Disobedient

Chapter 17

Barry's pov

"This is my fault," Cassidy whispers, not facing me. I sigh and walk over beside her.

"No it's not," I say softly, trying to make her feel better, "Cass, you didn't know that stupid chip was going to fall off or be taken. You're the reason we escaped anyways."

"Thanks Bear," she says, giving me a small smile.

"So was your dad happy to see you again?" I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Yeah. They all were. He dropped a plate and it shattered when he saw me," Cass giggles.

"What about everyone else? What did they do?" I continue.

"They were surprised and I think a little upset that it wasn't one of their kids that showed up," she admits. I nod.

"I was right you know," Cassidy says softly, finally meeting my gaze.

"What do you mean?" I question, confused. I'm usually wrong about most thing so she needs to be a little more specific.

"About your parents. They were so worried about you. They kept asking about both you and Violet when we were on the plane coming back to New York," she informs me. I start to blush really hard.

"They were probably only doing that because they were talking to you," I point out, still in denial.

"No they weren't Barry. They love you so much. I don't know why you're so convinced that they don't," Cassidy says, frowning at me.

"Because I'm me!" I blurt out, "Why would they love me? I'm nothing special. I'm just Barry."

Cassidy gives me an outraged look, "You did not just say that Barry Hood. You are special and amazing to so many people. We all love you so much." Next thing I know, Cassidy is hugging me tightly, her face pressed up against my chest. Electricity runs up and down my body. I hug her back immediately.

"Even if you never believe that anyone loves you, you know that I do, Hood," Cassidy tells me, her eyes bright. I nod, my throat dry. I couldn't seem to be able to form an intelligent sentence at the moment.

"Barry? Cassidy?" Carter calls, confused. Cass and I jog back to where the others were.

"Where have you two been? We woke up and you were gone," Jasper fusses.

"We were talking," Cassidy responds, providing no further explanation. The others dismiss the topic.

"So we're apparently in Jersey. How are we going to get back home to Cali? I mean, we have no money," Piper says, stating the obvious. None of us speak up.

"What about the police?" Carter asks after a moment.

"We can't. We don't know who is and isn't working with Marcus. We're on our own," I decide, hoping that I made the right decision. No one protests.

"We should get some more sleep. Then we can start hiking back or something," Violet says bitterly. I can't say that I blame her. She's been away the longest and now it seems like forever before we'll be back home.