Cassandra

Oh, thank you Jester-Jami, jackpot, Harlequin, angelsrose, Peyton, Anon, Saige, rhea\'s kochanie, and ikkichi! MANY REVIEWERS, YES! =D *many hugs*



By the way, I don\'t know how often I\'ll be able to update this story because school\'s starting back up, but I\'ll try my hardest to fit in time for this. Just don\'t lose faith, okay?! :)



Thanks!



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"Cassandra?" Dave called from downstairs, his feet already sounding against the wooden panels of the staircase. "Taylor?"



My heart pounded in my chest. Even though the embrace Cassandra and I were just in was completely innocent, I felt like I was guilty of putting my hands on her at all. Of thinking that I thought she was going to kiss me. How I wanted her to kiss me.



Oh god, what was I going to do?



Cassandra, whom, unlike me -- standing motionlessly in the same spot and staring at her in disbelief because staring at the door would be too risky, had been able to move. She ran around me and turned the tree-painting back around. She rolled up her sleeves and ran her hands through her hair to straighten the black strands. Her eyes were still dabbed with fresh tears, but Cassandra didn\'t have enough time to worry about that.



"Cassandra?" Dave said again, but his voice was much nearer. In the door, to be precise. "Cass, what\'s wrong?" His footsteps grew closer as he entered the room completely. I shivered as the wind blew past me when he made his way to his wife. He gave me a quick, smoldering glance before he kept his attention solely on Cassandra. "What is it?" he asked, one hand cradling her wet cheek and the other resting over her abdomen. "What happened?"



"N-nothing," Cassandra mumbled, placing both of her hands over his. The sight of them together made me even more queasy -- something wasn\'t right. "Everything\'s fine."



I saw the flash of his irises in the corners of his eyes. "Why is Taylor up here?" he mumbled lowly in attempt to not let me hear.



"I asked her to come up here," Cassandra replied softly, never leaving his gaze. "Nothing\'s wrong, Dave, I promise you. Hormones is all it is." I saw that she had almost smiled but she bit her lip.



There was silence in the room as they stared at each other; I now understood how third-wheels felt. Plus, the tension was giving me goosebumps and red cheeks. I was itchy, too. The vibes were off. Maybe because I knew the truth and Dave didn\'t. Actually, it was that look Dave gave me when he walked in, like he knew I\'d put my hands on his wife.



I gulped down any moisture in my throat, but none was there.



A smack brought me back to life. Dave had kissed the top of Cassandra\'s head. "You\'re sure you\'re alright?" he asked in the sweetest voice that he probably could muster. His eyes glanced down warily. "Nothing\'s wrong?"



Her eyes looked extra soft as she nodded, her hand moving slowly, sensually down Dave\'s hand along her cheek. "I\'m fine. Everything\'s fine." God, her voice was heavenly. And she was a damn good actress.



He leaned in and gave her a tender kiss on her lips. My cheeks grew even more heated, but it wasn\'t out of embarrassment. I tried my best to hide it by touching the sides of my face as they separated. "I\'ll see Taylor out," he murmured to her. His hands fell and he looked in my direction, letting his feet take him towards the office\'s entrance.



I glanced once more at Cassandra, my hands falling too. She gazed back at me and gave me a smile that said, "Thank you for listening." Her dimples forced a smile to spring across my own face. She waved to me, something that I reciprocated, and nodded towards the door as I turned around and followed Dave\'s footfalls.



"What did you finish today?" Dave\'s voice wasn\'t loud, but it was deep and echoed in the entrance when the interview-room door and parlor door had been shut. I felt like I was talking to The Wizard of Oz and I was The Cowardly Lion.



Swallowing, I mumbled, "Both of the upstairs bathrooms."



He nodded as I put on my shoes. "Why did you go into Cassandra\'s office?"



I swallowed more dryness. "Um..." I hated lying. Lying made me feel gross. Guilty. I\'d already felt guilty enough. Pretty soon I was going to snap like a twig under his intense gaze.



"Did she tell you about her pregnancy?"



I bit my lip and nodded. Could I just go home, please?



"Well," he hissed with impatience. "What did she say?"



"That she, um..." I nearly whimpered. "She said that she\'s ha-happy about it, but she\'s... scared that something will happen." The way I ended my sentence made it sound like an awkward question.



"Something will happen?" he repeated, more emotion in his eyes. Damn, he really wanted to have this baby. "Like what?"



"I... I--" I shrugged, my stomach folding over and over and oozing and sloshing.



The muscles in his jaw tightened up. He heaved a small sigh. "We don\'t need you here tomorrow," he said, pulling out his wallet from his pocket. He handed me another 100-dollar bill just like from last week. "Monday we\'ll see you back."



I nodded, taking the money, and jogging out the door. I didn\'t want to throw up on their beautiful yard or flowers, so I forced myself to hold everything down until I got home. Then I could vomit it all away.



Driving home, all I could think about was Cassandra. Cassandra had a disease. She was going to die. Cassandra was having a baby. That was a lie. Cassandra lied to Dave about the baby. She doesn\'t know how she\'s going to break it to him. Cassandra felt overwhelmed by my inquisitions. She asked me to hug her. Cassandra is so soft and beautiful and smells good. She has the cutest dimples and prettiest eyes. Cassandra Wilton was going to kiss Taylor Ruine. She was going to kiss me.



What the hell was happening? All I wanted was a damn job so I could help my parents pay the bills and buy myself some nice things. Now I had gut-wrenching, butterflies-swirling-in-my-belly emotions and an attachment to a gorgeous yet married woman who had a scarier-than-hell husband that would surely kill me if he needed to.



I slammed the door and ran to the bathroom, throwing up whatever I\'d downed this morning. My parents were both at work, thankfully, so I could sit next to the toilet, listening to it eat up what I couldn\'t handle any longer. I pressed my forehead to the wall and forced myself to stop thinking. Stop thinking about Cassandra and Dave and babies and Huntington\'s disease and dying and kissing and touching and dimples and ugly trees.



When I\'d calmed down and my stomach was marginally better, I went to my bedroom. I needed to sleep and let everything slip away. Breathe, calm myself, breathe, stop thinking.



Breathe. Stop thinking.



Breathe. Sleep.



Breathe.



Bre...



Fuck. I wouldn\'t see Cassandra tomorrow.