I smirk. “Admit it, though: he deserves it,” I muse.
“Maybe…” She smooths a hand down the front of her dress. “But I think that knowing the truth has made him far more bitter than he was before. He’s more inconsiderate now, more…I don’t know…”
“Bitchy?” I provide. “Nia, he’s always been a dick. And for someone like him, there’s no redemption – only the scorching flames of hell, and a trident sharp enough to pierce his pompous ass into oblivion. Or whatever the hell-equivalent of oblivion is.”
She laughs – the sound loud yet sweet – then clicks her tongue. “I’ll have to agree with you here.”
I chuckle, and she meets my eyes before an almost regretful sort of expression takes over her face.
“Uh, I should go,” she states all of a sudden, then gets to her feet. “I have an early day tomorrow.”
I raise a brow. “On a Sunday, when the café stays closed?”
She hesitates. “I have other plans.”
Liar, I want to say, but don’t. Instead, I stand and step closer to her. “Let me walk you to your car.”
“I don’t have a car.”
“Then how did you get here? Did someone give you a lift?”
Real smooth, Cass, I tell myself.You don’tat allsound like a weirdo with stalker tendencies.
“I walked here, actually,” Nia answers. “I came here to meet my friends for our weekly drink sesh, but they left a few minutes ago, so it’ll be me and my feet again.”
“I can drop you home.” The words couldnothave left my mouth any faster than they did. Again,real smoothon my part.
Nia waves a dismissive hand my way. “That’s fine. It’s a short distance away anyway, so I don’t really need a ride.”
“It’s Saturday night, and the streets are full of drunk idiots, Nia. I know it’s a small town, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have assholes here. Also, you have a couple of drinks in you, and it’s snowing outside. I don’t want you to hurt yourself, or worse, get lost or something.”
She jerks her head back and gives me an incredulous look. “I know my way around, Cass, thank you very much. How, you ask? Because I’ve been here the whole time! In case you forgot, it’s notmewho left; it was you.Youleft.Youdecided to let go and move elsewhere. So no, Iwon’tget lost; Iwon’tget attacked by some random drunk on the street. And you know why that is?” Anger brushes its fingers over her features. “Because I’m no longer that stupid and naïve girl you ditched 11 years ago. I’m a woman – a hardworking and strong woman – and I know how to take care of myself.” And with that, she pivots on her feet and walks away from me, leaving behind a distinct imprint of her painful words that etches itself onto the constricted confines of my chest.
6. Nia
Fuck him. Fuck him for getting such a reaction out of me, for making me feel things I told myself I wouldn’t, not after how carelessly he broke my heart. Fuck him for making me question everything, most of all my sanity, just for the sake of his temporary presence in this town. I told him I’m not the same stupid girl from all those years ago, and I mean it. Then why am I acting like her right now? This is ridiculous. It’s all just complete bullshit.
I huff against the brutal cold around me as I open my fence’s door, but stop mid-step when I realize there is someone behind me. Slowly, with my heart pounding a mile a second, I turn and look towards the end of the street. My gut tightens when I see Cass, leaning casually against a black SUV, with his hands in his jeans pockets and long, errant strands of his hair flowing with the wind, looking at me with an expression that could only be labelled as longing.
Why?I want to scream at him, but don’t have the strength to. Brandon’s words from earlier are still nagging at me, and despite feeling weighed down by them, I can’t stop thinking about the way Cass stood up for me, and the things he told me after.
And the words I practically spat at him before walking away from him.
I had beenthisclose to telling him that I didn’t need him – not after everything I’ve been through already. But… but it felt sogoodto have someone stand up for me like that. My family and friends have given my asshole of an ex-husband an ample amount of shit for treating me the way he has, but…but the wayCass silenced him, punched him in thefacefor badmouthing me…
Fuck me, that was hot. Him having such a strong reaction even after so many years – it lit something inside me. Brought something in me back to life, in a way.
I shake my head and look at him again. “Were you seriously following me?” I ask the obvious. Thank God for the cover of the night, otherwise he’d notice how flushed I am right now. Not because of the cold, but from seeing him look so effortlessly beautiful under the glaring moonlight.
“You don’t live with your parents anymore,” he says, then starts walking towards me.
I don’t know why, but I step back, and back, and back until my ass hits the house door. “I was married, remember?”
“So?” He lifts a brow as he walks through the gate. “You’re not married anymore.” He climbs the one step that separates us, then gives me a crooked smile. “Déjà vu, huh?” he quips as he glances around my porch.
“I didn’t wanna bother Mom and Dad after the divorce by staying with them, so I decided to get a place of my own. This house luckily went up for sale a week after I signed the divorce papers.” I lift a shoulder. “Noah lives next door, and the café is only a few minutes from here. It’s convenient and cozy.”
Cass steps into my personal space, so I press my back further against the door. “I’m sorry about the whole Brandon thing,” he whispers. “He…he was treating you like shit, Nia, and I can’t evenimaginethe way he must’ve behaved with you during–”
