Chapter 101 Chapter 101
Cass didn’t remember falling.
She only remembered the feeling.
Like the world had tilted too fast… and her body hadn’t caught up.
One second she was standing.
The next—
She was sitting on the cold metal of the bleachers, her hands gripping the edge like it was the only thing keeping her anchored.
Jace was in front of her.
Saying something.
Her name, maybe.
Over and over.
But it sounded far away.
Muted.
Like she was underwater.
“No,” she whispered.
It came out broken.
Barely there.
“No, that’s not… that’s not real.”
Her chest rose sharply, breath catching halfway.
“I would remember that,” she said again, louder this time. “I would remember something like that.”
Jace crouched in front of her.
“Cass—look at me.”
She didn’t want to.
Because if she looked at him—
If she saw the doubt, the fear, the shift—
It would make it real.
“Cass.”
His voice was firmer now.
Gentler too.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
And that was the worst part.
He didn’t look at her like she was guilty.
He looked at her like she was breaking.
And somehow—
That hurt more.
“She doesn’t know that for sure,” he said carefully.
Cass let out a shaky laugh.
“She sounded pretty sure.”
“That doesn’t make it true.”
Cass shook her head.
“But it makes it possible.”
The word hung there.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Possible.
Jace didn’t respond immediately.
Because he felt it too.
That shift.
That awful, quiet realization that the story they’d been chasing…
Had just turned inward.
“I need to go home.”
Cass stood up too quickly.
The world tilted again, but this time she forced herself to stay upright.
“I need to talk to my mom.”
Jace stood with her.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
Jace paused.
“Cass—”
“I need to do this alone.”
Her voice wasn’t angry.
Just… fragile.
Like if anything pushed against it, it would crack completely.
Jace hesitated.
Then nodded once.
“Call me,” he said quietly.
Cass didn’t promise.
She just turned—
And walked away.
⸻
The house was too quiet.
Again.
Always too quiet when something was wrong.
Cass pushed the door open harder than she meant to.
“Mom?”
No answer.
Her heartbeat picked up.
“Mom!”
“I’m here.”
The voice came from the living room.
Cass stepped in.
And stopped.
Her mom was standing near the window.
Nolan beside her.
Both of them looked like they’d been expecting something.
Not her specifically.
But something.
That alone made Cass’s stomach drop.
“We need to talk,” Cass said.
Her voice didn’t shake this time.
It cut.
Her mom’s expression shifted immediately.
Concern.
Fear.
“Cass, what’s wrong?”
Cass stepped forward slowly.
Her hands clenched at her sides.
“Was I there that night?”
Silence.
Immediate.
Brutal.
Nolan looked at her mom.
Her mom didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
That was the answer.
Cass felt it hit her before the words even came.
“…Mom?”
Her mom’s lips parted.
Closed.
Opened again.
And then—
“Yes.”
The word shattered everything.
Cass took a step back like she’d been hit.
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“No, you’re lying.”
“I’m not—”
“Then why don’t I remember?!” Cass snapped, her voice breaking completely now.
Her chest heaved.
Her vision blurred.
“Why don’t I remember being there?!”
Her mom rushed forward.
“Because you were a child, Cass—”
“That’s not enough!” she cried. “That’s not enough to forget something like that!”
Her mom’s hands reached for her.
Cass pulled back.
“Don’t—don’t touch me.”
The words hurt to say.
But she couldn’t stop them.
Not now.
Not when everything felt wrong.
“You told me it was an accident,” Cass whispered.
“It was,” her mom said quickly. “Cass, listen to me—”
“No, you listen to me,” Cass cut in.
Her voice dropped.
Quieter.
But sharper.
“Did I push him?”
The room went still.
Her mom’s face broke.
And that—
That was worse than any answer.
Cass’s breath caught.
“…Mom.”
Tears filled her mom’s eyes.
“It wasn’t like that,” she said softly.
“Then what was it like?”
Her voice rose again.
Desperate now.
“Tell me what happened!”
Her mom shook her head.
“You ran into the room,” she said, her voice trembling. “You were scared. There was shouting, and you didn’t understand—”
Cass’s heart pounded painfully.
“And then?”
Her mom swallowed.
“You went to him.”
Cass’s vision blurred more.
“And then?”
“He turned—”
Her voice broke.
“And he fell.”
Silence.
Deafening.
Cass stood there, her entire body numb.
“No,” she whispered.
Her mom stepped closer again.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Stop saying that.”
“You were a child—”
“Stop saying that!” Cass shouted.
Her voice echoed through the room.
Raw.
Broken.
Because that didn’t change anything.
Didn’t undo it.
Didn’t erase the image now forming in her mind.
A younger version of herself.
Running.
Reaching.
And everything going wrong.
Nolan finally spoke.
Quiet.
Careful.
“We made a decision,” he said.
Cass turned to him slowly.
“A decision?”
“To protect you,” he continued.
Cass laughed.
It sounded wrong.
Empty.
“So you just… erased it?”
“We didn’t erase it,” her mom said quickly. “We just—”
“You hid it.”
Silence.
“You let me grow up thinking I lost him,” Cass said, her voice shaking. “When really—”
“You didn’t lose him,” her mom said, tears falling now. “Cass, you loved him. He loved you. That’s what matters—”
“I was there,” Cass whispered.
The words felt unreal.
“I was there.”
Her knees felt weak again.
But she didn’t fall.
Not this time.
Because something inside her had already broken.
“I need air.”
She didn’t wait for a response.
Didn’t wait for anyone to stop her.
She walked out.
Straight through the door.
Into the night.
Jace was still there.
He hadn’t left.
He was leaning against his car, like some part of him knew she’d come back.
When he saw her—
He pushed off immediately.
“Cass—”
She walked straight into him.
And this time—
She didn’t hold back.
She grabbed his shirt, her hands shaking.
“It’s true.”
Her voice cracked completely.
“I was there.”
Jace went still.
“She told me,” Cass said, tears finally spilling over. “She told me everything.”
His hands hovered for a second.
Then—
He pulled her into him.
Tight.
Steady.
Like he wasn’t letting her fall again.
Cass broke.
Right there.
Against him.
“I didn’t mean to,” she cried into his chest. “I didn’t mean to—”
“I know,” he said immediately.
Firm.
Certain.
“I know.”
“But I was there,” she whispered. “I was part of it.”
Jace held her tighter.
“You were a kid.”
“That doesn’t change it.”
“No,” he said quietly.
“But it changes what it means.”
Cass shook her head against him.
“I don’t even know who I am right now.”
And that—
That was the truth.
Jace rested his chin lightly against her head.
His own thoughts spinning.
His own world shifting.
But none of that mattered in that moment.
Because she was breaking.
And he—
He made a choice.
Not later.
Not after thinking.
Right then.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Cass stilled slightly.
Her grip tightening.
“You don’t know that,” she whispered.
“I do.”
His voice didn’t shake.
Not even a little.
“I’m here.”
And for the first time since everything shattered—
Cass let herself believe that maybe…
Just maybe…
She wasn’t completely alone in it.