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She grimaced, eyeing my suitcases and the rest of the tidied-up room. Her expression saddened. “What’s the little bitch gone and done now?”
“I woke up this morning and smelled Beth’s vanilla and honey scent,” I replied. “I was in bed when Cassidy had her arms around me. I thought maybe it was Beth until I saw blond hairs on her arms. I really thought I was having a nightmare.”
“I can imagine.” She shuddered with a sneer. “And why are you leaving?”
“Because I got out of here”—I gestured my arms around the room—“when she wouldn’t get out like I’d told her to and was going to get Pierce. I didn’t wanna give her a chance to touch me again. And I didn’t wanna involve Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt unless Pierce couldn’t get through to her.” I emitted a long and deep breath. “Beth opened her door. Cassidy and I were by her and Pierce’s rooms. Mr. Pruitt saw us seconds later, so the thoughts going through his head weren’t pretty. And when he confronted me, I’d started getting my stuff together.”
Nancy pinched her forehead. “What about your job?”
“I am emailing Mrs. Adler and Mrs. Clark a letter of resignation before lunch.”
Nancy scowled. “Mr. Pruitt fired you?”
“Nancy, he was gonna fire me.”
“That’s outrageous, Chase! How will you get by?”
“I’ve got some money. I don’t do things that are costly. I’ll survive if I don’t land another job this summer.”
“I’ll talk to him—”
I moved closer to Nancy and settled my hands on her arms. “Please don’t. I’ll feel shittier than I already do.”
“What can I do to help?”
A slight grin started on my face. No wonder Pierce loved Nancy like a grandmother. She genuinely cared about people and wanted to be a source of comfort. I should’ve insisted on living in an available room that Bri and Gavin had offered me in their house, but I’d gotten caught up in what a great time I’d had at the Pruitts’. Plus, Mr. Pruitt and Pierce had said they wanted to stay here. I couldn’t bear the possibility that Mr. Pruitt would cut her off from his family because she wanted me to be okay and verbalized it. Nancy was a great friend, whom I had learned from that real family could be
the people who entered your life and became the lifeline you never knew you needed.
“Have a cup of coffee with me before I go.”
“Beth will see sense.” The protectiveness in her tone was plain as day, and damn me, because that kind of loyalty made my chest ache. She was a loving woman, and while I didn’t know a lot about her, I got what mattered; we just clicked. She’d had a whole other life that I probably couldn’t have imagined. “And if she doesn’t, another lady will.”
I lightly prodded her arm with my elbow. “Can I take you with me, Nancy? You always make me feel great about myself.”
“Chase, hon, I am just a call away. You hear?”
***
Bethany
When no one was near my cubicle, I peeked at my phone and found two missed calls from Chase, along with one message that just appeared on my screen:
Chase: Whenever you’re ready, let me explain. =(
The emoticon conveyed how I felt. Doing the random background checks kept me busy and I hadn’t thought about Chase for most of the day.
Me: There’s nothing to say. You had double the fun. But count me out from now on.
There was no reply from him, which was good.
Instead of texting me like he said he would, Pierce came to check up on me in person before he went to a meeting with Uncle Anton, who hadn’t been very talkative with anyone. When I went on my bathroom break, I hadn’t seen Chase up front. His navy blue Nissan Altima hadn’t been in the employee parking lot when Pierce parked his Mustang, and there hadn’t been many cars there. Maybe Chase wanted to finish up whatever he was about to do with Cassidy, or go to her for more.
I’d respond to Mariska and Jake’s messages later on, because one of them would call me or they’d both call me. I’d have to talk Mariska into convincing Jake not to come here and approach Chase. It would draw unwanted attention.
By the time it was late into the afternoon, my stomach rumbled. I thought I could go without lunch today since I hadn’t had an appetite, but my body clearly wouldn’t be denied. I guess I had that “do not fuck with me” sign on my forehead, because other than the morning greetings, I’d been left to own devices until Mrs. Clark came towards me.
She rested her arms on top of the thin stand that served as my barrier from other people and looked at me inscrutably. “Cassidy is here to see you and she isn’t allowed to come in here.” She tipped her chin up towards the door. “You’ll have to go out to see her. Since you didn’t have lunch and you’ve completed most of your assignments in the system, take your time.” Briskly, she glanced at the door once more and headed toward another cubicle.
