Love Redeemed

by Tich Brewster

  As soon as the door clicked shut she stormed to the kitchen table, picked up her tea, and slammed the mug into the sink with a shout of frustration. The only mug she owned shattered in the sink, pieces flying up on the counter. The handle bounced up to smack her on the nose as if to say, you spoiled brat.

  Cassie woke up the next morning with the worst hangover ever. Every noise, every light, caused her head to throb to the point she thought it’d crack open. She’d be surprised if her eyes didn’t pop out of her head. What had gotten into her last night? She couldn’t even remember getting home. She groaned and glanced at her alarm clock.

  One look at the clock and she jumped up, rushing to the shower. How could she sleep through the alarm? That thing was insanely loud. Was it broken? That had to be it, it was the only explanation.

  She took the quickest shower of her life. Her boss was going to kill her. She was two hours late for work. She didn’t even bother to dry her hair, there wasn’t enough time. She pulled it into a low ponytail, applied a layer of lip gloss, and walked out the door.

  It took her a total of two steps to realize that she was missing something, she was empty-handed. She ran back inside to fetch her briefcase. It was essential, she couldn’t work without it.

  The Texas heat was a scorching 102º on this mid July morning. Thank goodness for air conditioning otherwise her thirty minute ride to work would have given her a heat stroke.

  Cassie stood in front of her office building and dug in her purse for the bottle of Ibuprofen. She popped two pills, washing them down with her morning energy drink. That wasn’t the best way to start her day by any means, but this was her consequence to pay for last night.

  She squared her shoulders and walked into the building. Every head turned to stare. They eyed her like they knew what she had done the previous night and why she had done it. She smiled at her co-workers and continued to her small office cubicle. A note lay across her computer keyboard. My office. NOW!

  Yikes, a note from the boss. She set her briefcase on the desk and went to the office where her boss was waiting for her.

  “Close the door.” Mr. Bradshaw didn’t even look up at her, he just pointed to the chair directly in front of his desk. “Sit.”

  She sat, nervously tapping her fingers on her thigh. “You wanted to see me, Sir?”

  He tapped a few more keys on his computer, sipped his coffee, and pointed a pencil in her direction. “You’re late for work.”

  She took a deep breath. Should she explain that she went out to celebrate her friend’s birthday? That it had been a late night and she had overslept? Mr. Bradshaw looked at her expectantly. No, that would sound like she was just making excuses. “I apologize, Sir. It will not happen again.”

  He turned back to his computer screen. “See that it doesn’t. This is a business and we have deadlines to meet.” With that he waved her away.

  She had never felt so humiliated in her life. Since starting this job four years ago she had never been in trouble with the boss. She was the best editor that this company had, even her co-workers asked her for advice.

  She went back to her desk and fired up her computer. The manuscript she had been working on was due by the end of the week and she was only halfway through it. As soon as the document loaded she received a notification, she had an email.

  She clicked on the icon, loading her email. It might be urgent. Her clients emailed her regularly with questions or just wanting an update on their manuscript. She opened the message. Can we talk, maybe for lunch or dinner? –R

  R? Who in the world was R? She replied, Who is this? –Cassie Strong, Editor of Bradshaw Publishing

  She switched back over to the manuscript, not expecting the messenger to respond for a while. Not two seconds after she had hit send another email notification popped up. Oh, sorry. It’s me, Ryder. –R

  Oh this was so not what she expected, or needed, this morning. She was hoping that last night had just been a total nightmare. That she hadn’t made a total fool of herself in front of him. No such luck. No. –Cassie Strong, Editor of Bradshaw Publishing

  He didn’t deserve any explanations from her. She was not interested in hearing anything he had to say either. Another message popped up. I would love the chance to catch up. –R

  Jeez, the man was infuriating. Did she use a word too complex for him? No meant that she had no desire to meet up with him. Do you need a dictionary? –Cassie Strong, Editor of Bradshaw Publishing

  Another message came through. It was instantaneous. She doubted he had time to see her last reply. Come on, I miss you. –R

  She rolled her eyes. He misses me? Yeah, I bet. She shut down her email to focus on the manuscript. The last thing she needed was to lose her job due to Ryder’s distractions.

