chapter nine!  So many signs ☆

Her head pounded, a dull ache that followed her every movement, as her eyes fluttered open, the events of the calamity the night before existing in flashes and all blurred together. She let out a soft groan, the noise barely audible, as she struggled to pull herself into a seated position. 

Cassie brushed her blonde hair from her eyes, trailing her gaze around her surroundings. She reached for her phone which she noticed on the nightstand next to her and unlocked it, thumb hovering over the multiple messages she received. 

There were a few from Pip, confirming that she had gotten home safely and that she was sorry for leaving so abruptly. Next were a few from Este who asked about the party and updated her on her trip to York, and beneath them was one from Becca asking if she was okay, followed by a string of question marks.

Cassandra quickly typed back to everyone, forming the best and fastest responses that came to mind, before getting distracted by someone entering the room. 

Upon seeing Cara walk in, the head fog that was left from the previous night cleared instantly and it was enough to remember the last few moments of the calamity and to realise that this was not in fact her or Este's room.

"Here," Cara handed her a glass of water and a paracetamol which Cassandra took with appreciation. 

"Thanks," she mumbled, a grateful but small smile plastered on her face. "And thanks for letting me crash." She gestured to nothing in particular. 

"No, it's no problem," Cara replied and sat on the edge of her bed in a criss-cross position and a light awkwardness filled the air. Cassie knew they both sensed it and it didn't take a genius to understand why. 

Cassandra was the first to break the short silence, "So... did Pippa message you too? She got home safely which is a relief." 

The curly haired girl nodded and her voice remained soft, "Yeah, she did." 

Cassie took another sip of the water, it soothing the scratchiness in her throat and Cara's eyes lingered on her as she did. 

"I should get going, Becca was wondering where I am." the blonde spoke and they both hesitantly got up, Cassandra following Cara down the stairs and to the front door.

As the Bell stepped outside and reached for the door handle, her fingers brushing gently against it, she turned back, a thought crossing her mind. "Hey, would you want to hang out sometime? I owe you for all the chaos." A nervous laugh escaped her lips.

"Sure," Cara replied simply and smiled.

"Okay, cool." Cassie's voice came out light as the slight tension between the two girls eased a little.

☆

The moment Cassandra stepped into the Bell house, Becca jumped out in front of her "Hey, where were you?" 

This was new, Cassie thought. "Oh, I stayed at a friend's house. Sorry for not letting you know." 

She kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket up by the door, trying to push past her sister to get to the stairs. It was a Sunday morning and after what she got up to last night, the headache still faintly fighting to remain in her head, Cassie wanted nothing more but to fall onto her bed and let her countless pillows and blankets swallow her whole as she sunk into her beds warmth. 

"I ran into that one girl from your year, Pippa I think." 

That was enough for Cassandra to freeze in the middle of the hall, eyes widening in surprise. 

She slowly turned on her heel trying her best to put on a neutral expression, wearing a facade of confusion. "Oh, yeah?" she replied, silently begging for her tone of voice to not give away the alarm bells that were flaring in her head.

"She's doing some project on Andie's case," She continued. "She told me it's to figure out the truth, but i'm not too sure." Her voice wavered. 

"Just don't get yourself involved, please." Becca pleaded and the look she gave her set Cassie on edge. She looked desperate. 

The younger sister nodded.

Cassandra thought about her encounter with Becca for about an hour before attempting to busy herself with some work she had due later in the week. She took her subject notebook out her bag then reached for the front pocket, which was decorated with a few keychains attached to the zipper, and took out a few pens. 

Her window was already open, slightly ajar to let some fresh air in and her speaker was playing music in the background, quiet so that only she would be able to hear it.

She managed to write a few paragraphs before getting distracted. Her concentration was non-existent and she still had no idea what went down yesterday from Pippa's perspective. 

Cassie walked across her bedroom and made sure Becca wasn't upstairs or close enough to potentially hear her as she searched for Pip's contact in her phone. 

She listened to it ringing for a few seconds before Pip's voice flooded her phone speaker from the other end of the call. "Hello,"

"Hey, Pip," Cassie's voice echoed through her own ears, and she kept her voice as quiet as possible, sitting herself back at her desk.

"Are you okay?" Pip questioned.

Cassie replied with a gentle hum, "Yeah, i'm okay, was just wondering what happened last night."

She listened to the brunette's breathing for a minute and she could tell she was mustering up a suitable answer, "Umm.. does the name Howie sound familiar?" 

The blonde thought about the question and shook her head although she knew Pip couldn't see her, "No, not really. Why?" She got up again and began pacing.

"He was who Andie used to deal drugs for. All kinds of them. She had a burner phone, probably kept it somewhere really hidden, and her stash was kept in a toy bunny. Do you possibly know where they could be?" 

Cassandra cracked open her door, peering out to look at Andie's door from across the hall. She rarely dared to go inside, only on occasions such as birthdays and Christmas where even then she would merely peek inside, fingers brushing lightly over her belongings and then leaving as if the moment never happened.

She stared at the pink wooden letters that spelled out her sister's name, "No, I have absolutely no clue about anything anymore," she murmured with a deep exhale.

Cassie wasn't exactly sure how the next part of their conversation unfolded but she now found herself absentmindedly playing with her necklace, stuck trying to figure out one thing; a way to sneak Pippa into her house the following day.

pls ignore the titles for the chapters. august me thought doing taylor lyrics was a cute and good idea and now i'm STRUGGLING but it would annoy the heck out of me if I stopped doing it, so bare with !!

also another december 3rd with no sweater and NO SPOTIFY WRAPPED EITHER !!!! helloooo where is it????