Safe with You (21 page)

When Zack walks off, J leans down and kisses my forehead. “What was that about?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I’m not sure,” I lie. The guilt is already knotting in my stomach.

“If he gives you any problems, let me know, Cass. There is something about that guy that rubs me the wrong way.”

I just shrug it off. Zack is harmless. Having him here in Alabama, at the same small school does worry me. I have so many decisions to make my head is spinning. I don’t even know which problem I should deal with first. Should I worry about my parents finding out Zack is here? Should I be more worried about J finding out who Zack is or rather was? Or should I worry about the drug dealers being able to find us? Ugh! I hate my life. At times like this, I wonder if my life will ever return to normal. Even after I break free from my parents and move off to college, will I still be constantly looking over my shoulder?

J gently shakes my shoulders, pulling me from the trance I am in. “Cassie. Are you okay?”

I look up at J, his eyes assessing me. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“You just…I don’t know, seem sort of off.”

I wave him off. “Sorry, I’m still not feeling one hundred percent.” Lying to J breaks my heart, but right now it is the only way. I can’t have him know any of the bad stuff or he could be in danger himself and that’s the last thing I want.

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

Chapter Twenty- Six

J

I don’t know who this new guy thinks he is, but he obviously has his sights set on the wrong girl. This is his first day here and he is already making enemies. I can tell by his accent he is the new kid Dad mentioned.

Every time I see him, his eyes are on Cassie. He is just asking for trouble.

I grab Bo by his shirt and yank him forward so only he can hear me. “Keep your eye on, Zack. If he so much as breathes in Cassie’s direction, I want to know.”

“Bro, I agree something is fishy about the guy, but will you let go of my shirt?”

I release my grip and step back. “Sorry,” I mutter.

Bo straightens his shirt and grins. “Cassie got you all wound up,” he teases.

I shove him backwards. “Shut up,” I grumble.

Bo slaps me shoulder. “Seriously, man, I got your back. He won’t steal your girl.”

Damn right he won’t. This is one battle this outside won’t win.

The final bell rings for the day and I couldn’t be more grateful. Since I ain’t going to practice today, I get the pleasure of driving Cassie home.

Cassie needed to make a pit stop at the bathroom, and since Jess was with her, I told her I’d meet her at my truck.

What I didn’t expect was for Zack to be leaning against his car several spaces down, glaring at me. But then, I notice what kind of car it is and the color of it.

Instead of getting in my truck like I should be doing, I walk toward the car I’m pretty positive ran me off the road last week.

The new guy doesn’t move, doesn’t stand, nothing. I think he was expecting me to walk over to him and say something. He doesn’t seem intimidated by me, and guess what, I’m not afraid of him either. If it comes down to it, I will fight hard for Cassie. She’s mine, not anyone else’s.

“Can I help you?” he asks as soon I stop a few feet away from him.

“Yeah, you see, I have two problems. One, I don’t like the way you look at
my
girlfriend. Cassie is mine so back off. And two, next time you’re driving, you need to be careful. You don’t want to force somebody to wreck because of your careless driving now would we?”

A sly smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Maybe you shouldn’t be driving that thing on the road. As for Cassie, I’ve known her a lot longer than you have. Tell her I said it was nice seeing her again.”

What? Seeing her again? What does he mean by that?

He turns to get in his car but stops. “Oh, and tell her that her parents invited me over for dinner tonight so I will see her later,” he smirks. My fist clenches at my side. This guy has some freakin’ nerve. He gets in his car and leaves, leaving me wondering what Cassie is keeping from me. I plainly asked her earlier what the thing between her and Zack was earlier and she said ‘nothing’. Clearly, it’s something and I’m about to find out.

Blood simmering with anger, I walk back to the truck, preparing to get answers. She knows him. Dad’s words come back to me.
“He’s a Yankee. Indiana, I think.”

And the way Cassie reacted after that. It all clicks now. Well, shit.

Cassie is already in the truck waiting for me when I climb in. Too occupied with these new developments, I crank the truck and drive away, not acknowledging Cassie at all.

“J, is everything okay?” she asks tentatively.

No, everything's not okay. She lied to me.

Keeping my eyes strained forward, I ask her, “The other night at dinner, when Dad mentioned the new kid, and you got sick. You weren’t really sick were you?”

I hear her sharp intake of breath. She pretty much just gave me her answer. “No,” she whispers.

“How do you know him, Cassie?” I hardly ever call her by her full name, but I’m so pissed right now.

“We dated for six months before we moved. I haven’t seen or talked to him since we left Indianapolis.”

I grip the steering wheel tighter. “So what did I walk up on in the hallway? What was that about since you lied to me earlier?”

“He said we needed to talk and I told him there was nothing to say. I have no idea why he’s here, but honestly, I don’t feel the same way about him as I did two years ago.”

I let out a grunt. “Yeah, okay, that still doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me.”

I hear her sniffle. Crap, hearing her cry is not helping. “I’m sorry, J. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

I swallow hard, hoping she answers the next question honestly. “And you’re sure you don’t have
any
feelings for him?”

“None at all, babe. I love you.”

And I love her, that’s why this hurts as much it does. I feel betrayed, pissed off, and hurt. I never expected this from her.

I stay silent, trying to gather my thoughts as I turn into her driveway.

“J,” she murmurs sadly.

