Chapter 13
Emmy
As soon as we get out of the truck, the front door to his parents’ house flies open, and before I know what is happening, Cas’s mum sweeps me up in a hug. She is a beautiful woman with dark brown hair, and I noticed her eyes are the same deep blue shade as Cas’s. She steps back and smiles from ear to ear. She turns to Cas and wraps him up in a hug.
“Emmy, it is so lovely to meet you finally. I’m May, that handsome man standing at my door is Daniel. Come on, let’s get inside, and you can meet everyone else.”
She turns back towards her house, Cas’s dad waiting for her at the door with a smile.
He raises his hand to me, “Nice to meet you, Emmy.”
Then, no sooner did they come out; they went back inside with Scruff following behind them.
Cas puts his hands on my arms and turns me around to face him, “Hey you, ok? I know they can be a bit much, but they mean well, she was just really happy to meet you”, he looks so concerned for me that it makes my heart skip a beat.
It was never like this with Chad; he never cared about my wellbeing or stopped to ask how I was. His mother was lovely, but I could always tell she preferred Hayleigh to me. Seeing Cas’s mum and dad so happy to meet me and his brothers hiding behind the curtains feels so overwhelmingly lovely. I look up to Cas and smile “I’m perfect. Come on, let’s get inside before they send a search party out”
We walk through the front door, it’s a beautiful open plan space with the stairs off to the left, to the right is the living area and beyond a beautiful archway is the kitchen and dining area. I see Cole sitting in the living area, he lifts his head from his phone, “Hi Emily”, I smile back and say hello, but what is more hilarious is how the rest of Cas’s brothers are standing in a line waiting with huge smiles on their faces.
When Cas notices them, he shakes his head, “Really, you lot? Is this really necessary?”
The first of Cas’s brothers to step forward looks nothing like Cas, he has sandy blonde hair slightly on the longer side and his eyes are mesmerising. One eye is the lightest blue I have ever seen and the other is a deep chocolate brown colour. I realise a little too late that I’m staring and of course Cas’s brother calls me out “Are you reconsidering your choice of brother Emmy? It’s ok I know how irresistible I am and so do the rest of my brothers. I’m Archie by the way”
he holds his hand out.
My face blazes with being caught staring, but it isn’t because I fancy him, of course he’s attractive, it was just because he has the loveliest eyes I have ever seen, but of course I don’t say that, as a matter of fact I don’t bloody say anything. I take his hand, and he makes a dramatic show of bowing and kissing the back of it. Cas clears his throat, and it sounds like he mutters something about a ‘death wish’ but I can’t be sure. Archie laughs it off and heads off towards the kitchen.
Like some comical show, the next brother steps up, but before he says anything, Cas steps up to my side, “Emmy, that’s Nate, he’s the same age as Archie; they’ve been best friends since nursery and then Archie’s parents died, our parents adopted him. Then we have the twins, Ethan and Rafe, or Raphael, as mum likes to call him. She isn’t religious or anything, but she liked the film Ninja Turtles more. Then the grouch and boss man, who you already know as Cole, and then of course there is the best one, which is me,”
he’s smiling pretty pleased with himself for the quick round of introductions.
Archie saunters back into the room and says “Who owes me money?”
I look between Cas and Archie wondering what was going on.
Cas bursts out laughing and Ethan, Rafe and Nate all put their hands in their pockets, pulling out money and dropping it into Archie’s hands, grumbling about it being a fix. They walk into the kitchen as Archie walks over to Cas and drops half the money in his hand, “Nice doing business with you, brother”, they both burst out laughing, and clearly, I’ve missed the joke. Seeing my bewildered expression, he says, “We had a bet, Emmy, on how quickly it would take Cas to be Mr Jealous and not to let the rest of our dear brothers introduce themselves to you.”
Cas turns to me, smiles, grabs my hand, and walks me into the kitchen.
