“How about twenty dollars for both boxes?” the woman says. “Or is that too much?”
Cassie can’t believe her luck. If she sells these books online, she could make… well, not enough to get out of debt, but enough to fix the worst of it. It’s like an angel was sent from heaven to answer her prayers.
But then she lifts her eyes to look at the old woman. She’s got this beat up car and a coat with a large rip in the fabric. This woman is not rich. If Cassie takes these books from her without telling her what they’re worth, she could never forgive herself.
“I…” Cassie’s voice cracks. She knows once she tells this woman the truth, she can’t take it back. She’ll have missed her chance. “I have to tell you, these books are worth a lot of money.”
The woman’s eyes widen. “But they’re just old books!”
Cassie slowly explains about collectible Easton Press editions. When the woman realizes what she’s got on her hands, her face lights up. Cassie was right—money is tight for her too.
They work out an arrangement. Cassie takes the books and agrees to sell them online for a ten-percent commission. She didn’t want to take even that, but the woman insisted.
The ten-percent commission will be nice, but it won’t change Cassie’s situation. Things are still just as bad as they ever were.
No, she has to go through with this.
Chapter 41: The Ex
Joel won’t answer my calls.
It’s not surprising. Well, it’s a little surprising. I knew he was upset with me, but I didn’t think it had gotten to that point. The point where I leave messages begging him to call me back and he won’t.
So I do what I have to do: I open up the WhereAmI app.
I haven’t tracked Joel down at a Starbucks in a long time, but I do it today. I have the app alert me when he leaves work and then I watch his avatar move in the direction of the coffee shop.
Before I can head over there, my phone starts to ring. It’s Dean’s number on the screen.
I suck in a breath when I see it. After my date with Dean, he was all I could think about. But the minute I got that phone call from Nick, everything changed. Finding out the truth about Olive has made me realize my feelings for Joel are more complicated than I had thought. It’s not that I don’t want to go out with Dean, but… I’m confused.
I know I’ve got to figure this out, but I know if I answer Dean’s call, he’s going to ask me out again. And I’m not sure if I should be going out with him when I’m this preoccupied with Joel.
So I keep dodging his texts and calls. I’m not blowing him off. I just need a little more time to think.
When I reach Starbucks, Joel is sitting at his usual table in the back, wearing his green scrubs, drinking his Caffe Mocha. Joel’s favorite drink—some things never change. Also, he still looks really good. If he ran up to me, told me how much he missed me, and said he wanted to get back together, I’m not sure what I’d say.
Of course, I don’t think I ever felt the way about him that I felt about Dean the other night.
God, I’m confused.
This has nothing to do with getting back together with him. I care about him, and I need to warn him about his girlfriend. That’s absolutely the only reason why I’m here.
“Joel?” I feign surprise as I casually walk by his table. “Hi!”
He lifts his eyes from his phone. His lips form a straight line. “Oh. Hi.”
Well, it’s clear I’m not his favorite person right now. But still, it’s a shock to see him looking at me with such obvious distaste. I mean, we used to be…
Well, never mind. This is important. I’m not going to be deterred that easily. “How are you doing, Joel?”
“Fine…” He heaves a breath as he forces out the barest nicety: “And you?”
“Good!” I say. “But, um… I was hoping we could talk…”
He averts his eyes, looking at the garbage can behind me. “I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
“Just for a minute?”
He sighs and his shoulders sag. “Fine.”
He doesn’t tell me to have a seat, but I take one anyway. I sit across from him, wondering how in less than a year we could go from practically engaged to… this.
“It’s about your girlfriend,” I say.
He lifts his eyes sharply. “No. We are not talking about her.”
“This has nothing to do with me. I swear.”
“I don’t understand. What could you possibly have to tell me?”
He’s getting really upset. I wonder if on some level, he already knows.
“Listen,” I say. “I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but you deserve to know. She’s been keeping things from you.”
“Keeping things from me?”
“She’s in debt,” I push on, before he can walk out on me. I sense he’s about five seconds away from marching out of here. “Like, really deep in debt.”
He frowns and shakes his head. “So what? She’s got a business… it’s natural to have to borrow some money…”
“She doesn’t just owe money to banks,” I blurt out. “She owes it to… you know, bad people. Money she can’t pay back. Joel, your life is in danger.”
His jaw drops open. “What?”
“She’s in really deep,” I say again. “They might try to kill you.”
His eyes flash. “That is,” he says, “the most ridiculous lie I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth… and I’ve heard some whoppers from you. Are you joking? Do you hear yourself?”
“It’s true!” I insist. “I swear to you.”
“Uh huh.” He folds his arms across his chest. “And how, pray tell, do you know this?”
“Because…” I chew on my lip. I didn’t want to tell him this part, but it’s the only way to get him to believe me. “My cousin Nick investigated her. He’s a private detective.”
Joel’s eyes are bulging. “You got your cousin to…”
Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him that part.
“Jesus Christ…” He rakes a hand through his chestnut hair. “This is… I mean, I knew you were having issues with jealousy, but… this goes above and beyond…”
“It’s true though.”