Placing the truck in park, I finally look at her. Her eyes are sad, tear-filled. She is on the verge of crying.

Grabbing her hand with mine, I bring it up to my lips, lightly kissing it. “Cassie, you lied to me, and it really stings. I don’t know why you needed to hide the fact that you two used to date. Maybe you’re confused.”

Cassie shakes her head. “I’m not confused about how I feel, J. I love you, only you. It’s just, we left so abruptly that I never had a chance to say goodbye to him or any of my friends, and my first thought when seeing him was ‘Oh no,” because I knew we left things unresolved and I wasn’t sure how he had taken things.”

“Please, don’t lie to me again, Cass. I freakin’ love you to death.”

Cassie launches herself across the seat, slamming her mouth to mine. I kiss her slow, like the Mississippi River, and deep, like the sunset sky.

“Cassie, dang, babe, you taste sweeter than Muscadine wine. So intoxicating, so sweet,” I murmur, my lips grazing hers.

She wraps her arms around me, holding me like she never wants to let go. “I wish I could go home with you.”

I hug her tighter. “Me too, Cass. Especially since my new enemy will apparently be here later.”

She pulls back, shock covering her face. “What? He will be here?”

“According to him, your parents invited him to dinner.”

“How do my parents know he is even here?”

I think she meant to ask herself that.

“Just text me later, all right?”

“I will, J, promise.” She gives me another heart-stopping kiss. “I will text you when he arrives and when he leaves.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t stay long.”

“Yeah, hopefully.”

Cassie

I slam the front door closed and search for my parents. “Dad! Mom!”

I’m so mad right now. How could they invite Zack, of all people over here? What happened to laying low? What happened to not being in contact with people from back home?

“What?” Dad’s voice booms from the kitchen.

Marching in the room, I realize I need to be careful on how I scold them. I don’t want my time with J to be taken away again.

My parents are sitting at the dining table, looking at me expectantly when I breeze into the kitchen.

“Please, tell me this is a joke!”

They glance at one another like they have no clue. Typical.

“Zack lives here now, but I assume you know that already since you invited him to dinner!”

“Cassie,” Dad says smoothly. “Of course we knew.”

“I thought the rules were to not talk to anyone from back home? Isn’t that why you took my phone away from me?!”

“Watch your tone,” Dad warns.

“Well, isn’t it?”

“We make the rules, you just follow them.”

“Why is Zack here?”

Dad shrugs. “You will have to ask him.”

Doesn’t that look suspicious to you? I swear, my parents are walking contradictions.

“I don’t understand you two at all.”

“Cassie, just go get ready for dinner,” Mom snaps.

“Fine,” I retort, spinning around and marching to my room. They are nothing but hypocrites.

I hope tonight does not turn out to be as bad as I think it will be.

Zack arrives around seven. I’m so nervous, I think I’m going to puke. He wants answers, answers I can’t give him. He better not be the cause of us leaving so soon.

Walking into my closet where I keep my phone hidden, I sent J a text letting him know Zack is here.

Taking a deep breath, I open my bedroom door and gasp, jumping back.

“H-Hi,” I stammer.

“Hey Cassie. Mind if I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure.”

Zack walks my room, looking everything over. What is he doing?

“What do you want, Zack?”

“It wounds me that you don’t seem happy to see me. Why can’t you at least smile at me, you know, like you used to all the time? Until now, I hardly ever saw you without a smile on your face.”

Ugh, I wish he wouldn’t bring up the past.

“Things are different,” I murmur.

“Obviously,” he grumbles. “Just because you haven’t seen me in a couple years doesn’t mean you have to treat me like I’m a stranger.”

You would too if you had my life.

“I didn’t think you would recognize me.”

“You were hoping I didn’t recognize you,” he corrects. “How could I not know the girl I loved with every fiber of my being? You were my world, Cassie, and when you left suddenly, my life was thrown off it’s axis. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”

Zack sounds so gutted right now. I kind of feel bad for him, but what choice did I have?

“I didn’t know I was leaving. If I had of known, I would have cried on your shoulder.”

“And now?”

“Now, I have J to lean on.”

His eyes close as he drops his head. “It could still be me, Cass. God, I wish it was me now.”

“Zack, don’t.”

He flinches, looking physically pained. His eyes leave the floor, traveling up to mine. The haunted look is still there, leaving me to wonder what has changed him.

Zack is staring me down, making me kind of uncomfortable. “Um, I think dinner is almost ready,” I murmur through the thick tension that surrounds us.

He snaps out of it and shoulders past me, not uttering another word.

Dinner is sure to be so much fun.

Chapter Twenty- Seven

J

Bo’s phone is glued to my hand as I await Cassie’s text to say Zack has left. So many questions are floating around inside my head, making me think too much.

Something about Zack is bugging me. It could just be that he is interested in my girl, but something tells me it’s not just that. Even Bo agreed something was weird about him.

“Bro, can I borrow my phone for like two seconds?”

“Can it wait until Cassie texts me?” I’m on pins and needles waiting for Zack to leave her house. The thought of driving over there and peeking in her window has crossed my mind a few times. I refrain because it would mean I didn’t trust her. I do, it’s him I don’t trust. Not to mention, if I get caught she’d hate me, and if her Dad saw me, it would ruin my progress with him.

“Bro, I will give it right back. I just need it real quick. If Cassie happens to call or text while I have it, I will let you know.”