Page 67 of Be Your Somebody
I swallow the remaining coffee in my cup before answering her. “I’m a mess, Bri. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours. And since you’re here, I’m guessing Cas called you?”
She nods her head. “Yup. Well, he texted me, but same diff. Oh, and don’t worry—I plan to make good on my promise to force feed him his balls if he hurts you. You’re welcome.” I can’t help but laugh at her. Fuck, it feels good to laugh right now. The next thing I know, words are pouring out of me like a busted pipe. I share my fears and concerns about him going backto see his dad. I told her of our most recent experience of mind blowing sex, as well as the gift he got me.
“It was seriously amazing, Bri. He’s so thoughtful and sentimental.” I pause, looking down at my now empty plate. “He needs to come home, Bri. I can’t be without him again. It was too painful.”
“He’ll come home, Ave. He’s too stubborn not to. Plus, I have to live vicariously through you in regards to your sex life. My vagina is as dry as the Sahara Desert.”
“Well, I’m sureAsherwould love to help you with that.” I waggle my eyebrows, doing anything and everything to distract from the darkness of my thoughts.
“Yeah….no. Not happening. He’s not getting anywhere near this pussy. He can beg all he wants, but it’s not happening. Now, I’m going to clean up our food while you go upstairs and take a shower. You need to clear your head. Plus, you smell like sex. After you’re done, we can watch a movie and binge on popcorn and ice cream.” I throw my napkin at her before circling around the table to kiss her cheek.
“Thank you for coming, Bri. I love you so much and I appreciate you being here for me.” I squeeze her shoulders.
“I love you, too, Ave. I’d do anything for you.”
I head upstairs and take the longest shower of my life. I cannot fully ease the anxious thoughts and fears from my brain, but there’s something about showering to cleanse your mind and body from stress and tension.
As I’m toweling off, I grab my phone and send a quick text to Cas, letting him know I love him and that I’m waiting for him to come home to me. Seconds after I put my phone down, it dings with a new notification and my heart flips. I grin and grab my phone with relief, thinking it's Cas. When I open my phone, it’s not a text notification, but an email alert from the songwriting competition.
I’m already stressed and worried about Cas that I hesitate to open the email, expecting to get a rejection. It’s now or never. What’s the worst thing that can happen? When I open the email, my eyes can’t process what they see. I did a double-take to see if I was seeing things correctly. I rush downstairs, anxious to tell Bri the news, and I want that damnpopcorn.
“I don't smell any popcorn, Bri, and you’ll never guess what happened. But, you better have a good explanation—" I stop abruptly at the sight of her face. Panic instantly fills my body, my heart beating in my throat. “What? Why do you look like that right now?” I ask.
“Avery,” she says with so much emotion behind her words.
“What? What happened?” I demand.
“There's been an accident. Cas, he—something happened, and he's being rushed to the hospital. We don’t know—" but the rest of her words fade to black as I collapse to the floor. My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.
“I n-need-to g-go s-see h-him,” I stammer out, my voice coated with panic.
“I'm not sure if he’s allowed visitors yet,” she says.
“I don’t give a fuck, Bri. Take me to him. Now.” She nods her head and we head out to the hospital. The drive over is a complete blur. He needs to be okay. He just needs to.
Chapter 42
Cassidy
Frank
Somethingterribleisgoingto happen.This thought isn't entirely off base when it comes to my dad, as trouble always seems to follow Frank everywhere he goes. I shouldn't be going to see him, but Avery’s safety is more important than my own. Just thinking her name makes my heart pound erratically in my chest.
I grab my keys and phone and head out to my car, a mixture of anger and nerves dancing around my stomach and chest. Every time I see my dad, all hell breaks loose. The check, well, my grandparents' check, weighs heavy in my back pocket. I want to hand it over to him as quicklyas possible and then book it, not wanting to be involved in his drama. I just hope my grandparents don’t ask any questions. Yes, they have given me access to their account, but I don’t want them to know that my father is back in contact with me. I’ve come too far to fall back now.
I type in the address and wince. The last time I was there was when I overdosed. The closer I get to my destination, the more memories come flooding back. My grip on the steering wheel becomes so tight that my knuckles turn white. I try to focus on calming my frantic pulse, but it doesn’t work. And if I don’t pull over soon, I’ll end up crashing the car. So I pulled over and worked on techniques my therapist taught me to help calm me down.
The sound of my phone buzzing has my pulse racing again, but something tells me I need to look at it. The second I turn my phone over, my heart sings a happy tune. She texted me. My eyes fill with tears of relief, knowing that I have her waiting for me at home. That helps steady my breathing enough to continue driving.
Thirty minutes later, I’m back where everything went up in flames. I look out of the windshield to the dark alley and see my dad talking to three men with their backs toward me. I get out of the car and stand there waiting. It takes him a moment to find me, but when he does, he points in my direction. When the three men turn around, my heart drops to the floor.
I know these men.
They are the same assholes who hurt me when I was a boy. The same men who also gave me the fix that caused my overdose. My body is stuck in one of those cryotherapy chambers. Each breath is a knife to my lungs.
“I knew you'd come. See? I told you he’d come.”
“I have your money.” My voice is coming out far more controlled than I feel.Thank God.
