Page 83 of Becoming

“It’s Cass. And, nothing happened that night, Rand.” Cass was moving from confused to pissed. It was becoming clear to her now that this was what Rand had been doing all night. Reminiscing. And now Cass was getting a clue as to why.

Rand giggled, and the sound grated on Cass’s nerves. It reminded Cass as to why she started pulling away from this friendship even before she and Rebecca got together. Rand had been very demanding of Cass’s time since they were teens. Whenever she needed something done that her other “girly” friends couldn’t do, she called Cass. And when Rand decided she wanted to “experiment,” well that fell to Cass, too, obviously.

If Cass were honest with herself, the friendship began deteriorating that night. Rand begged Cass to give her the “lesbian experience.” Though she felt used, Cass reluctantly agreed. Only Cass couldn’t go through with it. They got as far as being naked together before Cass decided that sex with Rand was not what she wanted. The feeling she had now was all too reminiscent of that night.

“Everything happened that night. You showed me what I truly wanted that night.”

“Yeah?” Cass sneered. “Me deciding I didn’t want to be with you is what made you want to laugh at your friends’ jokes about me? It made you marry an abuser like Connor? Are you saying because I didn’t have sex with you, this is all my fault?”

Rand laughed. “Please. I don’t know why you’re denying what happened. What does it matter if people find out? We can be together now.”

Cass jumped when she felt Rand’s naked body straddling her. “Are you fucking insane?” She used her considerable upper body strength to lift Rand off of her. “I’m with Rebecca! I love Rebecca! I’m sorry that Connor hurt you, but that doesn’t give you the right to do this!”

“There’s no way you could love someone as old as that woman. I’m your age. We would be perfect together.”

“Don’t talk about Rebecca like that.”

“She’s as weak as Connor is. Don’t pretend you didn’t see the way they looked at each other. Let them have each other.”

Cass frowned at the woman she thought she knew. “You’re delusional. Rebecca is a lesbian and in love with me.” She heard Rand scoff and was thankful for the darkness. Not only because she didn’t want to see Rand naked, but because she knew that scoff all too well. It was often paired with a look of entitled disgust. “Was any of it true, Rand? Did he really hurt you?”

“Mild-mannered Connor?” Another scoff. “Does it matter if he did or didn’t? It got us to this point.”

Cass felt sick to her stomach. Her so-called best friend had lied to her. About something incredibly serious. What this must have done to Rebecca. She was just getting over her own nightmares only to be thrust into someone else’s and it wasn’t even true.

“Call one of your friends, Miranda,” Cass said coldly. “Stay with them or go back to Connor. I don’t care what you do but get out of my house. Don’t contact me again.”

“Cass, wait! He did hurt me!”

She heard the panic in Rand’s voice. She also heard the insincerity. For years, Cass was able to tell when Rand lied to her. This one night, she let her guard down. She chose to believe something she thought Rand could never lie about. And now she understood to look in Rebecca’s eyes. She knew. I’m a fucking idiot.

“Stop. I don’t know what the fuck happened to you, how you changed so much, but I’m done. You don’t fucking lie about being abused! And you don’t try to seduce someone who you know is in love with someone else. I don’t know, maybe that’s just who you are now, but,” Cass wiped her hands together, “I’m out.”

“You can’t be out! We’re best friends!”

She picked up the blanket she was using and threw it in Rand’s direction. “Not anymore. You have two minutes to get your ass upstairs, get dressed, and get out. Otherwise, I’m throwing you out with only that fucking blanket. If you think I’m joking with you, try me.” She switched on a lamp and glared at her former friend. “One minute and forty-eight seconds.”

Rand huffed, threw the blanket back at Cass, and ran upstairs. Cass sank to the couch, much like she did when Rand first got here. What the fuck was she going to do if this caused her to lose Rebecca?

“Please forgive me, baby.”

TEN HOURS, THREE minutes, and twenty-two seconds. A tear splashed onto the screen of Rebecca’s cell phone. She should call. But what if she interrupted something? Another tear. God, what if she interrupted something? She shook her head vigorously. No. Cassidy would never do that to her. Rebecca’s heart knew that for certain. Now, if her head would just get a hint.

Problem was, she had been sitting at her place, alone, for what felt like years instead of hours. Stupid, fucking scenarios kept going through her head and she hated each and every one of them. Her stomach was churning too much to eat. As much as she could use a drink, she needed to keep a clear head. Hell, the only thing she has done since she left the club was change into pajamas and plop her sad ass down on the couch. She didn’t even turn on the damn TV out of some stupid fear she would somehow miss Cassidy’s call. The call that never came. Jealousy was a fucking asshole.

“This is bullshit!”

Unable to stand it any longer, Rebecca decided that Miranda Daly was not going to keep her away from Cassidy no matter what kind of trauma she may or may not have been through. Cassidy was home to Rebecca. And she needed to be home. She strode to the door with purpose, tears still in her eyes. Picking her keys up from the side table, she opened the door and nearly fainted with relief and happiness.

“Cassidy.”

Cass had a split second to take in Rebecca’s tear-stained cheeks before crushing herself to the smaller woman. “I’m sorry!” She repeated the apology over and over, kissing Rebecca’s entire face as she did.

“Come in,” Rebecca managed after a particularly deep kiss.

“Where were you going?” Cass allowed herself to be pulled inside and guided to the couch. Honestly, she wasn’t altogether sure her feet worked anymore. She had been on autopilot all the way here. Now that she was with Rebecca, autopilot switched off.

“Home to you.”

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