Chapter 8: Confession
A/N: Thanks to Pineapplegirl123, Flamingaura, Fantomfaire (FanFiction) Anon Ryder23 (Wattpad) for reviewing! And also to those who’ve followed Antiquity. This is a pretty decent size chapter, so enjoy!
Spring break was officially over. Since the incident with Jason, Cassidy hadn’t heard from Becca or Shawn. That day she returned home, her mother immediately drove Cassidy to her private practice and ran a series of tests on her to confirm what drug or drugs Jason gave her that night and also to give her peace of mind that her only child wasn’t raped.
Evelyn, her mother called her boss at the diner and informed him that she would be taking the rest of the spring break vacation off from work for personal reasons.
Cassidy was punished and sentenced to three weeks of grounding for lying. There was no computer, unless it was strictly used for school work. No phone, no borrowing the car and no going out on the weekends. She was to head straight to school and head straight back home unless she was scheduled down to work that week.
Her phone was returned to her on weekdays so her mother could keep tabs on her at all times while she was at school and at work. When her mother would return home, Cassidy was ordered to hand over her phone until the following morning.
Cassidy grabbed her backpack from off the bed and took one more glance in the wall mirror before heading off to school. She wasn’t fond of wearing makeup. But that day her mother mentioned the bruise on her face, she did her best to hide it. It was slowly fading, but she still had to place some concealer over the mark.
She was dreading returning to school. One, she was angry with Becca, angry for leaving her alone while she fooled around, giving Jason that opportunity to take advantage of her. Second, what if she saw Jason? What was she supposed to do, how would she react?
She shook her head of such thoughts and ran out of her bedroom and headed downstairs for her mother to drop her off at school before on her way to work. “You ready, sweetie?” Evelyn asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” She muttered.
Cassidy ignored the several looks she was given as she pushed her way through the crowded halls as she made her way towards her locker. She didn’t like being the center of attention, but once she stepped foot on campus, everyone’s eyes seemed to lock on her.
She immediately halted when she caught glimpse of Jason stepping out of the men’s restroom. She couldn’t help but admire Shawn’s work. Jason’s entire face was bruised and swollen. His nose was placed in a splint, indicating that it was indeed broken. His arm was also placed in a cast, making him lose any chance of playing football for the rest of the season.
Jason must’ve also taken notice of Cassidy because all the color in his face had seemed to drain. Eyes widen, Jason took a few steps back until his back hit the lockers. He quickly turned around and hustled down the hallway to god knows where. Cassidy shrugged her shoulders and turned down another hall where she saw Becca standing by her locker.
“Hey,” Becca whispered.
“Hey,” Cassidy muttered, turning the dial to the combination lock.
“I’m so sorry, Cassidy.” Becca began.
Cassidy grabbed a few books out of her locker and slammed the metal door shut. “Save your excuses, Rebecca.” Cassidy said through clenched teeth.
Becca winced at her name. The only time Cassidy ever used her actual name was when she was angry and that was when they were six years old when she purposely took a pair of scissors to Cassidy’s hair.
“I said I was sorry, Cassidy,” She whispered. “What else do you want me to say?”
Cassidy inhaled deeply and pressed her forehead against her locker. “I don’t think we should be friends anymore, Rebecca.”
Tears started to form in the corner of Becca’s eyes. “Cassidy, please don’t do this.” She pleaded. “I need you.”
“And where were you when I needed you?” Cassidy said, turning towards her next class.
“You’re my only friend!” Becca cried.
~ANTIQUITY~
The final bell rang throughout the entire school, informing all students’ the day was officially over with. To Cassidy’s dismay the day was far from over. She still had an afterschool track meet to attend to, the part-time shift she was scheduled to work down at the diner and if she still had enough sanity left in her by the end of the day, she’d have to fit in time to study.
