Chapter 19

Caitlin's Point of View ;)

Sidney drove me home somewhere around 11:30 last night. My mom was still up, reading a magazine in her chair. But, she didn't care that I was out late. I just went straight to bed, tired from my long day. Just 2 more days, I tell myself before I go to sleep. I woke up at like 3:30 because I forgot to tell my mom about the cruise. And, I need to get packing. It takes a while for me to fall back asleep, still worried about that. But I finally do. And I dream about a cruise, which is weird. My dreams usually have nothing to do with what I was thinking of before I fell asleep.


When I'm finally fully awake I run to the shower, feeling dirty. After that I straighten my hair. It's usually a little wavy, but I'm tired of that. Then I run downstairs to find my mom. "Mom!" I gasp, out of breath, just catching her at the door.
"What?" She looks at me funny. I don't usually talk to her in the mornings.
"I forgot to tell you last night. Sidney's taking me and Ruthanne on a cruise starting uh, day after school get's out, or Friday, in other words." I say, trying to get it all out quickly.
"Oh really? That's nice. I'm glad for you." She says the opposite of what I expect, all the time. Wow, she's happy for me!?
"Thanks mom." I run up to her and give her a hug. "You're the best."
"Welcome sweetie. Now go get ready for school!" She closes the door behind her and I run back upstairs to get a cute outfit. I want to look nice today, since I'm so happy. I wear a yellow and black buffalo plaid shirt over a white tank and a pair of purple skinny jeans. I lay on some thick black eyeliner and run downstairs to get my black and white houndstooth flats. I pose in front of my mirror, then grab my bag and run out the door.

Ruthanne's Point Of View <3>

Last night with Kris was unbelievable. I was really sad to go home, but, I text him as soon as I wake up. I had fun last night. Miss you. <3Getting ready for school is a drag, all I can think about is how I'm going to waste my whole day there instead of with Kris. Maybe Caitlin will be in a good mood and make me laugh. I sigh and duck into my car, on my way to school. I get there and park by Caitlin, which is weird. We never get a spot next to each other. She's in her car playing with her phone. Her long dirty blonde hair is covering her face, but it's straightened, so I can tell she's happy today. I smile, glad she's in a good mood, then hop out of my car and knock on her window.
"Hey!" I hear her shout happily from inside. She gets out and puts her phone in her pocket. "What's up? Where'd you and Kris go last night, huh?" She pokes my arm playfully. I flinch slightly. At least she didn't flick me.
"um." I say shyly, not really wanting to give details. "To this park with an amazing view!" I gush, I can't help it. It was amazing. "You could see the whole city and you could actually see the stars!" I say. It's unusual, since all the city lights usually drown out the stars.
"Wow." I say. "Sid and I just hung out, talking to everyone. Have you met Veronique?" She asks starting toward the school.
"Yeah. She's cool." I say distracted since Caitlin got me going on Kris and the amazing time we had last night. I notice Brittny hanging out by the doors, watching us and I steer Caitlin toward the front entrance.
"What?" She asks, trying to go back the way we usually go in. Then she notices Brittny and just acts like nothing happened. "Oh god." She sighs.
"Just act like you couldn't care less." I tell her.

At the end of the day I finally break free from my heartbroken friends. They're so concerned about staying in touch. Standing by my car, I check my texts. 4 of them, the phone reads.
From: Kris
Glad you had a good time. <3>From: Kris
You busy tonight? I want to see you again!
I type in a quick reply. Just packing for that cruise! You should come over.
I open the 3rd one.
From: Unknown Number
You and Caitlin are going down! HARD.~♥Britt
I gasp when I read it and stand up straight. Caitlin's in her car, shifting into reverse. I knock on her window. "DID YOU GET THIS TEXT!?" I yell from outside holding my phone up so she can read it. She leans over the console to get a better look, then rolls down the window.
"Are you scared of that?" She looks at me like I'm crazy.
"Yeah, a little. I mean, I didn't even know she had my number!" I say, still worried about it.
"Ok. we have one day left of school. then we're graduating. The next day, we're going on a cruise. There's no way she can do anything to us." Caitlin says. And it makes sense, I Nod.
"We should help each other pack tonight." I say.
"Sure. That sounds like fun. Who's house first?" She asks.
"Um. Yours." I say, "I'm gonna invite Kris over for dinner." I explain. "I'll run home and get my bags in case I want to steal some clothes!"
"You could always just steal them on the cruise. I'm sure we're gonna be together a lot." She says.
"Yeah, nevermind." I turn around and open my car door. "I'm headed straight to your house then!" I say before closing my door. I open the last text.
From: Unknown Number
You know that cruise? Forget it. You're not going, and neither is Caitlin. ~♥Britt
This one really scares me. How did she find out about it? How would she stop us? Maybe she's just trying to scare me. I don't care what she's trying to do. I'm going and I'm going to have fun.
I forward the text to Caitlin Sidney and Kris... with a message saying, Wtf?
I drive to Caitlin's quickly, not wanting to waste anymore time thinking about it. I get there right after her and we run up to her room to pack.
"How long is the cruise?" I ask her.
"A week." She says, "Sidney texted me." She throws her cell onto her bed and pulls her suitcase out from under the bed.
"Take all your bikinis!" I say, "Sidney will lovvve that."
"Oh yeah!" She says, opening the top drawer of her dresser and pulling out 3 super cute bikinis. She throws them into her bag and moves on to the next thing. Clothes. She basically grabs everything out of her closet, wanting options. Good, she'll be able to share, I think.
When she's finally finished packing outfits--essentials she'll pack later-- we head over to my house to help me pack.
I pack all of my bathing suits as well. And then most of my clothes. Just the cool ones though. I have way too many long sleeved shirts I discovered when I started packing. "I hope Kris can come over..." I whine, looking at the clock, it's 5:30. I check my phone. Caitlin rolls her eyes, but I do have a text from Kris
From: Kris
What time?
"He's coming!!!" I squeal.
Caitlin flinches. "ok ok." She says, leaning backwards. We laugh and I text him back. NOW <3 I haven't just hung out with Caitlin since before her surprise party. We have fun talking about Kris and Sidney. But not like we used to. We used to dream about being their girlfriends. Kris shows up, ringing the doorbell even though I see him pull in from my window. I run downstairs squealing to get the door before my Dad does.
"What's your problem?" He says when I push by him. I ignore him and open the door. Kris hugs me and steps in awkwardly.
"Dad, this is Kris. Kris, my Dad." I acquaint them, then go back up to my room where Caitlin still is, looking at one of my magazines.
"Hey," Kris says to Caitlin, surprised to see her there.
"Hi," she says, and goes straight back to her magazine. "Hey Ruthanne. I'm gonna head back home for dinner." She says, getting up.
"Ok. Well, seeya tomorrow. LAST DAY!" I say, getting up and doing a little dance. Kris laughs at me, and I just smile. I'm so happy when I'm around him. Caitlin leaves the room to go home and I turn to Kris. "I'm almost all packed!" I say.
"About that..." he starts. My mind immediately remembers the text.
"huh?" I say, hoping for the best, expecting the worst.
"There could be some... um, well..." my eyes start to tear up. "we might not be going."