Rare - Cazzie

Chapter 23: "Is this the end?"

Izzie POV

It's my final day at Clayton, and walking into school feels like agony. My heart seemed to clench, as I slump over to my locker pulling out my books for the day. All I wanted was Casey's warm arms, to take the pain away.

I didn't even notice the mop of raven hair next to me, until I shut my locker and jump back in fright.

"Hey." Lauren smiles kindly to me, and I muster up the energy to offer a small smile back.

"Hi." I wave, it's rather a pathetic wave, but I can't find it in me to care.

"I heard your moving schools, that really sucks." She says with an empathetic tone, I didn't quite expect.

"Yeah..." I sigh and move my gaze to the hallways to check if Casey is anywhere near since she told me we'd meet at my locker. Unfortunately she's nowhere to be seen.

"I'm here if you ever need anyone to talk to." I only realised she had her hand on my arm when she stroked it gently.

"Uh, thanks." I smiled appreciatively, and she nodded.

"Well I'll see you around, I guess Casey doesn't need to feel bad after all." She let go of my arm and turned to walk away, but her words confused me.

"Feel bad?" I questioned, and saw her eyes carry an sympathetic glint. This confused me even more, as I pulled her back over to me. "What do you mean?"

"I think you should ask Casey that." She left me completely dumbfounded, not that I had the energy to understand what that meant. This week was just not going well for me, at all.

I couldn't seem to find Casey anywhere, and it frustrated me beyond belief. Where could she be? I decided that maybe she wasn't in today. That's when sorry started to bubble in the depths of my stomach. What Lauren had said did not sit right with me.

Casey was not in school at all it seemed.

She knew it was my last day. This is what confused me the most, surely she should be comforting me. Telling me everything was going to be okay, regardless of the ugly truth. I felt a hollow ache in the pit of my stomach, that hadn't left since my mom had told me about the move.

That night I couldn't even look my mother in the eyes, and stayed the night with my Abuela. Casey had driven me there, and left without a word. Which I took no notice of, but now I felt quite odd about it. She hadn't even looked at me, when she had dropped me off. Not even a kiss goodbye, or even a word. I had been too distraught to notice, but now it created a dull ache in my chest. What had changed, I'm not sure. But it made me miserable with despair.

I had cried in the arms of my Abuela, cursing her daughter in the process. Which she didn't seem to mind, in fact she agreed with me. She comforted me and told me that I would have many other opportunities, and that I wasn't tied down to Clayton. She told me I was more than a preppy, snob filled institution. But that wasn't truly what I cried for, I knew exactly what I was crying for.

The idiot who couldn't even show up, even if it was my last day.

And all hope was lost in talking to her, as I pulled my uniform over my head. This would be my last practice, and she wasn't even here. Maybe I shouldn't even be here. I mean what's the point since I'm not even going to be part of the team anymore. I felt more tears burning my eye sockets, and ran into the bathroom stall. I cried silently for a little while, all of the girls had already changed and left the locker room. All expressing their sorrow for me leaving earlier, I had nodded and smiled sadly to each girl. Except the only girl I actually wanted to talk to. The only girl that would stop the pain that crushed my heart right now. I wiped my eyes with some tissue, and decided to face the music. I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye to coach, after all I was the team captain.