  The notification icon appeared on her screen. It beeped with each message she received. Every second that bloomin’ thing beeped and it was driving her to distraction. She sighed. Who on God’s green earth gave that man her email address? She’d kill him. Or her.

  Ignoring that noise was dang near impossible. She searched her computer looking for a way to disable it. She was useless when it came to operating those crazy apps. If this noise continued, her co-workers were going to hit her over the head with a blunt object, pack her body in cement, and throw her in the ocean.

  She searched everywhere for the disable button with no further luck. Then it dawned on her that she could mute her computer. She smiled at herself for being so clever. A push of a button and she no longer heard that annoying beep.

  Ryder was officially being ignored. She mentally patted herself on the back. Now to get on the ball and finish the edits on this book. She opened the document, again, and set to work. She was never disappointed with this author. His work was always fresh and nearly polished to perfection upon arrival to her desk.

  She was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t hear her name being called. When a hand waved between her and her computer screen it took everything in her not to scream. Her hand flew to her chest, over her heart. Looking up into the eyes of the one that startled her she said, “Dang it Todd, you scared the snot out of me.”

  He shook his head at her wittiness. “Someone’s here to see you.”

  “Oh. Would you tell them I’ll be right there?”

  “Sure.” He walked away.

  She made a few notes on her notepad, closed down the document, and made her way to the lobby. When she rounded the corner she stopped cold. He was standing at the window, his back to her, peering at the people walking along the sidewalk.

  She didn’t need to see his face to know who he was. His broad shoulders, dark messy hair, and that crazy black fingerless glove told her exactly who was waiting for her. “Go home, Ryder.”

  She turned to walk away but stopped at the sound of her name leaving his lips. “Cassie Sophia Strong. Sit and talk to me.”

  “I have work to do. You know, it’s that thing that most of us have to do in order to pay our bills.” She heard his footsteps, felt his presence when he stopped just a breath away from her back. “I have a deadline to meet,” she said as a means of dismissal.

  His hand rested on her shoulder. Her heart was torn. Should she continue on to her cubicle, leaving him behind, to avoid having her heart broken yet again? Or, she could stay and talk, risking the chance of her heart breaking once more.

  He could see her conflicting emotions. She wanted to stay but she also wanted to go. It had taken him a great deal but he finally convinced his best friend, Jared, to spill the beans about Cassie’s relationship status. To his surprise, she wasn’t married nor was she dating. A big plus for him. “Don’t you miss me at all?” he asked. His lips brushed her ear as he spoke.

  “Whether or not I miss you isn’t the issue.” She stomped her foot as she finally turned to face him.

  “Okay. What is the issue?” He searched her eyes.

  Cassie had no idea how to handle this situation. Her heart, though it had mended to a certai
n degree, had not healed even a fraction. “I just can’t.”

  She walked away before he could see the tears that formed and spilled over.

  The rest of the day proved to be unproductive. After Ryder’s visit there was no way she could concentrate on her work. Her thoughts wouldn’t leave him. She wanted nothing more than to give in to his demands, to spend time with him…to fall in love all over again.

  On her way home from work, Cassie drove to the movie rental down the road from her house. After the day she had she needed a good romantic comedy to wind down. What she longed for was that day when she could take a vacation. But with bills to pay, that would have to wait.

  Cassie was a regular there. She rented movies three to four times a week. The employee standing behind the counter waved at her as she walked in the store. She waved back and headed for the romantic comedy section. There were many to choose from but she always ended up with the same movie, Pretty Woman.

  She laid the movie on the counter along with Twizzlers and a Coke. The employee scanned them and smiled. “You know, you’ve rented this movie so many times. Why don’t you just buy a copy?”

