Don't Leave Me Lonely

chapter 11

Giselle's POV:

I use the key my father gave me when I first came to his house to get into the house. I had taken public transport back home since my father was at work. I bounded up the steps with Caspen on my heels. I threw my bag down next to my bed and I sprawled across my bedspread. My mind began to wander back to the cafeteria. Blake and Flynn were such opposite personalities, it was strange to imagine them as best friends. I thought of Flynn's searching eyes. It felt like he could burn a hole into me if he wanted to. He would burn me. He would hurt me if he got too close. I needed to stay away.

The rest of the night consisted of me doing work and writing emails to the woman who's taking care of my mom. I had given up on thinking she was going to get better. Her health was rapidly declining and I didn't see any chance of her making it for more than a couple of months. I hated that I had to be away from her in her last months. But it was necessary and there was nothing I could do. So I threw myself into my studies and pretended like everything was fine. I was well into my physics homework when my phone lit up with a message. I dragged my hand through my hair and picked up my phone to check what it said.

From Cass: "Hey want to come over?"

I stared at the message and debated the pros and cons of going over. In the end, I decided I needed friends here if I didn't want to go crazy. I texted her back quickly and then changed out of my school clothes into something a little more comfortable. I grabbed my dad's keys and headed out to the car. I had done all the necessary paperwork to be able to drive here, so I was finally able to get from place to place. Not that I had many places to go. I enjoyed the drive with some music and had the car windows rolled halfway down so a nice breeze was drifting through the car.

I finally arrived at the address that Cass sent me and my jaw practically dropped to my toes. Her house was literally a castle. Fountains lined the front lawn, extravagant windows along the exterior of the house, and beautiful gardens lined the property. I pull up to a gate with a buzzer next to it. I click it and am promptly asked what my business there is. "Uh my name is Giselle Harper. Cass invited me over." The static on the other end of the line goes dead and then the large gates slowly begin to open. I pulled the car into the grounds and I park in the driveway. I cut the engine and shakily get out of the car, feeling severely underdressed for this amazing palace I'm about to step into.

"Elle! Hey! Welcome to my home. Sorry I didn't warn you beforehand that we do things a bit extravagantly around here." Cass said almost as if she was embarrassed by her literal castle. "Don't sweat it... I have tons of friends that live in a palace and stuff. You're good." I say with an unbothered air about me as if this isn't the biggest house I've ever seen. She chuckles at my shot at humor and leads me up the driveway into the front entryway. "Things are a bit busy here today. Well more than usual. My mother is planning a ball and she insists everything be perfect, though I doubt our guests will care about what kind of shrimp cocktail there will be and the color of the invitations." "You'll be coming of course. But my mother likes traditional things which includes every guest receiving a paper invite. Waste of time if you ask me but things have to be done her way." Cass is speaking quite quickly and it's making me dizzy trying to keep up with her.

I give a polite smile and follow sheepishly behind her quick footsteps. Her home is lovely and grand, but... there's no homey feeling to it. It's almost as if there isn't an entire family that lives in this grand palace. I brush my hair down and hope that maybe that'll help me look more presentable. Cass makes her way through the halls with familiarity and waves at different staff along the way. Something strange I noticed is that none of the staff wear uniforms. I always assumed people in palaces had a certain dress code every second of the day.

"This is the living quarters. This is where my family and I actually live and do our everyday stuff." Cass waves her hand around a living room area that's still bigger than my house here and in California but definitely more lived in. I trail my eyes around the room trying not to appear as in awe as I am. "Wow Cass this is just spectacular. You have a beautiful home." "You're too kind, thank you." Cass said, almost looking embarrassed.

Cass grabs my wrist and leads me towards what I assume is her bedroom. As we walk down the long hallway which I notice is filled with family photos, I hear someone playing guitar. "Who plays?" I ask, curiosity taking over my need to check out the house. "Oh that's Flynn playing. He loves all things to do with music and art." Cass said all of this in a rehearsed sort of way and hurried me down the hallway. I glanced back towards the sound of the guitar before it eventually faded out.