Casey and Me

Well that escalated quickly!

Walking to the pool that afternoon, I felt tired, drained, wiped out... you name it, that's what I felt. Casey had done very little studying, instead choosing to go on and on about her home life. I was kicking myself mentally for yet again falling into her trap of false friendliness, and as I entered the pool, I decided then and there that this time, I was done. Once she'd started talking about the "late night talks" she had with her "parents" - said talks involving lots of weed and no clothes, mind you - I'd tuned out, recalling the events of the afternoon before, and the mess which had been spawned from there. 

"You know, you should come along one day," Casey had said, just as the warning bell rang, thankfully signalling the end of lunch. "The folks'll be thrilled to have you there. You can really chill out and not worry about anything. And you've seen the house. There's loads of room, and you can crash wherever you like."

"Uh, maybe," I'd said noncommittally, and that had been the end of that. But in reality, I was seeing that Miss Ainsworth had been right the night before. Casey was so deeply entangled in her aunt and uncle's web that nothing would ever get her out again. 

"Woah, careful," Marcia cautioned, breaking me out of my reverie. "You almost went in headfirst!"

I took a deep breath and set my bag down. "Sorry." I shivered. "Casey's doing my damn head in."

"You've really got to ditch her," Marcia advised, giving my shoulders a rub. "She's been running you ragged ever since Monday, and you just haven't been yourself since yesterday. Sophia filled me in, by the way."

I sighed. "I'm not going to let her drag me down any further," I agreed. "She's not going to take it well, but I can't keep letting her lure me back, only for her to remind me that she's a manipulative, lying little sh--"

That earned me an unexpected punch from nowhere which sent me sprawling, and I gasped, staring up in shock to find Casey standing over me, her eyes blazing with rage. "You fuckin' little bitch!" she yelled. She made to pounce on me, but Sophia picked her up and threw her into the pool, and I swear the water almost started to boil as she surfaced, spitting water and curses. David jumped in to pull her out before restraining her, his face tight with anger. "You've done enough damage for a lifetime," he said coldly. "Marcia, get someone in here, now."

Marcia bolted from the pool, and returned half a minute later with Mr Gladstone, who took one look at the situation and sprung into action, relieving David of his angry little burden, his normally stoic manner replaced by anger equal to and possibly surpassing Casey's. "That's quite enough," he told her. "You've already been on thin ice for a while. Do you really want to add a suspension to your growing tally of infractions?"

"Fuck you!" Casey screamed. She pointed at me. "She fuckin' stabbed me in the fuckin' back! Makin' out like she was a good friend, and then turnin' around and fuckin' saying I was manipulative!"

Mr Gladstone rolled his eyes and hauled her out, and I collapsed in a sobbing heap on the floor. "What the hell just happened?" I demanded. 

Marcia helped me to my feet and hugged me tight. "Casey's a serious troublemaker," she said in my ear, rubbing my back as I finally allowed all the stress of the last twenty-four hours to come out. It took some time before I could fully calm down, and by the time I'd recovered my wits, the rest of the team had gathered, shocked to hear of what had happened. "Fuck, even Jessie wasn't this bad," Sophia muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "My God, Casey's really gone off the deep end, hasn't she?"

"I didn't even notice her following me," I said shakily, pulling myself out of Marcia's arms. "God. If I'd known, I'd have been more careful."

David shook his head. "She was asking for it," he said. "And it means she's just shown her true colors. Don't worry about her. If she tries coming after you, she's going to go through us, and then some."

Ellis nodded, his face dark with anger. I'd never seen him so furious before, and I was so, so glad he was on my side. "That's if I don't wring her neck," he said, his voice so cold it sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. He noticed and his expression softened a little. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you," he assured me, reaching out and taking my hand. "I'm mad for you. Casey's damn lucky I didn't see her stunt. She might've been nursing more than just a chill."

"Forget her," Rocky said. "Let's get to training, huh? Sarah, will you be alright with that eye of yours?"

"I'll be fine," I promised, giving Ellis' hand a squeeze. The smile I got in return was enough to turn my insides to jelly, and as we all separated to get changed, I wondered if perhaps Sally was right. 

I supposed there was only one way to find out.