Chapter 80 Chapter 80
By the time the weekend arrived, Cass felt like her nerves had been stretched thin and left out in the cold to dry.
Friday night passed without celebration. No victory parties. No loud group chats exploding with congratulations. Just silence. The kind that buzzed in her ears long after she shut her bedroom door. She lay on her back staring at the ceiling, replaying the moment on the ice when Jace scored. The way the crowd had gone quiet. The way Marvin had looked like someone had finally taken something from him.
That silence scared her more than Marvin’s mouth ever had.
Saturday morning crept in slow and gray. Cass woke to the sound of dishes clinking downstairs and her mother humming. That alone felt strange. Her mom hadn’t hummed in years. Not since her dad left. Not since sadness had settled into their house like permanent dust.
Cass padded into the kitchen in socks, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
Her mom stood by the stove in leggings and an oversized sweater, hair tied back, flipping pancakes with surprising confidence. Nolan sat at the counter reading the news, glasses low on his nose, coffee steaming beside him.
“Morning,” her mom said, smiling. Really smiling.
Cass blinked. “Morning.”
“You want pancakes?”
“Sure,” Cass said slowly, like the answer might break something.
They ate together. No tension. No lectures. Just small talk about groceries and weather and how the rain was supposed to clear by afternoon. Cass waited for the heaviness to drop. It never did.
Her mom glanced at her plate. “You barely touched it.”
“I’m just tired.”
“I know,” her mom said gently. “School has been… a lot.”
Cass stiffened. “Did Nolan say something?”
“No,” Nolan said quickly, raising his hands. “I stay out of teenage politics.”
Her mom shot him a look, then turned back to Cass. “You don’t have to carry everything alone.”
Cass nodded, throat tight. She wasn’t ready to explain the ice rink or the way her heart had lurched when Jace looked at her. Some things felt too fragile to say out loud.
Lena texted around noon.
You alive
Because I am bored and ready to start trouble
Cass smiled despite herself and texted back.
Alive. Come over if you want.
Lena showed up an hour later with a bag of chips and her little sister in tow. The house filled with noise and laughter in a way that felt almost unfamiliar. Cass watched her mom from the hallway as she chatted with Lena like she’d known her forever.
This is new, Cass thought. All of it.
They sprawled on Cass’s bedroom floor, homework abandoned, music playing low.
“You okay?” Lena asked quietly.
Cass shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“That counts as okay in Cass language,” Lena said. “Jace was unreal yesterday by the way.”
Cass’s cheeks warmed. “Yeah.”
“You like him,” Lena said matter of factly.
Cass rolled onto her back. “I don’t want to.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Cass covered her face with her hands. “Everything feels messy.”
Lena softened. “Messy doesn’t mean wrong.”
Saturday evening came with another storm. Not rain this time. Phones buzzing. Notifications lighting up screens.
Someone posted a clip of the game. Slowed down. Edited. Dramatic music layered underneath. Jace stealing the puck. Marvin missing the block. The score flashing.
Comments poured in.
Some praising Jace.
Some mocking Marvin.
Some dragging Cass’s name into it for no reason at all.
She closed the app, heart pounding.
It didn’t take long for Marvin to respond.
Not publicly.
Her phone buzzed with an unknown number.
You think you won?
Cass stared at the message.
This isn’t over.
She didn’t reply.
Sunday felt heavier.
Cass went through the motions. Laundry. Homework. Sitting on the porch while the sky shifted colors. She opened her diary again for the first time in days.
I keep waiting for things to calm down.
But it feels like the quiet is just the breath before something ugly.
Jace texted later that night.
You okay
She hesitated, then typed back.
Trying to be.
Same, he replied. If you need anything. I mean it.
She stared at the screen long after the typing bubble disappeared.
Monday arrived too soon.
The school buzzed the moment Cass stepped through the doors. Not loud. Not obvious. But charged. People whispered anyway. Marvin was back. Everyone knew it before they even saw him.
Cass spotted him near the lockers, surrounded by his usual crowd. He looked sharper. Colder. Like something inside him had hardened.
Their eyes met.
He smiled.
Cass’s stomach dropped.
Lena slid in beside her instantly. “Ignore him.”
“I am,” Cass lied.
In class, Cass struggled to focus. Her pen hovered uselessly over her notebook. Every sound felt too loud. Every laugh too pointed.
At lunch, Marvin made his move.
He climbed onto a chair again, hands raised for attention like he owned the room.
“Funny thing about heroes,” he said loudly. “They only shine until someone remembers who they really are.”
Cass froze.
Jace stood up so fast his chair scraped the floor.
“That’s enough,” he snapped.
Marvin grinned. “Hit a nerve?”
Before anyone could react, Lena marched forward and dumped her drink straight over Marvin’s head.
The cafeteria erupted.
Gasps. Shouts. Phones out.
“Say her name again,” Lena said coolly, “and I’ll upgrade to food.”
Jacinta lunged forward, screaming, but Cass grabbed Lena’s arm, pulling her back.
“Stop,” Cass said, heart racing. “Please.”
Teachers rushed in. Chaos exploded.
Through it all, Jace watched Cass. Not like she was fragile. Like she was strong and standing in the middle of a storm.
Later, in the hallway outside the office, Cass sat shaking while Lena paced.
“I’m sorry,” Lena said. “I just snapped.”
Cass laughed weakly. “Thank you.”
Jace appeared moments later, jaw tight. “Are you okay?”
Cass nodded, tears threatening. “I think so.”
He hesitated, then said softly, “This is getting out of hand.”
“I know,” Cass whispered. “And I’m tired.”
Something shifted in his expression. “Then let me help.”
She looked at him, really looked at him, and realized how badly she wanted to say yes.
But fear wrapped around her chest.
“I don’t know how,” she said.
“We’ll figure it out,” Jace said. “Together.”
Cass wasn’t sure she believed in together anymore.
But she wanted to.
And that scared her more than Marvin ever could.