Deception

ten*

// let go of yesterday //

I would love to say that today was absolutely amazing. I want to say that I met someone called Leila and we bonded over books and movies. We also discussed our thoughts on everyone's attitude in school and about Georgia because Leila realized that she is missing.

Sadly, that did not happen. I mean, I did meet Leila but she tripped me in the canteen instead. I'm grateful I had not bought my food yet or else I would have became the laughing stock of the entire school, not like I'm not right now.

Basically, mission 'make a friend' is a fail.

I make my way to the nurse's office since it is lunch and I don't feel comfortable in the canteen. I knock on the door and hope that Kris is inside. I can hear soft mutterings inside so I open the door.

"Cass?" I hear a deep voice and my heart constricts.

"Who's there?" I hear Kris say but she freezes when she sees me. "Cass, hey. What are you-"

"What's going on here?" I look between the two of them suspiciously. My gaze soon zeroes in on the close proximity that is between Tom and Kris. There are a million questions flooding into my mind as I try to process the situation. "What are you two doing in here?"

"It's nothing, we were just talking. That's all." I finally look at Kris and she's not looking at me. All of Tom's sudden visits to our house suddenly comes to mind.

I unconsciously take a few steps back as I look at the both of them. "Cass," I don't hear what she says next because I turn around and walk out of the room.

I don't really know how I end up in a janitor's closet with my knees pulled to my chest. My eyes closed and my breathing even. To be honest, I don't even know which part of the school I'm currently at.

But does it matter?

No one is here to answer my question so I take a deep breath and leave the small space. I look around and spot the back exit of the school. Normally I would walk away since there's a security camera and I wouldn't want to get in trouble but in this state I just don't care. Last time I heard, the cameras don't actually work anyways.

I don't head home straight after skipping school. I decide to buy some frozen yogurt first since I still have some spare money in my purse. It's been an hour since I got home and I've been reading Georgia's letter ever since.

You're Cassidy Simmons, you're strong.

The line echoes in my mind and I let out a bitter laugh. How can Georgia even put my name and strong in the same sentence? But I guess that's the thing about Georgia, always finding the best in people and things. Even in me.

I hear the door open downstairs so I immediately hide the piece of paper and cover myself under the blankets, pretending to be asleep.

As I expected, the door to my room opens softly. I feel a slight dip on the edge of my bed so I make sure my breathing is even. I hear a sigh before she pats my leg then gets up. Too soon, she leaves and I wonder if she really cares. If she just stayed a little while longer she'll realize that I'm so obviously awake.

//

"I heard that she cries herself to sleep every night."

"Penelope heard from someone that she cuts herself."

"Do you think she was in a relationship with that Georgia girl?"

The words don't stop and my feet pick up the pace without me even realizing and I am soon running to the bathroom. Their words are now whispers I can barely hear but my heart is still hammering against my chest. I think part of the reason being I just ran and also because I can feel an attack coming.