Kieran Tate is the type of person who just floats through life. He had a somewhat average childhood, has somewhat average grades, and isn't really anything special. That's the way he likes it to be; do all of the needed tricks without falling off th...
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My family's intense game of charades briefly comes to a halt when there is a knock on the front door. Lilah flapping her arms like a chicken instantly stops and her cheeks blush red. I laugh before jumping up from the couch.
"I got it," I announce.
I open the door to be met with my boyfriend who has heavy bags under his eyes.
"Hey, Cas—"
He cuts me off with a quick kiss to my lips before resting his forehead on my shoulder as he loosely wraps his arms around my waist. I reciprocate the affection by running my hand through his hair and patting his back as I glance at the rest of my family's faces which are riddled with worry.
Everyone's noticed a change in Cassius in the past few days. Just when he was beginning to open up to other people who weren't me, he shut himself back down again, but I don't blame him.
The arrival of Mr. Acheron has hit both of us pretty hard. It's affected Cassius in unexplainable ways, and it's affected me because I hate seeing my boyfriend in pain. I feel so helpless. I don't know how to really make anything better because I don't know what's wrong, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to be the best damn support he needs right now.
Mr. Rockwell gave Mr. Acheron a warning: if he tries to speak to, look at, or even be in Cassius's presence, our principal is instantly going above the board's head and firing him. This has convinced Cass to at least continue going to school, but it hasn't settled his nerves at all.
He's jumpy all the time. I can tell that he hasn't gotten a wink of sleep since last week. He's barely eating anything. It's like he can never get a second to relax because he is trying to defend himself from what he thinks is inevitable.
I'm sure to walk with him to every single one of his classes. Even though most of our schedule is the same, I still sacrifice the classes that we don't share together so I can walk him there safely.
He's been kind of quiet, too. I don't quite understand what is going through his head, but I am glad that he feels safe enough to come to me.
"Kurayami?" My mom says softly from the living room. "Do you want to join us for a game? I was going to make dinner in about an hour too."
He pulls his head off of my shoulder. I gently maneuver him so I can shut the front door. The second I'm out of his eyesight, though, he abruptly whips around, grabbing onto the bottom of my shirt.
"Mom, I don't know if—"
"I-I'll join," Cass cuts me off.
I look at him worriedly, but he pretends that he doesn't see my expression. With me lately, it's like he is always looking for a distraction because he knows we have to talk eventually.
I sigh but guide him to the couch. When we sit down, I give him a quick rundown of the score and scoot over so he has a little bit more space to himself. However, he just scoots close to me, fusing our thighs together as he is anxiously biting his lip. I have to let out a little laugh before slipping my hand under his oversized black shirt and rubbing his tense back.
