A Late Arrival

(Chapter 4) Hallways and Heartbeats

The wooden floors of St. Aubrey's creaked softly beneath her shoes as Taylor made her way through the hallways one afternoon, her backpack slung loosely over her shoulder. The sound of her footsteps echoed faintly, a rhythmic distraction as her mind wandered, replaying the events of the past few days.

Outside, the sky had grown overcast, casting the corridors in a muted light. Students brushed past her in hurried clusters, their voices blending into a steady hum. Taylor barely noticed them—her thoughts were elsewhere.

She slowed her pace as she approached her locker, the metal door cool beneath her fingertips as she spun the combination lock. The routine of it—click, turn, click—was calming in a way. It gave her something to focus on, something predictable. But just as she opened the door and began pulling out her books, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Taylor."

The sound of her name made her freeze. She knew who it was before she even turned around—Cassidy.

Her pulse quickened as she slowly shut her locker, clutching her books a little tighter to her chest. Cassidy was standing there, leaning casually against the wall a few feet away. She was dressed in her usual dark jacket, her hair pulled back into a loose bun that framed her face in a way that was almost too perfect. But what caught Taylor most was the way Cassidy's eyes were fixed on her—intense, sharp, and unreadable like always.

For a second, neither of them spoke. The hallway buzzed with life around them, but it felt like they were in their own little bubble, the world fading into the background.

"I..." Taylor started, her voice barely above a whisper. She swallowed, her heart hammering in her chest as she searched for something to say. "Hey..."

Cassidy didn't smile, but she nodded in acknowledgment, her gaze still lingering on Taylor with that same unsettling intensity. "Hey..." Cassidy replied, her voice low and controlled. "I wanted to check in with you."

Taylor blinked, surprised. "Check in?"

Cassidy's lips curved into the smallest smirk, but there was no humor in it. "You seemed pretty upset the other night. With everything that happened."

Taylor's throat tightened. The other night—the moment when Cassidy had stepped in between her and Ezra. The memory of it made Taylor's stomach twist, not just because of Ezra, but because of the way Cassidy had acted. She hadn't offered an explanation, just a warning, and just walked away, leaving Taylor with nothing but questions.

"I was," Taylor admitted, her voice a little firmer now. "I don't understand why you did that."

Cassidy's smirk faded, and her expression grew more guarded, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I told you. Ezra's not someone you should be involved with."

"I get that you don't like him," Taylor said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "But I still don't understand why you care so much. Why does it matter to you who I talk to?"

Cassidy's silence was palpable, and for a moment, Taylor thought she wouldn't answer. But then Cassidy looked away, her jaw tightening as she let out a quiet sigh. "You don't know him the way I do," she said softly. "He's manipulative. He plays people"

"but what if I wanted to figure that out for myself?" Taylor asked, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "You didn't even give me a chance to decide. You just—stepped in."