She finally made it to the field with enough time to spare where all the other girls were stretching. Once Cassidy stepped up beside them, all girls stopped stretching and stared at her. Cassidy sighed heavily and turned to them. “Okay, I’m sick of all the looks everyone has been giving me today.” She said, irritably. “If you’ll have something to say, then say it already.”
Tara stood up. “We heard what happened during spring break?” She spoke softly. “What Jason did to you was unforgivable.”
Cassidy scoffed. “At least you think that.” She said. “Rumor around campus is that I’m the school tramp. I guess I have the football team to thank for that.”
Tara smiled and pulled the end of Cassidy’s pony tail. “Don’t let them get to you.” She said. “You’re better than that, Cassi.”
“I have far worse things to worry about right now than some false rumor that’s going around.” She said, fixing her hair.
“At least Jason got what he deserved,” Brittney smiled, wrapping her arms around Cassidy’s neck from behind. “From what we heard, a hot guy came to your rescue and scooped you up in his arms. Talk about romantic, I wish my boyfriend would do something like that.”
Cassidy could feel her face turning red from Brittney’s words. “Speaking of hot guys, check out the stud on the bleachers?” Tara said, biting her bottom lip.
Cassidy and the other girls turned their heads towards the bleachers. She inwardly groaned at the man she had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting last week, Agent Miller. She threw her duffle bag down onto the ground and stormed over to the Agent.
“You know, when you said you’d be keeping an eye on me I honestly didn’t think this is what you had in mind.” She said, irritably. “Some people might get the wrong assumption and think you’re some type of creepy predator looking for his next victim.”
Miller removed his sunglasses. “Is that what happened to you?” Miller questioned.
Cassidy clenched her fists. “Don’t tell me you drove all the way down here just to mock me, Agent Miller.” She said. “What’re you really doing here?”
“You still haven’t called the office.” He said.
Cassidy scoffed. “Did it ever occur to you that I just may not be interested in your little offer?” She said.
Miller frowned. “Why not?” He asked. “Your father talked very highly of you. I’m sure he’ll be pretty disappointed once he finds out you’re not attending. Though, I’m curious to know what his little ‘weapon’ can do.”
Cassidy slammed her fist against the guardrail, catching Agent Miller by surprise. “Don’t call me that.” She growled angrily. “I’m not his weapon and I sure as hell don’t need his help climbing up the ladder. I can work my way up just like everyone else.”
Miller placed his sunglass back on and stood up from the bleachers. “Sensitive topic, huh?” He smiled. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Miss…Cassidy. Just please consider attending the exam. If it doesn’t meet up to your expectations in any way you’ll never hear from me again, but if you pass and you enjoyed it, all you have to do is attend the police academy and pass the California state exam. I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed.”
And with those final words, Miller stepped off the bleachers and walked towards his unmarked unit, leaving the sixteen year old standing there with mixed emotions.
~ANTIQUITY~
Work was hell. As soon as Cassidy walked through the door at the diner, the place was flooded with customers. Jason quit his job the day after the incident and Becca called in before her shift, leaving her and the manager to run the floor. Cassidy sighed tiredly as the bell rang throughout the diner, indicating another customer just walked in.
She grabbed a menu from the rack and started towards the front of the diner until she realized the customer who’d just walked in. Shawn.
“Hey, long time no see.” He chirped happily. “Where’ve you been, Cass?”
A small smile formed on her lips and she shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, you know around.” She lied. “Oh, who am I kidding? Sadly, I’ve been grounded and locked away in my room. Mom really didn’t want me to return to work after what happened with Jason. I managed to convince her that I really needed this job until I finished high school since they’re the only place it town that will work with me and is close to home.”
“Speaking of Jason,” Shawn said, glancing around the diner. “Where is he?”
Her smile slowly faded at his question and gestured him to follow her to an empty booth. “He quit.” She said as he slid into the booth. “And before I forget, I should congratulate you on the amazing work you did on his face. I’d say it’s a bit of an improvement.”
Shawn smirked. “No thanks necessary,” He said. “So grounded, huh? That sucks, I was hoping we could hang out this weekend and hit a movie or something.”
