Page 65 of Shattered Veil

Skylar smiled shyly. “Sky. Erm—sorry I barged in.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “You didn’t barge, Sky. I invited you over. You’re physically incapable of barging.” She looked back at me. “Sorry I didn’t call. The battery on my phone’s shot…gotta get a car charger or something. Was just gonna charge it and call you, but,” she gestured at me grandly, “you’re here.”

“I am,” I unnecessarily concurred.

Our eyes locked. I saw Skylar’s head moving back and forth between us in my peripheral vision, and she remarked, “I can really just go, I—”

Cassie turned her head to place her gaze on her, replying in an admonishment that came across in a pleasant tone, “You don’t have a car.” Skylar’s lips pressed together tightly as she looked to the floor, and Cassie explained to me, “Sky works with me at Gas Lamp—I was giving her a ride home since her car wouldn’t start, and her bathroom’s, ah, all screwed up. Um—flooded. She’s staying here tonight.”

I narrowed my eyes at Cassie’s stammering, but Skylar appeared to be too lost in apologizing over the inconvenience to notice that it was unlike Cassie to behave as such.

“I don’t know how that happened,” Skylar cringed. “It was completely fine when I left to go to work.”

“Yeah, well—bathrooms can be tricky. Chalk it up to old pipes,” Cassie dismissively remarked. “I’m gonna go get ready for bed. I’m beat,” she murmured. “Jay…a word?” She quickly called over her shoulder as she walked, “Blankets are in the basket by the couch, Sky—make yourself comfortable.”

I watched Cassie move to the hallway, and as she disappeared into it, I stated to Skylar without looking her way, “Ah…be right back.”

I walked straight to her bedroom, allowed myself in, and saw Cassie sitting on her bed with her coat beside her. The pocket door to the right of her that led to the small master bath was slid halfway into the wall, the light illuminating the tile at her feet. To my surprise, she was looking at me with a hesitant expression. I felt my head shake in mild confusion, but before I could ask her what was wrong, she blurted out:

“I fucked up Sky’s bathroom.”

I gently replied, “What?”

“I fucked up. Her bathroom. James.” Her irritated tone made me finally conclude that the situation was far from dire. My previous anxiety abated, and I smirked as she asked, “The hell do you mean what?”

I chuckled out, “What’d you do?”

She whispered, “Get in here. Close the door.”

I did as she asked and pulled the door shut. Crossing my arms, I suggested:

“Let’s back up a few steps…that’s why it took you so long to get home?”

Cassie drew a long breath through her nose, letting it out of her mouth as she said, “I was trying to convince Sky to just stay over here tonight since she needed a ride home, anyway…she wasn’t really listening. I had no choice.”

“You messed with her bathroom on purpose?” I asked with a single raised a single eyebrow, and she nodded. “You missing out on precious girl time or what?”

“No,” she snapped. “I am not missing out on girl time. Sky’s apartment has, like, no security. The girl barely remembers to lock her door at night. I just…” Cassie peered to the floor. “I don’t—we don’t know anything, and I still stand by that. Work was…fine. Totally fine. Absolutely unsuspicious. But…”

Her words faded off, her sentence remaining unfinished as she glanced left and right as if she were searching for a sign, but her point was ever clear—she was concerned.

I sighed. “You’re worried about her?”

“Uh huh.” Her dark gaze landed back on me, and she defeatedly threw her hands up only to place them in her lap, continuing with, “She’s my friend. I feel like I have to say…something. I can’t have her just going on with her life having zero guard up, but I don’t—I don’t know what to tell her, Jay. She’s bound to ask questions, right?” Pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes, Cassie groaned, “I’m at a fuckin’ loss here.”

Seeing her so bothered yanked at my heartstrings, and I moved to sit next to her on the mattress. I lowered myself onto it slowly, the padding plush beneath me, and I looked at her as I softly noted:

“Well…she’s here for the night and she has no means of leaving. You bought some time to think, so that’s a plus.”

Her pretty face turned to me, and she let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

She voiced in a timid rasp, “I had to shove a hand towel down her toilet…flushed it until it overflowed.”

“Cassie.”

It came out as an adoring admonish, and her lips quirked up.

“I may have also yanked on her showerhead until it started to leak for good measure.”

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