Hurricane

Chapter 12: Sleepover

A week passed where the girls didn't talk. Izzie was way too hurt to reach out first and Casey was too confused. She'd also been avoiding Evan. The whole thing was just too much for her to handle. Besides, a thought was growing in her mind and it had become increasingly harder to ignore. She has a boyfriend. She kissed someone who's not him. Was that cheating? Casey didn't feel like it counted, not because Izzie is girl, but because she's her friend and it was so innocent...How could something that felt so right be even a little bit wrong?

Casey went downstairs for a glass of juice and in her way to the kitchen, she saw her mom sitting in the sunroom, holding a cup of tea. The girl deliberated her options for a second. Was talking to Elsa really a good idea? Or something she wanted to do?...Fuck it. If someone knew about cheating, it was her. So, Casey walked up to the sunroom and sat next to her mother, without making eye contact.

"Why did you cheat on dad?" she blurted out before Elsa had any chance to do or say anything.

"Uh-wow, straight to the point, huh?" Elsa replied, a little dumbfounded.

"Don't change the subject," Casey demanded.

"Okay, okay," the older woman said. "Can I ask why do you wanna know?"

Casey thought about answering for a second. She really didn't wanna tell Elsa what happened, but she knew that she couldn't get away with not giving her anything. So, her best option was to lie.

"Just asking for a friend. She did something and she's not sure if it was cheating. So I thought it was a good idea to ask a cheater. You know, to understand how their minds work and all."

"Ouch, but fair enough," Elsa said. "So a friend, huh? From Clayton?"

"Beside the point. Answer."

Elsa tried not looking at her daughter with a knowing look, but Casey already knew that her mom was suspecting something, and was looking for signs on her face. She took a second too long to answer. Finally, the woman took a deep breath.

"I don't know. I mean, I don't really know what was going through my mind at the time. Even if we had our problems with your dad, I don't know why I did what I did. I love your father – I really do – but I guess that there was something that I wasn't feeling with him in that moment. Now I know that I made a big mistake. I hurt your father, I almost lost my family, and for what? Absolutely nothing." Casey's face fell a little and she looked hurt, and that was the final piece for Elsa to be sure what the question was about. "Baby, cheating is never okay, but sometimes you act on feeling that are way too strong and that you don't know how to handle. In my case, I knew immediately that I'd made a mistake and that it was wrong. But if your...friend feels that she acted on strong and true feelings, and it felt right, then the only thing she has to do is make sure that the other part doesn't end up hurt."

The only thing in Casey's mind in that moment was Evan. He was so good and she loved him so much, but was she really in love with him if she was feeling like this about Izzie?

"So what did your friend do?" Elsa asked, trying to get Casey out of  her head.

"She, huh, kissed someone else..." the girl replied, still absent.

"Was it like a silly thing? Maybe on a dare?" Elsa tried again.

"Nope," Casey answered. "She might actually have feelings for this other person."

"Well," Elsa said, standing up. "I'm sure she's a smart girl and that she'll know what to do." With that, the woman left Casey alone with her thoughts.

So, she needed to make a decision. Were her feelings for Izzie real or was it just a silly crush that got out of hand? Was she actually in love with Evan? A million different questions were floating around her mind at the same time. Damn, she was going to need time to figure everything out. Unfortunately, she didn't really have any. Her phone beeped and a new text made her heart skip a beat.