Forever and Always His

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

                I stared at the soggy tuna sandwich in my hand, cursing under my breath for buying the wrong type of sandwich, once again. After sniffing the sandwich, investigating every part carefully, I took a cautious bite. I’ve never been a tuna fish type of girl, I was always more of a simple ham and cheese kind of person. I chewed slowly, scrunching my nose up in disgust as I took a painful swallow.

                “Are you okay, Riley?” Maria teased, leaning the side of her head against Jared’s shoulder. “Your face looks like you’re in pain.”

                I reached over across the table, snatching Maria’s water bottle from her lunch tray. I untwisted the cap, chugging on the cold water to try to get rid of the taste of tuna that was lingering on the tip of my tongue. “I think I’ll survive.” I muttered sarcastically, holding up the tuna sandwich to everyone that was sitting at our table. “Does anyone want tuna?”

                Everyone shook their head, Everett laughing beside me. “I think we all pass.”

                Our chatter was suddenly silenced once we noticed that there was an apparent shadow casted over the surface of the table. Hovering over us with a nervous smile was Cassandra, who was glancing over at Max for defense. “Hi,” Cassandra’s smile twitched before she held up a transparent box, “does anyone want cookies? I made them just yesterday.”

               Maria eyed Cassandra skeptically, making it obvious that she wasn’t welcoming her. “No thanks.” Maria said bluntly, trying her best not to sound rude, yet still coming off cold.

               My eyes flickered over to Maria, shooting her a glare as she caught my gaze. She jutted her lower lip out, shrugging. “What?” she mouthed at me.

                I sighed, shaking my head. “I’ll take one.” I told Cassandra, trying to lighten up the thick tension that roamed over us all. Cassandra’s face seemed to brighten up with relief, a faint smile spreading across her lips. “You can sit with us too, if you want.”

                As Cassandra opened her box of cookies, she stopped at stared at me with surprise. “R-really?” she uttered with disbelief, causing Maria to roll her eyes. From the way Cassandra’s eyes lit up as I spoke, I could tell that she was oblivious to Maria’s murderous glares. “Thanks.”

                She outstretched her hand, holding a sugar cookie. I took it, muttering a ‘thank you’. Taking a bite of the cookie, I couldn’t help but be thankful that I had something to eat that wasn’t spoiled tuna or soggy. “It tastes good.” I nodded approvingly, giving Cassandra a small smile. She was now seated a little further down the table, closer to where Max was. I turned to everyone else that was seated with us, “You guys should’ve taken one. You’re all missing out.”

                “I still have a few, if you guys want.” Cassandra offered, sending her box of cookies down the row.

                Everett stared at me with an expression that I couldn’t register before he bit in his lower lip. “I’ll take Riley’s word for it.” The corner’s of his lips twitching upwards. “Someone give me one?”

                I narrowed my eyes to my right, taking in Cassandra’s beaming face. I haven’t seen her this happy in a while, ever since our fall out. Her face was finally regaining its natural glow, her eyes brighter than ever. She was satisfied that she was finally getting along with us once again, I could tell. A faintly smiled when I noticed her cheeks turning bright red at something Max said.