The Smile Always Fades

10. Until Spring Break

That night, Jason knocked on Anna's locked door. She had been working furiously on her paper, trying to keep her mind off of the confrontation she had with her mother earlier that evening. She looked up at her alarm clock, it was 9 pm and Jason must have been coming to check up on her. She unlocked her door and let her brother in. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Shane?" She felt bad that she put Shane in that uncomfortable position. He probably thought she had totally lost her mind. She'd never be able to have him now.

"He left right after you went to your room. I think he felt kind of awkward after we came out to see what was going on."

Anna cast her head down. "I'm sorry," she said glumly.

"Eh, it's okay. We were getting bored anyway. You actually gave us some excitement." He smiled and nudged his sister on the shoulder. "Pretty epic, getting into a fight with Mom."

"I guess," Anna replied, trying not to sound mortified and embarrassed. She never burst out like that, flying off the handle and screaming. Especially not with Shane in the other room.

"So...," Jason began awkwardly. "Were you serious, Anna? Are you really wanting to go to New York to see Cassy?"

"Of course!" Anna exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I be serious?! Cassy needs me, Jason. I'm not going to ignore or forget about her just because she lives on the east coast." Jason just stared at her, not saying a word. "Jason," Anna started. "I want you to come too. Cassy really started seeing you as a...friend, so she wouldn't mind if you were there, and I kinda need you to go, just so that I'll have a...wing man, I guess." She gave her brother a shy smile. Anna and Jason had never really been close siblings, but Anna did love him and she knew he cared for her. She really needed her older brother to protect and comfort her once they were there.

"Anna, how do you expect to pay for the tickets to get over to New York City? How are we gonna pay for food, taxi cabs, a hotel room? And what about the Stevens? How are you gonna get a hold of them to inform them on what you're planning?"

Anna had it all covered. She'd been doing some research and thinking for the past two weeks. "Remember when Grandma died?"

Jason had a confused expression slapped on his face. "Anna, what does Grandma have to do with any of this?"

"She left us each with $10,000," she continued without addressing his comment. "You spent your money on your car, but I didn't really want anything, other than my laptop, so I put the rest of the money into savings. I figured I'd pull it out when I really needed it. Well...now I need it," she proclaimed, with a witty smile.

Jason laughed. "You're a smart one, Anna," he said endearingly, ruffling her hair with his strong hand. He turned around, about to leave.

"Jason?" Anna called before he left.

"Yeah?"

"Can you take me to the bank tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Anna. I can do that. When are you wanting to leave for New York?"

"A.S.A.P., but I should call Cassy's mom before we finalize any plans."

"Good idea," Jason said. He exited her room and shut the door behind him.

The next morning, Anna finally got Linda's--Cassy's mom's--phone number. She called the number and got an answer after the first ring.

"Hello?" It was Cassy's little sister answering.

"Melany? It's me, Anna."

"Oh! Anna! I've missed you so much! Cassy misses you too..."

Anna's heart grew warm, she was so overjoyed to hear Melany's voice. She thought of Melany as her own little sister; Melany was only about ten years old, but Anna loved her all the same. "Melany, it's so good to hear your voice, but I need to speak to your mom, is she home?"