GEORGE
Cassie went pale faster than I had ever seen anyone go pale. It made me almost reach for her.
Her eyes were locked on a figure across the street, her entire body turned as stiff as a board.
I turned my head, following her gaze. There was a man standing by the bus stop. Approximately in his Mid-40s, looking unkept, unshaven and wearing a cheap pale blue jacket.
I didn't quite understand why she froze this badly, he wasn't even doing anything, but something about him made her freeze.
"Cassie," I said calmly.
There was no response. She didn't move neither did she blink.
And that's when I realized. Whoever he was, he wasn't just a stranger.
CASSIE
I couldn't move, I couldn't think, everything thing in my body system had shut down.
I could see my world had fallen apart, and suddenly, I wasn't standing outside the café with George anymore. I was back in my past life, where everything about me was a disaster.
My hands clenched into fists. I forced myself to blink, to breathe. I was hyperventilating, suddenly, everything was becoming blurry.
And he was still there. He seemed to be loving my whole reaction, wearing a sly smile on his lips.
Watching me, like he always did anytime he was about to cause havoc.
"Who is he?"
George's voice was low, calm and controlled, with a trace of sharpness underneath.
I swallowed hard. "No one." I lied… because I didn't want to involve someone else. I didn't want a secure healed man caught up in my drama.
George's gaze flickered between the man and I, meticulously watching. He was trying to decipher who he was and why I had such a reaction to a presence that was far from me.
"Doesn't look like no one." He replied looking absolutely unconvinced.
I forced out a bitter laugh. "Well, maybe I have bad eyesight."
"Cassie"
I shot dryly. " I have to go."
I turned away walking briskly before he could stop me, my heart hammering out of my chest as I walked away.
Not too fast though, I doubt it was fast enough to draw attention but it was paced enough to make my lungs burn. And fast enough to avoid the hurt and confused look I'd have seen on George's face.
And fast enough that I wouldn't have to face the truth.
—
GEORGE
Cassie ran faster than her heels. Not physically though, she was far too careful for that.
But I saw it in the way her posture shifted, in the way her steps quickened, the way her hands shook when she thought no one was looking and in the way her chest raised like she was out of breath.
She was terrified, I didn't know why but I had to find out one way or the other...
I turned towards the man at the bus stop and he was still standing there, still watching her with a very smug expression.
I felt my chest tighten.
I had been patient with Cassie, for a very long time. I had given her space and let her set the pace too.
But this? This would totally ruin everything.
Because whoever that man was, he had shaken her in a way I had never seen before and I wasn't about to let that go.
CASSIE
I breathe out a sigh of relief. 'I made it home in one piece.'
I hurriedly unlocked my apartment door; my keys barely went through the key hole as I my hand shook vigorously. By the time I locked my apartment door, my hands were trembling so badly that I had to press them to my thighs just to stop.
My anxiety was back, spiked to the highest point. It had been years since I felt like this.
Years since I had last seen him, I had let myself believe he was gone.
And now, out of nowhere, he was back.
A strangled laugh bubbled up in my throat.
Of course.
How convenient it was for him to show up now, just when I let myself feel something, just when I let someone like George into my life; the past had to crash back in ruining everything.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm my breathing all to no avail.
I had survived this before and I would survive it again.
I just had to be smart and that meant cutting George off before he got closer than he already was.
Because if there was one thing, I knew for sure, it was that anyone who ever got close to me when Xavier was around would never be unhurt.
—
GEORGE
Cassie didn't text me that night, or the next day, or the day after that. Neither did she reply my texts or calls.
She was avoiding me and I let her a while.
For exactly three days until I decided I had enough.
—
I found her at the café, just like always.
She was wiping down a table when I walked in, but the moment she saw me, she stiffened.
And that pissed me off more than I could ever imagine.
I wasn't the enemy here, why would she treat me like that.
Her expression blank as she straightened. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."
I took my time as I walked over to her. "Why?"
"You just shouldn't." she shot back firmly.
"I'm afraid that's not an answer, Davidson."
Her jaw tightened as she called my name firmly with a high trace of anger rising in her chest. "George"
"Get out"
I asked ignoring her words. "Who was he?"
Cassie's face suddenly paled, looking completely drained of color.
I stepped closer, closing the space between us; lowering my voice, I said. "I saw the way you looked at him. I saw the way you ran."
She clenched her jaw and shook her head afterward. "It doesn't matter."
"It does if he's a threat to you." I replied sternly
"He's not," she said too quickly.
She lied.
I exhaled slowly while clenching my fists. "Cassie."
She swallowed hard.
And then; finally, she met my gaze slowly.
"You know what I need from you right now George? "
"No?"
She looked me straight in my eyes. "To stay away from me, George."
My stomach dropped; I felt like hell.
Cassie's words hit me harder than they should have.
"You need to stay away from me, George." Her words echoed through my mind on and on… in a loop.
I had been patient, I had let her push and pull, let her dictate how close I was allowed to get.
But this?
This wasn't just her usual deflection, it was fear.
And I wanted to know why.
"You don't mean that," I said evenly as I shook off the effect her words had on me.
Her fingers curled into the cloth she was holding, knuckles turning white. "I do."
There was no physical trace of hesitation, no cracks.
A perfect, practiced lie.
I took another step toward her. "Then look me in the eye and say it again."
She inhaled sharply, her shoulders rising. "George"
"Look at me, Cassie."
She did.
And for the first time, she looked defeated. She looked like she wanted to let me in, like she wanted to believe I could handle whatever this was.
But she couldn't or maybe she just wouldn't.
"Cassie," I said quietly, "let me help you."
She flinched like the words had physically hurt.
"George," she whispered. "Please." In a hard sounding plea
I exhaled.
I could push, demand answers but that wasn't what she needed.
So instead, I stepped back.
"Okay," I said finally. "I'll drop it."
Relief flickered across her face. But it was quickly followed by something else.
Guilt.
I let it sink in, I let her feel the weight of what she was doing to us, to herself.
Then I turned and walked out of the café.
But not before I made one last decision.
I was never going to stay away.
No matter what Cassie thought, I was never going to let her fight this alone, even if I had to do it without her knowledge.
—
CASSIE
As I watched him leave, for the first time in my life, I felt like I had just made a huge mistake.
I felt a rush of sadness all over my body the moment he stepped out of the café. He didn't turn back, didn't even give me one last look at me.
My stomach dropped; I had pushed away the one thing that made me happy.
My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my trance state. It was a text from Liv.
>>Hey cherry drop<<
>>where are you, I'm home<<
I breathe out a sigh of relief, she was the one person I could share all this with. Okay, maybe not everything but I could get a great deal of weight of my chest I thought.
>> Hey Livy, get the key in my vase <<
< >> No biggies << she replied.
"What's the problem young lady" the old woman around the corner said cutting me out of my thoughts.
With an unconvincing assuring smile, "Nothing."
She looked visibly sad, then said "You shouldn't give up so easily. Life is all about fighting. We don't run from our problems. We face them head on!"
"That young man loves you" She added.
I was too stunned to speak. I hadn't realized anyone here paid that much attention to me.