Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Wave was glad Cass had dropped her interest in the files she’d found in their mother’s house. He’d thought about asking Thario to look into the files, but honestly, he didn’t want to invite questions. What if his mom having those files was something awful?
Thinking awful things about his mother wasn’t new territory for him.
She’d done some horrendous things when he was younger.
One time, before Cassandra was born, she’d left him at home for over a week.
He’d had to fend for himself. It had been weird living on his own that week.
After that, he realized he only had himself to rely on.
When Cass had come along, he’d learned to make a bottle and change diapers. His mom’s interest in Cass had lasted for a few months. Then it had been up to him to fill in the gaps. Luckily, his mom had put Cass in daycare while he was at school.
There were a few days that his mom hadn’t taken Cass in, and he’d come home from school to find Cass alone, red-faced and crying.
He’d been angry but never took it out on his sister.
Instead, he beat the heck out of other kids at school.
It earned him suspensions, and he got in trouble at home, but he knew better than to be mean to Cass.
She hadn’t done anything wrong other than being born to a selfish jerk.
“Hey,” Cass said as she moved close, then bumped her shoulder against his.
“Hey, yourself.”
“You look rather intense.”
“Just thinking about when you were a kid.”
“Ah, back when you took care of me.”
He nodded. “Yeah, back then.”
“I have no clue how you did it. I think I would be dead if you hadn’t decided to be a parent to me.”
“I shouldn’t have pulled away when you got older.”
“Dude, you were still young. You were a kid. I don’t blame you for anything you did.
You raised me to be independent.” She tilted her head to the side.
“I don’t remember exactly what you used to say.
It was something like, you have to be your own best friend and treat yourself with respect because no one else will ever be there for you. It helped me after you left.”
“There is a part of me that wishes I had stayed close.”
“You made sure I was taken care of.” Cass screwed her lips up to one side. “So, Gina. How serious are you about her? Because I’ve gotta tell you, I’m not sure you’ll ever do better than her.”
He threw back his head, laughter spilling out. He pulled Cass into a hug and patted her back. She pushed out of his hold and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m serious.”
“I know, and you’re one hundred percent right. I’ll never find anyone as good as Gina is for me. She’s amazing.”
“She was good to us before you showed up. She’s a good person.”
He was still laughing but met her gaze and held it. “I’m glad to hear she was good to you.”
Cass nodded. “Thank you for looking after me when I was a kid.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll always look out for you.” Gina opened the bedroom door and stepped out. “So, are you two about ready to head out and see where Cass will be attending college?”
“Sure, let’s go,” Cass said.
He still needed to find a decent car for his sister. Their mother’s car had been unreliable. He wanted something that wouldn’t die in the middle of the freeway at night.
The place was about fifteen minutes away in good traffic, thirty on a bad day. They had plenty of student parking, and she could take public transportation if she needed to, but she still needed a reliable car.
This week, he would start looking for one. It might take a few weeks, but it was time to get on it. Gina’s car would be delivered in a couple of days, and then she would have transportation.
Before he left California, he had no desire to start a relationship with anyone, and now he had Gina and didn’t want to ever lose her. It was weird how fast life moved sometimes.
“Hey, Wave, what are you so deep in thought about?” Cass asked.
“Just thinking about things. So you like this?” Wave spread one arm wide to indicate the area where they were standing.
Cass nodded. “It’s a nice campus. I like it. I think I’ll be happy here.”
“Good. It’s not too far away from the house.”
She spun in a circle, checking out the area. “I don’t know where I’ll end up, but this is nice. What do you think, Gina?”
Gina’s lips twisted up to one side. “I hope I like it here. So far, it has been nice. The weather seems good, too.”
Wave chuckled. “The weather is great here year-round.”
“That’s good. At least it’s not going to snow and have ice on the roads.”
Her words brought laughter. “No. Just sun, sand, and surf.”
“I can’t wait to go to the beach,” Cass said. “You know, I’ve never been.”
“That is something we need to take care of. We could go now, but I don’t want to rush you on your first trip to the beach.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit.”
He held up his hand. “Unless the water is calm, this isn’t the place you want to dive in and start swimming. Getting your ankles wet is good enough for now. Trust me, the undertow is harsh, and you don’t want to get pulled out to sea.”
Cass looked shocked. “I hadn’t even thought of that. How often does that happen?”
“Often enough. You just have to be careful and not go in too far.”
Cass nodded. “I’m good with going and just getting in ankle deep.”
Gina flashed a bright smile. “The beach sounds fun.”
Wave nodded. “Okay, let’s go to the beach.”
They weren’t ready for a long trip to the beach, but he would make sure Cass enjoyed her first trip to the beach. On the way over, they stopped at one of the beachwear shops and picked up flip-flops and a few towels. It wasn’t very warm, but the weather was good enough.
It made him happy to see Cass excited. She’d put up with a lot, and now it was time for her to enjoy life.