My Dear Arch Nemesis

Cassie’s POV “Miss me?” He towered over me, his arm stretching to trap me against the kitchen wall. “I thought you were…dead.” My voice trembled. “Well, you can say that.” My lungs forgot how to work. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He died in a car accident. I saw it on the news that night. I saw the wrecked car, the gory scene, the ambulance and police. This can’t be real. If this was a dream, I wanted to wake up so badly. I blinked, hoping this nightmare would end. But nothing happened. Kai Morelli was in front of me, I repeated in my head. The same blue eyes I feared locked on me. I gulped. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said. “You’re supposed to be one,” I snapped. A smirk tugged at his lips. “Disappointed?” “Yes.” He took a step forward, closing any space between us. My back pressed harder to the wall. I could smell his dark musk, causing my cheeks to burn. “You finally fixed yourself,” he said. “I almost didn’t recognize you.” I clenched my jaw, my fingers digging into my palm. His gaze dragged over me slowly. From my face, to my chest and then to my hips. I hated the heat that rushed to my cheeks. “What- what happened?” I covered up the silence before it got more awkward than it already is, “How are you…here?” “Fate had other plans.” His voice deepened. “Fate? I almost attended your funeral.” “It happens,” He continued. He wasn’t giving me the explanation I wanted to hear, instead he was looking down at me with murder in his eyes. His eyes narrowed, “Tell your plastic surgeon he did a horrible job,” “f**k you, Kai.” My fingers curled at my sides. He wasn’t supposed to be here. Dottie didn’t tell me her grandson was Kai Morelli. She didn’t tell me the man she always flaunted was this monster. A man like him belonged in hell. He deserved to rot and be thrown to the bottom of the ocean. For a moment, I could hear the school bell again… “Ten Years Earlier” I reread the note three times just to be sure it was real. “Meet me at the theatre, alone. Love, Ethan” My heart jumped and exploded with joy at the same time. Ethan Rockwell, the boy I’ve had a crush on since sophomore year, wants me to see him. I squealed. I could already imagine his soft brown eyes gazing at me while he mouthed ‘I love you, Cas-’ “Cassie!” Someone shouted my name, jolting me out of my reverie. I squeezed the paper quickly and forced it into my pocket. Two girls walked up to me. One holding a medium sized box and the other with a weighing scale. I bit my lip. “I’m Phoebe, and this is my bestie, Maxine, we’re from Ethan. He sent us to-” her eyes dragged from my head to feet. “To fix you up.” She smiled awkwardly. My fingers dug into my palm that moment. “Oh…sure,” I said with skepticism. “This is a lot of work. But I’ll be glad to help.” Maxine said and left. “Sorry about her, meet us at the girls’ bathroom in ten minutes.” Phoebe said and ran after her friend. “Sure…” My stomach twisted. To think of it, what does Ethan even want with me? Fattie Cassie? His reputation as the captain of the football team may be destroyed if he’s found with someone like me. So why? I pulled out the note again to see if I was just hallucinating. Love, Ethan. I held the paper to my chest like it was the only thing that could save me as I walked to the bathroom. Someone blocked my path. I slowly looked up. I stiffened. Kai Morelli. “What’s that?” “Nothing,” I said, holding my hands behind me. He took one step closer to me, then another, and another. “Let me guess, a love note?” I gulped and kept silent, looking up at him. His smile widened. “Not even your parents love you, what makes you think he does.” I felt my face burn. “Move.” I sniffed. “Please, let me go.” “Don’t embarrass yourself,” he said. “People like you are only useful for jokes.” “Kai!” His friend called him from the other side of the hallway. “Catch you later fatty Cassie,” he said, laughing before running to his clique. I stood there shaking. Water filled my eyes. I dashed into the bathroom to let out my tears when I heard someone behind me say, “Cassie?” “What? Leave me alone.” I cried, digging my face into my palm. “Why are you crying?” I wiped my face at the tenderness of the voice. It was Phoebe. “Girl, why?” She asked again. “I don’t want to meet him anymore, just leave me alone.” I shrieked. Maxine stood behind her, stunned. “You can’t back out now,” Phoebe said. “You don’t want him thinking you’re a mess.” I felt my heart soften. I almost hugged her. No one has ever been nice to me like this. Was I dreaming ? “Thank you…” I wiped my face and sniffed. “Anytime, now let’s get to work,” she said, turning me to look in the mirror. *** Finally, they were done. I couldn’t believe it, though I tried to. They painted my face heavily. Too much powder, bright eyeshadow and lipstick that bled past my lips. “Perfect,” Phoebe smiled too brightly behind me. “Do you like it?” No! “Yes, I do,” I forced myself to say. “Will Ethan like it?” “He sure will.” “I think our job here is done?” Maxine said. “Yes, good luck girl.” Phoebe added and walked to the door too. The bell rang immediately. I had class, but I was flunking it. I went to the theatre. It was pitch black. My heart was beating so fast it hurt. I waited. Minutes passed and Ethan wasn’t here yet. Till, I heard footsteps. My breath caught. “You came,” I said, smiling sheepishly. He smiled awkwardly, “Of course.” He walked closer to me. I quickly stopped him. “Wait, I have something to tell you,” I said. “What?” He asked. “I’ve had the biggest crush on you since sophomore year and I was so scared to approach you because I knew you wouldn’t accept a fat girl and I’m so excited to be right in front of you here, please don’t laugh at me.” Shit. I blew it. “Uhm… okay?” He leaned in to kiss me, then the lights came on. Laughter erupted from the seats I thought were empty. I turned in a slow circle. Students, teachers, the principal and the educational board who were visiting our school today. My chest burned. I did not understand what was happening. I turned to Ethan, he was laughing louder. He knew about whatever was happening. Tears formed in my eyes. My cheeks burned. Kai stepped out of the shadows, Phoebe and Maxine on each side. My heart shattered. “Told you pigs like you aren’t capable of being loved,” he laughed. “This is what fat girls are for; entertainment.” “Look at her, she believed it,” Phoebe burst into laughter. “So gullible.” Maxine added. “Good job, man.” Ethan dapped Kai up. I couldn’t believe it. “She walked right into my trap,” Kai laughed harder. My breathing got more hollow. My eyes were watering. My chest was heaving. The heat was getting to me. I took one last look at everyone and ran. I ran like the wind. I didn't wait for the bus, I ran straight home. When I opened the door, a slap hit me first. I fell to the floor. I looked up. My father, standing above me with a belt in one hand. “You ungrateful fat brat!” He raised his hand again to lash me. My mother ran out of the room. Her face was already bruised. “Nick, please,” she cried, blocking me from him. “A letter came from your school principal,” he threw a paper at me. Letter Of Suspension. It said I was suspended for inappropriate behavior in front of staff and students during a formal visit. My heart sank. That’s the day I learnt to hate Kai Morelli. When I resumed back to school, there was more peace than usual. Everything felt quieter. No laughter in the hallways, no loud footsteps behind me,no voice calling me names. On the second day, Kai was not in class. At first, I thought he was just absent. Then days passed, then a week. Students started to notice and pass rumors. Then the principal called an assembly. “Kai Morelli was involved in a fatal car accident with his family,” he said. “They did not survive.” My ears rang. Students cried, some fell and some fainted. I stood there and felt nothing. The news showed it too; the wrecked car, the ambulance and police lights in the gory scene. It felt like a dream that somehow felt like relief. I didn’t attend his funeral, I just stayed in my room and stared at the wall. I thought karma had finally worked. I thought I was free. I believed Kai Morelli was dead. And I carried that belief for ten years.