Cassandra Goth just emerged from hiding in a tent in the Selvadoradian jungle to find out what was waiting for her.
What, or rather who, she found was a complete surprise.
“It wasn’t a wild animal at all!” Cassandra exclaimed. “It was Holden!“
“Thank God you’re alright!’ Holden cried. “When you didn’t come home last night, I was so worried.”
“I was so dehydrated that I didn’t have the energy to explain that Wolfgang and Aislinn literally abandoned me in the jungle,” Cassandra adds.
“No worries, though. I’ve come to rescue you,” Holden stated presumptively.
“Though I was super relieved to see Holden, there was no way I was going anywhere with him,” Cassandra tells us.
“No, you’re good,” Cassandra quickly asserted. “I’m going back out in the jungle to find the Omiscan Royal Baths. It’s the one thing that I want to get out of this trip.”
“The Omiscan Baths?” Holden asked. “I talked to a local and know exactly where they are. I can totally take you there.”
“In reality, I had no clue where the baths were or where even I was at the moment,” Holden tells us. “There’s just been this distance between Cassandra and me since our trip to Granite Falls. I needed to know that we were okay.”
“At this point, I felt like I had nothing to lose by being honest with Holden,” Cassandra tells us.
“Holden, I didn’t pick you for a jungle partner in the first place because I didn’t want to have to listen to you go on about Bella for hours on end. And I don’t want to listen to you now either.”
Cassandra was on a roll. ‘Look, I’m going to be honest with you because you’re never honest–not with me, not with Bella, and certainly not with yourself.”
“Bella chose Edwin. . . over you! And she’ll do it again and again. The more you try to hang on to someone who doesn’t care about you, the more you look like a llama. I’m living proof of that.”
“Do yourself a favor and pick your self-worth up off the ground!” Cassandra begged.
“Cassandra was right. I felt like a fool–a fool for leading her on, though I never intended to, and a fool for pursuing Bella when it was obvious who she wanted to be with. . . and that someone wasn’t me,” Holden reveals.
“I opened my mouth to say ‘I’m sorry’ but once again, the wrong words came out.
“So, do you want to go to the Omiscan Baths or not?” Holden asked.
“I decided to put my pride aside,” Cassandra tells us. “I wanted to see the baths more than I wanted to stay mad at him, so off we went.”
Meanwhile, back at the rental house, Aria was beaming after her time spent with Finn.
“For weeks I’ve been questioning my identity because I had no physical chemistry with Jay. I literally thought something was wrong with me, but here I am with someone I’ve known my entire life and I couldn’t be happier.”
Speaking of Jay, he had something of a lupine meltdown when he heard the news of Aria and Finn’s emerging relationship.
“Aria swore to me that our breakup was because of her. . . not me. . . but here she is with another guy in no time at all.”
It wasn’t long before Jay’s disappointment with Aria ‘s new relationship, reminded him of his failed romance with Brooklyn.
“Jay is totally out of control and freaking me out” Brooklyn exclaims. “We made out one time and he’s acting like we were in some sort of committed relationship.”
“Yeah, I’m the one getting dumped on by everybody, but somehow I’m the one out of control. Makes total sense!” Jay said sarcastically.
Back over in the jungle, Cassandra followed Holden in the now-pouring rain.
“Almost there!” Holden called out.
“Like I said, I have no clue where I am,” Holden laughed nervously, “but if there’s even a slight chance I can make Cassandra happy, I’m going to take it.”
“Not only was I lost in the jungle for the second time in 24 hours, but now I was soaked as well. . .thanks to Holden,” Cassandra stated glumly. “Time to give him a piece of my mind.”
“But for some reason I just couldn’t,” Cassandra smiled. “Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the racing adrenaline from being scared that I was going to be eaten by a jaguar in my tent.”
“You have no idea where we are ,do you?” she asked instead.
“I got this,” Holden lied. “Walk across the bridge and see for yourself.”
“So I walked across the bridge, mentally preparing myself to be stung by a swarm of bees or attacked by bats” Cassandra stated.
“But. . .amazingly. . .there they were. . .the baths.!! Just like Holden said they would be.”
“The bath refreshed me not only physically, but spiritually,” Cassandra revealed as she took a dip. “It’s hard to explain, but I felt a release of all the negative feelings I had towards Holden.”
“Maybe it was the power of the baths, or maybe it was me finally opening my eyes, but I realized that Holden never rejected me at all. For months, I had created an entire one-sided relationship with him in my mind. It was wrong of me to hold him accountable for something he wasn’t part of in the first place.”
“When we got back to the rental, I wanted to apologize to Cassandra for being so clueless about her feelings for me, but she wouldn’t have it,” Holden tells us. “I told her that someone is going to be very lucky someday to have her as a girlfriend.”
“What Holden said was very sweet, but my conscience was bothering me about what happened at the end of the school year, so I had to confess,” she reveals.
“I knew that Wolfgang planted that stolen exam in your locker. If I had told Principal Prescott, you wouldn’t have been expelled.”
“
“Listen to me, Cassandra,” Holden stated seriously. “My expulsion had nothing to do with you. Believe it or not, it isn’t your responsibility to bail me out every time I get into trouble.”
“It feels great to make things right again with Cassandra,” Holden adds. ” I know that she’s right about Bella choosing Edwin over me, but am I a fool for still wanting to hold on to hope that she might still have feelings for me?
Will Holden take Cassandra’s advice and forget about Bella or is he about to open himself up to more heartache? Will the gang enjoy their last few days of fun in Selvadorada or will a raging Jay keep everyone on edge?
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