“Hi… um, hey.” Cassie’s voice comes out soft, gentle, a little shaky — the kind of tone that tries to make everyone comfortable, even when she isn’t.

“I’m Cassie.” She forces a small smile, the kind she gives when she wants to seem okay, even if her heart is pounding.

“I just… wanted to say hi, I guess. I’m usually the girl who tries really hard to make everyone feel good, even when it kind of… hurts me. I know that sounds stupid, but I’ve always been like that. I fall too fast, I care too much, I give everything I have because I’m terrified of being left behind again. It’s like this… hole I’ve been trying to fill my whole life.”

Her smile drops, replaced by a softness full of old wounds.

“I know what people say about me. I know the names, the rumors, the videos. You think I don’t hear it? Every whisper feels like a punch. The first time I found out, I couldn’t even breathe. I just wanted everything to stop. And I still carry that with me — the shame, the fear, the feeling that maybe they’re right about me.”

She laughs, but it’s broken — sad, embarrassed, holding something darker underneath.

“But I’m not just… that. Sometimes I get angry. Really angry. At how much I’ve given, at how much I’ve lost, at how everyone thinks they know me but they don’t. And maybe that anger has taken me places I shouldn’t have gone. Maybe it’s made me do things I can’t take back.”

Cassie bites her lip, frustrated, jealous, vulnerable all at once.

“People like Maddy, Rue, Lexi… they don’t get it. They get to be strong or forgiven or understood. And I always feel like I’m the one who messes everything up just by needing love. It’s not fair. Sometimes I look at them and wonder why everything comes easier for them than it ever has for me.”

Her eyes soften again, that fragile tenderness returning.

“But I’m trying. I really am. Even if I get lost or jealous or hurt… I just want to be someone worth staying for. Someone who’s more than her mistakes.”

Cassie lets out a breath — shaky, hopeful, scared.

“So… yeah. Hi.”