𝐈'𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞

𝑠 𝑖 𝑥 𝑡 𝑦 𝑛 𝑖 𝑛 𝑒

...
Cassandra's POV
((February 10th & 11th 2022))
...
..

"What's better than Mangos?" Hailey asks as she breaks open the lid to the glass jar of fresh cut Mangos she just bought. I open my mouth to respond to her question but she answers it herself. "I feel like Rambutan, bae. Rambutans are better than Mangos."

That was a rhetorical question. I realize that now.

"Rambutan?" I furrow my eyebrows together in pure confusion. "What's that?"

"A fruit," She responds, flipping her hair with her hand and jerking her neck to the side. "A really good fruit. They say the peel toxic but it's still bomb,"

I hum softly in response, opening the container of gummy bears I picked up a few minutes ago, enjoying the comfortable silence as we start eating. Me and Hailey are currently outside sitting on the curb in front of this store called KWIK TRIP eating snacks.

It's not too late in the night but it kinda is. I don't mind though, I like nights like this, although I may be biased because I'm out with Hailey and I like her but, oh well. I got off of work an hour ago and I was a little hungry but I wasn't in the mood for some food, if that make sense? So, Hailey drove us here and now we just enjoying each other's company, watching as random cars ride pass and people walk in-and-out of the store.

"Want one?" She asks after a few minutes and I glance at her, seeing she's offering me a Mango. I give her a polite smile and take one, mumbling a 'thank you' to which she responds with a soft 'you're welcome'.

I bite into it letting the juice uncomfortably run down my hands and mentally cringe. See, this exactly why I always be having a napkin or something when I eat certain fruit, now I'm 'bout to be all sticky and stuff.

Using my coat sleeve to wipe off the juice I go ahead and finish the piece of mango in two bites before going back to my gummy bears. Orange and green are the best flavors to me even though growing up people would be like 'oh, honey - they all taste the same' like, no? All of the Froot loops taste the same, hell, even all the Cap'n Crunch Berries taste alike. I know it's odd to compare cereal with candy but still. All gummy bears do not taste alike, a least not to me.

"So, um, how's your momma been doing?" Hailey asks out the blue, snapping me out of my cereal and candy based thoughts.

I blink a couple times before I turn to look at her and I just know my face flushed with confusion. "What?"

"Your momma" She speaks again, tilting her to the side a little. "I asked how's your momma doing.."

Chuckling a little in nervousness, I start feeling my heart beat out my chest. I didn't tell Hailey about the party or Elliot stealing my money. I didn't tell her about Gus, didn't tell her about Gus getting somebody to shoot Elliot, Henry, and my mom.. and I damn sure didn't tell her about me moving out and how I been staying with Reign for the past month and that's cause I'm scared.

Scared, a little embarrassed, and a little ashamed for some reason too. I just don't know how she's gonna take it and that's the scary part, and then to openly admit that my family truly ain't shit is embarrassing.

I honestly can say I really dislike my family, but I dislike the situation we got going on more.

Secretly at night, I be wishing that when I wake up the next morning everything would be better than how it is and everything that led to the point where I'm at now, didn't happen. The sister reveal, the arguing, the Elliot stealing my money, the thing with Uncle Randy friend, the shooting.. just all of it. And I can't lie when I wake up and nothing has changed. It actually makes me feel bad. So I just keep quiet about it. Sometimes I lie in order to keep quiet about it too.