Page 83 of Whispers of My Skin

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Joel pushes me to the ground as I’m deafened by a gunshot blast, then throws his body over mine.

In a daze, I try to process what’s happening as I lie there shielded by his large, heavy body.

“Keep calm, baby,” he whispers hoarsely in my ear. “You okay?”

“Sure, but what about you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m good,” he murmurs.

“Get up!” It’s her, the damn bitch, waving a gun in her hand.

“Cassandra…” Joel slowly gets to his feet, managing to stand again despite his injuries.

“Damn bitch,” Oscar groans loudly, clutching his side where he’s been shot. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”

These two know each other? What in the hell is their connection?

“Cassie, just drop the weapon,” Joel orders as he stares intently at her, while motioning behind his back for me to remain down on the floor.

“It’s all your fault,” Cassandra screams, pointing her finger at me accusingly. “Look at Joel, look what’s happened to him thanks to you.”

I feel so useless lying there on the ground, but I’m fearful of further antagonizing Cassandra since clearly I’m the focus of her rage, so I reluctantly stay put to let Joel handle her.

“Cassie, forget about Tara,” he quietly insists. “Just put the gun down so we can talk.”

“No!” She cries, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Because of that stupid bitch, you almost got killed.”

“But everything’s okay now, thanks to you,” Joel speaks to her in a quiet, calm voice. “So put the gun down and let’s sort this out. We’re friends, right? And that’s what friends do, they talk through any problems they have.”

“I don’t want to be just your friend!” she hisses.

Finally some truth!

“What do you mean, Cassie?” Joel asks.

“How could you not realize?” she rolls her eyes at him, as she snivels and wipes her nose on her sleeve. “Why couldn’t you ever see me as a woman? Most guys find me sexy as hell, but not you, Joel, you never considered me as anything other than a sister. Because of her.”

She points the gun in my direction again.

“Cassandra, you know I’ve always cared a great deal for you,” Joel calmly insists, although I see his jaw muscle tick, a tell of how tense he is.

“But what good is that to me?” Cassandra shouts. “What I want is your love, Joel! I want all of it, I want every single bit of your heart to be mine. Not hers. Having just your affection isn’t enough for me.”

“Cassie, I can’t give you my heart. It’s not mine to give. It already belongs to someone else.”

“You mean that undeserving slut, don’t you?” she screeches. “Because it’s always been her. You even got arrested, ended up jail for that stupid little bitch!”

Arrested? What the fuck is Cassandra talking about? Joel got arrested? He went to jail? For me? When?

Clearly I’m missing something really important here, but this is hardly the time or place to start demanding some answers. That’ll have to come later—assuming we get out of this latest little adventure alive. Like a cat with nine lives, how many have we already used up? Please God, let there be at least one life left, because we have some pretty fucking amazing dreams that I really want us to see through.

“Nothing I’ve done has ever been enough for you, has it?” Cassandra continues her rant. “Despite the fact that without me, you’d be nothing, Joel Sadger, because I made you the man you are today.”

“Can’t deny you’re right there, Cassie,” Joel acknowledges. “Believe me when I say how much I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me, which is why I’ve always considered you a very special friend.”

“And yet you still can’t bring yourself to love me in the way I want,” she cries. “Why, Joel, why?”

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