From Ashes(23)
Author: Molly McAdams

Cassidy rolled over and I stopped breathing for a moment so I could listen to her soft, rhythmic breaths. She’d been back at my house for two days now after four days of monitoring in the hospital to make sure she was on the mend. Mama had left the cooking and cleaning at the ranch to my middle sister, Nikki, and had rushed to Austin as soon as I told her that the doctor said Cass had pneumonia. She refused to let me miss my classes, and if I couldn’t be sitting next to Cassidy, at least I felt better knowing Mama was there with her instead of Tyler. Who, by the way, had shown up at the hospital while I was in class and, after a verbal beating from my mom, left and had only tried to make contact by phone. Thankfully Cassidy hadn’t wanted to talk to him, not that I would have let him talk to her anyway.

Mama had been great though. She’d been cooking for us and taking care of Cass in a way only a mother could. I could see Cassidy didn’t handle being taken care of in that way very well at first, but with how weak she was, she didn’t have much of a choice and I knew she now loved having a mother figure looking after her for the first time in years. Mom was sleeping in the guest room, so naturally I put Cassidy in my room, and honestly I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Technically, I’d been sleeping on the bigger couch, but I always ended up sitting in a chair next to the bed so I could make sure her breathing stayed normal. Or at least, that’s what I’d been telling myself. Cassidy was the only one who believed that. That knowing smile Mama gave me every time she saw me in there let me know she wasn’t fooled; she knew I just wanted to be near her. There I went, being f**king creepy again.

“Come talk to me, Gage,” Mom whispered over her shoulder as she made her way out of my room.

I stood up and stretched before bending over the bed and pressing my lips to Cassidy’s forehead. She looked and felt so much better, I had no doubt she’d be trying to get out of the bed and back to work on Monday. I choked on a laugh on my way out to the kitchen, thinking about how cute Cassidy got when she tried to get her way, but there was no way in hell I was letting her out of that bed for at least another week. “Yes, ma’am?”

“I just wanted to see how you’re doing with all of this.”

“I’m fine.” My brow furrowed. “Why?”

“I meant, how are you with Cassidy being here? After they visited this summer, and over winter break, you were just so . . . I don’t know. Heartbroken? And now she’s here after there was trouble between her and Tyler. I just want to make sure you don’t get hurt again, son.”

“Yeah, I understand. I don’t know what to make of a lot of this. I was—am still messed up over the whole thing, but I can’t stop . . . I’m still in love with her.”

“I know you are.”

“I’ve tried getting over her, Mom”—Mama didn’t know exactly how I’d tried to get over Cassidy, but that was something that was better left unknown to anyone other than myself and the girls I had been with—“and I’ve tried to figure out why she would do certain things . . . there has to be something I’m missing. Cassidy’s not the type of girl to purposefully hurt someone, and if I didn’t know her as well as I do, I wouldn’t see that she was hurt too. For some reason, I found myself apologizing to her after I got back this summer. She was so mad that I left, and even though she tried to hide it, I knew she was upset. And then . . . I don’t know. Maybe I’m just making myself think all this is happenin’.”

“Well, I’m not so sure about that. You only have to be in the room with the two of you to know there’s something there. She looks at you like—well, anyway. Just be careful. Whether she’s doing it on purpose or not, you’ve been hurt by her too many times already.”

Not like I needed that reminder. But she was right. I knew if I kept reading too much into her running to me, something would bring me crashing back down to reality and I’d end up even more pissed off than the last few times that had happened.

She began to say something, then hesitated and opened the fridge and freezer to browse.

“Might as well just say it, Mama.”

“Are you sure it’s the best idea to have her living here with you? Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart, I absolutely adore that girl. But with all that’s happened, you really think you should be doing this?”

“Yes.” I didn’t even hesitate. “I’m sure and I do.”

“All right.” She raised her hands, palms facing me. “All right, I got you. Just making sure,” she added with a wink.

Chapter Ten

CASSIDY

I WAS JUST rinsing out my mug in the sink when there was a hard knock on the door. It was only six thirty in the morning, for crying out loud; who was crazy enough to go around waking people up this early? Not that we weren’t awake. Gage had come to check on me before he left for his run not long ago and I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. I tiptoed over to the door and looked out the peephole.

“What the hell?”

He knocked again, and even though I was watching him, the loud sound made me jump back.

“What do you want, Ty?” I practically growled as I swung open the door but stood in the doorway so he couldn’t come in.

“God, Cassi, I’ve been going out of my mind. How are you? Are you feeling okay?” He reached his hand out toward my face and I smacked it away.

“I’m fine. Why are you here?”

“Baby, I’m so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. Please let me in so we can talk about what happened.”

