How To Ruin A City

Chapter Twenty Two

Catalina

I was too tired to process anything when I first woke up. When things finally decided to start clicking in my mind, I realized I was staring down at a text from Cassandra. My heart was hammering in my chest as I absorbed the short apology.

I flew out of bed and jumped into my morning routine. Before I knew it, I was out the door. I was at her locker fifty minutes before school started, the sound of my foot tapping against the tile echoing throughout the empty building.

Cassandra turned the corner suddenly and my breath caught in my chest. She raised an eyebrow and forced a cheery smile. "Hey, Lina."

I leaned towards her when she was close enough, cupping my hands over my mouth to whisper, "You're Roulette."

Weird way to confront her, dumbass.

Cassandra stepped back to observe me, not necessarily reacting. Her expression didn't change at all. "Oh. You figured that out all on your own?"

"Cassandra," I exhaled. "What the fuck? You're not even denying it. Why? I-I...How?"

She clasped her hands together in front of her and bit her lip. "Hmm. Well." Her tone changed as she spotted Kyle, Nic, and Zack down the hall. A grin lit up her face. I jumped back. "HEY, YOU THREE! GUESS WHAT CATALINA FIGURED OUT!"

Nic froze, eyes moving to me. He gave me that, 'Oh, shit' look. Zack and Kyle cut themselves off.

Cassandra cackled. "She found out I'm Roulette! Extra brownie points for the confrontation, Lina!"

I gawked at her. "Did you just..."

She grabbed a fistful of my shirt and slammed me back into her locker. "You think I give a shit? You would have told them anyway. Nobody else is here this fucking early. But, you know, just in case..." She turned away from me and sighed. "Don't process what I just said. Think about something else."

I pried her hands off of me and pushed her back, looking over at Nic. His eyes were totally glazed over. Kyle nudged him, said something, and the trio broke out into a group of laughter.

Cass rolled her eyes. "All of you, come with me."

I didn't know if it was a command or not, but I followed her regardless. Zack slowly trailed behind us why Kyle and Nic rushed to my side.

"Where are we going?" Nic whispered.

I didn't even look at him, stomach churning. We filed out into the parking lot.

"Hey, Lucca!" Cassandra called from the sidewalk. I stared at the guy, recognizing him as Chloe's ex. He looked over at us.

He smirked. "Oh, this should be good."

Let's skip ahead another three minutes.

Cassandra hotwired a fucking van while everybody, with the exception of Lucca, told her to stop.

Sofia caught my eye near the building. She stared for a minute before heading over. "What's going on? Are you all cutting class?"

"GET IN!" Cassandra shouted, and suddenly it was no longer a choice. I piled into the back with the others while Sofia settled into the passenger's seat.

"Where are we going?" Kyle squeaked. Zack placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward.

Cassandra only laughed. We shared a collective scream as she barely avoided hitting a curb flying out of the parking lot.

"Cassandra! This is fucking insane!" Zack hissed. "What's wrong with you?"

She turned on the heat. I instantly popped open the window on my side. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror and I turned to look outside.