A Simple Nobody

Chapter 5

"If you hurt my best friend, I can make your death look like an accident"
~ Anonymous

"What?" I stop dead in my tracks and Alex nearly runs into me. "Cousins?"

He glances towards Cassian, who was still sitting on the floor, talking animatedly with Beth. "Ah, yeah."

I narrow my eyes at him disbelievingly before remembering that Cassian's last name was Figueroa. The same last name as the boy standing before me. "You're a billionaire," I state. "You literally have a bodyguard. He's just a slightly rich boy. Not the cousin of some bigshot person who I didn't really know existed until today."

"He's a little more than a slightly rich boy," Alex says uncomfortably. He's watching me warily, as though I'd punch him in the face. An expression I saw quite regularly. According to my friends, I tend to adopt a more threatening pose when something shocked me. And learning that my best friend of nine years is part of the Figueroa family was certainly shocking.

"Wouldn't he have been in the news?" I ask. "Or, like I don't know, have more security?"

Alex looks at me strangely. "He has been on the news. A lot. Not as much as me, but he's still present at all social events. He never had bodyguards because he's not targeted half as much as me. Besides, he's pretty good at defending himself. And- Okay, how the hell do you not know? I thought this was pretty well-known."

I stare back at him. "No!" My voice's pitch rises an octave in that one syllable. "It's not," I say, calmer this time. "I'm oblivious, but I'm not that oblivious. I don't think."

That earns me an eyebrow raise. "Really?"

"I'm pretty sure most people don't know he's related to you," I mutter, trying to defend myself. Even still, it was pretty weak. I wasn't the type of person to keep up with gossip or news. Anything that I ended up learning was usually through Beth, Cassian, or Jay, and their incessant chatter. Yet, I didn't think I'd miss something this monumental.

Before thinking about my actions, I grab Alex's arm and drag him toward his supposed cousin. 

The moment Cassian catches sight of us, his eyes light up with surprise. "Kaia? What are you doing with Alex?"

"You two are cousins?" I ask incredulously. "Cas, why don't I know this?"

Beth looks over at Cassian. "Wait, you two are cousins?"

"Exactly!"

Cassian stares at the both of us, before looking up at Alex with pure betrayal. "You told her?"

"What do you mean I told her? I thought people knew! You're on the news! And they're your friends. How are you friends with someone for that long, and not know who their family members are?" Alex sputters out. He gestures towards me. "She literally went to school with me!"

"She's kind of an idiot," Cassian says.

"Hey!"

He looks over at me and pats my shoulder. "No offense."

"Cassian, why don't I know this?" I ask, my voice taking on a threatening edge.

He lets out a long sigh. "You're really oblivious, and when I realized you didn't know who I was, I decided that it was better if you didn't know about that part of my life. It's one of the reasons why you never met any of my family, other than my mum. They're all assholes, the whole lot of them."

My jaw clenches, and I feel Beth grab my hand. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Um, not really-"

"No, just stop talking," I snap. "How could you hide that from me? I don't give a shit about your asshole of a family. That's a whole part of you that I never knew about. For nine years! I've known you for nine years, and I didn't know that you live this whole other life."

I shrink away from him, as I realize the implications of his secret. I had thought that I knew everything there was to know about him. How could I really have known nothing? Was this my fault? I should have paid more attention. It wasn't really Cassian's fault. I should have-

My focus is brought back to reality when Cassian grabs me by my shoulders and shakes me. "Kaia, stop. Whatever you're thinking, just stop. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. You're one of my best friends, Ky. I just- I was being selfish. I get it if you don't trust me anymore, but from your expression, I can tell you're blaming yourself."

Staring up at him, I try to listen to his words. He was right. It wasn't my fault.

Was it?

I back away from him and bury my head in my hands. I really didn't need this right now. Not when Aidan was back. Not when my life was already a whole fricking mess.

At this point, I was five seconds away from having a total meltdown, and something told me the rest of the school would not let me live it down. From the silence from the nearby tables, I can tell that people were watching.

"Isn't he Kaia's ex?" I hear someone whisper from a nearby table. "Why is he going over there?"

My head shoots up and I meet Aidan's eyes from across the room. 

. . .

kill me. now. please. it's 5 am. i have gotten no sleep. i'm writing a chapter because i wanted to except i'm literally not coherent. i'm already horrible at utilizing the english language, but me braindead really doesn't know what to do with english at all.

thanks for reading. if you enjoyed, please vote, leave a comment and i'll see ya later!

~ Jells ♥