CAKE

Seventy-Five

Casey

I never imagined I'd get tired of seeing the face of the woman I love. Yet here it is, Christmas day and I wish she wasn't the first person I was seeing this morning. I let out a breath the moment our eyes meet and turn my gaze elsewhere in annoyance. Doesn't she have someone else's house to visit? 

"You could act like you're happy to see me," she mutters, following me into the kitchen. "That would be possible if I wasn't seeing you every other day," I spit. 

In all honesty, I probably was only annoyed to see her so much because it hurts knowing she's someone else's girlfriend. Those lips aren't mine to kiss anymore and those eyes I've grown to love, look at someone else with lust. I hated it. Maybe if she was single, I wouldn't despise it as much.

But every time I see her face, I could only see Mateo laughing at me for he had gotten the woman I love and left me with a broken heart. Of course, I have no one else to blame but myself.

Knowing I destroyed such a perfect thing with her only makes me hate myself more than I already do. It also didn't help that Hope and my father had been on my mind for the past few days, leaving me a little angrier at the world than usual.

The woman's frown grabs my attention forcing me to sigh. "I'm sorry... I'm not in the best of moods right now and seeing you is only adding fire to the flame," I mutter softly, feeling bad for taking my anger out on her.

She sighs and nods her head, understanding that everyone has bad days. "I was coming over to give you a little heads up," she mutters causing my brows to raise, wondering what to expect. "My family came down and they are really enthusiastic to see you," she spits forcing my eyes to close. 

The sour mood I have only gets worse at the revelation. Can today be over already? I don't think I'll make it through the evening. Kathryn touches my hand, shocking me in the process. I glance at her and pull my hand back a little, which she notices. But she doesn't move her hand away from mine.

"If you would like to talk about it... I am here," she mutters. 

My body relaxes. It felt good to hear her say that. I've been keeping my feelings to myself for two years and hearing those words from her lips made me feel a little less shitty than I do. I eye the woman for a few long seconds before taking a step toward her and wrapping my arms around her.

I bury my head in her neck as I try not to cry. Kathryn stands still and stiff as she wasn't expecting me to hug her. After a few still moments, I feel her arms wrap around me as well.

We remain in that position for a minute or so, until Cassandra enters the kitchen. Her eyes land on us, forcing me away from the brunette. I clear my throat and glance at Kathryn. "Thank you... I'll uh... I think I'll be fine," I mutter and try to exit the kitchen but she stops me before I can leave.

"I'm serious, Casey," she mutters. Unable to say anything else, I nod my head and exit the kitchen. I continue getting ready to leave and avoid my sister once Kathryn leaves, knowing she'd have a mouthful. 

Once we exit the house, Cassandra walks beside me to the car. "Are you okay? You've been acting weird for the past few days," she mutters. I glance at her, surprised she noticed, I thought I had been doing a good job of hiding it.

I sigh and nod my head, "Yeah, I'm okay," I lie. She frowns, "I didn't say anything because I figured you would talk to me eventually but I never expected you to lie to my face," she spits.

Clenching my jaw, I swallow my spit as I glance at my sister. "I'm serious, Cass. This happens a lot... kind of how Bipolar 2 disorder works. I'll be fine in a few more days," I mutter. She sighs and eyes me before dropping her gaze.