We sit down at a beautiful long oak dining table, which easily fits 10 people, and as we all take our seats, I notice there is one vacant place but it has a plate in front of it and it’s next to Cole. While at the office, I noticed that Cole had a few visits from his girlfriend, Tracey, and I have to say I don’t care for her at all. She is so negative all the time, and Cole constantly looks miserable.
Cas sees me staring and like always he seems to know what I’m thinking he says “It’s not for who you think, they aren’t together anymore and she’s never been invited here. Sunday’s are sacred. That’s for Lacey his best friend. She’s practically family”
everyone else is deep in their own pocket of conversations.
May is flitting around the place setting the table. I asked her earlier if she wanted any help, and she told me I’d do no such thing and sit down and relax. Here I am, next to Cas, completely and utterly content. He turns on his side to me, “I have an idea”
“Okay…what kind of idea?”
He smiles big “Well, I asked you on a date for next weekend”
I nod “So I thought it would be good if we played kind of a getting to know each other game.”
“That sounds like a pretty good idea, but I think we know quite a bit so far anyway.”
He gives that some thought, “yeah, you’re right, but this game will tell us more, but it has to be by text”
I look at him like he’s lost the plot “, you know, so that I can keep your answers.”
I’m just about to reply when the front door slams shut and a woman’s voice yells “Sorry!”
I turn to look, and who I presume to be Lacey runs into the kitchen.
Her hair is a beautiful ice blonde colour and I’m sure on a day when she isn’t rushing it’s straight down her back, but today it’s a wild tangle around her face. She’s carrying a bunch of pink carnations and a bottle of white wine.
She walks over to May and gives her the wine and flowers “Sorry I’m late Mrs P”
then she’s a flurry again as she goes to the head of the table and drops a kiss on the top of Mr Peterson’s head “Hi Mr P”
then she makes her way to her seat and plops down, no one is paying too much attention, except of course Cole, it’s as if her state of rushing is a regular occurrence. When she scans the table again her eyes flit past me and then almost comically, they land back on me and bug out “Oh my god! You’re Emily! Well it’s about time you and Cas got together and we got to meet you, between you and me he’s been a pain lately all Em…”
everyone bursts into laughter. I can’t help the smile that grows on my face as Cole puts his hand on Lacey’s arm, stopping her in her tracks, he shakes his head ever so slightly, and I look over to see Cas’s ears turning pink at the end and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
That sets off my giggles even more; we’re all laughing even harder before we know it. Eventually, May clears her throat, “Ah jeez, Lacey, you don’t half put your foot in it sometimes”
Poor Lacey is looking around clueless, so I take pity on her.
“ We’re not together, Lacey, we’re just…friends?”
I look towards Cas hoping he will help me out of this awkward conversation.
Still, he smiles from ear to ear and shrugs “You know my thoughts Emmy”
I have no response to that and thankfully I don’t need one because May decides at that moment to start dishing out the most wonderful Sunday dinner I have ever seen in my life.
Once we all eat as much as our stomachs will allow, May takes my hand and links her other arm with Lacey “Come on, ladies, we’re going to go outside and relax in the garden while the boys tidy up”
We hear a chorus of grumbles before May turns and shuts the patio doors. There is a circular seating area, and we each pick a sofa.
“You know Emily it’s been a while since I’ve seen a real smile on Cas’s face”
May’s eyes bore into me and I worry she’s going to tell me I’m not good enough for her son, but she surprises me by saying “I just want to thank you because I know it’s everything to do with you…”
I go to shake my head and tell her she’s wrong. Still, she pins me with a glare “don’t you dare sell yourself short lady. Put it this way, Sunday Dinners are sacred to my boys, and I can count on one hand the girls that have been brought here”
she points to Lacey and then to me and nods her head “Yep! Just the two of you. Even when he was with that horrid girl, he never brought her to our Sunday dinners. Now make of that what you will. I’m going to go grab us a drink” then she’s off leaving Lacey and me sat in a kind of awkward silence.
“Holy shit this awkward!”
her voice startles me and right away we’re laughing again, and I decide that Lacey is going to be one of my new friends, there’s just something about her that screams friendly.
“So, you’re Cole’s best friend?”
