Page 82 of Pretend for Me

Derek was sentencedto seven years in prison. The initial charges were robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, but when the police finally tracked him down, they found him with a lot more than a dime bag of weed, so they added one for possession with the intent to distribute.

Since Charlotte was still a minor at sixteen years old, her sentencing could have gone a few different ways. She had in her favor that this was her first offense, her prior record being squeaky clean. Then there was the fact that I had written a victim’s statement to the district attorney’s office, asking for leniency. Cassie was pissed at me and made me sleep on the couch after I discussed my plan with her. As a result, Charlotte got a slap on the wrist, getting off lucky by only having to complete community service hours.

When the news had reached us, Cassie was torn. Sure she didn’t want Charlotte to rot in jail, but she confessed a part of her wanted her to feel the same pain she felt when I was lying in thathospital bed. She admitted she wanted her to know what it felt to have a part of your soul torn away in an instant. Understanding her motives wasn’t something Cassie saw herself easily doing.

For both of their sakes, Cassie decided to keep a healthy distance between them, but she wasn’t going to discourage me from having a relationship with her if I chose. She just wasn’t ready to forgive the unforgivable yet. If she could ever somehow come to forgive Charlotte that was.

Life was complicated. Messy, imperfect, and real. Sometimes really shitty, but also sometimes really magical. We made the mistake of pretending once before, and it had gotten us nowhere. Now we had to work to get to a better place. A healthier place. Therapy was beneficial to getting us there and we were only a few sessions in.

We both have been through so much over the years. If we had any chance at a long-term future together, every day would be an effort toward better.

Cassie sheepishly ducked out of the police-filled room to answer her cell phone when it started ringing incessantly.

I smirked to myself, finding it funny Cassie was getting to escape this madness.

“Mr. Adams, we are just about done here. The contents of the safe will be collected later by the county clerk’s office and then prepared for transport. Otherwise, we will start clearing the place out,” one of the men in suits alerted me, still in a daze.

I nodded. There was not much else I could do. It was all surreal, like I was watching from an outsider’s perspective. And in many ways, I was. I was watching as Cassie had all those years ago. Helpless to it all. All she could do was witness as the changes happened.

The only difference was I wasn’t losing anything I wasn’t willing to give up.

Time passed slowly to me. “Almost done” felt like it was in slow motion, but soon the apartment was a bare shell of what it once was. It looked empty, cold, and sterile. Much like my life without Cassie.

The realtor was coming to show prospective buyers the apartment later in the week, so it was probably for the best that the place was cleared out.

Change was good.A fresh start.

Cassie reentered the room a little while later. She hadn’t returned since she’d left to take her phone call. I had figured that she was hiding from all the commotion.

When Cassie sauntered over to the kitchen counter as I ate a bowl of cereal—no point in grocery shopping when we planned to be out of there soon enough—I gave her a cheeky grin. My one-track mind wanted to christen the apartment a few more times before we headed over to Cassie and Audrey’s apartment.

She looked at me and bit the inside of her cheek, then she turned away. I frowned. I thought we were moving past this nervousness to speak freely.

I set down the spoon, touched her on her shoulder so she’d face me again, and took her hands. “What’s the matter, baby?” I questioned, assessing her expression.

Cassie inhaled a deep breath. “It’s nothing bad. It’s just that—that was Marcus,” she started, smiling softly to herself. “He wants to make me one of his in-house artists. My art would be exclusive to his gallery, and I’d make a higher commission.” Cassie laughed disbelievingly.

I gave her an innocent peck on the mouth. “That’s amazing! When do you need to give him new pieces?”

Cassie became embarrassed, and she looked anywhere but my eyes.

“Cassie?” I inquired, hesitant.

“I didn’t tell him yes yet,” she whispered, inhaling sharply. “I’ve sold him a few pieces before but nothing of this magnitude. I didn’t want to hear the specifics.”

Rocky must have sensed her energy because he came over to sit at her feet. She ruffled his fur, and I waited for her to give an explanation for not jumping at this huge and exciting opportunity.

“Why would you wait on something like that?” I furrowed my eyebrows. This was her dream come true—why wouldn’t she grab it with both hands?

Cassie cast her eyes downward, unable to meet my hopeful stare.

“I don’t know. I guess I just don’t feel confident or good enough to accept this amazing job.” She picked at her fingernails, much like when she was a child and was scared.

I stood and embraced her in a bear hug, resting my chin on her head. “Baby, you are worthy of good things. Remember what Phil said? We deserve good. You deserve good. You are the creator of your life. Not me, nobody, but you,” I recited, hoping I wasn’t pushing her too far.

Cassie nodded against my chest, hopefully knowing what I was saying was true.

She pulled away slightly, staring up into my eyes. “I’ll give him a call back,” she said with a slight upturn of her lips. As she stepped back, making her way to the master bedroom, I gave her ass a swat before watching her walk away.

---