Noah smiled. “Yeah, let’s call her direct. I’m just glad Brady was only drinking water. Look, she doesn’t have to worry. I’m not out to make a move on either you or Brady.”
Cassie fought to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Yeah, right.”
They drove the rest of the way to Cassie’s home in silence. When Noah pulled into her driveway, Cassie got out without a word. Noah followed her. Cassie’s father met them at the door.
“Thank you for bringing my daughter right home,” he said. “I hope she didn’t put up too much of a fuss.”
“No sir,” Noah said. “Sir, could I have a moment before you leave?”
“Sure,” her father said. “Cassie, give me a moment with Noah.”
Cassie looked back and forth between her father and Noah. “Fine.” She stomped inside without saying goodbye.
Slamming the door, she went to the freezer and searched for ice cream. She wasn’t hungry, but she was depressed and pissed, and that called for the two guys guaranteed to make her feel better: Ben & Jerry.
When her father found her on the couch, she glared at him.
“That was a little rude,” he said to Cassie.
“What?” Cassie said with a shrug. “I just figured it out. He’s hanging out with me because of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah,” Cassie said. “He wants to be a cop like you. A detective. That’s what he wanted to talk to you about, wasn’t it?”
Her father sighed as he sat down.
“No,” he said. “He didn’t. Your boyfriend is pretty sharp.”
Cassie rolled her eyes.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Cassie said. “He made that clear. He and I are just friends. If that. And what the hell are you talking about?”
“Cassie,” he said. “Listen to me. There was another woman found earlier tonight. She was raped and beaten. She’s in the hospital. They don’t know if she’s going to make it.”
Cassie felt as if the air had been knocked out of her. Her father reached out and took her hand.
“That’s why I needed you home right away,” he explained. “I didn’t say anything to Noah over the phone, but I did ask him to bring you home and right to the door. He spotted two patrol cars in the area, the unmarked car by the curb. He figured something was up. He offered to stay. I have to say, I was tempted. Are you okay?”
Cassie nodded. “I just feel horrible for that woman. Was it Tom?”
“We don’t know,” he said. “That’s the guess, but we can’t be sure. Cassie, I read the statement you gave that night, but I wanted to ask you again. When Tom attacked you, did he use a condom? Or try to?”
Cassie closed her eyes and forced herself to remember that night.
“I can’t be sure,” she said. “But I don’t think so. I don’t remember him reaching for anything, but Noah may have stopped him before he had the chance.”
Her father nodded as he leaned in and hugged her. “Thank God for that.”
Cassie let herself be comforted by her father’s embrace before she pulled away. “You have to go, Dad. Go get the bad guy. I love you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too. Put the alarm on as soon as I leave and keep the phone with you.”
“Okay,” Cassie said. “I will.”
“Look,” he said. “I sent Noah home, but if you would feel better with him here. Or one of your other friends. Or even Adam…”
“No,” Cassie said. “Not Adam. He’s moved on and that’s what I need to do.”
Her father smiled and gave Cassie one last kiss before he left. He waited on the front porch as Cassie set the alarm. He nodded to the unmarked car on his way out.
Inside, Cassie wondered what her friends were doing. She thought about calling Ben, who seemed to have the most insight into Noah, but stopped short when she spotted someone standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“What happened?” Tyler asked. “What happened that you didn’t tell me about? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
Cassie walked over to her brother. He was fighting tears back and doing a horrible job. She took his hand and brought him to the couch.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to talk about it,” Cassie said. “And I didn’t want to upset you, but you’re not a little kid anymore. If you want, I’ll tell you.”
Tyler nodded.
Pushing all thoughts of Noah away, Cassie told Tyler what had happened that night. They both cried. He held her and promised that it would be alright.
* * * *
The next day, Cassie called Noah and asked if she could see him.
“I’m in the middle of something right now,” he said. “But I’ll be there in an hour.”
Within the hour, Noah arrived. Cassie found him chatting with Tyler. She asked him to take a walk to the back yard.
She wanted privacy. Thankfully, Tyler seemed more interested in killing zombies than spying on her. They sat down on a swing bench near the back.
“I wanted to apologize for last night,” Cassie said as they pulled out onto the road. “My friends kind of ambushed you.”
“It’s not a problem,” Noah said. “They’re kind of fun. I liked them.”
“They are fun. I could tell you some stories. But I also wanted to apologize for what happened when you dropped me off,” she said. “I was pissed off.”
“It’s fine.”
“No,” Cassie insisted. “I didn’t realize what was going on. You did. Right away, my mind went somewhere else. I thought for a moment that you were just hanging out with me to get closer to my dad.”
Noah looked her directly in the eye. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know. Although to be honest, I feel like I don’t know anything about you. And I want to.”
“There’s not much to know.”
“Have you ever dated anyone seriously before?”
Noah shook his head. He used his legs to rock them back and forth and stared ahead. “No, never. I get the impression you have.”
“Yeah,” Cassie said. “His name’s Adam. He’s with someone else now.”