“There’s not much to talk about. You brought a girl home to screw because I wouldn’t. That about covers it all, don’t you think?”

“I—” He ran both hands through his hair and pulled them out hard, leaving his hair sticking up in all directions. If I hadn’t been so upset from seeing him again, I might have laughed. “I f**ked up! I’m sorry, I was wasted and pissed because of what you called me—not that that’s an excuse, I know you had been asleep, I just wasn’t thinking. I mean, I was . . . but—”

“Wow . . . this is already starting off so well. You were wasted, you weren’t thinking, you were thinking. You know, you seemed pretty coherent to me.”

“Cassi—”

“No, I need you to go.”

“Can we please just talk about this? I’m sorry, Cassi.”

I put my hand on the door and started to step back. “I would say I’m sorry too, but I can’t, Ty. I’ll never be sorry for not giving you my virginity, especially when it made me realize what kind of guy you really are.”

“I’m not that guy!”

“Are you serious right now? Ty, you are that guy. I wasn’t ready and you kept pushing me. When I wouldn’t budge, you not only found someone else, you made it a point to insult me in front of her and then kick me out of our place.” I began shutting the door but he put a hand out to stop me. “I thought you did a pretty good job of saying this, but it seems we aren’t on the same page. So let me try. We’re over, Tyler.”

“Cassi, please! I’ll wait as long as you need! Cara was a mistake.”

My body was shaking and I was dangerously close to crying. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. Saying good-bye to my Tyler. I was literally seconds from giving in and rushing into his arms and begging him to make this better, the way he always had. I wanted what we had before, before I made the mistake of agreeing to turn our friendship into something more. But that was gone now. “It’s too little, way too late, Ty.”

“Babe,” he pleaded, and his eyes took on a strange heat as I began closing the door farther. Before I realized what he was doing, one arm was wrapped around my waist, the other hand curled around the back of my neck, and his lips were hard against mine.

I struggled so roughly against him that when Gage suddenly appeared behind him and pulled Tyler from me I landed hard on my butt with a low “Oomph.”

“You okay?” Gage asked. His bright green eyes were fixed on me and he was still trying to catch his breath from his run. Even in the situation I couldn’t help but admire his amazing body. His long-sleeved shirt was soaked and clinging to his chest and abs, and his loose mesh shorts showed his tight . . . calves.

“Yeah.” I nodded and pulled myself up. “Fine.”

One hand reached out and slid down my arm until it wrapped around my hand, and his eyes roamed over my face for a few seconds before he spoke again. “Go get back in bed, Cass, I’ll be in to check on you in a minute.”

“This is why you won’t talk to me? You and him?! How long has this been going on?”

My eyes went wide when I looked over at Tyler. Was he serious? He knew better than anyone how Gage felt about me, or—didn’t feel about me. “Ty—”

Gage pulled me so I was somewhat hidden behind his back. “Don’t even try throwing this onto her for something that isn’t even happening. You messed up. Your actions are what brought her here to me. You’re the reason y’all are no longer together.”

“I told you from day one, man, I told you to stay away.”

Before I could ask what Tyler meant by that, he was stepping up so he was chest to chest with his cousin, and I knew this was going to escalate quickly. “Tyler, just go,” I demanded as I pulled on Gage’s arm to move him back toward the entryway; his hands clenched into fists and I swear his body started vibrating. “Gage, come on. Let’s go inside.” Please, please, please don’t fight. I honestly couldn’t stand to watch anyone throw a punch, and Tyler knew that. I knew he wanted Gage to be the one to start it, because he figured it would freak me out enough to make me want to leave. “This is what he wants, please just shut the door.”

“What?” Tyler taunted. “Too good to hit me this time?”

I froze. Gage had hit him?

“For all the shit you’ve put her through, you deserved it and more.”

“What are you waiting for? I’m standing right here.”

Gage gently pushed me farther back and straightened up to look down at Tyler. “Darlin’, go into your bedroom.”

I watched Tyler’s smirk grow into a wide smile; he’d hinted at Gage’s temper before, but he knew I’d never seen it . . . and I didn’t want to. My body was shaking, and though I felt like I was nailed to the floor, I forced my feet to move and stepped right in between them, facing Gage but keeping my head down so I wouldn’t see the way he was looking at Tyler; his stance was telling me all I needed to know.

“Darlin’.”

“Please.” My voice was soft and shaky as I made myself reach out and grab his clenched fist. I ground my jaw as I held it and tried to stop how my body was violently shaking. Seeing this side of Gage would change everything; I couldn’t let him do this. “Just don’t.”

Gage’s body tightened before he hunched down, his hand going under my chin to tilt my head up. I had squeezed my eyes shut and they slowly opened when I heard his soft voice. “Cass.” His green eyes were wide as they looked all over my face.