Page 268 of As the Rain Falls
“You really do care about me.” Cassandra smiles sadly and takes a deep breath, warming up to the fact. “And I really am your friend, aren’t I?”
“Cass, please. You’re one of my best friends these days,” I breathe out, moving to pull her closer, wanting to soothe her before she starts crying again.“I missed you so much.”
“Really?”
“Come here, baby.” My legs part, and she kneels between them, eager for touch. I press a quick kiss to the side of her face, bringing her to my chest. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Because I think it’s all my fault this time around. That my brother is right,” Cassandra whispers sadly, sounding so utterly lost. “And I’m too tired. I can’t even sleep anymore. I can’t close my eyes while Nathaniel is around the house because I’m scared he’ll get mad at me.”
I glance down, listening to her every word.
“Does he get mad at you very often?”
“Sometimes, when I do something wrong,” she admits, curving herself against me. I hold her tighter, keeping her safe while she confides her truth to me. “Other times, it’s just because he’s in a weird mood.”
“That’s not okay.”
She shifts again, trying to get a better look at me. I immediately press my lips to her forehead, then the sides of her face, and the corner of her mouth.Sweet, gentle kisses.I can’t help myself.I need to touch.I need to feel what’s happening, feel the damage.
“I know.” She nods, coming to the realization that I’m right.
The disappointment creeps in, and I watch her swallow it down, trying to keep her resentment tamed. She is the strongest, most selfless person I’ve ever met, but it’s unhealthy if she’s willing to protect him.
“I still think he has point, though. It’s my fault if he’s going to lose his job.” Cassandra makes a low sobbing sound while gripping me tighter. “We’ll lose everything because of me, right? And then—”
“That’s not entirely true,” I cut her off, aiming to reassure her. “They can’t just break a contract like that. At worst, he’ll have to go back to teaching.”
“Dad doesn’t want that. It’s too beneath him.” She shrugs. “And we have so many bills to pay.”
Her sick grandmother.
Right.
“Beckett… I could sneak you once they go sleep, but… Will you stay?” she asks me with a hopeful tone, leaning closer. “Please? Just… Just tonight?”
“I’m not leaving you.” I promise, frowning as she relaxes. “Cassandra, you can come to my house whenever you want. Don’t sleep here if you don’t feel like it, okay? I have extra rooms. Or you can call me; I can stay with you on the phone.”
Cassandra blinks fast, startled.“Really? You’d do that for me?”
I’d do anything, I realize very quickly.And let her do anything to me, too.
I push the thought down, keeping it locked in my chest. What Angelina told me about not being so eager is turning out to be useful.
“Yeah.” I nod quickly.
“That’s so good.” She smiles sadly. “Because I’m so tired.”
“Cass…” My heart shatters in my chest. “Why don’t you rest a little for now? While I’m here?”
With her face so swollen and the skin under her eyes so dark and puffy, she looks exhausted.I watch her yawn before hiding her face against my shirt. The fabric creases under her grip. Her words are slurred, betraying how she really feels about tonight.
“I can stay up if that means I get to talk to you a little more.”
But she’s half-asleep already, barely keeping herself awake. I bring the covers up to her shoulders, covering my body and hers, before turning off the small lamp she keeps next to the bed.
“You can talk to me whenever you want.”
“Even after you eventually leave Port des Ondes?”