“How long did you see him?”
“Quite a while,” she said. “Since I was twelve. We broke up about a year ago.”
Noah nodded. “That’s a long time. It must have been hard to break up with him.”
“I didn’t break up with him,” Cassie said. “He broke up with me. Looking back, I should have seen it coming. He had been trying to get up the nerve to break up with me for a few months.”
“Was he a jerk about it?”
Cassie shook her head. “No. He was very nice about it. He’s not a bad guy. He was at that party that I was coming from. When Tom started to get grabby, he stepped up. He was there with his new girlfriend and he would have driven me home if I’d asked.”
They swung in silence for a few moments.
“Do you know his new girlfriend?”
“Yeah, her name is Taylor. She’s nice. I knew she liked Adam, but she never made a move while we were together. I think he loves her. Actually, I know it. And she loves him. I should be happy for them. He deserves to be happy after all that he put up with from me.”
Noah stopped the swing. “Don’t say that. I don’t know why he broke up with you. He must have been an idiot, but I can’t imagine you treated him badly.”
Cassie smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. “It wasn’t easy on him. I have a complicated past. Bad things happened to me and my family and he was there for me. We had only been going out for a month and then…” She didn’t want to go there, not with Noah. He already saw her as a victim. “Well, it was bad. That’s when the panic attacks started. I’m surprised he didn’t run for the hills then. He hung in there for years.”
Cassie hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes until she felt Noah touch her face. When she looked at him, she saw such intensity in his eyes.
“He was an idiot to walk away from you.”
Cassie put her hand on his and smiled. “You’re sweet.”
Noah closed his eyes, as if he didn’t agree.
“I need you to promise me something,” Cassie said. “Don’t be around me because you feel sorry for me.”
“Cassie, I don’t…”
“Please, promise me. Tell me you’re with me because you want to be.”
Noah sighed. “I am. I promise. Okay?”
Cassie smiled and touched his face. Cassie could see it in his eyes. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to be with her. Maybe he was shy around girls he liked.
Slowly, she started to lean in closer. He didn’t move. Not toward her, not away. His eyes, so intense. So—
His cell buzzed. Noah pulled away and looked at it. Cassie could see the name Pamela display.
“I’m sorry, I should take this.”
Noah answered the phone.
Cassie could hear the voice on the other end. She couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was both angry and sad. Noah didn’t say anything. He just listened, turning away so Cassie couldn’t see his eyes.
The voice stopped. Noah never said a word past ‘hello’. He took a moment to turn around. His face was passive, but his eyes reminded Cassie of a young child.
“Are you okay?” Cassie asked.
Noah nodded. He smiled, but it looked forced.
Cassie asked the question she didn’t want the answer to. “Do you need to go?”
Noah hesitated a moment. She could tell he wasn’t happy with the answer he was about to give. Finally, he nodded. “I’m sorry. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow? I’d really love to hear those stories about you and your friends.”
Cassie forced a smile. “That’d be great.”
She watched him go. This time, he did look back toward her. He looked like a child going to get a spanking.
Chapter 6
When Cassie started college, the campus was buzzing with the news of both attacks. She hated the looks she was getting as she walked from class to class, hearing the whispers about how she was ‘damn lucky’ not to be lying in a hospital herself. She’d catch bits and pieces of conversations here and there. Some people thought she must have been drunk or stoned. Others believed she had been raped, and that Tom had been driven off only after the fact.
The worst were the people who Cassie assumed were probably friends of Tom’s. They kept saying that Cassie was all over Tom at the party and left early with him. Then, having been caught by someone who might report back to her father what a little slut she was, had lied and cried rape.
It made her blood boil, but what could she do?
There was a part of her that wanted to rip into each and every person that she heard talking about it, but she knew that wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, she’d been here before. When her mother was killed, Cassie had to deal with the stares, the whispers, the little hugs and assurances of, “I know how you feel,” from people who had absolutely no clue what it was like to watch your mother be raped and murdered in front of you.
Coretta had a different style. She had no problem going up to someone and getting in their face when she heard they were saying things about Cassie.
“You need to keep your dumb ass mouth shut,” Coretta said, “Or I will bitch slap you all the way back to whatever redneck backward home state you came from, you hillbilly asshat!”
Cassie had been mortified and eternally grateful at the same time.
“You’re going to get into trouble,” Cassie told her as they sat in the cafeteria between classes. “I love you, but one of these days…”
“Oh hush up,” Coretta said. “Let’s talk about something better. What’s been going on between you and tall, dark, and yummy?”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “What else. He’s perfectly sweet. He picks me up every morning. Chats with my father and brother. He drives me home after classes. We’re only a week into term and he already knows my schedule better than I do. He’s attentive and kind and polite. My father and brother love him.”
“They do,” Megan said. “But do you? You still got the hots for him?”
“Yes, I still like him,” Cassie said. “He just doesn’t seem to like me. I keep touching his arm. Twirling my hair. I stand right under his nose. I laugh at every one of his jokes.”
