la vie en rose | blake richardson

twelve

Two days later, and the crew were now in Southhampton. The drive there was pretty quiet, with everyone minding their own business and sleeping as they drove late evening, giving them time to check into a hotel.

Cassie yet again stayed in her bunk, headphones in and zoning out as she did before. It was the only thing that kept her sane and listening to the voice of Mitchel Cave from Chase Atlantic, was all that was making her feel like herself.

George had talked to Tanner out of genuine care for Cassie, letting him know that something was out of order, so he could make sure she was okay as they roomed together. Out of pure intentions, Tanner spoke to Cassie briefly about this, to which she unexpectedly responded reasonably well.

"So I've heard from the boys that you've been kind of acting a bit off recently," Tanner sparked the conversation, settling into the hotel room as Cassie stood in the bathroom, removing her makeup for bed.

"Yeah, I've been a bit emotionally overwhelmed," Cassie admits, her voice radiating from the bathroom and into the rest of the hotel room, "just going through something, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tanner offers, slipping into his pyjamas.

"Not really, but thanks Tanner," Cassie sighs, "it just sucks going through something and having Blake not know. I mean, I know he doesn't need to know everything, but at the same time, I feel like he does, because he always has."

"Well, have you mentioned to him that you're feeling down?"

"Briefly, yes. But I can't stand to see how he reacts every time I tell him that I've already got the support I need."

"He probably feels like he's done something wrong, or that you don't need him anymore. If he's always been there and suddenly you won't tell him, he probably feels left out or unimportant," Tanner expresses, Cassie abruptly looking up at herself in the mirror, staring herself in the eyes.

"You're right," Cassie rushes out the bathroom, out the hotel room door.

"Blake!" Cassie knocks on the door of the room next to her, the door soon being swung back to reveal a very confused Blake standing on the other side.

"Hi, Cass," Blake speaks confusingly, looking out into the hall, "you're not in bed?"

"Obviously not. Can I speak to you?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Blake nods, letting Cassie into the room, "is it okay if Reece is here or should I ask him to go to your room momentarily? George is in the shower."

"It's fine," Cassie shakes her head, walking into the main part of the room, greeting Reece who confusingly lays in bed.

"Hi, Cassie," Reece greets her cautiously, "everything alright?"

"I'm not here to have a breakdown," Cassie slightly laughs, Reece awkwardly echoing.

"What did you need to speak to me about?" Blake sits down on the other bed, Cassie taking a seat next to him.

"What's been going on this past week," Cassie speaks slowly, Blake's eyes widening as he nods, trying to make sense of it.

"Okay, you can tell me," Blake sits crossed legged, facing her.

"I've been very insecure lately, and when I feel insecure, I go out on dates..." Cassie starts, Reece subtly looking over to make sure she wasn't going to flake.

"I really don't want to go fully in-depth about it, but I don't respect myself when I go out on these dates with guys, and I end up sleeping with them for reasons that I'm still trying to understand because they hurt too much, but it's a part of myself that I'm still trying to make sense of," Cassie rushes, avoiding eye contact with Blake.