It’s not the best opening line to start a conversation but it’s the only one I can think of.
She sighs, a mix of frustration and sadness, “Yeah, that’s me. Best friend zoned!”
When I don’t say anything else, she looks at me and continues, “We’ve been best friends since primary school. He was so quiet back then, and I remember one of the older boys picking on him one day. They were kicking him while he was all scrunched up on the floor and I just…saw red! I ran over and kicked that little shit right where it hurt and voila, I gained my very bestest friend”
her smile is soft as she talks about Cole and I can’t help wondering if there is more there than meets the eye.
“What about you and CJ?”
I turn my head to her and see her ridiculous eyebrows wagging, setting off our laughter again. I sober up when I realise I don’t know what we are. “Honestly?”
she nods “I haven’t a clue what we are yet. I’ve just gotten out of a pretty toxic long relationship, but I swear in the short time I’ve known Cas I just…feel more. Does that sound like some stupid fairy-tale?”
She shakes her head “Not at all, not even a little bit”
my phone chimes and I open it up.
Cas
If you could be a romantic place, where would you be?
Cas
p.s the game starts now
I smile at his ridiculousness.
Me
hmm that’s a tricky one… I would probably be an aquarium or a park on a sunny day
Cas
You can only pick one Emmy
Me
Aquarium
Cas
Good to know…trifle is ready by the way and if I were you two, I’d hurry before Archie eats it all…
“Apparently they have trifle in the house…”
I don’t even finish what I am saying before Lacey jumps up.
“There is no way in hell that little shit Archie is having my trifle again!!!”
I laugh and follow her inside.
*********
It’s late when we pull up outside the house and Scruff is going crazy at the back of the truck. When we open the door, he zooms out and runs around the garden, grabbing his lead from the porch. I decide to take him for a quick walk.
“Cas I’m just going to take Scruff for a quick walk, I won’t be long”
I don’t wait for him to respond before I’m walking down the drive.
Turning off our street and heading towards where the park is, Scruff is happily walking along beside me. The streets are silent when it’s this late and I find myself loving the calm. I look up at the sky and the stars that are out, not watching where I’m going.
I look ahead just a second too late before I see him. I collide with the man standing there and fall backwards hitting my head on the pavement. I’ve only been on the floor seconds at the most, but it feels a lot longer. Everything sounds muffled, I can hear Scruff barking his little head off while the man just stands there in front of me. I’m assuming he’s looking down at me or maybe Scruff, but I can’t see his face properly it’s just dark, the man takes a step forward and as if in slow motion he starts to reach down towards me.
That’s when I hear shouting in the distance, but I can’t make out what they’re saying or who it is. The man looks up and over my head at something behind me and then he turns and runs away. I’m motionless on the floor and that’s when I see Cas drop to the ground beside me, his hands roaming all over my face and body to check if I’m ok. My head starts to throb and then I realise he’s talking to me.
“Emmy! Are you ok?”
I turn to look at him and nod my head, yes, but the motion makes me feel a little sick. “I. I hit my head on the floor and now it hurts but apart from that I’m ok”
Cas puts his arms underneath mine and lifts me up, I squeal in protest “Cas! Put me down, I’m too heavy”
I wiggle in his arms, but he just grips me harder.
“Please princess, I lift heavier than you at work, trust me, you aren’t heavy, and there is no way I’m letting you walk back after you just hit your head”
We make it back to the house with Scruff trailing behind us.
“How did you know where I would be?”
Cas sets me down once we’re inside before he answers me, “I heard you shout to say you were taking Scruff for a walk and I did shout back to ask you to wait for me but you mustn’t have heard me, so I started walking and that’s when I saw that guy. Did you get a good look at him? Something wasn’t right with him, Emmy. I shivered at his words and couldn’t shake the feeling he was right.
I shrugged, “It was dark, Cas, his face was so dark, I think he wore some sort of mask. I don’t know, I can’t be sure, but I was looking up at the stars one minute, and then he was standing in front of me.”
