Don’t tell me… Fuck. I have to find Cassie. Like, yesterday.
We flood out of the locker room, and upon not seeing Cassie, I head to my Mustang and drive to Carl’s house for the party she’s most likely already attending.
Carl is older than everyone on the team, and he owns his property and actually has a decent job outside of coaching us assholes, so it’s nice. He even has a pool that rarely gets used in this little piece of Oregon.
As I pull up, followed by several of our team members, I see Carl unlocking the front door and letting a bunch of people inside.
This motherfucker had to have planned this in advance, counting on our impending win. Risky.
Once inside, I peer around the growing group of people until I find Cassie standing by one of the coolers with Kim and Hailey.
“Hey,” I call out as I approach. “Can we talk, Cas?”
Her eyes widen, and she peeks between our friends and me before she smiles brightly, nodding.
“Be back, ladies,” she purrs, following me into the backyard.
We can still hear the music that Carl has just switched on, but otherwise the space is empty, and the dim light of the back porch keeps us shrouded in partial darkness.
“What’s up, Cam?” Cassie asks nervously, but before I can respond, she adds, “I know things have been tense since Atlas’s birthday party. Sorry if I’ve been weird.”
Her apologizing isn’t new; Cassie is normally pretty good at taking accountability. But this time,Iwas technically the one who offendedher, so her words must be meant to placate me and stem from somewhere else.
She looks… happy.
“Cassie,” I interject, clearing my throat. “You don’t need to apologize. I actually asked you out here because I have a question. Have you been talking to Atticus?”
Cassie’s eyes grow a bit wide, and she looks around us nervously. “Uh, why?”
“Just answer me, please.” I can hear my own desperation as reality sets in. As I start to understand.
“Well… yes. We’ve been messaging on Insta,” she confesses. “How did you know?”
“How else would he have known about the game?” I counter.
“He wasthere?Is he here now?” Her searching gaze intensifies, and she looks around us wildly.
I grip her shoulders, regaining her attention.
“No, he’s not here now,” I tell her. “But he was at the game. I saw him.”
Or… was it him? I mean, technically, it could have been the body double. Sure, I only see it at night, but the sun had surely set by the end of the game.
“Oh my god,” Cassie whispers, no longer bothering to look at me. “He came to see me! Cam, I know you have reservations about us getting together, but it’s happening!” Her eyes snap up to meet mine, suddenly pleading. “Support me, please?”
My mouth goes dry. At the game, he wasnotlooking at her, but rather, right at me. And yes, I love my best friend, but she can have any guy she wants. Which means she can leaveminealone.
Or, well, notmine. Not anymore.
And the look she’s leveling at me makes me feel extremely guilty as I say, “I’m sorry, Cas. But I can’t support that.”
Ican’t. Not when it means seeing them together; not if it’s going to kill me, and it most definitely will.
Disappointment clouds Cassie’s features, and she upturns her nose as she looks away, crossing her arms.
“That’s sad, Cameron,” she says. “I’m your best friend. Don’t you want me to be happy?”
“Of course I do!” I reply defensively. “But not… not with him.”
