DAMAGED

chapter22 ☪

•••
Kassie's POV

I managed to laugh shakily, trying to ignore the quick, unsteady beats of my messed-up heart.
"You're cute when you're cheeky." I giggled, my voice barely able to be heard.
"I guess." He said before his lips made their way over to mine again, his dominant side taking over this time as both of us fell deeper and deeper into the trance.
I was able to snap out of it pretty quickly, though. I gathered all of my common sense before looking back at him, who seemed to be doing the same.
"What just happened?" I asked, still catching my breath.
Wolfie shrugged as we slowly made our way out of the waterfall. "I don't know."
At least the heat of the moment made me forget about the fact that he was leaving -- oh, wait. I just reminded myself again, didn't I?
"Promise me you'll try to convince your parents." I said in a very hushed voice.
"I can try." He responded, still holding my hand tightly. "If it means having more of these moments with you."
I sighed, looking at the statuesque sunset. "Why did your sister use to come here again?" I asked him slowly, unsure whether he'd get annoyed by my question.
"Why wouldn't she? She could get away from our parents here, so..." He shrugged and hesitated before continuing. "She was going to stop by with her baby after going to see me when the car 'accident' happened and killed both of them."
There was brief silence before I spoke. "We should leave. It's getting dark."
He nodded and helped me out of the water. I shivered and the cold air gave me goosebumps.
"Here. Put this on." Wolfie gave me his dry sweater which had been left on the ground and I was instantly grateful for it.
We began walking in silence, as if we were two complete strangers without any awkwardness. "I should have brought my car," I muttered. "But I'm saving up gasoline money for my phone bill."
Wolfie looked at me with a confused expression. "Phone bill?"
"Jarett's making me pay for my necessities." I explained.
"Every time you tell me something about that guy, I end up hating him even more." He told me, making me laugh a little. "We get what we get." I sighed.
"And we don't get upset." He added, making me laugh half-heartedly again.
"Tell me about it." I mumbled, looking at the ground as we began to walk on the sidewalk next to the street.
"When do you start the new school?" He asked after a while.
"Tomorrow." I answered with a pang of sadness.
"We need to meet up."
"How about the garden?" I suggested while mentally trying to come up with an excuse to tell Jarett for arriving at my house soaking wet.
"Sure. Same time as today." He agreed.
"That way, you can tell me whether or not you convinced them." I said, less enthusiastic. My hope was decreasing by the minute.
Wolfie didn't reply.
"Would it kill you to have a little more faith and positivity?" I huffed in annoyance.
"We both know what's going to happen, Kassie." He responded a little too quickly.
"No, we don't!" I whined. "We don't-"
He grabbed my wrist and stopped me, trying to calm me down.
"You and I both know what's coming."
"But-"
"Just listen. I'm still going to try to convince them, but if anything happens, you need to forget about this, okay? I don't want to be the reason your depression worsens. Just move on." He told me, hesitating on the last sentence.
I gulped and stayed quiet, my legs shaking as I looked into his eyes.
It was so confusing. I felt hopeless and faithful at the same time, yet I also endured love and... Fear?
What am I afraid of?
Tired of speaking, we resumed walking in silence the whole way.

~~~

I grabbed the keys from my pocket clumsily, twisting the knob to get the door to open.
If only Jarett was nice enough, Wolfie could've stayed here with me, and we could've thought of a better plan.
If only his parents weren't abusive.
If only...
I managed to open the door, hoping Jarett will believe my excuse for being drenched.
The first thing I saw was him sitting on the couch with a very pensive look attached on his features.
"Hi." I managed to say.
He was still silent, his mind wandering off to a far destination in his train of thoughts.
"Now you don't even want to talk to me." I guessed, beginning to head upstairs.
"Kassie." He spoke aloud, making me stop right where I was.
"I need to talk to you."
Oh, Lord. What trouble am I in this time?
However, when I saw his tired, melancholy appearance, I got the feeling that it wasn't about me.
"What happened?" I asked. "Why are you soaking in-?" Jarett looked at me.
"I went to the pool with Lucy." I replied immediately, my heart racing. I need to call Lucy later and get her in on the lie, too.
He sighed. "Alright. Kassie, sit down."
Now I was scared. I sat down next to him and waited for hurtful words to come.
Instead, I received a quick, awkward hug.
I blinked as he let go of me. "W-What's going on?"
He sighed once more, rubbing his eyes as if it would take the tiredness away.
"Today, Tuvi had a doctor's appointment. Remember the continuous migraines she would be having?"
My heart began pounding faster than ever now. Yes. I do remember.
"I had to take her to the hospital to get her scanned. The doctor got us an appointment for that right away, and..." He stopped, sighing.
I bit my lip.
"They found a brain tumor. She has cancer, Kassie."