“Sorry, rain check?” She apologized as she placed the menu down in front of him. “I have two more weeks of this dreadful torture and I’m free to do as I please, as long as mom approves of it first. Though, I’d prefer to be punished by her hands than my father’s any day.”
Shawn chuckled. “You know, you could always sneak out in the middle of the night.” He said. “I used to always pull that on my dad.”
Cassidy shook her head. “No thanks,” She said. “Unlike you, I like to stay out of trouble. Though it seems I’ve been getting into more and more trouble recently. My mother thinks I’m going through a rebellious teen phase and is pretty disappointed in my behavior. So I think it’s just best for me to ride this out for a couple more weeks so I can earn her trust back.”
Shawn scoffed and glanced through the menu. “You’re such a goody two-shoes, Cass.” He said. “Stop being such a stick in the mud and learn to have a little fun once in a while.”
“You sound just like Becca,” She said disgusted. “I’m not a stick in the mud. I just prefer to do things differently than you all do, is that such a crime?”
Shawn opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it when he saw the hurt in her eyes. “Hey,” He spoke softly, reaching for her hand but she quickly recoiled from his touch. “Cass-“
“Please don’t,” She said. “Tell me what you would like to eat so I can place the order in before we close.”
Shawn stared at Cassidy, immediately regretting what he said to her. He hurt her, which was the last thing he wanted to do to her. “For some reason I don’t feel like eating now,” He said, sliding out from the booth. “Guess I’ll head home.”
Cassidy lowered her gaze to the floor as he walked past her and out the door. Cassidy gritted her teeth. Today just wasn’t her day. She felt as though her life was crashing down around her. As for Shawn, he didn’t go home. Instead he sat on his bike across the street from the diner and watched Cassidy through the diner’s windows.
Shawn felt like crap. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut and not have pushed her. He should’ve just respected her wishes and left it at that. It just looked like something was bothering her and he wanted to do something nice for her to make her feel better. She was always preoccupied with something and couldn’t go things girls her age normally do because of her fear of her father.
He couldn’t be that bad, right? Did he really frighten her to the point she didn’t want to step out of her shell? He really liked this girl, liked her more than any other girl he’s been with. She was mysterious, gentle, warm and very strong, but he could tell she was hiding something more, something dark. That’s what made her mysterious. What made him curious to know more about her.
For the short time they’ve known one another, he managed to fall in love with her. That’s what made her different from all the other women. He wanted to keep her safe, to hear her laugh and to see her smile. Cassidy made him feel whole again. He no longer felt dead inside. For the first time in his life, he was happy again. And if he didn’t apologize now, he was going to lose her.
Shawn snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed Cassidy walking out of the diner, locking it behind her. He quickly got off his bike and sprinted across the street. “Cass, wait up!” He shouted.
She turned around at the sound of her name and gave him a confused look. “What are you doing here, Shawn?” She asked. “I thought you were going home.”
“I’m not very good at making apologies.” He began. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings in anyway. I was stupid. Please don’t-“
Cassidy held up a hand, cutting him off. “Forget it, Shawn. It’s just water under the bridge.” She said. “I really should be the one to apologize. I’ve had one hell of a day and I sort of took it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do-“
“Please don’t,” She said. “You were right. I am a stick in the mud. I’m not fun. I really don’t know how to have fun. I refrain from all those things because of my father. I just do as he wishes so I won’t get the beating of a lifetime. I’m this person right now, but when he comes home I’ll be a completely different person. Someone you won’t recognize anymore. I’m not good for you, Shawn. You’d be wise to walk away right now and forget that we ever met. I’ll just end up hurting you.”
Shawn smiled faintly and stepped forward. “I can’t do that,” He said.
Cassidy turned around and began walking in the direction of her house.. “And why the hell not?”
Before she was out of his reach, Shawn quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her from walking any further. “Because,” He said. “I love you, Cass."