𝐈'𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞

𝑡 ℎ 𝑖 𝑟 𝑡 𝑦 𝑠 𝑒 𝑣 𝑒 𝑛

chapter thirty seven

Cassandra's POV

"So, she woke you up at five in the morning just to not tell you where y'all going," Asia said over the phone. "The fact that you woke up for her is disturbing. It's early as hell."

I spit out the mouthwash I was gurgling for a few seconds into the seconds and wiped my mouth with a paper towel. "She told me it was a surprise."

"Girl, my grandad used to listen to these podcasts while reading the newspaper and according to those dectevies who be working on those missing cases, yo first mistake was not pretending you was asleep when she was trying to wake you up." Alaska told me loudly in the background and I rolled my eyes because they real life convinced Hailey a killer.

They problem is they think everybody who got some type of mental illness is crazy.

I can't really blame them for being uneducated seeing a lot of kids from the hood really aint taught about mental illness in school.

And the only information they probably do get about it is most definitely from television who portray it as a bad thing, but I can most definitely call them out for doing after I tell them to stop.

"Y'all she not even like that." I say softly, throwing my braids into a loose ponytail. "Then what she like?" Alaska asks and Asia looks back at me waiting for an answer.

"Hailey's like a real sweetheart, she's funny, smart, chill as hell... I thought she did drugs at first." I laugh a lil. Jalen likes to say Hailey be zooted on the low, but I truly believe she's just a laid back ass person. "She hella pretty, and she overall just a great person to be around. You'd know that immediately if you actually talked to her." I shrugged trying to shake off that giddy feeling in my stomach, the one I always get when I think of Hail. It don't work. I still feel it.

"Hm... I guess if you feel that way," Alaska says.

"What do you mean if I feel that way... it's how it is-"

"I'm ready to go, if you are." Hailey tells me blankly, holding a basket in her left hand. I look back at the camera. "I'll talk to you guys later," I say and Asia nods. "Have fun, girl." Asia says and then I hang up the call.

I get my purse and she looks over at me to see I'm ready, I nod and we leave the room. We get to the first floor and Hailey stumbles around in the dim darkness for a while, until she whistles and Dexter appears with a leash in his mouth. She attaches it to his harness and we head out the house, locking the door behind us.

"It's 5:43 AM" Hailey says as we walk down the street. "We have to be at the bus stop in thirty minutes or we're gonna end up missing the bus."

"Okay" I yawn. I don't know why we didnt take one of the cars, or an uber, but it's whatever I guess. Just know I'll never agree to waking up this early on a summer day again.

We continue to walk in silence and it's still way too dark out. I move in closer to Hailey when an old car drives past and she lets me. I make her stop walking, take the basket for my left hand, and take her now empty left hand with my right, then we go back to walking. I do feel scared being this late out but I feel a lil bit safer with Hailey here. After about thirty minutes we walk up to a bus stop, and a few minutes later a bus pulls up.

Me and Hailey pay the bus fare and take our seats in the far back. There's no one else on the bus but me, Hail, and the driver, so the driver lets Dexter take up two seats and lie down. She opens a chess game app and teaches me how to play.

After about five games I get the hang of it, but I never beat her and just give up.

Hailey puts her headphones in and starts listening to music. I relax in my seat and rest my head on her shoulder.