Chapter 87: Chapter 87

Pushing Zayn out of the way, Cassandra goes into the backyard and jumps into the cold water of the pool. Her brothers yell behind her, Zayn even more concerned about her mental health.

"Cassie! It's cold! Come out, now!" Zayn yells at her.

'It's so blue and warm... it's not cold for me.'

Cassandra looks up and sees a distorted image of something like a cloud. She smiles at the passing cloud, it was dark, yet she could see the white fluff above her.

Her smile soon turns into a frown upon seeing a silhouette of a male jumping into the pool after her. She felt disjointed within. She hoped no one would disrupt her peace now.

She didn't want to float back up.

If she did... then she didn't want to be in her senses again.

The male was Zayn.

His shirt was on the ground as he came to her rescue.

She sees his angry expression as he releases bubbles from his mouth, his cheeks like chipmunk as he holds little air in.

He grabs her collar while she hums under water, protesting against being brought back to the surface. But as soon as she is brought back up, her lungs force her to take a large amount of air inside, exhaling the used up air. That was expected to happen when she thought of living in another terrain, which wasn't hers to belong.

She looks at Zayn, he was still clutching her collar and looking at her angrily.

"Did you want to waste a body that isn't yours?"

His question gets to her.

That's right.

It's not her life.

The pressure to live as someone else wasn't much for her, it was the rules that she wasn't mean to break that stifled and suffocated her. She wanted to go back to her own timeline, fall into the lap of Ravine and cry her heart out while her elder brother caressed her softly.

"If something happened here... you won't be able to remember Louis and others." Cassandra looks at him, her lower lip wobbling after a few seconds.

Zayn looks at his hand which aggressively held her collar. He loosens it, but was afraid she'd dive right back in if left. He cautiously lets go of her, looking back into her eyes.

As soon as she hits rock bottom, her heart forces her to wail tears of blood.

She felt so much pain, unbearable within her little body.

"Shush..." Zayn hugs her and swims to the corner. Dan and Alex pat her shoulder and head while Nick runs back inside to fetch them towels.

"Cry, please." Zayn says the reverse of what people generally say to assure other people.

"I'm sorry that you cannot handle fame... I'm sorry it's happening without your permission." Alex says, wise words spilling out of him after a long while. Cassandra cries for a minute more until her head starts spinning.

Breathing deeply whilst sobbing, she was hoisted from the pool and brought to the kitchen to sit on the wooden chairs. She wipes her cheeks, slightly feeling her temperature rising.

"Take a warm shower. Go." Says Zayn.

"Yeah." Guiltily, she begins to move back inside.

The next day when she had another examination, she chose to request for a separate cabin or a teacher's staffroom which was away from other people to write her exam in. The management agreed within a heartbeat— the principal was a good woman.

As she cane out of the exam, Zayn and Dan were waiting for her with Mr. Ronald. She raises her eyebrow up, looking around and hearing tips and bits of what others were whispering.

"Why are you guys out early?" She asks them.

"We wanna help you get comfortable with fame. Slowly. But... there's no formula in real life on turning away from this fame game, Cassandra. We just gotta stand up for ourselves." Dan says. Cassandra frowns and turns towards Zayn who says, "We all have been through this as well, Cassie. All we gotta do is trust father and the security assigned for us."

"But you are boys. Did you even see the comments I get as a girl?" Dan and Zayn look at each other. They felt guilty for even speaking to her, expecting to assure her but it's backfired.

"Now, now, Miss Cassandra. You're only looking at the bad picture of fame. There's always two sides to a coin, Miss." The wise driver says.

"I guess I'm too blind to see the brighter side." She says, sadness lingering in her tone.

"Might as well believe that there is, Miss. Do you need to go to the ice-cream shop today too, dear? To feel better?" As Mr. Ronald says, Cassandra wipes her tears and hums softly, smiling and nodding.

"That would make me feel better." Saying, she gets into the car. Zayn looks at Dan, "Does ice-cream make her feel better than we do?

Zayn shrugs his shoulders.

When Cassandra and the two come home, they notice their eldest brother's Land Rover parked outside.

"Is Louis home?"

"Yeah. He's in her bedroom." Nick answers to Dan.

"What's he doing there?"

"Oh hey, you guys are home." Louis with his sleeves rolled up and a screwdriver in her hand says. He strides towards Cassandra as he kisses her forehead and asks in a whisper.

"How are you doing?"

"Better, you're here, that's why." She whispers back, he hugs her tighter by his side.

"What are you guys murmuring?"

"Nothing. Anyway, Cassie. I've installed a heat sensor in your room which will send me or the security outside signals of someone invading your room. Does that help?"

"Heat sensors... I don't know how they work for security but fine. Yeah, it's a little assuring if that's there."

"Great. And here's this as well." Louis gives her a watch, an expensive digital watch to be precise.

"What's this?" She curiously presses a button which shows a screen. Louis scrolls down just one page and shows her a yellow icon.

"This thing once clicked will send me and the security signals of your whereabouts. Now be careful, don't use it just like that." Saying, he grabs his phone.

"Let's test it."