He steers me towards the stairs, and we walk to my bedroom.
He sat me on the edge of the bed, “Sit here and wait for me. I’ll be two minutes.”
Then he was off out the room and downstairs.
I decided to get changed for bed and then sat there and waited for him to come back upstairs and when he did, I couldn’t help but laugh. He brought some ice cream, painkillers, water, a cup of tea and a wet flannel. He came and sat next to me on the bed and gently pulled my head down so he could check the back, it stung when he touched it.
“It feels like a little bit of a lump, but I can’t see any blood. I’ve brought you some painkillers to take,”
he hands me the two little pills and I knock them back with the water, then I settle into bed and drink my tea.
“Thank you, Cas…for everything. Seems like I always need saving and you’re always there for me,”
he nods and then goes to get up, and I panic. I don’t want to be alone, “please don’t go”, I whisper. He stops and turns around, and without another word, he strips down to his boxers and t-shirt and climbs in bed next to me, grabs hold of me, and tucks himself in behind me. My eyes start to drift and pretty soon I drift.
**********
When I wake up, I feel Cas’s heavy arm draped across my stomach and his head is next to mine on my pillow. I need to get up soon and start getting ready for work, but for now I’m enjoying cuddling with him without a care in the world. I feel him begin to stir and his arm tightens, cuddling into me further. I turn my head to see a soft smile play at the sides of his mouth.
“It’s rude to stare, Emmy”, his voice has that raspy edge.
“I’d say I’m sorry but I’m not”
I say as he smiles softly and opens his eyes. He grabs me by my waist and pulls me to him, burying his face in my neck, I wrap my arms around him and hold him close, “Thank you for staying with me last night, Cas”, his grip tightens on me.
“I called Cole earlier this morning and told him what happened, he said you should take the day off today. They’re needing to shut the site down for a bit anyway, there was some damage done to some of the equipment last night again”
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach, there seems to be an awful lot of things happening since I came around and for a moment I have the horrible feeling it has something to do with me.
“Emmy, did you hear me?”
I shake my head “Sorry I zoned out there, what did you say?”
Cas looks worriedly at me. “I was telling you that I need to head to the site to help sort the mess out, but I’ll be back in a bit, and I was checking if you would be okay?”
I nod at him, “Yeah, of course I will, I’ll give Hayleigh a call and see if she wants some company”.
**********
Two hours later, I’m sat in Hayleigh’s front room, recounting the events from the previous day. She sits at the edge of her seat, her hands wrapped around her mug, listening intently to me. She decided, like the amazing best friend she is, to take the day off work with me. So far, we’ve demolished a whole box of donuts and drank at least a gallon of coffee. When I’m done telling her everything that happened, she gets this strange look in her eyes and then, like a lightbulb going off, she jumps up, spilling coffee everywhere.
“Oh, my fucking god!!! Emmy, this will sound weird, but do you think it could have been Chad? Last night he came here so late looking for Pete, and he was dressed head to toe in black! I thought it was odd at first, but when Pete got home, he said Chad had been going out late for a run most nights. Apparently, he’s trying to sort himself out, but I definitely don’t buy it”
“I don’t know if it was him or not. I didn’t get a good look at the guy, but it crossed my mind. None of this stuff happened until I broke up with him, plus he’s been so cruel every time I’ve seen him, so I wouldn’t put it past him”
“Yeah, about that. I told Pete that if his brother didn’t cut the shit out then he wasn’t being part of the wedding and if he didn’t like it then there wouldn’t be a wedding at all”
my mouth hangs open in shock.
“Hayleigh! You can’t threaten not to get married just because of me. I told you no matter what, I would deal with him anyway. I was thinking of asking Cas to be my plus one. Is that ok?”
She smirked at me and waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, you're plus one, huh? I bet he’s already plussed your one, hasn’t he?”
I throw a cushion at her head as we both dissolve into fits of giggles, something I hadn’t realised I needed until this moment.
We spend the whole day just talking, eating and watching cheesy romance movies, but by the time teatime comes around I feel so much better. My phone buzzes with a message coming in;
Cas
If you could be a takeout, what would you be?
