CHAPTER 20
CASHTON
Neither Kaptan nor Zayn had been able to meet me at the gym tonight. Kaptan had gone back home to meet with his father, and who knew where Zayn was. He had a tendency to disappear at times.
It had begun pouring rain halfway through my workout, the downpour loud as it wracked against the wall of windows, nearly drowning out the music with its vigor.
It was already dark once I wrapped up my exercises, the number of bodies in the gym having dwindled down to a small handful. It was a weeknight, after all, and the place typically cleared out pretty early.
Freshly showered, I made my way into the still pouring rain, pulling my hood up as I slipped into my Chevelle. I had just rounded the corner when I noticed a figure walking through the parking lot of the animal shelter, arms wrapped tightly around herself and the hood of her white jacket pulled up over her soaked blonde hair.
She hit the sidewalk, making her way down the side of the road I had just pulled onto. Pulling up next to her, I rolled down my window, attempting to yell over the sound of my engine and the beating rain.
“Why the hell are you out walking in the rain? Are you nuts?”
Landry startled, clearly not having noticed me pull up alongside her. She had gotten abducted just a few weeks ago, you would think she would have enough common sense to be aware of her surroundings for crying out loud.
“Go away, Cashton!” she yelled, turning back and continuing in the direction she was heading.
“Landry, get in the fucking car. It’s already dark and you’re not walking back to campus in this rain.”
“Why would you even care? You hate me, remember?” she spat back at me. Of course she had to be complicated. She wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t about her. I wouldn’t like seeing any woman stuck walking home in this storm. For some reason, the fact that it was Landry unsettled me even more.
“You’re clearly soaked and freezing, you’ll get a cold if you walk all the way back to campus like that. Besides, the guys and Olivia would kill me if I left you out here like this. Get. In. The car.”
She hesitated, coming to a halt beside my car as she considered.
“You promise not to be a dick?” she finally asked, turning to look at me through the long strands of wet hair.
I smirked. “No promises. ”
Rolling her eyes, she grunted, yet still walked towards me and opened the car door. “You’re the worst.”
“I try,” I joked, letting her slip inside as she turned on the heater and I took off down the road.
“What were you doing out in this weather anyways? And this late?” I knew she occasionally volunteered at the shelter, but it was nearly ten in the evening.
“I was doing rounds at the shelter. I had my evening class tonight until eight so I wasn’t able to come earlier.”
“Why didn’t you just drive? Especially if you knew it might rain?”
She hesitated, her eyes going distant for a brief moment, like she had been watching something play out in her mind.
“I don’t drive unless I absolutely need to. It scares me.”
I didn’t say anything, unsure how to respond to that. I was tempted to push further, but the last thing I needed was a sob story that would make me feel any sympathy towards her. It would make it so much harder to do what I needed to do when the time came if I let myself feel bad for her in any way. I had already caught myself thinking about her way too often for my liking.
“Why do you volunteer at the shelter? I figured someone like you would have better things to do in her free time.”
She turned to offer me a scowl, which did nothing except make her look even more adorable with her arms still crossed in front of her like a petulant child.
“Easy. It’s because I love being around the animals. My parents would never let me have any growing up, so I used to volunteer back home whenever I could so that I could be around them. Especially the shelter animals. ”
“Why the shelter animals specifically?”
“Because they deserve to have somebody to love them and care for them as much as any other animal. You should see some of the conditions these animals are in. Most of them take so long to trust because all they’ve ever known is living in cages their whole lives. Especially the ones who used to have owners and were surrendered to the shelter, they go from being cherished and loved to not understanding why they were left behind by their humans. It’s heartbreaking. That’s why I try my best to spend a bit of time with each of them, even if it’s just spending time studying in their enclosures so they can learn to be more comfortable around me, or giving cuddles to the ones who love snuggling. Cats and dogs need companionship. And getting to witness terrified animals learning to trust again is one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced.”
Damn. I had to admit, it wasn’t something I had ever really thought about. Adoption wasn’t big around here. I didn’t even know we had a shelter around here until I had intercepted the message that Landry was going there that night during the games.
“Bexley and Olivia both convinced their families to make generous contributions, and I try to help out as much as I can as well. But at the end of the day, they could have all the treats and toys and quality food, but they’re still living in cages instead of somebody’s home. It’s not money that the shelter needs right now, it’s awareness.”
“You really feel passionate about this, huh?” I asked, genuinely curious. I hadn’t pegged her as the charitable type .
“Yes. I actually made my entire Communications midterm about BSL, which stands for Breed Specific Legislation. Even though I never got to present it…”
A small pang of guilt hit me as I remembered why that was so.
“What’s that?”
