Forever and Always His

Chapter 17

Note: There are only a few more days left until the Watty Awards are over. I'm behind by a lot, but I would still appreciate it if you would take your time to vote at www.wattpad.com/watty. My story "Don't Give Up" is under Teen Fiction, Undiscovered Gems. Thank you for those who voted already, and if you haven't, I would love it if you would take a minute to do so! If I do win, I will add a super long chapter to "Don't Give Up"! Thank you all! :)

Chapter 17

                “Hey, how come we haven’t been sitting with Cassandra and Max at lunch for the past week?” Maria asked, as I dragged her outside to the football field during our lunch hour. I made her sit down on the cold bleachers, as I fumbled in my bad to fish out my cheese sandwich.

                “No reason.” I lied. “I just thought it would be a great idea to give the newly wedded couple some time alone.”

                Maria shot me a look, before raising an eyebrow. “I know that sarcastic tongue of yours, Riley.” Maria smiled deviously before tilting her head to the side. “What haven’t you been telling me?”

                I didn’t feel like explaining myself to Maria at the moment, so I shoved a mouthful of cheese sandwich into my mouth. I shrugged innocently at Maria, before muffling, “Nothing.”

                Maria gave me an unsatisfied look, before rolling her brown eyes. “Okay, let me rephrase my question so it won’t sound like I’m giving you an option,” Maria paused, “tell me what you’ve been hiding from me for the past week.”

                I let out a sigh of defeat, before setting my sandwich back down on the plastic wrapper that was around it. I began to tell Maria the complete story from what happened last week, to until now.

After I stormed out of Max’s house last week, discovering that he had been forgetting about me while he was with Cassandra, he tried to call me nonstop. I ignored his phone calls out of anger, and he eventually did stop. Ever since then, none of us have made the effort to speak to each other. Every time I saw Max in school, he always looked extremely happy with his arms around Cassandra. It was like Max had forgotten all about me now that he had Cassandra.

                After I finished speaking, I let out a deep breath of air. I peeked over at Maria, who seemed much focused on the ground. “Maria?” I muttered. “I didn’t scare you away, did I?”

               Maria’s eyes snapped back up at mine, before she shook her head vigorously. “No, no,” she paused, licking her lips, “of course not.”

                “Then what’s wrong?” I asked, letting out a shaky laugh. “You have a look of deep concentration in you.”

                Maria seemed uneasy, as she rubbed her palms against her temples. “I know this idea might seem kind of bizarre.” She said slowly, before clearing her throat. “But, would you ever consider the fact that Cassandra might be manipulating Max?”

                My eyes widened, as I choked on my own saliva. “Cassandra’s manipulating Max?” I asked with disbelief. I let out a laugh, before shaking my head. “That’s impossible, Maria. Cassandra is our friend. She would never do that.”

                “You don’t know that.” Maria pointed out. “Ever since she and Max got together, she hasn’t been talking to us as much as she used to. Have you ever even noticed how she might be forgetting about you just as much as Max is?”