It Was Him *EDITING*

Ch. 10: One Down, Another Gained

"We'll talk about this later, alright?" Zack said, briefly glancing at me before looking back to the road. "Yeah, yeah," I huffed, crossing my arms. "I'm glad you're not badly hurt, sis," he whispered, glancing at me again, concern clouding his gaze. He rested his free hand on my arm and lightly moved his thumb back and forth. "Yeah, I'm glad you're not hurt either," Seth shouts from the back seat. I rolled my eyes. "Is someone feeling left out?" I playfully teased, turning around to look at him. His ruffled brown hair partly covered his icy blue eyes. Seth pouted his lip. "Maybe a little," he whined. I laughed as I turned back around. "Are we there yet?" He shouts again. Zack and I groan in unison as the car rumbles on.

****************

The next day at school was more terribly slow than I could have imagined, not to mention Kacey was expelled. I haven't seen her since the fight, which was about a week ago. Lunch finally came, and I was starving. I went through the line without encountering any difficulties, thank the heavens. As I sat down at my lonely table, I heard someone walk towards me. "Can I sit with you?" An all too familiar voice. I looked up and jumped, startled, even though I already knew who it was. Rachael. When I looked up, I expected to see her beautiful, wavy, strawberry blonde hair, perfect smokey eye makeup, flawless complexion. But what startled me was her black eye, messy, straight hair, and no makeup whatsoever.
Confused and unsure, I mumbled, "Sure." Rachael managed a grateful smile, which I'm sure hurt, and took the seat across from me. Attempting at a conversation, I asked, "They let you start school this early, right after, you know...?" Rachael looked blankly at me. "I insisted. I just needed to talk to you," she stated. Intrigued, I asked, "What about?" Rachael twiddled her thumbs. "It's Kacey. You know, the whole school was super confused when you two became friends," she said. I must have shown my confusion on my face, because she smirked. "Guess there's a lot she's been keeping from you, huh?" Even more confused, and even a little irritated, I snapped. "Why would I believe you?" A flicker of surprise played across Rachael's face, but it was gone as soon as it came. "You think I'd come back to school, on a Monday, in this condition, just to lie to you?" My eyes widened as this all sunk in. How could I have been so stupid? "Just...let me explain," she said, leaning across the table. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she said, "Kacey is a very bad girl. The fight? Well, more like the attack. That was just a little glimpse into her hectic world. She used to,-" "Just stop!" I shouted. Rachael sat back in her seat, the surprise now etched into her features. "I know Kacey, okay? She's not that kind of person," I whispered. "Anymore," Rachael countered. "After her grandpa was diagnosed with cancer, her bad girl doppelganger started shining through once again." Rachael sat back, satisfied, as she waited for me to respond. "What made her be good, you know, before that?" I asked. Rachael looked satisfied with this question. "You," she said, as if it was as obvious as the fact that we were talking to each other. What? What does she mean? As if reading my thoughts, Rachael continued, "She saw something in you that she hadn't seen in anyone before. She wanted to change, so she wouldn't hurt you with her evil ways." To say I'm surprised is an understatement. Then a question that was burning in the back of my mind finally came out on top. "How do you know all this?" Rachael replied, "I'm her cousin," before sashaying (trying to, at least) out of the cafeteria.

***************** 

"Long day?" Zack asked as I barged into the house. Him and Seth were at the table, playing some kind of card game while eating pizza. "That's the biggest understatement, like, ever," I replied, stealing Seth's piece just as he was about to take a bite. Surprise etched itself into Zack's face. "You really did have a bad day," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Seth sat there, pouting at the loss of his pizza, before overhearing Zack. "What happened? Did someone mess with you? I'll beat 'em into a pulp!" He shouted, standing up from the table. I took a huge bite of my pizza. "Not...exactly," I muttered honestly. I told them both everything that Rachael told me, while finishing off the pizza.
"She's...they're... They're cousins?" Seth questioned. I nodded. "I mean, if Rachael was even telling the truth," I added. I looked over to Zack to see his reaction. Surprisingly, he seemed unfazed. "I've been meaning to tell you, sis," he whispered, looking down. "You knew?" I sputtered. How could he not tell me?

Hello darling readers! So, what did you think? Intense, right? If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a vote and/or a comment! It would mean the world to me!! Until the next chapter...

P.S. I know there isn't a lot of romance going on, but hang in tight!