“Even the lame ones?” Megan asked.
“Well,” Cassie replied with a shrug, “he hasn’t told any lame ones. I mean, he’s not a big joker, but when he does say a joke, it’s pretty funny. He’s got a dry sense of humor.”
“Yeah,” Coretta said. “She still likes him. But I don’t think your dipshit flirtations are going to cut it.”
Cassie let her head fall to the table. “You’re right, but what the hell does it matter? I don’t know if he’s interested. I know what Ben said, but he hasn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in me.”
“Or anyone else,” Megan said. “He didn’t hit on me.”
“Which means what?” Coretta asked. “That he’s either gay or dead? I agree with Ben. He’s into Cassie. I can tell these things. Maybe he’s just been burnt before and he’s afraid to open up again. Have you asked about past girlfriends?”
“Of course,” Cassie said as she lifted her head. “But you know Noah. You can’t get anything out of him. I just ended up telling him about me and Adam.”
“Oh no,” Megan said. “You didn’t.”
“I did,” Cassie said as her head crashed back down again. “Ahh!” She sat up. “It’s just so frustrating. He won’t talk about himself. He always finds a way to turn the conversation back to me. Even when I ask him about all those women who call.”
“How many of them are there?” Coretta asked. “Three?”
“Four,” Cassie corrected. “He got a call from someone named Amber the other night. No picture, just Amber?”
“Hey there,” Brady said. “You mind if I join you?”
“Sit,” Cassie said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” Brady said. “Ben’s in class and then working. My roommate’s busy, too. I was so excited to get away from home, but now that I am…”
“Don’t know what to do with yourself?” Megan said.
Brady smiled. “Yup. So what are you guys talking about?”
As Megan gave Brady the highlights, Coretta packed up her things.
“I’ve got to go,” Coretta said. “We’ll have to work on your flirting ability later. And figure out those mystery women.”
As she walked away, Brady leaned in.
“So you want to learn about these women that Noah sees? We could follow him.”
“What?” Cassie’s mouth dropped open. “No, we couldn’t. I couldn’t. We shouldn’t.” Sheepishly, she looked toward Megan. “Could we?”
“Why not?” Megan asked.
Cassie asked herself that same question, trying her best to ignore all of the obvious answers that popped into her head as she did so.
“You know you want to,” Brady said. “We can call it Operation Noah.”
Cassie closed her eyes and willed herself to be reasonable.
“No,” she said finally. “It wouldn’t be right. Besides, Noah notices things. He’s very observant. He’ll spot us.”
“Not if we’re real careful,” Megan said. “It’ll be fun.”
Cassie thought it through one last time, then grabbed her things and got up before she could change her mind. “No. I’m just going to have to try being more direct with Noah.”
* * * *
Cassie waited for Noah after her last class. He had texted her five minutes ago.
Have 2 speak with professor B there ASAP
She had sent back a simple K. She wondered what was happening with Noah’s class. What was it that he had this time again? Economics? That would be Mrs. Chang; otherwise known as the Dragon Lady. She had a reputation as tough as nails, but fair. A tall, thin woman with hints of grey in her jet-black hair.
Just what she needed; another woman coming between her and N
oah.
And didn’t she just sound like a middle school girl with a crush. What was it about Noah that had her so hung up? If he wasn’t interested in her in that way, maybe she should just move on. Why couldn’t she be more like Megan? She bounced from guy to guy without a second thought.
But she didn’t want that. She wanted to have one person in her life. That one special person.
She had sworn for so long it would be Adam for the rest of her life, but even now she wondered. She loved Adam, but was she ever in love with him? He was sweet and kind and comfortable, but he didn’t give her that feeling of fireworks going off in her head whenever they touched.
Not the way Noah did.
Of course, Noah didn’t really touch her that much. He kept a respectable distance. No, she was the one who did all the touching. But dammit if she didn’t see that twinge in his eyes whenever they did touch? She felt a sense of euphoria whenever Noah so much as brushed up against her and she was certain Noah did too.
She was sure he did.
Maybe.
It was certainly within the realm of possibilities.
Cassie shook her head and walked outside. She needed a breath of fresh air to clear her head of these crazy thoughts before she started to really consider doing what Brady had suggested and follow Noah, which would be wrong and a complete violation of his privacy.
However, when Cassie got outside the main annex to the college, it wasn’t fresh air that she found.
“There you are, bitch.”
Cassie looked at the girl who approached her. Tall, heavy on the make-up with a small rose tattoo on her left breast, her dark hair was highlighted with red and her brown eyes were fixed on Cassie.
The girl took a long drag on her cigarette, threw away the used up stub and took another step closer to Cassie.
“I’m sorry,” Cassie said, certain she must have misheard. “Were you speaking to me?”
“You bet your ass I was,” the girl said, smoke coming out of her mouth as she spoke. “You’re the bitch that started the rumors about Tom being the rapist and I want to know what the fuck you’re going to do about it?”
Just Breathe Page 6
