44. Cassandra Walker
Iwas home later than I would have liked, but still earlier than I would have been if I didn’t have an adorable little masochist to come home to.
When I’d left, I’d been accosted by a mob of paparazzi asking for statements on everything from the new allegations against my client and my recent wedding announcement on Instagram.
While I’d confirmed that I would be representing the reverend in his upcoming defense, I found I grew irrationally irritated whenever someone asked me about Theo.
She was a private and quiet person. I didn’t like the idea of the media sinking their greedy, gossip-hungry hooks into her, so anything regarding my new marriage was met with either one-word answers or a cool ‘no comment.’
By the time I made it back to my condo, I was dead on my feet and completely worn out from the day.
My mood immediately brightened as the elevator doors opened to my penthouse, and I was hit with the warm smell of sautéing garlic and onions.
She was cooking again?
Ughhhh, why did that make me so freaking giddy?!
Usually after work, I DoorDash’d something to my house from one of the only two vegan places in Silent Hollow, and I was more than a little bit sick of eating the same six dishes on repeat.
I rarely had time to cook for myself, so the fact that Theo had sort of just naturally sensed that and fallen into that role made me feel unreasonably happy.
Theo glanced up from what appeared to be a big, simmering pot of pasta sauce as I entered, and the smile she gave me lit me up from head to toe.
“Hey, princess,” she greeted me as I rounded the counter and approached her from behind. “How was work?”
I slipped my hands around her waist and pressed my nose into the crook of her neck, allowing myself a moment to inhale her clean eucalyptus and rosemary scent.
She always smelled like this right after a shower, and I suspected it was her shampoo that made her smell like the most zen yoga studio on the planet.
It settled me more than anything else ever had.
“Awful. My new client is a dick,” I grumbled, squeezing her tighter against me, and she chuckled softly as she continued to stir her pasta sauce, seemingly unbothered that I was plastered to her back like a koala.
“Well, I’m sure he’s no match for you, baby girl,” she hummed, turning her head to drop a kiss on whatever part of my face she could reach as I peered over her shoulder to investigate her cooking.
“Smells good,” I said, finally letting her go, and Theo preened slightly.
“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to try making this for a while. I hope it’s good. It’s roasted tomato spaghetti with spinach and chickpeas… You vegans eat a lot of chickpeas, I’ve noticed.”
I laughed, ambling over to my wine fridge to pour myself a glass of pinot grigio.
“And beans,” I added, splashing a few ounces of the bright golden wine into my glass before taking a deep sip.
Ahhh. Just what I needed.
I stood there for a moment with my wine, watching Theo scurry around our kitchen as she made a delicious home-cooked meal for us to share, and I was hit with this bone-deep sense of contentment.
Like maybe… this is what life was supposed to be like.
Maybe it was always meant to be like this, but I’d never known because I’d never had anything like this before.
If this was what life was, it was perfect.
Gimme fourteen of ‘em.
Just then, my phone chimed.
I looked down and flinched when I saw it was Nolan, but the preview made it clear this wasn’t a personal message, so I opened it.
Nolan:
We have a problem. Did you give a statement today about the case?
Cass:
Yeah. I just confirmed we were defending Reverend Fuck Face. I didn’t get into details.
Nolan:
Well, you’re on channel four. And… I don’t think you’re going to like it.
I frowned.
What the fuck?
Putting my wine down, I moved to the living room and flicked on the TV.
Theo glanced over at me from where she was now spooning freshly boiled noodles into a couple of white ceramic bowls.
“Everything okay?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“I don’t know. Nolan just messaged me to tell me I was on the news.”
Switching to channel four, I swirled my wine as I watched, and I almost immediately understood why Nolan had felt the need to warn me about this segment.
“Cassandra Walker, who recently went viral online for her work on the viral Steele case, gave a statement today confirming that she is, in fact, one of the lead defense attorneys for Reverend Elias Sterling.”
