CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
CASSIE
It’s amazing how a single phone call has the potential to ruin a life completely.
Hours, minutes, seconds could be the distinction between happiness and disaster.
Your life crumbles and you wonder if there was anything you could have done to stop it.
If you could have been better, if you didn’t do enough.
It’s always the wondering that gets you.
The regret, the constant wishing that things could have been different.
Regret in my opinion is the most overpowering emotion. It eats at your mind long into the future, long after the incident has passed. I’ve always tried to live my life without regrets. Taking the bull by the horns is my motto.
Unfortunately somethings are just beyond my control.
***
The music thrums against my ribs like a second heartbeat, the bass heavy enough to make the floor vibrate under my heels. I’m three drinks in and I feel good.
Loose. Alive. For the first time in weeks. All the stress I’ve been feeling melts away. I lift my arms above my head, moving to the beat, my dress riding a little higher with each sway of my hips.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a prickle starts. A slow, creeping sensation that slides over my skin like a caress. A whisper that someone’s watching me. I pause, the hair at the nape of my neck stands on end.
The urge to glance around the club fills me. to find whoever it is. But I know it’s futile. I’ve become accustomed to this feeling. Anytime I talk about it, my friends tell me it’s all in my head. Maybe I’m just imagining it all. But the feeling refuses to go away.
Like someone’s waiting for me. I shake it off.
Stop being paranoid, Cassie.
I grab Chloe’s hand, pulling her towards me as we dominate the dancefloor.
I laugh, wild and free. Nothing’s going to ruin tonight for me.
My friend and I move in tandem to the beat.
Her blonde hair flies everywhere as she jumps up.
She’s completely plastered. Chloe has famously low tolerance.
I giggle at the drunken sheen in her blue eyes.
I’m about to suggest we go back to Maxine who’s standing by the bar like a drill sergeant, her eyes poring over the room. But then I feel a hand wrap around my waist.
“Hey, baby girl,” a voice whispers in my ear.
I whirl around to find a man with greased-back hair and a smile sharp enough to cut.
He’s cute though. So I indulge him for a second, dancing along.
But as soon as he things I’m distracted, his hands begin to wander a little too far south.
I catch his wrist before he can slide his fingers any lower giving him a sugar-sweet smile.
“Easy, cowboy.”
He laughs like he thinks I’m flirting. Like I’m impressed.
So dumb.
I peel away from him with a final flick of my hips, glancing at Chloe who is still lost in her own world. She needs some water to sober up and then we’re out of here. I walk towards Maxine who’s lips are pressed down in a frown.
“Would it kill you to let loose. Maxy?” I ask, one of my best friends whose caramel-toned skin and signature side-eye could stop traffic.
“Yes,” she replies without hesitation. “Can we go now?’
“I can’t believe you came all the way to Ibiza and you won’t even have one drink,” I mutter, signaling for the bartender. I ask for a glass of water and eh steps back to get it for me.
“I’m here to watch over you two and make sure you don’t get into any trouble.”
Her eyes are fixed on Chloe and I watch as her gaze turns sharper and she leans upright.
“Speaking of trouble,” she grits out, nodding towards our friend.
The greasy haired guy I was dancing with earlier is now prowling around Chloe. I watch her shake her head politely, trying to step away. then I see the asshole’s smile twist into something nasty. He tries to pull her closer but Chloe rips her hand away. Maxine and I are already walking over.
“I said no!” Chloe states, her voice small.
The asshole then makes a mistake. He mutters loud enough for us to hear over the music.
“Stupid bitch!”
Oh, hell no.
Something inside me snaps. Like a whip. I plaster on my best party-girl smile and saunter up to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder like we’re old friends.
“Heyy, there you are!” I purr, my voice syrupy.
He blinks, confused but intrigued, his gaze sliding down my body like I’m dessert. So fucking predictable.
I nudge him toward the door.
“Come on, hotshot. Let’s get some air.”
He stumbles after me, eager as a puppy. I offer Maxine a quick look, nodding towards Chloe and silently asking that she take care of her. She mouths that I should be careful. But she knows I can handle myself.
Outside, the night air is thick and salty, buzzing with the sounds of distant music and rowdy tourists. I lead him down a side alley, just far enough from the entrance that no one will see. He doesn’t even notice how quiet it gets. How dark.
He’s too busy staring at my ass, my tits. Dumbass.
The second we’re alone, I spin on him, grabbing his wrist and wrenching his arm behind his back in one fluid move. He lets out a yelp of pain, trying to twist away, but I shove him face first against the stone wall.
“W-what the-?”
“Shut up.
My voice is low, cold, deadly. A far cry from the flirty little tease he thought he had a shot with. I lean in close, pressing my lips to his ear.
“You ever call a woman a bitch again,” I murmur, “And I won’t hesitate to break your fucking arm, got it? I have a black belt in Judo so you do not want to test me. Nod if you understand.”
He whimpers something that might be a yes before nodding frantically.
I tighten my grip, just to make sure.
“You’re lucky I’m feeling generous tonight.”
I release him with a shove. He stumbles away without even looking back clutching his wrist, tail tucked firmly between his legs. I watch him go with a satisfied smile.
