Endgame (Book 3)

Chapter 41

And so, with me in tow, acting like she owned the place, Cassie opened the front door and waited till I was outside before she closed it and levitated both of us to the very top of my house, where a small part of the roof was flat enough for us to sit on. I had pointed out how odd it looked a couple of weeks ago.

"I can fly, you know," I said with a little annoyance.

"Uh-huh," she replied in disbelief.

She set us down gently, with so great a degree of control that her curls didn't stir from her shoulders.

I looked around once my feet had touched the ground. We weren't very high up, but I felt disengaged from the world. Like everything happening in the world couldn't affect me. I loved it.

"So...is there anything you want to say?" I asked once she didn't say anything.

She stared at me intently. "Jay, I have something to tell you."

My heart pounded in my chest. Did she know what had been going through my mind? Did she know that I knew? Was she about to come up with an excuse for her behavior?

I promised myself I wouldn't give in.

"Go on," I said, evening out my voice.

She put her hands on her hips. "I have something I need to confess. I haven't been being completely honest with you."

That phrase usually included the word "lately." It implied that a single lie had been told. Without it, whatever the secret was bound to shatter my entire world.

It had.

"I already know."

The words came out before I could stop them. But once they had been said, I didn't regret it. I wouldn't do this to her. I could see the sweat building on her face, her eyes failing to meet mine, her fingers digging into her palms. There was no need to make this any harder than it already was. For both of us.

"I seriously doubt you do," she said, again taking that tone of disbelief, but also laughing in a worried way.

"You're cheating on me."

The words hung in the air, bridging the gap between us. Then, she picked them up and gave me her own.

"Actually, no. I'm cheating on him with you."

I was ready for a lie, and if I was going to get one, this was it.

She explained herself. "Before we were in the pods, I was dating him. There was no us. There would never be an us. Because of your instability and treatment by Jeremiah, the team's individual relationships with you consisted of hate or jealousy. Or ignorance. I fell into the last category.

"We never talked until...well, really until that day we kissed three weeks ago. Before then, it was never meant to be. In those pods, I had a role to play, and when we got out, my mind was still trying to do that. I had no idea what was going on, and I was lacking a few of my real memories. I was confused."

She tried to take a step towards me, but I moved back to the edge of the platform we could stand on. Her eyes turned downcast, and she stepped back, respecting my space.

"Later, I remembered that I had a boyfriend. When he came back to my house after finding out that I was back, he jogged my memory. So then, I had to explain everything to him. And I sent him away saying I didn't know if I loved him anymore. Because I was so sure that being with you was right." She shook her head, now realizing how ignorant she had been. She didn't notice that she was also completely dissing me in the process.

"While you were gone, he came back. And we spent time together, in that time you were off dealing with this whole mess. I didn't know what else to do; he comforted me. And then things just...happened. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but you weren't there, and-" she stopped. She knew she was losing me. "To be honest, Jay, the effects of the pod were wearing off. I never loved you."

I turned around, fists clenching and opening at my waist. It was like I was reliving seeing them screw each other all over again. I couldn't even bear thinking of his name without fury washing over me.

I felt her hand on my shoulder. Squeezing, trying to make me feel better.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I know I'm breaking your heart, but I can't do this anymore."

I didn't respond, and her hand dropped away. I didn't turn around.

"Jay, please answer me back. Say something," she said. Her voice cracked.

"Fuck off," I said. "You're a bitch. Get the fuck away from me." The words came out low and deep.

"Don't say that," she almost pleaded. "I'm still here. I'm not going to abandon you."

"I said fuck off!" I screamed. I felt the tears running down my face, but I didn't care. I was tired of pretending. "Leave me alone! I hate you!"

She flinched, but remained. She knew I needed to vent, no matter how much my words hurt. And if I could physically hurt her, I would.

"You have no idea how alone I feel. You were the one person I had that stood even a chance of understanding and actually help me keep going. My family could never do that. I can't stay in anyone's life long enough to build up that kind of relationship without fucking it up somehow. You either end up hating me or dead!" I moved close to her so she could see my rage. "I need you more than ever right now. I am about to die. The worst day of my life is about to pass in a few says and you choose now to tell me this? Get. The hell. Away from me."

I huffed, my chest rising and falling, my anger capped off. But when she didn't leave, it surged to new heights.

"Go away!" I threw a bolt of lightning at her. She just barely blocked it with a telekinetic wall.

But she seemed to get the message. Her feet drifted off the ground and moved toward the edge.

"I know what you're planning," she whispered. When I didn't speak, she said, "I won't tell them. It's not my job to do that."

Dumb telepath. Dumb cheater. Why did I fall for her?

"We all had our roles to play."

She dodged the next bolt of lightning I sent her way and hit the grass before stalking off, my edge beginning to affect her.

"Stay out of my head!" I shouted at her.

She turned around to say one last thing.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled again.

Then, she ran.