Page 53 of Jockstraps & Newspapers
Getting a little bit of therapy
Cassiopeia
Elliotwasupset.Therewere tear stains on his fur as he climbed out of the truck.Cass almost dropped everything to comfort him.But then the Minotaur grabbed her by the hips and threw her over his shoulder."Oi!Hey!What are you—"
"For once, Cassiopeia, just hush!"he barked and her heart stopped.
What was going on?
One moment, she was joking with Rex, pulling up to the shop.The parking lot was eerily empty, but Rex made a comment about, 'oh, the boys musta gotten tired and closed up shop early'.They were laughing until they saw the blood.Rex parked the truck halfway in the parking lot, taking up most of the space, and launched out into the evening sun.Nikolai, the bugbear mechanic was squeegeeing the blood into the drains.There was a river of it.Cassiopeia Darling had never seen that much blood.Her legs were gelatin, wiggling and wobbling as she stumbled toward the shop.Rex told her not to come any closer as he flew into the back office of the shop.She stood there, confused and struck as the bugbear spared her an apologetic look.
What was going on?
They closed up and left her out in the parking lot with the tow truck and her destroyed vehicle.
What is going on?!
Cass broke free of the traumatic daze she was in and slapped at Elliot's shoulders, "You put me down, right now, Elliot Bonesaw, or I swear to the dragons above—"
"You'll what?!"he bellowed, tossing her into the cabin of his truck.Elliot threw himself inside and shut the door.
"Don't you fucking take that tone with me!I'm the one in the dark here!"She threw her hands out, scrambling to sit in the passenger seat properly.Elliot stared through the windshield, gripping the steering wheel till even his fur paled.Fury painted his features as well as tears and heartache.Cassiopeia's lower lip trembled as tears welled in her eyes.Oh no.Cass breathed, "Elliot, please tell me Jessie wasn't under a car or something.Please tell me he's alive."
Elliot nodded, swallowing audibly."He's alive."
"How alive?"She slid closer, "Oh Elliot, why didn't you just say an accident happened?What's going on?You can talk to me."
"I can't," he croaked, snapping his gaze in her direction.
"Wha-wha-what are you talking about?"she stammered.
"Just forget it, let me take you home.I'll get you a new car in the morning."He cranked the truck into gear and turned the wheel.Cass was tossed back into her seat as the vehicle lurched.Elliot snapped a hand out and clicked her seat belt in without sparing her a look.
"No!"She furiously unclicked it.
Elliot clicked it back, slamming on the brakes."Cassie," he warned.
"No!What did you mean?"she snarled.She unclicked it only to have her hand swatted away and her seatbelt clicked back.Her heart slammed against her ribs as Elliot shot her a dirty look."Elliot Bonesaw, answer me."
"I can't tell you because I can't have it end up in your articles.If you dig into this one, Cassie, if you treat this like you did Stevie, people are going to get hurt…you're going to get hurt.And I won't let that happen.I can't—I love you too much.So, for fucking once, would you just let me do this, just let me take you home and get you a new car and never talk about it.Please!"
The cabin of the truck was dead silence as they stared at each other.Her mouth hung open an inch as the words died on her tongue.Did…he just say he loves me and ask me to shut the fuck up at the same time?Cass blinked once, finding her control once more.Inhaling deeply through her nose, through the snot and tightness in her chest, she filled her lungs.Then, she nodded, "Okay, we won't talk about it."
He grabbed her by the cheeks, flipping the truck into park.Pulling her into his face, he kissed her hard on the mouth.She grabbed every inch of him she could reach and held him close.When he pulled away, he was panting for air."Thank you, baby."
"You're welcome," she whispered, throat raw and voice raspy.He threw the truck in drive and floored it.She sank back into the seat, glancing back at the shop.All the lights were off.All the doors were closed.All the answers were locked inside.
And suddenly, the guilt washed over her…because she was going to dig into it.She knew that she was going to dig into it and find the truth.Cass didn't know how to leave well-enough alone.Something happened to Jessie in that shop, and she knew it wrecked Elliot to the core.She was going to figure out what it was and she was going to fix it if she could.
Even if her boyfriend refused to talk about it.
Oh boy…maybe Andromeda was right…maybe she did need therapy.
"That'swhatI'msaying,Lily, he wouldn't tell me."Cass paced in front of the siren therapist.Hands on her hips, Cass created tracks in the flooring of their apartment.
"And why do you need to know?Why can't you just accept that he doesn't want to talk about it?"Lily asked, scribbling down in her notepad.She was spread out on the couch and coffee table, working on her admin tasks for the day.However, there always seemed to be room for Cass and her mess.
"Well, because he didn't want to talk about it."Cass stopped dead in her tracks."It's a toxic trait, I know.But I have to know."