  Cassie laughed. With the money she spent renting this movie every week she could have already owned several copies. “That’s okay, Sarah. If I bought every movie I loved then you wouldn’t see me around much.”

  Sarah laughed. This was true. Cassie came in here nearly every day. Her presence alone brightened up the place. They had become friends because of Cassie’s love for movies. “You’re right.”

  Sarah didn’t have to tell Cassie how much she owed, she knew it by heart. Cassie handed Sarah a five dollar bill and dropped the change into the donation box for the children’s hospital. “So tell me about this book you’re writing. Have you finished it yet?”

  Sarah blushed, her cheeks a pretty shade of pink. “I’m close but I am so not ready to share it with anyone yet.”

  Cassie raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Come on now. You told me you were writing a book the last time I was in here. You can’t just leave a girl hanging.”

  Two days ago when Cassie came in to rent a movie Sarah told her about the book she was writing. It was her first book and she was extremely nervous about it, afraid that no one would like it. She was afraid that it’d be an epic fail.

  Sarah was a little worried about sharing her writing with Cassie. She knew that Cassie worked at a publishing company. “I have roughly twenty pages left. When it’s done I will email it to you. I promise.”

  Cassie smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”

  The two chatted for a while longer. This was the reason she didn’t buy her movies, she enjoyed coming in after a hard day’s work and talking with the girls that ran the store. Cassie gathered her things, waved goodbye to Sarah, and left.

  The sound of someone giggling drew her attention to the couple standing a few cars down from hers. She immediately regretted looking. The girl sat on the hood of a Mercedes SL running her fingers through the messy dark brown hair of none other than Ryder. Dang, there go her emotions running wild and free.

  She couldn’t help but watch their flirtation. It sickened her but she was unable to look away. She watched as he kissed the girl before helping her down off of his car. Look away, look away, look away, she shouted to herself mentally.

  She finally did look away but not before he caught her staring. Great, now he would make a big deal out of her staring and find a way to use it against her. He said something to the pretty redhead he was with. She nodded her head like a crazed teenage fan. Then she kissed his cheek before entering the store, alone.

  Ryder jogged toward her. “Cass, I need to talk to you.”

  Cassie fumbled with her keys, trying to open the car door and leave before he could say another word. She finally got it unlocked and rushed to get inside.

  He caught hold of the door, preventing her from shutting it. She glared up at him. “Look, Ryder.” She buckled her seatbelt. “I don’t have time. Why don’t you go back to your girlfriend and leave me alone. No more emails while I’m working either. Oh, and definitely no more stopping in at my place of employment.”

  Ryder crouched down so that they were eye level. “Fine, I won’t email you while you’re at work but I would like to talk to you. It’s been a long time.”

  “Yes it has, but whose fault is that?” Cassie squeezed her hand into a tight fist causing her fingernails to bite into her flesh. The pain kept her from crying and making a total and complete fool of herself.

  He sensed her agitation. “Can I stop by later?”

  “I prefer you didn’t.” She put the keys in the ignition hoping he’d get the hint and walk away. “Anyway, wouldn’t your girlfriend get mad at you for spending time alone with me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be by in a couple of hours.” He smiled at the angry puff of air she blew out, but she had said I prefer you didn’t not no. He chucked her under the chin. “By the way, she’s not my girlfriend. I don’t have time for relationships. Big rock star, remember?” He stood, waved, and walked away.

  Jared managed to talk Cassie into coming to the house for a barbeque. It took a lot of persuasion to convince her to come. She was afraid of having to sit in the same room as Ryder. And the last thing that she wanted was to potentially see him with his date.

  It wasn’t until he promised that it would just be the three of them, no Ryder, that she finally caved in. He looked at his watch. She should have been here fifteen minutes ago.

  “Quit fidgeting.” Allie placed a kiss on Jared’s cheek.

  “She’s late,” he said looking at the time again.

