A Complicated Wish

Part 6

Cress was never one to not finish her ice cream. Especially in a crisis. Yet, there sat her half-eaten, melted ice cream... and her. In her early days of a crisis, when Carswell was given her love letter, her ice cream eating was off the charts, something that calmed her. She looked down at the white porcelain bowl that sat on the floor. She couldn't find it in herself to finish it.

She sat on the couch in one of her dads sweaters. Although he was only a few inches taller than her, it still was baggy, perfect to wrap herself up in. June came stomping into the room and collapsed on the couch next to her.

She looked down at the melted ice cream. "That bad?" June asked.

Cress just nodded vaguely at her.

"Wow." June rolled her eyes, drawing out the "ow". She bunched her lips to one side. "You going to finish that ice cream?"

Cress sat up and looked at her younger sister. "Um, that's melted."

"Okay, and?" June shrugged.

"Yeah, okay fine. Go for it." Cress gestured toward the bowl.

June clapped her hands together once before taking the bowl, licking the spoon, and drinking the cream. She ran to the kitchen to throw the dishes in the sink before slumping back down next to Cress.

"So, what happened?" June asked, reaching for the remote.

Cress narrowed her eyes at her sister, looking at her through the corner of her eyes.

"I have no idea, actually" Cress stated.

"That's BS!" June swore at her.

"Hey, where did you learn that?" Cress flicked the back of June's head.

Rubbing her head, June shrugged, "The eighth-graders were saying it!"

Cress rolled her eyes. They probably didn't know what it meant, much less her 12 year old sister.

"Does it have to do with Carswell?" June perked up. "Like are you guys going to break up? Because I really like him, and I think he's good for you and he's a good friend of mine, and he's actually made me pretty pop-"

"It has nothing to do with him!" Cress groaned pushing herself from the coach. "I'm going to my room!"

As she started stomping off, their dad came home. He looked from Cress to June, then spoke. "What's up with her?"

June shrugged, giving wide eyes. Both jumped from hearing the door slam upstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ugh it was so embarrassing!" Cress spoke animatedly, flailing her arms about.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Jacin spoke through the phone.

Cress raised her eyebrow and looked pointedly at him through the phone.

"Well look, you haven't seen him in what 10 years? Give or take, it is obviously going to be awkward especially, because you wrote a love letter to him, and he got it." Jacin pulled his hair from its ponytail and set it in a loose messy bun.

Cress felt an eye twitch. She had sent a letter. And he had replied. "I just want to die!"

Jacin snorted, "Ever the dramatic."

"Look I may be flamboyant, but it's with good reason!" Cress pointed an accusatory figure at him.

"Hey I never disagreed." He raised his hands in defeat.

Cress heard yelling in Jacin's background, then his Roommate came busting through the door. "Hey Jacin we are going out for foo- and you're on a call."

"Hi Liam." Cress waved through the phone.

"Hi Cress." Liam waves back awkwardly.

Jacin shrugged and stood from his desk. "Well I guess it's dinner time. Can you talk to Winter for me? She still hasn't answered my calls or texts."

"Do you think she's still mad that you enlisted without telling her?" Cress asked.

Jacin ran a hand through his hair, pulling it from its bun. "I didn't exactly not tell her!"

Cress gave him an unamused look.

"I told her I got an 85 on my ASVAB, how could I not go?" Jacin asked.

"Well, maybe you should have said, "Hey, by the way, I'm going to join the army right after I graduate." Then that should have made this situation better." Cress said sarcastically.

"Yeah well. That's not what happened, just have her call me back, please?" Cress had never seen Jacin so messed up. He had only told Winter a week before he shipped off to boot camp that he was leaving for two years. She hadn't handled it well, barely even saying goodbye.

"Yeah I got you," Cress said.

"Thank you!" Jacin gave a smile before ending the call.

Ugh boys.

Cress felt some sort of guilt building up in her, she didn't know why. Was it because she called Jacin before even thinking of calling of Carswell?

No, that wasn't it. Cress knew that Carswell knew that she and Jacin were close. Due to his connection with Cress, she saw him as an honorary brother. When she was in the foster system, his family had fostered her for a while. Jacin had felt like he needed, even to this day, to protect Cress.

She was thankful that they lived within the same county as her, she didn't know what she would do without the Clay's in her life.

Cress decided that she felt guilt for not telling Carswell at all. Because... she wanted to tell him in person. That was it.

Deep down, Cress knew she felt the guilt because in all honesty, she felt something for another boy that wasn't Carswell. And that felt like an utter betrayal to him.

A/N

I have decided that Cress and Jacin shall be like a platonic Lara-Jean and Josh. In all honesty, I love the idea of the friendship between Cress and Jacin and I wish it was expanded more in the books.

Also if you do not know, the ASVAB is the test taken to get into the military. So the higher the score you get, such as an 85, the better chance you have of getting the job in the branch of the military you want. So for example I have a friend who is in the marines and got a 91, so he pretty much could get whatever job he wants. And my brother got an 86, I think, and he's in the navy, and he's going into nuclear. So like yeah, Jacin got options... and of course, he's gonna be a Doctor in the military.

Also thank you everyone for sticking with me even though I'm just a mess and my stories are always on a spotty schedule.