chapter seventeen

“She just makes me so..so..ugh!” AJ growled, pounding his fist on Keri’s desk. They were in the study, where AJ was filling her in on the encounter he had just had with Cassie.

“But apparently you have an endless amount of patience for her,” Keri told him mockingly. “And no breaking point.”

“Oh, I have a breaking point, all right,” he informed. “But before I reach mine, she’s gonna reach hers. I won’t cave, Keri, trust me. She thinks she’s stronger; she’s in for a surprise.”

A moment of silence followed, with both AJ and Keri wondering what else could be done. Keri thought, and she thought hard, of any other possibility AJ could have. She heard the story, from both AJ, at Howie’s house two months ago, and from Cassie, a few days after that. She had both sides, and the only thing that coincided between the two was the fact that their feelings for eachother were mutual, and strong. She couldn’t let her sister get away without knowing love. But she couldn’t convince her bluntly, either, which was why she had decided to aid them both through AJ. Together they would come up with something. If only Cassie wasn’t so stubborn, if only she could just sit and listen, with nothing or no one around her to...

“Thats IT!” Keri squealed, causing AJ to jump, startled.

“What?”

“You’re going about this all wrong, J.”

“Come again?” AJ asked, staring blankly at Keri.

“I mean, you’ve been going about this all wrong. You--”

“Going about this all wrong?” AJ repeated incredulous.

“I’m thinking maybe you’re being too lenient.”

“Too LENIENT? Keri, I’ve been as hard on her as I can be!”

“Maybe you haven’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe you’ve been too afraid that she’ll lash out at you and throw the past in your face if you exaggerate a little.”

AJ let the thought sink in for a moment. “You think so?”

“I know my sister,” Keri told him. “And she’s definitely using the past as her greatest weapon in keeping you at arm’s length.”

“So what now?”

“Ignore her when it comes to the past, don’t let it get to you. Sit her down and tell her what needs to be said; be firm, make her listen, even if it means using some colorful language to shut her up.”

“Its not that easy, you know,” AJ informed Keri. “She’ll just get up and storm off like she’s always done.”

“Thats another thing you’re doing wrong.”

AJ thought about what Keri had said, and realized she was right.

“So what you’re saying is,” he began, slowly catching on. “That I should take her somewhere, to a place where she can’t just walk away from me?”

“Exactly.”

“But how do I do that? I mean, she’s not gonna jump for joy at an invitation from me.”

“Leave it to me, I can come up with something good, and fast.” Keri offered.

AJ nodded and sighed, hoping that this latest plan Keri was instigating would finally bring positive results.

[chapter 16 | chapter index | chapter 18]