Page 114 of Touch Me

“You don’t know anything!” I lunge for her cowering form against the wall but stop when I see pure terror on her face. I get my face two inches away from hers, trying to control my labored breath.“I gave you all of me, Cassie. Every broken piece,” I whisper, body quaking with pent up rage, trying to fight its way out through the hole in my chest.“Get the fuck out.”

She looks at me, pleading with her eyes. “Please don’t. Don’t do this.”

I push off the wall and walk to the stereo and turn the music all the way up. When I turn back around, she’s gone.

THIRTY-TWO

NO MORE PAIN

I leavethe apartment with no logical thoughts in my head. The next thing I know, I’m knocking on the door to my old dorm room. Jess is the only one here, and she ushers me in with soft spoken words and soothing touches. I’m not even speaking coherently, nothing coming out of my mouth makes sense, just as nothing in my head makes sense.

Jess picks up her phone and calls Ella. I squeeze my eyes shut as she speaks in hushed, clipped sentences. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting on the couch, staring vacantly at the wall, but I snap out of it when Ella comes barrelling through the door.

She runs right to me and crouches down, her arms cradling my lap. “What happened?”

“Jace, he... he yelled and screamed.” My hands cover my ears as I shake away the words in my head.

Get the fuck out, Cassie.

You’re trash, Cassie.

“And he kicked me out. I didn’t even do it. But he wouldn’t listen.” I launch off the couch and pace the room.“He... he thinks I betrayed him.” I grab Ella by the shoulders. “But I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” I turn to see Jess leaning against the wall, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I didn’t even do it. But he trusted me, and he thinks I broke his trust. The things he said to me.” I cover my face as the pain sinks in.

“Ok, slow down. Tell us exactly what happened. I’m sure it’s just a huge misunderstanding, right Jess?” Ella looks over to her taut form, fists clenched, her eyes never leaving mine.

I slap a hand over my mouth and sink to the floor. “Oh god,” I whisper. “You think I did it.”

Ella sits next to me and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “No one thinks you did anything. Why don’t you just take it from the beginning. Tell us what happened. We’re here for you. Aren’t we, Jess?”

We both look up at her, but she doesn’t move. There is a war going on behind her eyes, and she doesn’t know what side she’s on. Our eyes lock in a silent battle. Me willing her to listen, her gauging how much damage I could have done to her brother. After a solid minute, she blinks and pushes off the wall, plopping down in a huff in front of me.

Tears run off my chin and soak into the carpet between my crossed legs. “I haven’t even said anything and you already don’t believe me.”

“I’m sorry.” She picks absently at her perfect manicure. “I don’t mean to doubt you. I’m just worried about Jace.” A single tear escapes and runs down her cheek.

I reach over and squeeze her hand. “I would never hurt him. You wouldn’t have pushed me into his life if you thought I was capable of that.”

She brushes the tear with the sleeve of her hoodie. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t even know how he found out, but somehow his pictures ended up in the gallery opening I’m covering next month.”

I meet her eyes and see nothing but rage. Her lips thin into a fierce line, and she closes her eyes. “Go on.”

“I don’t know how they got there. I swear, I never submitted them. I never showed anyone, even though they are fantastic and would fit right in with the theme of the gallery opening. I didn’t even show my coworkers when he emailed them to me.” My head suddenly clears itself of all the chaos, and there is one very clear face staring back at me. “No. He wouldn’t.”

Ella whips her head toward me. “Who wouldn't what?”

I pop up off the floor, and shake my head. “He couldn’t.” I pace the small open area between the living room and kitchen, the girls tracking my every move. “How?”

“Cassie, I swear to god, if you don’t stop talking in code and tell us what the fuck is going on—”

Jess slaps Ella’s hand out of the air. “I thought you were trying not to curse since you’ll be teaching the world’s youth.”

“Would you shut up and focus. And don’t hit me for fuck’s sake. Now is not the time.” Ella gets up and pulls my hands away from my face. “Who are we talking about, and what did he do?”

“When Jace said he wanted to show me something, I gave him my work email so it didn’t look like I was the new girl always on her phone. He sent the exact photos, the ones we put on the surfboard, to my work email. When I opened the link, Mark was standing right behind me. He started raving about how good they were and that they would be perfect for the opening. Honestly, I did think about asking Jace if he wanted me to submit them, but the more I got to really know him, the more I knew he would never want that kind of attention.”

I sit back down in front of Jess and grab both her hands. “I swear I never gave them to anyone. But now they are on the advertisement for the opening, and he thinks I used his art to get ahead with my bosses. Mark must have had someone hack the server, get the photos and Jace’s IP address to trace or something, and got his name.”

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