Sink or Swim✓ (Teen Romance)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dedicated to:XxcjthegreatxX for awesome comments to keep me writing:)

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            For the second time, Elliot is gone when I wake up.  This time, however, there is a folded note on the pillow beside mine.  I rub my fists over my eyes and blink myself awake until the random squiggled words dissolve into English.

          Dear Finn:

I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.  My mom is getting back from her business trip this morning, and I have to beat her to the house.  I hope to see you at school today.  We can ditch for lunch.

            Sleep well, love. 

                        Elliot.

            I smile at the note before smoothing it flat and folding it into a neat square.  For some reason, I feel compelled to keep it, just in case things between him and me don't work out.  At least then, I'll be able to look back and remember the time he trusted me without cause.  I drop the note onto my night stand and slip out of my room.

            It's too early for Mother to be awake, yet I can hear someone bustling around in the kitchen.  Cassi must've come home from Jenna's last night.  With every step I take toward the kitchen, I think of Cassi and Jenna's thrilled faces.  They were behind Dante's attack; I already know it.  I can feel the truth pulsing beneath my skin.  I just don't know how Cassi could do that to me.

            "Cassi," I say as I finally step into the dining room.  She flinches slightly when I speak, but she doesn't turn.

            "Morning," she says dully.

            "Why?" I demand.

            "Why what?" she asks, still not turning.  She sounds bored, annoyed almost.

            "You know what."  My fists tighten at my sides.  When Cassi doesn't say anything, I scream, "Look at me!"

            Cassi whirls around, her lips fastened into a slim line.  A dark shade of red tints her flawless complexion.

            "How could you?" I scream.  I feel the rage and confusion and years of silence, all building up at once.  The tears are begging to fall from my eyes, but I won't let them.

            "I don't know what you're talking about," says Cassi.  Her face is twisted into a mask of rage, yet her voice remains flat.

            "Don't lie to me," I say.  My voice lowers slightly.  "Don't you dare lie."

            "Are you going to tell me what you're shrieking about?" asks Cassi.  She leans back against the counter and lazily crosses her arms.  That never-ending tone of superiority still tinges her voice, almost as though she's talking to a three-year old.

            "Dante."  I keep it short, watching her face rather than explaining.  As expected, she twitches.  It's barely noticeable, but it's there.  That slight flicker of guilt.

            "What about him?" she asks, keeping her voice level.

            "Stop it."  I take a dangerous step closer.  "Just stop."

            Cassi's eyes scale up and down my body, as though she's sizing me up for the first time.

            "You finally have some guts, haven't you?" she asks, a slight smirk of proudness on her face.  It's that look she used to get all the time, as though my improvement was solely her doing.