She leaned back, getting more comfortable as the heater continued to dry her wet clothes.
“The easiest way to explain it is that some states have laws or restrictions on certain dogs based on their breeds. So it can be anything like German Shepherds, to rottweilers, Dobermans, and most of all Pit Bulls. They believe that those breeds of dogs are inherently dangerous and shouldn’t be allowed as pets.”
“And that’s wrong because?” I asked, not understanding why this was such a big deal that she had decided to make her entire research project on the topic.
She turned to look at me as if I had lost my mind, a fire lighting in her eyes. Not out of anger, I realized, but out of passion for the subject.
“Because those scary breeds aren’t bad dogs, they just have bad reputations and it isn’t fair to discriminate against them. There have been accidents, yes, but most of those were due to a case of irresponsible owners. And due to those laws, millions of dogs are killed in shelters each year. I would even be willing to understand some compromises, like maybe requiring professional training for those breeds or making leashes a state requirement in public places, but to sentence that many innocent animals to their death just because of their breed? It’s depressing and inhumane. ”
She turned back around, leaning back once more as she let out a breath, the topic seeming to get to her. I had no idea that this had meant so much to her. A beat passed before she finally continued.
“Did you know that the majority of dogs in shelters are Pit Bulls, higher than any other breed? We have sixteen at the shelter right now, and I can guarantee none of them are getting adopted any time soon. They have such a bad reputation that nobody wants to take a chance on them, especially if they don’t know what background it came from. And yet, they’re some of my favorite dogs over there. Like Reba, for example. She’s nearly twelve and spent her entire life at the shelter. Literally, she was born in the shelter.”
I let her continue, passing through town as the rain continued to beat down. Landry seemed to be getting more relaxed, less on-guard than she typically was around me.
“And Tomahawk” She smiled. I wasn’t sure if she realized just how much her face lit up. Her smile was radiant, a sight that threatened to take my attention off of the road. She was stunning, and I mentally cursed myself as I felt my heart skip a beat. Dammit, I needed to get my shit together.
“He’s this black and white pittie, only about six years old. He’s the goofiest dog I’ve ever met in my entire life. The staff constantly joke about how he must be slightly on the spectrum or something, because he’s just that silly all of the time. He’s definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s also the biggest cuddler, and he loves everybody. Leaving him is always so sad, because he always gives me these huge puppy dog eyes and it makes me want to just stay there with him forever. ”
I stayed silent, listening intently. It was odd, seeing this side of her. We had never had a peaceful conversation like this considering that we were at each other’s throats more often than not. And yes, I was usually the one who started it, but messing with her had become my favorite pastime.
“Have you ever had any pets?” she asked, breaking the silence. My hands clenched on the wheel, trying to decide how much I wanted to share with her before finally answering.
“My sister had a dog. Ava. She would bring her over when she came to stay with me sometimes.”
She turned her gaze down to the hands in her lap, her hair over her face, though she stayed quiet. She must have realized that she hit a sore spot.
“Cashton… I need you to know that whatever happened, I’m so sorry.”
My jaw clenched. I didn’t want her apologies. It was too late for that now, Emory was already gone. And she didn’t even know what she was apologizing for. But nothing she said could make up for what she did.
Anger raced through me, replacing the hurt. I had been forced to be strong my entire life. I hadn’t known peace but for a brief moment before the only constant in my life had been ripped away from me and I had been thrown right back into the hell that I had always known.
I had been forced to grow up too fast, constantly worried about protecting my baby sister. Between my mom’s abusive boyfriends at home to the sketchy schools we had been forced to attend due to the low-income neighborhoods we had grown up in, our life hadn’t been easy. But I had gladly taken the brunt of it to shield Emory from the horrible and ugly things in life .
Through everything, she was the one thing I knew I could count on. She was my home. And when mom had married David, and we had been offered a better life, Emory had still only been the one thing to offer me comfort.
Because, growing up the way we did, I had known that I could never get too comfortable. Anything could slip through our fingers at any moment. I just never thought that it would be Emory slipping through my fingers.
I took the shortcut to campus, turning onto the back road leading through the wooded areas to the north of the school.
“Cashton, can we please not take these roads?” Landry asked, a slight panic lacing her tone.
Anger ran hot through my veins. I ignored her, pressing slightly harder on the gas instead.
“Cashton, please,” her voice turned pleading, a slight tremble as she spoke.
She was scared. Good.
Every ounce of civility that passed between us earlier had evaporated the moment I remembered her place in my life. She had been put in my path for a reason. One of the bitches responsible for my sister’s death, placed right on my doorstep for me to torment. Nothing had changed. Landry needed to pay.