Chapter 83 Chapter 83
Monday arrived without asking permission.
Cass woke before her alarm again, staring at the pale light creeping across her ceiling. Her body felt tired but her mind was loud, replaying the weekend in fragments. The rink. The silence after Jace scored. The way his hand had found hers like it already knew where it belonged.
She sat up slowly and reached for her diary, hesitating before opening it.
I think I’m standing at the edge of something.
Not falling.
Not jumping.
Just… standing.
And that might be the bravest thing I’ve done in a long time.
She closed it and got ready for school with a strange calm. Her mom noticed immediately.
“You’re quiet,” her mom said over breakfast, studying her carefully.
“I’m okay,” Cass replied. And for once, it wasn’t a lie.
Her mom smiled, soft and proud, like she was seeing Cass not as a child to protect but as a person learning how to hold her own weight.
At school, the atmosphere had shifted again. It always did after weekends like that. After wins. After losses.
Jace’s name followed her down the hallway without being spoken. She felt it in the looks people gave her, in the sudden politeness of classmates who used to ignore her. Fame by proximity was a strange thing.
Lena found her near the lockers, eyes bright.
“You survived,” Lena said. “Both of you did.”
Cass smiled faintly. “Barely.”
“And Marvin?”
Cass’s smile faded. “I don’t know.”
As if summoned, tension rippled through the hall. Marvin appeared at the far end, moving with sharp, restless energy. He didn’t look at Cass. Didn’t look at anyone. He looked like a storm with nowhere to land.
Jace arrived moments later, calm in a way that felt deliberate. His presence grounded the air around him. Cass felt it instantly, like a breath she hadn’t known she was holding released.
Their eyes met.
No smile. No wave.
Just understanding.
They didn’t sit together in class. They didn’t talk much. It felt like a quiet agreement to protect something fragile until it was strong enough to exist openly.
By lunchtime, the school buzzed again.
Not about the game.
About Marvin.
About his fight with his father. About his argument with Jacinta that had spilled into the parking lot that morning. About how even Coach looked done with him.
Cass sat with Lena, poking at her food.
“She came to me,” Cass said quietly.
Lena looked up. “Jacinta?”
Cass nodded. “She cried. Said she doesn’t recognize him anymore.”
“And?”
“And I didn’t know what to say,” Cass admitted. “I don’t hate her. But I don’t trust her either.”
Lena leaned back. “You’re not responsible for saving anyone who hurt you.”
Cass knew that. Knowing didn’t always make it easier.
Across the cafeteria, Jace sat with teammates, listening more than he spoke. Every so often, his gaze flicked toward Cass, checking in without intruding.
It meant more than he knew.
The rest of the day passed in fragments. A pop quiz. A classmate crying in the bathroom over a breakup. Teachers pretending things were normal when they clearly weren’t.
After school, Cass lingered by her car, scrolling through her phone without reading anything.
Jace appeared beside her.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just tired.”
“Walk with me?” he said. “Just around the block.”
She hesitated. Then agreed.
They walked in silence at first, the late afternoon air cool and clean. Leaves crunched under their shoes.
“I don’t know how to do this,” Cass said suddenly.
“Do what?”
“This,” she gestured vaguely between them. “Without it blowing up.”
Jace stopped walking. She did too.
“We don’t rush,” he said simply. “We don’t hide. We just… exist. And if it gets hard, we talk.”
She searched his face. “You really think it can be that simple?”
“No,” he said honestly. “But I think it can be worth it.”
Her chest tightened.
They resumed walking, closer now.
At home, Cass found her mom humming while cooking dinner. Nolan sat at the table, laughing at something on his phone. The warmth hit Cass unexpectedly.
Her mom caught her looking and smiled. “You want to help?”
Cass nodded and joined her, chopping vegetables side by side.
Later that night, Cass lay in bed, phone glowing softly in her hand.
Jace: Today was weird.
Cass: Yeah. But not bad.
Jace: Not bad at all.
She smiled into her pillow.
Tuesday blurred into motion.
Zayelle moved through the halls like she owned the place, effortlessly sliding between groups. She didn’t avoid Cass. She didn’t cling either. There was something measured about her now, like the mask had settled properly.
Cass watched her from a distance, uneasy but curious.
Lena noticed. “She’s playing a long game.”
“Everyone is,” Cass murmured.
That afternoon, Jace stayed late for practice. Cass waited for Lena, watching students filter out one by one. Marvin stormed past her without a word, anger rolling off him in waves.
For the first time, Cass didn’t flinch.
She felt… done.
Wednesday came with rain again, soft and steady.
Cass sat in class, notebook open, not really writing.
Jace passed her a folded note when the teacher turned around.
You don’t have to carry this alone.
Her eyes burned.
She wrote back.
I’m learning how not to.
After school, they sat on the bleachers together, watching the empty field.
“I’m scared of losing you,” Cass admitted quietly.
Jace looked at her, serious. “I’m scared of losing myself.”
She reached for his hand. “Then let’s not do either.”
He squeezed her fingers.
That night, Cass opened her diary again.
Love doesn’t feel like fireworks.
It feels like quiet strength.
Like choosing to stay when leaving would be easier.
And I think I’m ready to choose.
Outside, rain tapped gently against the window.
Monday had passed.
Tuesday had tested her.
Wednesday had steadied her.
And for the first time in a long while, Cass wasn’t bracing for impact.
She was moving forward.