Chasing Casey

Chapter Twenty

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Dedication: Heather_Dianne for the cool cover! Thank you!

Recap:

Our lives were entwined and there was no way we could break it off, without leaving permanent damage on one, if not both.

"I can't imagine life without you either," I whispered.

And I meant it.

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Despite feeling exhausted, I refused to let myself be down today.

I wasn't going to let Isaac or Casey ruin any more of my days. Today, I wore my hair down and straightened it, which was something I never did anymore. I ditched my over-sized coat that weighed me down and covered my body. As it was not freezing cold day, I let myself wear a skirt.

A few people glanced at me in surprise. I never revealed this much of myself.

I strode past Josh and his friends. I felt his eyes on me the entire time I walked passed. I let out a small sigh as I thought back to my brief time with him. He was the first person that I physically moved on with. I should have known it would all blow up in my face.

"Oh, loving the new look," Marissa gushed as I joined the group. "Looking very nice today, Sadie."

"Thank you," I smiled, brushing a little bit of my hair back from my face. I wasn't used to it being down.

Owen fox-whistled at me and I rolled my eyes. Reaching out, I wound my fingers around his bicep and tugged him after me, much to everyone's shock. Owen looked like he was about to faint. Ignoring that fact, I pulled him after me.

"Hi," I said, once we reached out of ear-shot from everyone.

"Hello," he chuckled, leaning against the wall, looking quite relaxed considering he looked like he was going to collapse a few moments ago. "What's up?"

"I wanted to apologise about what happened the other night," I explained with a sigh. "That was something I wish you hadn't seen."

I saw his cheek twitch as he tried to school his emotions. "No problem."

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," I pushed, studying him carefully.

"A few," he admitted.

"It's a really complicated situation. One that I very rarely speak about."

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Sadie," he assured me, giving me a lope-sided smile. "Isaac was out of line."

"He was, but there's a long history with us." I exhaled and closed my eyes. I woke up today and told myself to explain what happened to Owen. "I was best friends with his brother."

The words felt funny leaving my mouth. I assumed I would never speak about this again, unless it was to a therapist. But here I was, twice in one week, sharing the darkest and most traumatic times of my life.

"Okay?"

"His brother committed suicide."

As my eyes were still closed, I couldn't see his reaction. However, I could hear it. Or, lack thereof, rather. He was silent. I could vaguely hear is quiet, even breathing. I let myself focus on his exhale while I waited.

He never replied.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and he stood there, stock-still, his lips parted.

"It was a very dark time for me. That's all I'm going to say, but that's what it was all about. We're friends, but there's a lot of baggage between us. It's very complicated."