AVRIL'S CASE -BOOK 2

Chapter Twenty-One.

  "Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose."

                                                                                                                               – Lyndon B. Johnson  

Twelve-year-old Cassie sat on the floor of her room weeping with her legs stretched forward. Her pet rabbit had just died and she was inconsolable. Her hair fell messily upon her face and she frustratedly blew it away as she continued to sob, but it kept on falling back to the same spot on her face. 

Avril sat beside her and patted her hair lovingly. "Pretty girls shouldn't cry," she said in a soft voice as she stroked Cassie's mane. "Mr. hoppity hop wouldn't like it if he knows you're crying."

Cassie chuckled. "He had a very funny name," she sniffed. "I miss him so much, I only had him for a week. I'm a terrible person,'' she sunk her shoulders and the tears rushed out more violently.

"It wasn't your fault that he got really sick," Avril said, and then she got on her knees. She brushed Cassie's hair with her fingers and gathered it up into a ponytail, she held it in place with a hairband that she pulled out of her own hair. She sat back down beside Cassie and then she smiled at her.

"You look prettier like this," she pointed at her hair. "I'm such a good friend, I always have your back," she smiled. "Anytime you're crying I'll put your hair up in a ponytail so that you can look pretty, and so that you can know I love you," she giggled and then she wiped a tear from Cassie's cheeks.

Once again Cassie sat on the floor of her bedroom with her back resting on her bed while she cried beside her best friend, only that this time that best friend was Phoebe. Cassie finally allowed herself to break down, she bawled her eyes out so much that she struggled to breathe. Phoebe pulled her in for a hug and held her tightly while she stroked her hair. Once she felt Cassie's body steady a bit, she pulled herself away.

"Do you wanna tell me exactly what happened?" she asked in a soft voice as she worriedly stared at her best friend.

Cassie snuffled and then she nodded. Phoebe took Cassie's hands and gently massaged it as she waited for her to begin the story. "He found out that I lied to him about knowing Avril's brother among other things, and he was mad, too mad. And then he said something about us being too overambitious in different areas, and that because of that we can't be together," she explained through sobs.

Phoebe gently ground her teeth against each other. "This makes no sense," she blurted. "Are you sure he broke up with you? Maybe he meant you guys needed to take a break. Tyler wouldn't just end things with you, he loves you more than he loves anything in this world . . . you're his world," she pressed.

Cassie nodded and then the tears began to well up more heavily in her eyes and they rushed out more violently. "He – he looked me in the eye Phoebe, and before he dumped me he thought about it carefully. He meant what he said, it's really over this time."

"Aww honey," Phoebe pouted. "Come here," she pulled her in for another hug. "We could tell him that you're pregnant, he'll surely take you back."