Twenty-Six | Cassidy
Twenty-Six
Cassidy
I had the day off, so I got to the hotel early to check-in. It was still fifteen minutes before I could check in, so I sat in the lobby and scrolled through my phone with my suitcase beside me. I didn’t need much since I was only staying the night, but I had been able to fit Sean’s gift in it, which made it easier not to have to lug a ton of stuff around with me. I’d also added a bottle of wine and a few packs of fudge from Sugarplum Sweets so I could drown my sorrows after the party while soaking in a garden tub.
“Cassidy?”
I looked up after hearing my voice and felt my heart jump in my chest. At first, I thought it was Sean standing in front of me, but I immediately recognized the differences. It also helped that I knew Declan was in town.
“Hey, Declan.”
“How’s it going?”
“Good,” I said, putting my phone down beside me. “How are you?”
“I’m doing good as well. I’m in town for the holidays with my family.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels as if he was nervous to be talking to me.
“I met your little girls yesterday at Waldon’s,” I said with a smile. “They were there with your mom.”
“They told me. I heard Carly invited you to dinner as well,” he replied with a chuckle.
“Yes. I feel bad for breaking her little heart. She looked so sad when I told her no.”
“Yeah, she does that. I told my wife, Stephanie, that she gets it from her.”
“She most certainly does not,” a beautiful woman with long brunette hair down to her butt said as she walked up beside him and locked her arm in his.
“Cassidy, this is my wife, Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Cassidy. We grew up together.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, standing up to shake her hand.
“You as well.”
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, immediately hating how rude that sounded. I scrunched my face and shook my head. “I’m sorry. That sounded so rude.”
“Not at all,” Stephanie replied with a laugh. “We’re actually staying here. We were supposed to be going to his parent’s house for dinner, but they seem to have kidnapped our children and have given us another date night since ours was tied up in running errands last night.”
“Ahh. I see. Well, enjoy your night. I won’t keep you guys.”
“Not to sound rude either, but what are you doing here?” Declan asked, eyeing my suitcase.
“My work is having their annual holiday party here tonight, and for some strange reason, I decided to take one of the rooms when another employee canceled their reservation. It’s silly because I have my own place and can’t really afford to be doing this. But here I am.” I lifted my hands and shrugged.
“Sometimes fate intervenes and gives us what we don’t know we need,” Stephanie said. “Maybe this is its way of telling you to slow down and focus on you for a bit. This time of year can get super busy. Do you have kids, too?”
“No.” I shook my head quickly. “I’m not even in a relationship.”
I swallowed hard as I felt her sympathetic gaze. Why was I telling them this? They didn’t need to know my personal details when they were just being friendly, to begin with.
“I mean, not that I would mind one, but then again, maybe not. They’re a lot of work, and I’m always so busy. It’s just not my thing right now.” I lowered my hands to keep from talking with them and clasped them in front of me.
“It sounds like you just haven’t found the right one,” Stephanie said as her words started to fade and her features shifted. “Wait. You said your name is Cassidy?”
I nodded, unsure of where this was going and why she suddenly seemed angry.
She released her arm from her husband’s and turned to face him.
“ This is Cassidy?”
“Yes,” he said quietly, looking down to avoid her death glare.
“Umm, I’m sorry, but I can assure you that whatever you might have heard about me is not true. Especially anything about me and Declan. People sometimes get stuff mixed up, but I actually used to date his brother, Sea—”
“You tell her right now,” Stephanie said, with her hand planted firmly on her hip.
“I don’t think this is the time or place,” Declan said quietly, practically talking through his teeth to avoid letting me hear him.
Stephanie turned and looked at me with a smile forced onto her face.
“My husband has something he needs to tell you.”
“Okay?” I tried to keep my foot still as it started bouncing up and down nervously on the tile floor beneath me.
Declan took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, looking from his wife to me.
“It was never Sean that cheated on you, Cassidy. It was me.”
My eyes bulged, nearly popping out of my head.
“I’m sorry—what?”
“The rumor that went around in high school about someone seeing Sean with another girl—it wasn’t him. It was me. I was the one who was cheating on my girlfriend, but I lied and said it was him.”
A rush of air blew through my pursed lips as I stared at him.
“Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin line as his wife stood beside him with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Why didn’t you say something when it happened?”
“Because I was embarrassed that I got caught. I was an immature asshole who didn’t know how to own up to my mistakes.”
“So you let your brother take the fall for you?”
He nodded.
I could feel my blood pressure rising as anger radiated through me.
“You ruined my relationship with Sean,” I nearly shouted, lowering my voice when a few onlookers took interest. “Twelve years, Declan. That’s how long I have hated your brother for something you did.”
“I’m so sorry, Cassidy. I wish I could go back in time and fix everything, but I can’t. I messed up so much with one stupid lie, and I deserve everything I’ve gotten as a result of it. But I am sorry. Trust me, he hasn’t spoken to me in twelve years, either. He stopped talking to me the day the rumor started. But I thought for sure you and Sean would be able to talk things out. That you would believe him when he told you it wasn’t him.”
“Yeah, well, you were wrong about that. I believed the rumor, and because of that, you ruined one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
I didn’t bother to hear what he had to say as I grabbed my stuff and stormed off.