better not be up to something. I do not like surprises. And it didn’t help that Brant was giving me the dirtiest looks at lunch, whispering to his friends. What’s his fucking problem? Other than that, his head is wedged up his ass? “Mind if we join you?” Ben smiled as he, Zach, and a couple of other guys from the basketball team sat at my otherwise empty table. “Free country.” I shrugged. I generally eat lunch alone, given I don’t have a lot of friends, and what friends I have don’t have the same lunch period. I can only assume Ben and these guys are sitting here because I’m dating Collin. Not sure how I feel about that. Though I noticed Brant and his ass kissers stopped looking in my direction. So I gu
I still don’t know what James’ angle was, but he supported and defended his sister. Too bad it got me into debt with the plastic bitches. I don’t particularly appreciate owing them. It feels dirty or something. However, I got to tease Cassidy before gym, and I know I left her wanting. A little blue in her lady balls won’t kill her. I’ll be more than happy to address her desires and needs after work. Of course, nothing happens without her initiating it. But the lingering looks she was throwing my way during PE, I feel things might start taking steps forward on the physical side of our relationship. I won’t get my hopes up, though. I thought today would be back on track as a good day. I walked Cassidy to her following two classes, holding her hand both times. Hell, I even snuck a kiss in when I left her at her history class. I was back in a good mood as I headed for French. Of course, I didn’t make it to class. I got yanked into one of the bathrooms and pushed into the counter, hip f
It’s crazy how just the sight of someone’s face can ruin your entire mood. But seeing Brant standing outside of school turned my mood faster than mayo in the desert. Just great now because of that analogy, my stomach isn’t just queasy from the sight of his face but the memory of the time I ate potato salad that hadn’t been kept cold. I felt like I was going to throw up. Maybe if I do, it’ll be on Brant. I hate that he stopped us. I hate it even more that I froze instead of knocking him out when he basically threatened to rape Riko. I hate that my body reacts like this. And it’s not always consistent. Sometimes I don’t freeze, and I unleash my wrath on Brant. But this wasn’t one of those times. I did get a little satisfaction at Ben calling Brant out for having a tiny dick. I got even more when Justin laid Brant out for being disrespectful to Ben. Looks like I was on the nose about those two. I was more than ready to leave it at that. To carry on with my day and, most importantly,