“And you tracked me down to warn me,” he says dully.
“Well, I didn’t track you down, exactly…”
“Then how…” He narrows his eyes at me. Something finally hits him, and his head snaps back as if I punched him. “That stupid app I put on my phone! Are you still using that?”
Before I can answer, he pulls his phone from his pocket and loads the app. I get a sinking feeling in my chest. “Joel…”
“You are!” When he looks up again, his face is full of disgust. “I can’t believe you! You’re stalking me using this app?”
“No, it’s not like that…”
He stands up so abruptly, his chair nearly overturns. “I’m deleting it from my phone. I should have done it a year ago.”
“Okay,” I say in a tiny voice.
“And you,” he says, his voice dripping with venom. “You need serious psychological help. We have been broken up for a year. A year. I was trying to be nice, but enough. Enough. You need to get the fuck over it already.”
“That’s not what this is about.” I stand up too, trying to reach for his arm but he shrugs me off. “I’m worried about you. You could be in danger…”
“Please,” he says, “just stay away from me. Okay?”
He pulls on his coat. I feel utterly helpless as I watch him leave. He doesn’t believe a word I say. There’s no way to convince him his life could be in danger.
“Just ask her,” I plead with him. “Ask her about her debt. You’ll know she’s lying.”
He shakes his head at me. He’s not going to ask her. He’s too infatuated.
As he walks away, I realize there’s a chance this could be the last time I ever see him.
Unless I do something about it.
Chapter 42: The New Girl
As Cassie unlocks the door to her apartment, she hopes Joel is happy with eating leftovers for dinner. She’s exhausted from work today, including an unexpected errand she had to run during her lunch break. She definitely doesn’t feel like cooking. And there’s nothing wrong with the Chinese food from last night. Everyone knows Chinese food is better the second day.
Her phone buzzes in her purse. She pulls it out and sees a text message from Joel:
On my way! Will be there in 10.
She smiles. Maybe he isn’t her Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights but he’s a great guy and she likes him a lot. That’s enough.
Cassie tosses her purse on the table by her front door. She does this every night of the week, but tonight, something is different. She hears a crash.
A blue ceramic vase toppled to the floor when she put her purse on the table. It’s lying in pieces all over the hardwood floor. Cassie winces, not eager to clean up the mess. The pieces have gone absolutely everywhere.
But that’s not the worst part.
Cassie doesn’t keep that vase on the table by the door. She’s ninety-nine percent sure that vase is always on top of the short bookcase. And it’s not like she’s got a roommate here who might have moved it.
So why is the vase now by the door?
She stares at the pieces of the vase, her brow furrowed. Maybe Joel moved it. She doesn’t have a roommate, but he’s here so often, he may as well be. She’s not sure why he’d do such a thing, but who knows? Certainly, it’s the most likely explanation. The only other explanation is…
Someone else was in her apartment.
Cassie’s breath catches in her throat. Is that possible? Could someone have been in here? And if so, how? And why would they have moved her vase?
Zoe also has the key to her apartment. Maybe it was Zoe. Maybe she wanted a little privacy with a guy and decided to use Cassie’s apartment. Cassie wouldn’t be happy about that, but it would be a relief to discover it was just her friend taking advantage and nothing more nefarious.
Cassie pulls her phone out of her purse. She sends off a text to Zoe: Were you in my apartment recently? I won’t be upset, just want to know.
Just as she sends the text, Cassie jerks up her head. Was that a noise?
Is someone in here right now?
Cassie’s heart is pounding. She shoves her phone into her pocket and backs up into the kitchen, searching for a weapon. Her fingers close around the handle of one of her carving knives. She doesn’t use it much so it’s surely sharp, although she’s having trouble figuring out what she’d do with it. That is, she knows you stab people with a knife, but she’s having trouble imagining herself stabbing another human being.
And what is she doing grabbing a knife in the first place? If she truly thinks someone is in her apartment, she should call 911 and get the hell out of here.
But she’s embarrassed. What is she going to tell the police? I’m afraid because a vase wasn’t where I left it. And of course, she doesn’t want the police nosing around her apartment.
Just check the bedroom and the bathroom, then you’ll feel better.
Cassie creeps down the hallway to her bedroom and bathroom. The door to the bedroom is open and she peeks her head inside. It seems empty. She clutches the knife in her hand, as she walks slowly over to the closet. The door is slightly ajar, and before she loses her nerve, she yanks it open.
Her clothes are hanging up, just as they had been this morning. And at the bottom of the closet is Grandpa Marv’s little dresser. She opens one of the drawers, checking the contents, and lets out a sigh of relief that everything is just as she’d left it.
Now she just needs to check the bathroom.
She pushes the door ajar. It’s empty, although the curtains are drawn on the shower. Did she leave them drawn this morning? She can’t remember. But she doesn’t think she did. She hates drawn shower curtains because they scare her.
Cassie’s phone buzzes inside her pocket. She pulls it out with a trembling hand and sees the text from Zoe:
Nope. Haven’t been over in ages. Want to have a movie night?