The segment cut from the news anchor to a clip of me walking out of my firm’s building, looking stony-faced and annoyed as reporters pushed microphones in my face.
The clip cut back to the anchor as she continued.
“While Walker has developed an overnight fanbase due to her quick wit and stone-cold delivery in the publicly televised Steele trial, fans are shocked to learn that this known LGBTQ+ advocate would take on a case like Sterling’s.”
“Recent sexual assault allegations against Sterling have put his Evangelical megachurch, The Restoration House, under investigation, as several young girls have claimed that Sterling used his position of power and religious influence to manipulate minors into sexually compromising situations.”
A picture of Sterling speaking passionately on stage to a massive crowd in what I assumed was his ‘church’ was plastered on screen as the news anchor continued to detail the reverend’s background.
Suddenly, there was a CRASH.
The sound was so violent, I jumped, nearly spilling my wine all over myself.
I whipped around to see what caused the abrasive noise, only to find that Theo had dropped both our bowls of pasta on her way to the table.
The delicate bowls had exploded across the tile, and there was blood red pasta sauce and sharp shards of ceramic everywhere.
“Shit. Fuck!” Theo rasped, and I rushed to grab a broom as she bent down to try to clean up the mess.
“Don’t move!” I snapped at her. She was barefoot, and the last thing I wanted was for her to cut herself.
“I… I’m sorry. I just…”
“Don’t be sorry, it was an accident, I just don’t want you to hurt yourself. There are pieces of glass everywhere…”
I grabbed her Nikes from the front door on the way back and handed them to her, slipping into a pair of flats myself. Crouching down with a broom and a dust pan, I started cleaning up the mess.
Theo knelt next to me and started reaching with her bare hands for some of the larger pieces of ceramic, and I nearly bit her head off in my panic.
“Don’t! I’ve got it,” I snapped.
She glanced at me, and the look on her face made me pause.
She was pale. Like… deathly pale, and she was shaking. Her whole body was quivering, the way a rabbit shakes when it finds itself in a predator’s line of sight.
“Theo…” I frowned, reaching forward to cup her cheek.
Her wide eyes met mine, but they didn’t seem to be registering that I was really there.
“It’s okay. It’s just a couple of bowls.
We’ll clean it up, and everything will be fine,” I tried to reassure her, worried she thought my type-A ass would be so angry about the mess that I would kick her out or something.
“Y-yeah… Okay. I’ll get some paper towels,” she croaked, and I gave her a reassuring smile.
“Sounds good. Put on some gloves. There are some under the sink. Once we get most of this cleaned up, we can vacuum to make sure we don’t miss anything sharp.”
She didn’t answer me; she just silently went through the motions of cleaning up the mess.
When it was all tidied up, I turned to face her, still concerned with how upset she seemed to be over dropping the bowls.
“Baby… I said it’s fine. There’s nothing to be upset about, alright?” I tried to soothe her, but she just nodded.
She was barely looking at me…
“I… Uhm. I’m gonna head out for a bit,” she said abruptly.
I blinked.
“You’re… heading out? It’s like eight o’clock at night. What do you mean you’re going out?”
She brushed past me, floating like a ghost to our room before reappearing with her gym bag slung over her shoulder.
“I won’t be long. Just realized I forgot something at the ring,” she muttered.
‘Again. She lies to us,’ my monster hissed, and I clenched my fists at my side. It was right, and I hated it. I didn’t want to think Theo would lie to me, but it felt like she was.
“You’ll be right back? You’re just going to the ring, then coming right home?” I asked carefully, and she glanced back at me, her throat rolling as she swallowed.
“Yeah. Be right back.” She stepped into the elevator and hammered the ‘door close’ button impatiently.
“Alright...” I replied, feeling both confused and a little panicky at how quickly the energy between us had shifted.
I wanted to ask if I could come with her, but by the time the idea crossed my mind, I was talking to dead air.
Theo was already gone.