Chapter 4 Power and Hunger
Casey POV
Rebecca does not speak to me after the hallway confrontation she does something worse she ignores me the entire campus seems to orbit her mood when she walks through the quad, people greet her by name when she laughs others laugh with her andvwhen she stops smiling conversations quiet.
Chris walks beside her but something feels different now he is still the captain but he is not leaning toward her the way he did last week and people notice. I see it in the way his teammates look at him when he passes and I hear it in the whispers near the fountain.
“He argued with her.”
“No way.”
“He did.”
I pretend I do not hear any of it instead I keep my head down and focus on surviving the day my phone buzzes during my afternoon break.
Unknown number. I hesitate before opening it.
Meet me outside the dining hall.
No name but I already know who it is. I stare at the message for a long moment before locking my phone and putting it away. I am not going. I cannot afford the dining hall prices without thinking twice even if he offers to pay that makes it worse because that creates a debt and I do not owe anyone anything.
Instead I walk in the opposite direction toward the small campus convenience store it smells like coffee and cleaning supplies. The shelves are half stocked with overpriced sandwiches and energy drinks I open my wallet and look at the folded bills inside.
Emergency money.
Money I promised myself I would only use if something went very wrong, technically this counts. I buy the cheapest sandwich and a bottle of water the cashier barely looks at me.
I step outside and sit on the edge of a low brick wall behind the building where fewer people pass I unwrap the sandwich slowly it tastes dry but it is food and that matters halfway through eating I hear footsteps approach and I stiffen immediately.
“Thought you said you were fine.”
I look up and saw Chris stands a few feet away hands in his pockets I swallow quickly. “I am.”
He glances at the sandwich in my hand. “That’s lunch?”
“Yes.”
He does not look impressed. “Why didn’t you come to the dining hall?”
“Because I didn’t want to.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I hold his gaze. “You don’t get to interrogate me.”
He studies my face for a second before stepping closer. “I told Rebecca I was taking you to eat.”
My stomach tightens. “You what?”
“She was talking shit,” he says calmly. “So I said I was getting you food.”
“You used me to piss her off?”
“I meant it.”
The simplicity of his tone throws me off. “I don’t need you to feed me.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“It sounded like you did.”
He lets out a slow breath. “You passed out yesterday.”
“And I told you I was fine.”
“You weren’t.”
I stand up too quickly. “I bought food see? Crisis handled.”
His eyes drop to the crumpled wrapper in my hand. “That is not enough.”
“It is enough for me.”
There is a beat of silence he looks frustrated but not angry. “You don’t have to do everything alone,” he says quietly.
“Yes, I do.”
The words come out without hesitation something shifts in his expression like he understands more than I want him to before he can respond, loud laughter echoes across the courtyard. I look toward the sound the hockey team is gathered near the fountain Dylan is in the middle of telling some exaggerated story his arms moving dramatically while the others laugh when Chris steps away from me and into their line of sight, the energy shifts instantly.
“Captain!” someone calls.
“Lewis!” another shouts.
They treat him like royalty like his presence changes the temperature of the space he looks back at me once before walking toward them I sit down again and finish the rest of the sandwich slowly watching him from a distance is easier and safer.
His teammates clap him on the back aomeone hands him a water bottle a group of girls nearby whisper and stare and Rebecca stands across the quad with her arms crossed watching and not smiling. I feel it even from here the tension building. Chris says something to his teammates that makes them laugh again but his gaze drifts back to me.
Dylan notices and he follows Chris’s line of sight then he looks at me then back at Chris and he says something I cannot hear. Chris responds sharply.
The laughter dies down and Rebecca starts walking with every step deliberate.
She reaches the group and slides into Chris’s side like she belongs there her hand grips his arm possessively she says something to him he shakes his head slightly and her smile tightens people around them pretend not to notice but they do everyone does.
Rebecca turns her head slowly and finds me sitting behind the convenience store wall and our eyes lock her expression makes my skin go cold she leans up and whispers something in Chris’s ear and his body stiffens.
He pulls slightly away from her and she laughs then she does something unexpected she raises her voice. “Chris was just telling me how concerned he is about you, Casey,” she calls across the quad sweetly.
Conversations pause and heads turns my face burns instantly as Chris’s jaw tightens. “That is not what I said,” he mutters.
Rebecca smiles wider. “He is very protective,” she continues loudly. “He thinks you need someone to take care of you.”
The humiliation hits like a slap people look at me differently now with pity, curiosity and speculation.
I stand slowly. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” I say, my voice steady despite the shaking in my hands.
Rebecca tilts her head. “Of course you don’t,” she replies lightly. “You are so independent.”
The sarcasm is sharp enough to cut Chris steps forward. “Rebecca, stop.”
Her smile drops completely. “Stop what?” she asks. “I’m just repeating what you told me.”
He does not deny it he just looks at her in a way I have never seen before. The entire quad feels like it is holding its breath and Rebecca notices that too and something in her eyes changes this is no longer about food this is about power.
She steps closer to him. “If you are so worried about her,” she says quietly but audibly enough for others to hear, “maybe you should focus on why.”
His expression hardens. “I am,” he says.
The words land heavier than they should a ripple passes through the group. Dylan shifts uncomfortably and one of the girls near the fountain whispers loudly, “Oh my God.”
Rebecca laughs once, sharp and humorless. “Careful,” she says softly to him. “People might get the wrong idea.”
Chris does not look away from her. “Maybe they already have.”
The air cracks and my pulse pounds in my ears. Rebecca’s eyes flash and for a split second she loses control and that is when I understand this is no longer just sibling rivalry.
This is war she turns toward me slowly and when she smiles this time,there is nothing sweet about it. “Enjoy your sandwich, Casey,” she says softly.
The way she says it makes it sound like a threat I do not move I do not look away because if I do she wins Chris looks back at me again and in that moment in front of half the campus, he does something small but devastating he steps away from Rebecca far enough for everyone to see the space between them.
The whispers grow louder Rebecca sees it too her fingers curl into fists at her sides and I realize something terrifying he is not protecting me quietly anymore he is choosing sides in public and Rebecca Roosevelt does not lose gracefully.
She destroys whatever challenges her including family.
