Half A Heart › New Edition ✔

Chapter 17

Cassie's POV

"Tiff, Chris, I've got quite the evening set up for us. So please, let's eat and then we'll get to it. Okay?"

"Sure. Whatever you want, I'm starving. I didn't miss my mom's meatloaf at all. I'm really glad to be back, it was a drag." Tiff says, exaggerating a bit.

"That's too bad," I say, trying to sound sympathetic. "Let's not talk about it right now. Tiff, go set the table. We'll be there in a second." A smirk plays on her lips and she gives me a wink before shuffling off to the dining room.

The moment she leaves, Chris drops his boyfriend act and glares at me. I don't have the patience for him right now. I grab the pot of spaghetti and point to the garlic bread on the stove before leaving. I'm halfway through the swinging door when I hear the clatter of a tray dropping back down on the stove.

I keep walking, not bothering to turn around. "Whoops, forgot to tell you it was hot. Put some ice on your hand, babe. You don't want it to swell."

Chris joins us in the dining room with the tray of garlic bread and a bag of ice. I want to laugh at his misery but I can't just yet. I'll save it for after we eat.

We're all sitting at the table, eating in silence until I can't handle it anymore. I stand, clearing away Tiff and Chris' plates while their still eating, earning annoyed looks from both of them. I clear my own plate as well, my spaghetti mostly untouched. When everything that I could use to injure anyone is gone, I still back down and take a deep breath.

"Cass, what's wrong?" Tiff asks.

"Just shut up for a second. I have something really important I need to tell you that is going to affect all of us. It's going to bring a lot of changes and-"

"Oh my god! Cassie, are you pregnant?" Tiff asks, surprising me and making Chris choke on the whatever he was still chewing. "It would explain so much. You've been moody and cranky and I'm not gonna lie, you have put on some weight."

Is she that stupid? "No I'm not fucking pregnant. How dumb are you? I thought I was going to ease into this but I'll get straight to the fucking point. I'm not dating your brother. We broke up nearly two months ago and you still haven't realized it. I've been moody and cranky because I've had to pretend that I don't hate him for that long. Okay, there's a lot that we've kept from you in these past two months and in the past couple years. It's time for you to know the truth because I can't do this anymore."

Tiff is utterly shocked. I've never really yelled at her or told her my honest opinion before. "What are you talking about? Christian, what is she talking about?" Chris is beaming red; I can feel his anger from where I'm sitting. He looks like he could snap at any second.

He smacks his hands down on the dining room table and stands up quickly, knocking over the chair he was sitting in."What the fuck, Cass? We had an agreement!" He yells, daring to step towards me.

"Fuck you and the fucking agreement that you forced on me!" I yell standing up as well. "You don't control me. I don't know why I ever compromised with you; you're an ass. I'm sick and tired of you and all your bullshit. You're in for a rude awakening, Christian, I'm not on your side." Chris gets even closer to me, backing me up against the wall. I need to stand my ground. I'm not letting him win.

"Both of you shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down! I want answers." Tiff states, so much rage behind her voice that it didn't even sound like her. Chris hears it too and backs away from me, going back to the seat he knocked over. I can't bring myself to move. Tiffany quickly gets up and pushes me back into my chair.

"Tiff, I can-," Chris starts but Tiff shoots him a look and he stops, not daring to speak again.

"Cassie, when did the lies first start? I want to know about all of it, from the beginning. Tell me everything."