The Wild Child (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 16

Riley's POV:

Emotion; derived from the Latin word exmovere, which means "to move from" or "stir up". The word is meant to conceptualize how feelings often move out or burst from within us, to our exterior facade by our gestures, words, or the sounds we make. It can also be defined as a state or condition that is marked by a feeling, or a response that can be either mental or caused by physical forces, such as pain.

Defining the word is simple; it is, after all, a man-made term that was established as a means to express how we feel to others. That part is very much understandable, as it is a learned concept, but what isn't, is the actual sensation of what emotions are.

How do you teach a person the difference between frustration and anger, feeling hurt and being in pain? How do you express yourself in a meaningful way that isn't misconstrued negatively and meant to showcase your inter sensations?

I haven't the slightest clue.

That was why I failed to realize I was getting the cold shoulder from Cassie until Ryan pointed it out to me when I was leaving to go back to the hotel to see the Hunters. Hailey had asked if it was okay for her to stay at the hotel so she could work on her project and I was perfectly fine with it, mainly because I didn't want Derek near her or Charlie. I was able to recognize what I felt towards Derek was anger and towards the Hunters a sense of protectiveness. That was probably why I was eager to get back to the hotel to see how they were doing.

Unfortunately, I was held back longer than I needed to be at the set when Ryan had asked me if anything was up between Cassie and me. I of course said we were fine, but I supposed that was the wrong answer as Ryan told me that apparently, Cassie wasn't acting like her normal self. She was tenser and every time someone tried to talk to her, she seemed annoyed.

Me being me, I decided to check up on my blonde friend only for her to once again roll her eyes at me. I didn't understand what had upset her and I especially wasn't expecting her to ignore me when I tried talking to her. It didn't bother me, but when Derek came over to Cassie, she immediately seemed to change her tone and started to act flirty with him.

That was what bothered me; the total lack of acknowledgment and the blatant attempted to show me that she was purposely ignoring me. I knew the term for this; immaturity; the act of behaving childish or foolish.

"If you didn't want to talk Cassie, you could have told me. I would have left you alone, I just wanted to check up on you," I said, half expecting her to at least look at me.

Instead, though, I was once again met with silence and it was only broken by Derek.

"Kidd, I think no answer or being met with silence is an answer."

"Like I said Cooper, I just wanted to make sure Cassie was okay."

"Why? If we're strictly co-workers like you proclaimed yesterday, you don't have to do any of the sorts. We aren't your friends, right Cassie?" Derek responded.

For some reason, and even remembering it now, it caused me to feel somewhat sick, or at least that's what I thought I was feeling as I remember the look on Cassie's face. She didn't say anything but just stared at me as if waiting for me to answer Derek's question.

But the thing is, Derek didn't ask me, he asked her, and if I based Cassie's nonverbal answer on what Derek had said earlier, I had mine, so I nodded my head before taking a step back. My mother always told me that you don't go around exerting yourself for others when you are not needed because you just end up wasting your energy and time, which no one has plentiful of. That's why it was easy for me to walk away because unlike most people, who seem to suffer twice when worrying, I didn't feel it within me to do so. Cassie wasn't my responsibility even if I cared for her; my responsibility was getting back to the hotel to make sure my two guests were okay. That was where I was going to exert my energy and time too because that was a commitment I made; even if I felt put off by Cassie's actions.