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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Casey
Casey dropped her buttinto a hard, plastic chair in the large auditorium. The orange tassel hanging from her cardboard hat smacked her in the face with every tiny movement. With a giggle, she brushed it away and smoothed a wrinkle from the silly black gown on her body.
Why am I even doing this again?
The traditional pomp and circumstance music concluded as her last fellow graduate took their seat. Crossing her feet at the ankles, Casey tugged at her pantyhose, snagging the nylon fabric with her fingernail as she settled in for the ceremony.
The president of the college approached the podium, her well-rehearsed opening remarks melting into the boredom slowly fogging her brain. A parade of speakers followed as Casey’s mind wandered, her gaze searching the smiling faces in the audience.
So many people here. So much love and support. But not one of them is here for me.Casey frowned.Maybe I should have let Josh and Mavis come...
Her heart jolted in her chest as the row in front of her suddenly stood, filtering outward to the center of the aisle. She eyed each graduate, committing to memory the flow of events.Walk up the stairs. Shake hands. Accept diploma. Smile for the camera. Walk down the stairs.
She swallowed, peeking again at the heels on her feet. Nerves gripped her belly, pummeling the empty edges with fervor. “What if I fall?”
The girl to her right giggled. “Hang on tight to the railing, girlfriend,” she whispered. “It’s our turn.”
Her row stood, and Casey forced her feet to move forward, following the brunette with the sound advice. Each beat of her heart slammed into her chest, fluttering with anticipation as she moved forward in line to the base of the stairs.
“Calvin Michael Madigan.” A boy from her history class last year stepped onto the stage, shook hands, accepted his diploma, smiled, and stepped down the staircase with ease to a rousing round of clapping and cheering from the folks in the third row.
“Serena Ashley Matlorn.” The brunette followed the same pattern of steps, shake, diploma, smile, steps—an air horn sounded in the distance.
Okay, I’ve got it down!
“Casey Ann McDaniels.” Her legs wobbled on the lowermost stair as she climbed, blinded by the lights on the stage. Forcing a smile on her lips, her ears rang, blocking out any noise in the auditorium. She extended her hand, accepted her diploma, smiled for the camera, and reached outward for the railing, gripping the steel as if her life depended on it.
I did it! I didn’t fall!
As her feet returned to the aisle, the ringing in her ears lifted, replaced with the cheering of a single mad man in the distance. His hoots and hollers echoed throughout the hall—one lone fool in the back row screaming her name with celebration.
Casey scrunched her nose.Who the hell would be cheering for me?Returning to her plastic chair, she turned, searching the seats at the back of the auditorium for the unknown admirer, his identity a mystery.
Fucking weirdo.
The ceremony trudged on as the parade of graduates participated in the dog and pony show across the stage until Candice Rachel Zwybar’s name rang throughout the auditorium and every graduate surrounding her stood, flipping their tassels to the opposite side of their hats.
Her fingers tugged at the orange strings.Shouldn’t I feel something right now?Silly string rained down on her as black graduation caps floated in the air.I should be happy! I should be proud! I should be...
The familiar slow burn behind her eyes pushed her forward, her body shuffling through the sea of black gowns until the exit sign appeared at the end of the aisle. Casey swallowed the sorrow blossoming in her broken heart as she pushed the heavy metal doors open. Her heels clicked against the title flooring, echoing through the empty space. “Where the fuck is the bathroom?” she whispered, peering down a hallway.
Turning to the left, a small staircase materialized with the sign for the women’s restroom just beyond. Her vision clouded with tears as she lifted her right foot, the back of her heel catching on the second step.Oh! Shit!As she tumbled forward, her knee slammed into the cement step as the air left her lungs, blinding pain radiating from her kneecap.
“Dammit!” Sinking to the lowermost stair, her finger trailed over the injury, a thin layer of blood coating the now fully torn nylons. Groaning, Casey closed her eyes and ripped the cardboard hat from her head, tossing it to the floor. “I’m never wearing heels again,” she murmured, resting her head against the cold wall as pain thundered through her body.
In the empty hallway, footsteps shuffled beside her as sandalwood settled in her nose. Her heart stopped, stilling in her chest, her brain unwilling to believe the source of all heartache kneeling before her.
“I don’t know, Casey girl, you have nice calves. Maybe don’t swear off heels completely.”
His voice triggered the tears to fall, traveling down her pink cheeks as her eyes opened, his familiar icy blue gaze slicing into her soul. The breath caught in her throat as she forced her body to scoot away—her knee throbbing with pain—piercing her skin with the repeated pokes of an imaginary needle.
“Go away, Austin,” she whispered, choking on the sob erupting from her heart. “I don’t want to see you.”
His jaw clenched as his gaze fell to her injured knee. “Case, please...” Reaching his hand out, his fingers grazed the open wound.
