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“What the hell was that just now?” I asked when the door closed after her. All of a sudden, I felt restless.
I was getting worried for her, and I didn’t like the feeling at all. Something bad happened to her and she left just like that. I disliked the fact that she left without even telling us what the problem was, especially if it was serious. I didn’t want her to deal with it all by herself.
“I don’t know. She didn’t look well at all.”
“Well, we need to help her. We can’t just let her deal with whatever that is happening to her on her own. This is obviously something that is important to her a lot.”
Patrick frowned, his face twisted in concern. “Yes, but how can we do that? We don’t even know what is going on.”
“Then we need to track her down. She is important, Patrick. So if she needs help, we have to be there for her.”
He nodded. “Yes. I agree.”
“Then let’s go.”
15
Cassie
I couldn’t believe this. No. This wasn’t happening to me.
As I stood in ankle deep water in my rental house, I wondered if I did something terribly wrong and this was my punishment. Because there was no other way to explain the deep trouble I was in—literally and figuratively speaking.
The old pipes had burst and all of my things were ruined. I had repaired those pipes several times, but there was a limit to how much you can try to repair something old before it finally decides to completely stop functioning. I walked through water and inspected the damage in every room, my tears soaking my whole face. My clothes were wet and I was trembling from the cold water.
Not only had my house been a mess, but I was also a mess—a crying mess. From the moment my landlord called me and told me my whole place was flooded, I felt like I was drowning, finally reaching the bottom of all my problems and troubles, and there was no going back to the surface.
I didn’t have the money to fix the damage. I was completely broke, and I relied on earning enough with my new job, so I would be able to pay off my debts. I hoped I could get myself out of my difficult situation in a few months, but now... Now this happened and I had no idea what I was going to do.
The landlord was a complete jerk, and he didn’t want to help me at all. He didn’t have any understanding for my problem, and the worst thing was that he’d said he was just going to condemn the house. He was going to condemn it! Just like that! He didn’t care that I didn’t have anywhere to live in this moment, and since I didn’t have money at all, I couldn’t find any other place.
I was without money, my things were destroyed, and I was homeless.
I reached the bottom and I had no idea what to do now.
I picked some old boxes that were luckily undamaged and tried to box up my stuff and save them, but I was shaking and sobbing. I could barely even walk. I told myself to take deep breaths, but I couldn’t calm down. I was all alone and I didn’t know what I was going to do now.
My phone rang and I whimpered, knowing who was calling me. Travis and Patrick had tried to reach me several times, but I hadn’t answered to their calls. I couldn’t when I was so ashamed and didn’t want them to witness this. I didn’t want to include them in this mess.
I supported myself against the wall, inhaling the horrible, damp smell in the air. Everywhere I looked there was water—soaking my furniture, electronics, clothes that I’d left around the place... It was a disturbing image and I didn’t want them to see this.
Everything had gone so well. This night had been fun and romantic, but now it turned into a disaster.
The sudden knocks on my door startled me. I winced, staring at my door in panic. Was that the landlord who came to throw me out?
I approached the door with a lump in my throat. I opened it and gasped when I saw Patrick and Travis on my doorstep. Oh no.
“Cassie,” Patrick said, looking relieved to see me. “We’ve been so worried about you.”
“Fuck, Cassie, you’re all wet.” Travis was frowning, reaching with his hands to touch me, but then he looked over my shoulder and halted. “What happened here?” I blushed, ashamed more than ever. No. They weren’t supposed to see this. What were they doing here?
“How did you find me?”
“Since you didn’t answer your calls, we searched for your address in the company files. We had to check on you. Now tell us—what happened?”
“I-I …” I sighed. There was no way I could hide something like this from them. “The old pipes burst and my whole place is now flooded.” I couldn’t prevent my tears from overflowing, and I turned my back to them so they wouldn’t see me cry.
I put some distance between us, not able to look them in the eyes. “My things are ruined, and I have nowhere to go now. The landlord told me he is going to condemn this place, so I’m pretty much screwed. I didn’t want you to see this because it’s so embarrassing. That was why I didn’t answer your calls.”
