The calm and rainy morning arrived. I tried to keep myself busy with chores. I cleaned, washed, ironed, folded, fried pancakes, and did everything I could to keep my mind occupied. Cassandra hadn't come out of her room yet, which frustrated me. Throughout the entire night, suspicion about her only grew in my mind. It was funny how a small detail made me rethink several previous actions. I remembered an afternoon when I entered her room to look for my lipstick, and Cassandra yelled at me for half an hour like crazy, thinking I was messing with her stuff. Another time, I insisted she tell me what she came to Brazil for, and she avoided the subject in every possible way.
A knock on the door forced me to stop scrubbing the sink. I wiped my hands on a dish towel and ran to the door, glancing briefly at Cassie's room, hoping she would wake up. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now.
"Hello," Marina greeted when I opened the door. Her hair was tied up in a perfect bun, and her makeup was light. She entered, taking off her coat and throwing herself on the couch. "It's freezing out there. Does Cassandra work today? Let's do something to make up for yesterday. Maybe go to the movies and..."
"I think Cassandra is hiding something," I cut her off mid-sentence.
Mari stopped and stared at me, perplexed.
"Elizabeth," her tone was reproachful. "I can't believe you're doing this again."
"Doing what?" I asked innocently.
She tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows, waiting for me to draw my own conclusions. I rolled my eyes and sat down next to her, trying to gain some credibility by looking at her seriously.
"I know I've done this before..."
"Before?" She threw her hands up theatrically. "You're always accusing people. You let your imagination run wild."
"It's different," I said, irritated.
"Different? You insisted once that the girl at the diner was a vampire."
I visibly blushed when I remembered that fact. What could I say? I had been watching too much The Vampire Diaries. And it was at a different time; I was younger, less perceptive. Now it was totally different. It wasn't fantasy. I was sure something was wrong.
"But you saw the way she ate ketchup," I tried in vain to defend myself.
"That just means she REALLY likes ketchup."
I crossed my arms and scowled. She wouldn't believe me, not even if I had seen Cassie killing someone in the dead of night. Okay, I deserved that because of my track record of mistakes. But Marina had to give me some credit.
"At least listen to me," I tried again.
"Okay, Miss Elizabeth. Tell me, what terrible thing did the poor girl do to trigger your keen sense?" Mari got up and went to the small kitchen in the apartment. I followed, looking for a way to make her believe me.
"The day Cassandra arrived here..."
"Hmm..." She signaled for me to continue while grabbing a glass from the cupboard and pouring herself some juice.
I placed the pancakes I had made on the counter, and we sat around it.
"She told me she speaks three languages," I continued in a low voice.
"Great, she's trilingual. How amazing," Marina said sarcastically. She put two pancakes on a plate and started eating.
"Let me finish," I huffed before continuing. "She clearly said, 'I speak three languages: Portuguese, English, and French.' I don't know if it was in that order, actually. But whatever. She said that."
Marina remained focused on eating her pancakes, and I stared at her, hoping she would realize the story was over. Which didn't happen. I pulled her plate towards me, urging her to pay attention.
"Marina Carvalho, are you listening to me?"
"Hey, give that back." She pulled the plate back. "Of course, I'm listening. I just don't understand where you're going with this."
She tilted her head to the side and looked at me with raised eyebrows, expecting me to draw my own conclusions. I rolled my eyes and sat down next to her, trying to gain some credibility by looking at her seriously.
"I know I've done this before..."
"Before?" She threw her hands up theatrically. "You're always accusing people. You let your imagination run wild."
"It's different," I said, irritated.
"Different? You insisted once that the girl at the diner was a vampire."
I visibly blushed when I remembered that fact. What could I say? I had been watching too much The Vampire Diaries. And it was at a different time; I was younger, less perceptive. Now it was totally different. It wasn't fantasy. I was sure something was wrong.
"But you saw the way she ate ketchup," I tried in vain to defend myself.
"That just means she REALLY likes ketchup."
I crossed my arms and scowled. She wouldn't believe me, not even if I had seen Cassie killing someone in the dead of night. Okay, I deserved that because of my track record of mistakes. But Marina had to give me some credit.
"At least listen to me," I tried again.
"Okay, Miss Elizabeth. Tell me, what terrible thing did the poor girl do to trigger your keen sense?" Mari got up and went to the small kitchen in the apartment. I followed, looking for a way to make her believe me.
"The day Cassandra arrived here..."
"Hmm..." She signaled for me to continue while grabbing a glass from the cupboard and pouring herself some juice.
I placed the pancakes I had made on the counter, and we sat around it.
"She told me she speaks three languages," I continued in a low voice.
"Great, she's trilingual. How amazing," Marina said sarcastically. She put two pancakes on a plate and started eating.
"Let me finish," I huffed before continuing. "She clearly said, 'I speak three languages: Portuguese, English, and French.' I don't know if it was in that order, actually. But whatever. She said that."
Marina remained focused on eating her pancakes, and I stared at her, hoping she would realize the story was over. Which didn't happen. I pulled her plate towards me, urging her to pay attention.
"Marina Carvalho, are you listening to me?"
"Hey, give that back." She pulled the plate back. "Of course, I'm listening. I just don't understand where you're going with this."
I kept my eyes on her and tried to come up with another argument. Then, I saw Cassandra standing in the kitchen doorway. Her arms crossed over her chest, and her face was dark. She looked nothing like the Cassandra we knew. For some strange reason, unrelated to the weather, I started to sweat. I wished I could ask her how long she had been there, but her gloomy expression indicated that she had been there long enough.
Marina followed my frozen gaze and saw her too.
"Cassie," Mari stood up excitedly to greet her, and Cassandra's face softened, returning to the sweet one we knew.
All I could think was how much she seemed like a different person when she looked that way. It was as if there were two Cassandras, and apparently, I didn't know the other side of her. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to.