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The initial excitement of the call floundered, the tone of Mavis’s voice off-putting. Casey frowned as a knot formed in her gut, a restless defensiveness rising in her heart.
“Not really. He moved here for a job, Mavs. All I did was offer him a place to stay. He doesn’t know anyone else in the city yet.” She wrinkled her nose.
“You guys are just... really friendly. It feels weird to me,” she admitted as her voice faltered.
“Well, I mean...” Casey hedged. “Isn’t it better for you, though? That he’s not in Rosewood right now?”
Mavis sighed. “For me? Yeah, I guess.”
“You guess? Mavs, I know you have... er,hadfeelings for him. And he sure as shit still has feelings for you.” Casey rolled her eyes again and returned to a sitting position.
“What has he said to you?”
“He doesn’t have tosayanything. I can see it, feel it.” She frowned, tapping the speaker button again and bringing the phone back to her ear. “He’s conflicted and confused.”
“Case, tell me the truth. Are you guys, like...”
Well, the hell if I know!
Casey dropped her forehead into her left hand. “It doesn’t matter. You’re with Josh, right?”
“Yeah. I am. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about Austin anymore. Or you for that matter!”
What the fuck is happening here?
“Look, I don’t want to fight with you. This is stupid.” She shook her head as a muffled sound in the hallway stole her attention.
“The only thing that’s stupid here is if you’re thinking aboutdatinghim. I can’t let you do it, Case.”
Anger flared, a sudden rush of contention hollowing out her heart. “I don’t think you’re really in a position to tell me—or him—who he can and cannot date.”
“Casey!” she yelled. “My God! All I’m trying to do is protect you! And him! I don’t want to see either of you get hurt!” She sniffled.
“Why would you think he’d hurt me?” Her gaze lifted to the apartment door as something collided with the wall.
“Look, I’ve known him a lot longer than you have. And if he’s still...” She swallowed. “As you say, hung up on me, then I just don’t want you getting caught in the fallout, okay? Not after what happened to you last year.”
The breath jammed in her throat, the words piercing her heart with a dull blade, impaling a wound still raw. She gulped.
“Look, it’s simple. Men look for a rebound. I just don’t want you to become the basketball.”
Casey’s gaze dropped to the couch cushion, Austin’s eager response to her days ago resetting in her mind.Was that all that was? A rebound?Her stomach dropped, plummeting to the floor.
“That was the stupidest analogy I’ve ever heard,” she whispered.
Mavis snorted. “Just keep your eyes open, okay? Don’t get too close,” she warned.
Silence filled the space between them as their words settled, biting into her heart.
“Hey, Case...” murmured Mavis. “He’s not like us.”
“Not like us?”
She sighed. “The Templetons. They just... they come from money. I’m not saying they’re not good people. Because they are. But they justseethings differently, experience the world differently. I’ve watched it my whole life.”
An incoming call interrupted Mavis’s voice. Pulling the phone from her ear, Austin’s name flashed across the screen.
“I hear you, Mavs. I do.”Do I?“But I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go. Lunch shift at Shaker. I have to go get ready.”