Me
hmm…I’ve eaten rubbish all day so today I would probably be a Chinese takeout to finish off my day
Cas
Good to know *winky face emoji*
Cas
I’m just finishing up now. I won’t be long then I’ll be home
My stomach does a little flip, and I know it’s stupid because it is his home, but it feels nice that he’s saying home as if it’s both our home.
Me
Ok *smiley face emoji* I’m at Hayleigh’s house so I’ll make my way back soon
Cas
No need I’ll come get you just give me about half hour x
Pete walks through the kitchen door, and his eyes widen when they see me. Then, he looks behind him, and I see why he is so nervous. Chad walks through the door and stops in his tracks when he sees me. Something flashes behind his eyes but it’s gone no sooner than I saw it.
“Try or say anything bad to her dickhead and you can fuck off out of my house. M’kay?”
Hayleigh snaps at him. I manage to hold back the smile that’s wanting to burst out of my face. He nods, and I see Pete breathe a sigh of relief while still keeping a watchful eye on his brother.
“I’m going now anyway”, I get up and hug Hayleigh “, thank you for that”, I whisper in her ear. When I pull back, she’s smirking at me. I turn to face Pete and give him a hug “it’s good to see you Pete”
he smiles down at me and hugs me back a little too tight, then I turn to face Count Dickless “Chad”
I nod at him and go to collect my things from the living room. I can hear Hayleigh whispering to him about not starting anything, and only when I turn around do I see he’s following me into the room. Standing there, He looks nervous, not knowing what to do or say. I gather my things and go to walk to the door.
“Emily. Please give me a few minutes. I know I don’t deserve it, but I just wanted to apologise to you.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Chad had never apologised before. I knew he didn’t deserve the time of day, but we had to be civil for Hayleigh and Pete’s sake.
“Fine”, I turned around to face him “, I have a few minutes before Cas picks me up”, his eyes flash dangerously for a second before he schools his features.
“I know what I did to you, the things I said, were cruel and uncalled for and I really, truly am sorry for hurting you Emily.”
I nod once, “Ok, thanks for apologising, Chad.”
I turn my back to him and walk out, but I feel him grab my arm, and he spins me around.
“He isn’t a good guy, Emily, your knight in shining armour isn’t so squeaky clean”
I roll my eyes at him, I should have known he wasn’t being genuine in apologising. I rip my arm from his grip and level him with a stare, “I should have known you weren’t really sorry. Cas is a million times the man you could ever hope to be. Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. We aren’t friends, Chad.”
I catch Hayleigh’s eyes over his shoulder, and she puts her thumbs up at me.
Just as I reach the front door, Cas pulls up in his truck. He gets out and meets me halfway, wrapping me in a hug, “thank you”, I whisper to him. “Oh, this isn’t for Count Dickless, this is because I missed you Emmy, but I have to admit pissing him off makes me smile”
We walk to Cas’s truck and for once I don’t ever look back.
Entry #41
I thought for sure that call would work.
I wanted him wondering and worrying, but he didn’t bite and she didn’t push.
Useless piece of shit that she is. She’s been trying to make it up to me.
I’ll have to work harder.
****
Entry #42
I watched her laughing. So carefree. So beautiful.
She was the light and soul of the party and I didn’t want to drag my eyes away.
Then he arrived. Him and the rest of his jacked up brothers.
The way she looked at him. like he was the only man in the world!
It should have been me! She should have looked at me like that!
One day she will and if she refuses…well then. I guess she will have brought it on herself.
****
Entry #50
I didn’t plan on seeing her.
It was pure luck that she left the house alone. I could have cried I was so happy.
She wasn’t paying attention, she very rarely is.
She was looking up at the stars and noticed me a little too late.
Then she fell back and cracked her pretty little head on the floor.
For a second I thought about taking her, just reaching down and hauling her away, but of course he had to save the day.
It's ok. The plan is still on. Plus I enjoyed taking it out on their precious site.