So it wasn’t Zoe who moved the vase. It was someone else.
Oh my God, is something rustling behind those shower curtains?
Cassie backs up, her heart slamming in her chest so hard that it hurts. She should run. If she has any inkling there’s a person in her shower, she needs to get the hell out of here. But she feels frozen. And then…
The doorbell rings.
The noise makes Cassie jolt nearly off the ground. But after her initial startle, she feels flooded with relief. It’s Joel. Joel is here. Thank God.
She races over to the door to open it for him, even though he’s got the key. When she sees him standing there, dressed in green scrubs like always, she throws her arms around him. He laughs and hugs her back.
“What’s that for?” he says.
“I think there could be someone in my apartment,” she whispers.
He pulls away. That’s when he notices the knife she’s still clutching and his eyes grow wide. “What?”
“I heard something in the bathroom. A noise…”
“Jesus,” he says. “You think it’s an intruder? Did you call the police?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to overreact. I mean, it could be… a mouse.”
Joel looks at the knife in her hand. “Give me that. I’ll go look.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to call the police?”
He raises his eyebrows at her. “So you were going to go check it out with a knife, but you’re scared to let me do it?”
Hmm. Good point.
Joel strides in the direction of the bathroom so quickly, she can tell he’s not scared there’s actually someone in there. When they get to the bathroom, the curtain is still drawn as it was before. It doesn’t look any different. He hesitates for a split-second, then yanks open the curtain.
There’s no one there.
Cassie’s knees are weak with relief. “Sorry. I guess I got carried away.”
“It’s okay.” He puts down the knife and hugs her again. “Why did you think there was someone in here in the first place?”
“The vase that’s on my bookcase,” she says. “It was moved to the table by the door. And I wasn’t the one who moved it.”
Joel drops his head. “Oh. That was me. I moved it.”
“You?” She frowns at him. “But… why?”
“I kept almost knocking it over on the bookcase.” He shrugs. “I didn’t want it to break. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“It isn’t.” Cassie manages her first smile since she got home. “Except I just broke it.”
“Damn.” He returns her smile. “Well, sorry again. I’ll help you clean it up.”
So the two of them spend the next fifteen minutes cleaning up the shards of the broken vase. They talk about their days while they clean, and it’s really nice. She loves being with him. Maybe they don’t have a great love story like Wuthering Heights, but she does love him.
“Are you okay with leftover Chinese for dinner?” she asks him as they clean up the last of the ceramic pieces.
“Of course,” Joel says. “It’s always better the second day anyway.”
Cassie pulls out the container of chicken with broccoli and the second container of shrimp lo mein while Joel gets out the plates. He already knows his way around her kitchen.
“Can you spend the night?” she asks him as they scoop food onto their plates.
He nods. “Yeah, but I gotta bring over more scrubs. I think I’m down to my last pair here.”
“I could wash them for you?”
“No, you don’t have to do that…” He frowns. “Listen, I don’t want to put any pressure on you or anything, but… this going back and forth between our apartments is kind of a pain, isn’t it?”
Her heart speeds up. Not as fast as when she thought there was someone
in her bathroom, but not slow either. “Yes…”
“So… how would you feel about moving in with me?”
Cassie takes a bite of chicken, chewing thoughtfully. Moving in with Joel makes sense. The cash she’d get from the sale of this apartment would improve her financial situation—it might be the answer she’s looking for. She’s not sure what he’d expect her to contribute to rent, considering his rent is certainly considerable given how nice his place is. But he wouldn’t ask her to pay anything she can’t afford—she knows that much.
Of course, if they moved in together, she’d have to level with him about her financial problems. She should have told him already. She hates keeping secrets. That was what broke up his relationship with Francesca.
Of course, she can’t tell him everything.
“You can think about it,” Joel adds. He puts a hand on hers. “But I would love to live with you.”
Cassie opens her mouth to say something, but she’s finding it hard to get the air to speak. In fact, she realizes all of a sudden that breathing is becoming increasingly difficult.
“I know this is a little sudden,” he says quickly, when he sees her face. “Don’t feel pressured at all. If you don’t want to, it’s fine.”
She wants to tell him that the reason she’s not saying anything has nothing to do with his proposal to move in together. But all she can manage is a hoarse gasp. Her airway feels like it’s closing up. She hasn’t felt this way in years. Not since the last time…
Peanuts.
Oh my God, are there peanuts in this food?
But there couldn’t be. She ate the exact same meal last night. It doesn’t make any sense.
“Cassie?” Joel looks alarmed. “Are you okay?”
She can’t get out the words to answer him. As she gasps for air, she manages to get to her feet and find her purse on the table by the door. Thank God Joel pushed her to get that Epi-pen. She searches for it within her bag and…
Where is it?
The situation is becoming increasingly urgent. She barely can get in any air with each breath. She fumbles through the contents of her bag with trembling hands. The pen must be in here somewhere. She put it in there. And she definitely never took it out.
The Ex Page 19