Once he’s gone, I smooth down my dress and saunter back toward the club entrance like nothing happened, rolling the tension out of my shoulders. Chloe spots me first, brow crinkling when she notices I’m alone.
“You okay?” she asks, her arms folded together.
I flash her a small smile, “Never better.”
“Did you kill him?” Maxine asks, only half joking.
“He left with nothing more than a bruised ego. Next time he’ll think twice before harassing a woman like that,” I inform them. I wrap an arm around Chloe’s shoulder. “Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat.”
Chloe yawns, “Yeah, we’ve had a long day. Let’s head back to the villa.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Maxine sighs, reaching for her phone to order us a cab I’m guessing.
As we leave the club, the feeling I’ve been unable to shake comes back.
Not the feeling that I’m being watched. I’m used to that by now.
This one’s different. Ever since I landed in Ibiza, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that something’s wrong.
maybe it’s just nerves. This is my first vacation in a while.
And I’ve always hated being in unfamiliar places.
Ibiza’s fun but a part of me wants to be back home.
But I promised myself that I’d let loose and have fun here.
“You good?” Chloe asks.
Her head is against my shoulder and we’re both in the back of the cab while Maxine rides in front.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Chlo,” I lie, waving off whatever I’m feeling.
The villa is a quick ride up the cliffside. I don’t even know why I chose it. I hate heights but there’s also a part of me that love to seek some sort of danger, thrill. Adrenaline’s nice sometimes.
When we get back, we pour into the living room of the sprawling house, the large windows giving us a view of the city lights below, the ocean stretching out in the distance. It’s beautiful, peaceful. My dad owns the house
Chloe collapses onto the couch, kicking off her shoes.
“I’m going to crash,” she says, her voice muffled by the pillow she’s buried her face in.
“I’ll join you,” I mutter, ready to head up to my bedroom.
Before I can take a step though, Maxine leans against the doorframe, her eyes meeting mine.
“You okay, Cassie? You’re not thinking about that mysterious Italian stranger again, are you?” she asks.
The problem with being friends with people your whole life is that they become especially attuned to you and the slightest changes in your mood. They know me too well, it’s annoying.
“You mean the best sex I have ever had? I swear I can just give up on sex because no one has even come close. He literally ruined me and if I find that sexy tall glass of milk again, y’all won’t see me for months because I will ride that man through the summer,’ I say jokingly, and we all laugh.
“But seriously it’s not that, it’s nothing, I’m fine,” I say, my voice sounds slightly thin.
Maxine narrows her eyes, not buying it.
I plaster on my best, ‘I’m fine, really’, smile.
“Maxy, we came to Ibiza to have fun, make reckless decision, sleep with questionable men. Your worrying is getting in the way of that. You need to chill, get laid, maybe?”
Chloe snorts from her spot on the couch but I thought she was already asleep.
Maxine rolls her eyes, “Fine. I’ll let loose if you promise to stop acting weird.
“I promise,” I hurriedly agree. “Now, are we going to bed or not? Long day tomorrow.”
We finally call it a night and I retreat to my room, the unease never leaving me. I like awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling, the wind howling outside the large windows. Every time I close my eyes, I can almost feel something creeping closer. I toss and turn for a while.
Everything’s fine. I’m being stupid. I’ll wake up tomorrow, and it’ll be just another day.
But even as I tell myself that, the knot in my stomach only tightens.
***
The ringing of my phone rips through the stillness of the early morning. I jerk upright in bed, heart pounding. For a moment, I just stare at the screen of my phone.
Private Number.
I hate those. I reach for it, not sure what I’m expecting. My heart hasn’t stopped pounding. I exhale a soft breath, trying to calm myself down as I answer.
“Hello?”
“Miss Solis?”
The voice is deep, rough, a man’s voice. Unfamiliar. My throat tightens.
“Yeah?” I rasp, on edge.
“I’m afraid there’s been an incident,” he continues, the words heavy and slow. His voice is slightly accented. But I can’t for the life of me place it.
An incident, he said. The words cause my blood to run cold. Somehow, I know before he eve says it.
“Your father….is dead.”
The world spins. My father. Dead.
I blink hard, trying to clear the fog that’s descending too fast, too thick.
“No, no, you’re wrong. There’s no way.”
“Miss Solis- “
“No, you’ve made a mistake,” I cut him off, my voice rising with each word, the panic starting to break through the shell I desperately try to burrow into.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his tone shifting into something almost apologetic.
The body was found earlier this evening. Your father’s dead, miss. And the circumstances..”
I don’t hear the rest of what he says. The only thing I hear is the rush of blood pounding in my ears. And then, nothing. I drop the phone onto the bed, my hand shaking, my heart slamming against my chest.
I saw my father approximately 16 hours ago. He kissed me on the forehead and told me to have a good trip. He made sure I had everything I could have possibly needed during my stay here. He can’t just be gone.
Some sliver of logic breaks through my panic and I wonder why I’m so willing to believe a stranger. I dive for my phone again, calling the one person I can trust to pull me out of this ditch I’m slowly sliding in to.
But my dad doesn’t answer his phone. I call him three times and each call goes straight to voicemail. So I call the next best person. My uncle picks up on the first ring.
And the grief in his tone is enough to confirm my worst nightmare.
My father is dead. But how the hell did this happen?