Chapter 30 Chapter 30
Cass leaned against the wall. “I just… I saw him fall. And I don’t even know why that bothered me so much.”
Lena smiled knowingly. “Cass, please. You like that boy.”
“No. I don’t.”
“Mhm.”
“I don’t!”
Her friend arched a brow. “You care too deeply for someone you claim not to like. If you hated him, you would’ve laughed.”
Cass groaned. “I don’t hate him.”
“Exactly.”
Cass covered her face with her hands while Lena giggled softly. It felt good, hearing someone laugh with her and not at her.
But her smile died when she saw him.
Jace.
Walking down the hallway.
Quiet.
Detached.
A dark bruise blooming along his cheekbone.
A stiffness in the way he moved.
His backpack slung over one shoulder like he wished he could disappear.
He wasn’t looking at anyone.
Not even her.
Cass felt her throat tighten. She hadn’t thanked him properly. She hadn’t found the courage yesterday. And now he was slipping by like a shadow.
“Go talk to him,” Lena whispered.
Cass shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”
“Start with hi.”
Cass wanted to. She really did. But as Jace walked past, a wave of hockey guys greeted him with claps on the back, half-mocking, half-impressed, saying things like “Dude you almost had him” and “Bro you stood up way too fast.”
He ignored them all. There was a storm burning behind his eyes.
A quiet kind of anger.
A hurt he didn’t show.
And Cass couldn’t reach him.
Not then.
Not with Marvin watching her every move.
Not with Jacinta hovering like a hawk who wanted her gone.
The bell rang and everyone scattered.
Classes dragged. Cass couldn’t concentrate. Every time she blinked, she pictured the moment Jace hit the ice. The fear in her chest when she thought he wouldn’t stand. The odd twist in her stomach now that he wouldn’t even look her way.
At lunch, the cafeteria felt like a circus. Someone had brought a speaker and was blasting the school chant. Marvin was at the center of everything like a firework waiting to explode. Cass wanted to grab her food and flee, but Lena held her wrist.
“We face things. We don’t run from them.”
Cass forced herself to breathe and nodded.
They stepped inside just as Marvin climbed onto a table.
“Oh God,” Lena muttered. “He’s really doing it.”
The entire cafeteria went silent when Marvin raised his arms dramatically.
“Thank you, thank you, my loyal fans,” he said mockingly. “I would like to dedicate last night’s victory to myself. And also to Cass, who apparently thinks she can join student council.”
A ripple of laughter spread.
Cass froze.
Marvin continued, “Babe, tell them. Didn’t she come up to you begging for a position? Sweetheart, next time aim lower. Maybe start with being useful.”
More laughter.
Cass felt her ears go hot. Her vision blurred. Lena grabbed her hand tightly.
But before Marvin could continue, a metal tray slammed onto the table beside him.
The sound echoed like thunder.
The entire cafeteria snapped into silence as Jace stood there.
Cold.
Expressionless.
His eyes locked on Marvin with a warning that made the whole room shift.
“Get off the table,” Jace said, voice deep and steady.
Marvin smirked. “Or what?”
Jace didn’t repeat himself. He simply reached forward and swept the tray across the table, sending food and drinks spilling over Marvin’s shoes.
The school screamed.
Gasps.
Shouts.
Phones snapping up.
Marvin stared at him, stunned. “You’re dead.”
“Then do something,” Jace replied quietly.
And the thing that shocked everyone wasn’t the tray.
It wasn’t the mess.
It wasn’t the defiance.
It was the look Jace threw Cass.
Soft.
Almost apologetic.
Like he wished he could erase every moment that hurt her.
And Cass…
She forgot how to breathe.