NOTE

more updates on the way! none of these chapters are edited by the way, so please excuse grammar, spelling etc 💝

𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙽𝙸𝚃𝚈 ᥫ᭡
CHAPTER TWENTY.

𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖..

CAELYNN TAYLOR 🤍 | DECEMBER 8

𝒄𝒂𝒆𝒍𝒚𝒏𝒏 really feels like God's looking out for her.

the countdown for her birthday has officially begun, and it was announced today that there would be no school on her special day. even though she would've skipped it regardless, she now doesn't have to worry about missing assignments or being marked absent.

whatever a school improvement day is, thank the Lord for it.

unlike last year, she's actually kind of excited for her birthday.

it'll be the first without both of her parents beside her. so for this reason she doesn't want to do too much, but she still does want to enjoy herself.

she feels like with everything that's been going on and with all the ways she's been feeling, she could use a day strictly dedicated for only her. a day where she can just appreciate herself and how far she's come, and acknowledge the fact that she's still here.

because God knows when she was at her lowest and believing that the only way she could get better was to leave the Earth.

he had someone stop her that day, and he's kept her here since.

there's a reason for that.

there's reason for everything that's been falling into place lately.

everything happens for a reason.

she'll always stand on that.

after she finished the last question on her calculus quiz, she leaned back in her seat and slightly slid her paper to the left.

danaris secretly slipped it off of her desk to catch a picture then gave it back to her. next, she slid it to the right for kai to do the same thing before getting up to turn her paper in. the teacher took it and gave her a pass for early release in return.

their teacher decided to give a random pop quiz this friday, catching most of the class off guard. it sort of acted like a ticket out the door because if you didn't finish it, he'll consider the quiz as incomplete.

fortunately, caelynn was all caught up in the class and knew what she was doing. that's mainly thanks to danaris and kai, who sent her the work and notes for the week she skipped. she taught herself the curriculum over the break then fell back in place with everyone else as if she never left.

she walked slow down the hall, simultaneously placing in a pick-up order at chick-fil-a for her lunch today. then she scrolled down instagram, waiting at the corner for about ten minutes until finally arms were thrown around her shoulders and kai and danaris started leading her down to the lunch room.

senior lunch always started before everyone else while caelynn's doesn't start until after her fourth period.

since they got out early, they can go ahead get settled down whereas caelynn will just be hanging with them until she has to leave for her next class.

she used the extra time on her hands to start on the english essay due next friday, accepting the french fries kai brought out for her.

while she worked, they watched some espn post put out yesterday on her ipad.

for the most part, she focused on her work. but then she heard a familiar name and snapped her head over quick. she watched it with them for a couple minutes before gasping. "that's my brotherrr."

she pulled out her phone to text chris, getting excited for him. he's going big viral for his season. she's so proud of him.

"oh shit. christian taylor's your bro — wait i forgot ya last name's taylor," danaris laughed.

"and i was wondering why y'all looked alike," kai shook his head.

both him and danaris feel so slow now.

"i have a highlight on my instagram with clips and pictures of him," caelynn slowly said. "what else did you think it was for?"

they shrugged, "you're a fan?"

she mugged them, making them bust out laughing. she's in some of the pictures and everything and they still have the audacity to say that.

the alarm on her phone went off to let her know she needs to start packing up and walking to her history class. she took her ipad from them and put it along with her computer into her tote. "fuck you, guys."

"been there, did—"

before kai could finish, she pushed his shoulder.

"shut up, kai!"

but there's a smile on her face because she knows he's teasing her. that's how the two of them play around. they joke about their hookup . . hookups often.

"waitttt.." danaris trailed off, rapidly looking between the two. "no wayyy."

"i gotta go," she chuckled with a shake of her head.

danaris was still digesting the information he just learned, so kai was the only one to wave her bye. "you gone be at the game later?"

"yeah, i'll be there."

"aii, see you."

she waved back at him before leaving the lunch room.

𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 caelynn finished getting ready for the basketball game, she went down the stairs to wait for keegan. she ate a banana and scrolled along tiktok while she did.

but after awhile, keegan still didn't come out and she grew curious as to why.

he's usually ready before she is. both him and briari.

it's not like kiyomi and izyais have to get ready because they aren't even here. they're at sleepovers. briari isn't here either. she was out with michelle earlier and is meeting them at the school with zakiar's parents.

so what's taking keegan so long?

she sat still for a couple minutes to continue waiting, but when he still didn't show, she got up to go check on him.

caelynn raised her fist to knock on his door, then suddenly stopped when she heard him talking. she knows she shouldn't eavesdrop either, but after hearing another familiar voice on the line, she couldn't help herself.

"ma, she's only a teenager," keegan sighed out, "she was sixteen when it all happened, and her father had just died when christine passed. christine wouldn't even want this. y'all know that."

"leave me alone about it, keegan," her abuela said on the other line. "we want nothing to do with that child. understand?"

"so you're really going to hold this over her head forever? she had just lost her dad. you know how teens are. they act out when they grieve. but it had nothing to do with tina's death. she said it herself in her letter."

"keegan!" she snapped, "i don't want to hear it. caelynn is a curse to this world, you hear? if she wouldn't have been so reckless the way she was, then my daughter would still be here! you can't tell me otherwise!"

keegan let out another breath and went quiet. he's been back and forth over this for a whole hour now all because he brought up caelynn's birthday. he's accepting defeat at this point. there's no getting through to them. "she's just a kid. remember that, ma."

he ended the call after that.

caelynn scurried away from his door before he could catch her in the act.

she already knew how her abuelo and abuela felt about her, but hearing them say it out loud hurt. she wouldn't lie.

a curse to the world?

that's harsh, isn't it?

those words rang around in her head badly.

once keegan came out of his room, he noticed the down look on caelynn's face and already knew. plus, he heard her footsteps when she ran.

"don't listen to her, caelynn," he told her. "ain't nothing she said close to true."

caelynn just nodded. "are we leaving now?"

she got up for the front door without another word.

keegan frowned and went after her. he really wishes she didn't hear any of that, because he knows her. he knows what his mom just said will be stuck in caelynn's head now, and it doesn't need to be because they all know those words are only generated from pain.

the car ride to the high school was mainly silent. caelynn kept herself occupied with her phone, not wanting to talk about the matter any longer.

she should've just minded her business.

now her whole mood is gone.

"lemme tell you something 'bout your grandparents," keegan stated, "they're good people, but they've got some nasty habits. when they're not happy, they like to make it known to others. they're the type of people to bring you down when they see you up if they don't get their way, and i hate to say it about my own parents, but it's true," he revealed.

caelynn intently listened to him.

"they've always been like that since we were all kids. it felt like we couldn't ever do anything right with them. it took us awhile to break out of how strict they are, and when we did, they once told your mom and i to never step foot in their direction again. they were hurt, and instead of accepting everything for what it was, they tried to put their hurt on our shoulders."

"we had to learn to let their words go so we could live our lives. now i know the circumstances are different, but it's still all the same. let her words go in your ear and out the other. they can't accept the pain of christine being gone, so they're shifting it over to you. don't take that. just keep being you. if your mom were here, she'd tell you the same thing. don't let them get to you. i mean it. you hear me?"

"i hear you," she murmured.

and while that's easier said than done, she really is going to try.

if christine were here, she would tell her the same thing.

keep being her.

if there's one thing cayton and christine made very clear before they left, it was for caelynn to never change herself or how she feels for anyone.

she refuses to make another back track.

she's come a long way to get to where she is now.

she's not going to let anyone bring her back to that low place again.

just like keegan learned to live his, it's time for caelynn to live her life.

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