𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 » bryce harper [✓]

the pact | seven.

Cassandra

I knew that Bryce was avoiding me. I could tell after breakfast the next morning, when Aaron suggested that we go see a movie, he declined and saying that he'd already made plans.

"What kind of plans?" I asked as I followed him into the kitchen to rinse off my plate. Instead of booking a hotel we'd decided to save money and stay at my folks' place. It made things easier in terms of commute, not to mention I hadn't been there in so long.

"Why do you need to know?" He scraped remnants of scrambled eggs into the garbage disposal with his fork, not holding my gaze for more than a few seconds. "I figured you and Aaron could hang out and catch up without me being the third wheel."

I felt a frown crease my features. I wanted to talk more about last night, but we'd never gotten the chance. Maybe he'd be more receptive if I approached the subject gently. "I hate when you're mad at me, you know. It makes me anxious."

He sighed and finally turned towards me, leaning against the nearby counter. "I'm not mad, Cass. I'm just trying to process everything. And I can't do that with you in the way."

"So now I'm in the way?" I tried to disguise the hurt in my tone while weaving around him to refill my glass of orange juice.

"I didn't mean it like that." He ran a hand down his face. "We do need to talk before we go back home. I just need some space. Can you give me that?"

I nodded, and didn't say anything else as he left to go upstairs. Aaron came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "He'll come around soon enough, sis. And so will you."

I turned around. "What exactly do I need to come around to? I know what I'm doing."

"You sure about that?" He raised his eyebrows. "I know you. You love him."

I pursed my lips together. "You're still holding onto that theory, huh? I already told you, I'm not in love with him. And even if I was, everything that's been happening with Mom, I couldn't even begin to focus on that."

"She would want you guys to be together. She's always said that Bryce was the one for you, even before you moved to DC."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. What movie are we going to see?"

After going back and forth a bit, we eventually decided on a horror film that Aaron had been wanting to see for a couple weeks. I wasn't a fan of those types of movies but it didn't matter. Bryce was pretty much on my mind the entire time.

The worst part about the whole situation was the fact that I kept lying to myself about my feelings for Bryce. If I waited too long to face the inevitable, he'd get tired of waiting, which was understandable, and find someone else. Maybe she'd love him for something other than his looks or his money, but she wouldn't know him like I do.

I discreetly took out my phone, turning down the brightness before shooting Bryce a quick text. Can we meet up at the house later this evening? I'm ready to talk again.

A few minutes later after not hearing a response, I checked the thread and saw that he left me on read. Disappointed I put my phone away and tried in vain to focus on the movie.

Bryce

I hadn't planned on ignoring Cass' text for the rest of the day, but I'd lost track of time while sightseeing and didn't realize it until I was heading back to the house. Now she wanted to talk? As far as I was concerned, there wasn't anything to discuss. And I wasn't trying to fight with her. That would just upset us both, and we didn't need that right now.

I didn't regret telling her how I feel, but now that she knows and rejected me, I knew the best thing was just to stay friends. I can't force her to love me, or say that she does. As much as it hurt, I'd have to move on.

Not to mention we needed break the stupid pact. It's always going to remind me of what could've been. There's no point in trying to keep it going.

I arrived at the Davises place twenty minutes after leaving the city. I saw Aaron's car in the driveway, along with another I didn't recognize. Hmm. They must have a guest. Hopefully they don't like baseball, because I wasn't in the mood to have anyone gawking at me. I shut off the radio and grabbed my leftovers from lunch to put in the fridge for later.

I trotted up the steps but before I could knock on the door, it cracked open and I saw Cass looking frazzled. "Thank God you're here."

"What's going on?" I frowned, trying to look past her into the house. "Whose car is that in the driveway?"

"Mike Ashton." She whispered, trying to keep her voice down.

My eyes widened. "Mike? You mean douchebag Mike from college? What is he doing here?"

She stepped out onto the porch and closed the door shut behind her. "I wish I knew. I guess he called Dad once he found out about Mom, and I don't even know who told him that because we've kept the news between ourselves and of course, you."

"Well, screw him. Nobody asked for his input." She seemed to be panicking a little, so I reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "Look, it'll be fine. Hopefully he won't be too much of a bother."

Cass sighed, then leaned forward and hugged me. I hugged back, chin resting on the top of her head. "We can't stay out here forever, you know. He's gonna get suspicious."

"I know." She mumbled. "Listen, you still owe me."

"And what do I owe you, exactly?" I stared down at her.

"A text back. You know I hate getting left on read." We chuckled and I had to step away from the embrace before I kissed her. But man, the temptation was so strong.

Instead of treading dangerous territory, I put an arm around her shoulders and opened the door. "Come on, partner. Let's go inside and try not to tear our hair out."

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i hope you guys enjoyed this update. i wanted to do a double update, but i may just can that for now and focus on a new book i want to publish. drop a comment, and thanks for your patience!