  “She’ll be here.” She made a point to wave her cell phone in front of him. “She texted me and said she was stopping at the store for dessert.”

  “I just want these two to sit down and talk.” He put his arm around her waist, pulling her in for a deep tongue dancing kiss.

  “As do I.” She handed him the keys to their car. “You better head to the store if you plan on cooking a feast out back.”

  After a very long day at work and her run in with Ryder, Cassie decided to take Jared up on his offer and spend the evening with him and Allie. “We are not watching Pretty Woman,” Allie demanded, hands on her hips. “You need to relax, have some fun.” She sauntered across the room, turning on the stereo.

  She rummaged through her collection of CDs until she found what she was looking for. It was very old school but definitely a goodie. She put the CD in the player. As soon as Wannabe poured out of the speakers Cassie laughed. She hadn’t heard that song in a very long time.

  Allie made a come here motion with her index finger. Cassie shook her head but then tossed the movie onto the coffee table and joined her friend. The two of them danced around the living room singing. It felt great. Cassie could feel the pent up stress melting away. When the song ended Cassie hit the replay button.

  They were having so much fun, neither one of them heard the front door open. Jared stood in the doorway, grocery bag in hand. Those two looked so beautiful, goofy but beautiful. He silently watched, not wanting to ruin their moment of happiness.

  The song ended and Allie spun Cassie around. Her eyes landed on Jared. A deep blush colored her cheeks. “Oh-Mylanta, next time warn a girl.” She spun on her heel and turned off the stereo.

  Allie rushed to her boyfriend, giving him a wet kiss. He embraced her for a moment. “I bought some steaks for the grill.”

  “Nice.” Allie peeked into the bag. “Yum, you bought baked beans, potato salad, and coleslaw.”

  “Sure did.” He looked at Cassie. “I bought plenty of potato salad just for you.”

  Cassie smiled. “Hey you don’t have to ask me twice. Steak sounds great and I love you for the potato salad.”

  “Good. Then I’ll go get the grill started.” He headed towards the back door.

  The girls gathered plates, cups, and a pitcher of iced tea. They carried them outside to the large picnic table. Al
lie turned on the pool lights so they could enjoy the pool while Jared grilled their meat.

  Cassie didn’t have to worry about a bathing suit. Allie kept plenty in the pool house in case they had a visitor that needed one. That visitor was usually Cassie. “You should wear this one.” Allie held up a bright orange bikini.

  “No way.” Cassie could not force herself to wear a bikini. She had too many blemishes she’d rather no one else see.

  “Come on, it’s just us.” Allie held the little pieces of fabric out to her.

  Cassie stood firm. She shook her head and grabbed a full piece bathing suit. She ignored Allie’s insistence on the two piece and her friend’s claim that she was not as flawed as she thought she was. When she had changed, she walked around a pouting Allie. “I’ll wait for you in the pool.”

  “You’re no fun,” Allie called out as Cassie shut the door behind her.

  The moment Cassie stepped foot out of the pool house, the smells from the grill hit her nose. Her mouth watered, anticipating what was to come. She passed Jared and the mouth watering grill. Climbing up onto the diving board, she dove into the cool waters below.

  Allie exited the pool house minutes after Cassie. She was about to join her friend in the pool when the back door swung open.

  Cassie was in the far corner of the pool, her arms stretched out on the edges. She relaxed against the side of the pool, letting her body float freely. When Ryder strode out of the back door her heart skipped a beat. Some part of her was happy to see him. Though she tried to stop it, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

  Her emotions were a roller coaster of a ride. She couldn’t fathom why she’d be happy to see his face. She had harbored resentment for all these years and at the sight of him, her heart was willing to push those feelings aside.

  Even after all that time apart he still had some kind of hold on her. Something that made her heart beat to a crazy rhythm.

  Sadly, her moment of excitement didn’t last long. The moment that bubbly redhead stepped outside and snuggled into Ryder’s side, her smile died.