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After I got my crying under control, I looked up at Cass with a watery smile. “Thank you. I needed to hear that. What do I do now?” I huffed and flopped back on the couch. “I have no job, no man, no home. I’m floundering. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Well, I have a solution for one of those problems. Maybe two. For as long as you need it.”
I was intrigued, but I was hoping she wouldn’t invite me to stay with her. I loved her with everything in me, but I could not share a home with her. I was too messy. I wasn’t a slob but always had papers strewn everywhere and loved my organized chaos. Cass was a neat freak. I would drive her crazy in no time.
“Cass, I love you, but I can’t live with you. I’m only crashing here for a week or so.”
“You’ve said that already. And no, you’re not staying with me. Me coming home to your clothes and mess all around me every day? That’s a no from me, dawg,” she said, making me laugh at her use of the Randy JacksonAmerican Idolline. “I was thinking you could use the family cabin. It’s empty most of the year. Momma and Pop have been taking vacations out of the country, and I hate going there alone. Lucas hasn’t been there in God knows how long, so it’s basically up there collecting dust. You can head up there and stay as long as you’d like. I already ran it by my parents, and they said they didn’t mind if you stayed as long as you need it. You know they love you.”
Cass’ parents were the best. During the time I had known her, she had invited me to her parents’ house many a night for dinner, and they became surrogate parents to me. They knew I was gay and how my parents had disowned me, so they proclaimed me their second son.
“And I love them. But that’s too generous, even for you guys. I can’t just sit up there in a cabin, getting fat and not paying my way. Thank you, but no, I can’t.”
She huffed and pegged me with a withering look. I knew where this was going. She was about to use logic I couldn’t argue with—not without her taking it as a slight to our friendship. She did that shit all the time, and I always fell for it.
“You can’t say no, Tristan. My parents have already asked for groceries to be delivered and the cabin to be aired out. And you’re going to pay your way. You’re going to write two chapters a week for my review of this manuscript you’ve been working on. You have no excuse as to why you can’t finish. Also,” she said, holding up her hand before I could protest, “Momma and Pop said it’s a late birthday gift, so you have to go. They’ll be really upset if you say no to that.”
She and her parents did not play fair. They knew I hated handouts, and I wasn’t her friend because they were rich. But they liked to give extravagant gifts. They were thoughtful people, all of them, and were loyal to a fault.
Cass and her parents knew this would be hard for me. And they were doing what they could to make the transition as easy for me as possible. That thought had me tearing up again, but not from pain. It was heartwarming that they cared about me that much. Again, tears trailed down my cheeks.
“You guys are the best.” I sniffled, pulling her in for a hug. “Fine, I’ll go to your shitty cabin,” I joked when I pulled back. I was sure nothing about their cabin would be shitty. “Where is it. and when do I leave?”
“It’s in the mountains, but not too far up. We’re Black. We don’t do a lot of nature.” That pulled a wet laugh from my throat. “The nearest neighbors are half a mile away, so it’s secluded but not overly so. You can leave now if you want.” She laughed at the expression on my face. “Okay, not now. How about tomorrow? It’s Friday. You ain’t got no job. You ain’t got shit to do.”
“Okay, Smokey,” I said to her with a full belly laugh. Only she could pull that out of me at a time like this. “Fine. I’ll do it. Under one condition… you visit me in a month. Make sure I’m not up there losing my mind and redrumming all over the place.”
“Jesus, what is with us today? All these pop culture references.” We both laughed at how childish we were being, but I enjoyed the banter. As hurt as I was, and I was hurt, she was making it seem like it would actually be okay. ThatIwouldbe okay.
“I’ll get you the keys and the address later today,” she said. “I gotta head into work. I told Jacob I was going to be late. I think he’s letting me get away with it because of how he did you yesterday. He knows I’ll walk if you say the word.”
“And I won’t. You don’t need the job, but you love it. I would never ask you to give that up.”
“But I love you too. More than that job. It’s not right. But don’t worry. I’m going to find a way to expose David.”
I had told her what happened last night during one of my many crying fits. To say she was pissed would be an understatement. It took me more time than I would have liked to get her to give me her word that she wouldn’t quit or try to defend me at work to get my job back. It seemed like she had found a loophole.
“Cass…” I pleaded.
“Nope. You can’t make me promise anything else. I won’t quit, and I won’t ask for your job back. But this, I’m going to do, and you can’t stop me.” Her smug grin made me roll my eyes because she knew she had me by the balls, figurately speaking. She should have been a lawyer.
“Fine.” I threw my hands up and let her win. Her smile grew wider, and I threw a couch pillow at her.
“Gotta go. Try not to mope too much. Get your things together and be ready to leave first thing in the morning. Smile.” She squeezed my shoulder. “This is a good thing. I can feel it. Oh, one last condition.” I rolled my eyes at her, but she looked dead serious. “Take some time to heal, love. You went through some hard blows in one day. I don’t know how you’re able to walk around, let alone function like a normal person.” She placed her hand on my chin, raising it to look at her. “Let the fresh air and nature and being in a bomb cabin help you find you. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”
I gave her a small smile. Once she’d left, I sank back on the couch. At least I had somewhere to stay for the time being. And I could write. I would be okay not having a man. So all my problems were solved. For now. Before I could give any more thought to anything, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I almost threw it across the room when I saw it was Devin. I knew I should have blocked him, but I had completely forgotten when I left the apartment. I opened the message and read.
Devin:I know you hate me right now. I hate myself for hurting you. But can we talk about this? We can work it out. Don’t give up on us so easily. I made a mistake, but I can make it up to you. Please, baby.
I didn’t answer back, but I also didn’t block his number. Even though I knew I was setting myself up for disappointment, it made me feel a little better that he wanted me back and was begging me to come back. And that made me a narcissist. Not wanting to deal with that bit of information, I put my phone on Do Not Disturb. Only Cass and her parents could get through, which were the only people I wanted to hear from. I pulled my suitcases to the middle of the floor, sat, and sorted my things. I needed to organize for my trip to the mountains.
Chapter4
Tristan
Driving the two and a half hours up the mountains was peaceful. Looking around at the lush green trees, the smell of the fresh air and the empty roads did wonders for my fragile self-esteem and inner peace. I was able to block out the bullshit for two and a half hours and allow my mind to focus on me for a change.
Cass was right. This would be good for me. My mind already felt clearer, and I could formulate a loose outline of a novel. Not the one I was currently writing—that was a love story. Call me cynical, but I didn’t want anyone to have a happily ever after. Not right now. If this book did well, maybe I would revisit it. Right now, I wanted grit, I wanted action, I wanted fighting, and I wanted no romantic interests. The tragedy of that train of thought made me feel like I could actually make this book work. I could see the book happening as if it were a movie in my head. That never happened with any other book I started. The scenes, the characters, the plot—everything was mapped out. All I had to do was write it down.
