Page 318 of As the Rain Falls
“You got laid, it went bad. You went back to your girl. Cassie broke things off to save your ass,” he adds, tone sharp. I start believing he might flip the table and beat Caleb half to death then. “A real man would take it like a champ. But you? You whined, you lied, and you let a girl take the fall.”
Caleb swallows hard. “It wasn’t my intention to hurt her like that.”
Antony laughs bitterly.
“Yeah? Imagine if it had been!” He shakes his head. “You can’t do that to people, man. This isn’t a joke. Do you even know what they’re saying about her these days?”
“It’s not my fault,” Caleb mutters, shifting uncomfortably. “She’s been getting around too, you know?”
My patience snaps.
“Don’t,” I say, voice low. “Look, the only reason why I’m not letting this get out of hand again is because you’re still a minor.”
Mateo has a point.I can’t go around hitting people without expecting the police to knock on my door at some point, and I don’t want to jeopardize my relationship with Cassandra.
Right now, I’m the only thing capable of preventing Nathaniel from touching her again. If I’m gone, I can’t even begin to wonder what her parents will do to her.
Caleb snorts, “Like you cared about that when you punched me in the face.”
“I didn’t punch you in the face.” I glance at Antony and Angelina. “Did I punch him in the face?”
She hides a grin behind her long sleeves. Antony leans back, hands behind his head.
“I don’t think so. At least I didn’tseeit.”
“Hey guys!” I speak louder, addressing the people in the kitchen. “Did I punch anyone today?”
Mateo takes a sip of water, a weak smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Kayla rolls her eyes. “I haven’t seen you since last Saturday.”
Caleb blinks, staring at me again.
“Get out,” I tell him, pointing at the door. “You remember the way.”
He hesitates for a second before rising and sliding his phone into his back pocket. “Look, tell Cassie I’m sorry, okay? I’ll talk to Maria, smooth things over.”
Over my dead body I’ll be telling her that.
“There’s no need for that,” Angelina agrees, seemingly feeling the same way as I do. She walks him out with a disgusted look on her face. “I think we can all agree you’ve done enough.”
“Right,” Caleb nods. “I’m just gonna—”
She swings the door open for him. Caleb doesn’t finish his sentence before stepping through it.I stretch my leg, biting my thumbnail. Watching him walk away with just a few woundsentire thing is pissing me off again. He deserves far more for what he did to her.
“I need to hit him again,” I admit.
“No, you don’t,” Antony cuts me off. I frown at him, ready to speak up, but he only waves me off. “She needs you more.”
My head finally snaps towards him, eyes narrowing when I find him still staring at the bathroom door. I see the hurt in his eyes, the pain there strikingly familiar to me.
I’ve seen it before, and I know immediately what’s on his mind: my sister.Regret is definitely coming back to haunt him.I just don’t know why it’s happening this time around.
“Go talk to her.”
He tells me, but I’m already rising from my seat.
I enter the bedroom, closing the door shut behind me. Cassandra is curled up on the bathroom floor, her knees to her chest, face buried to keep the sobs from coming out.
Quietly, I slide down next to her, opening my arms to coax her into hugging me.“Come here.”
