“Okay, okay, okay. I’m sorry. If that’s what you’ve been working on, I can see why that would take a lot of attention. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was just, like I said before, worried about you.”
“Don’t be. I’m fine.”
Her expression said otherwise. Maybe she was right and he should’ve let her go, but he was afraid he’d only made things worse, and the next time he saw her, maybe she wouldn’t even want to sit by him at all. “I really am sorry I upset you, Cass. That wasn’t what I was trying to do.”
“I know.” Her arms were folded again, and he could tell she wanted to run out the door.
“It’s just... ever since I got back, I feel like I don’t know what to say to you, how to talk, what you’re thinking about. It’s weird.”
“Maybe something happened to your brain while you were in the portal. Maybe you left part of it there.”
Normally, he would assume she was just joking around when she said something like that, and he was pretty sure she was now, too, but her face said she was serious. “I think my entire brain came back with me.”
“Did you check to see if it is plugged in?”
“All right, very funny.” He sighed loudly enough to let her know he hoped she’d change her line of questioning because he really didn’t appreciate having his intelligence insulted, even if she was teasing. “I guess I thought maybe you were still thinking about—the portal.”
“The portal? Why would I still be thinking about that?” Her hands came flying out to her sides, palms up. “Unless you’re planning on going back.”
“I’m never going back.”
“Okay, then, no. Definitely not the portal.” She ran her hand through her hair, and finally her expression shifted slightly, like she was contemplating saying something she had been avoiding before. “Listen, it’s just... there’s something I have been thinking a lot about, something, I can’t really talk to you about, and it’s been taking up a lot of my energy lately. So sorry if I haven’t been myself.”
Brandon studied her face for a moment, contemplating whether or not she was actually thinking about telling him. He was afraid he already knew what it was though. Cautiously, he asked, “Does it have to do with Alex?”
Immediately, Cass flew up off of the couch. “Alex?” she shouted. “What the hell, Brandon? What do you mean? No! It doesn’t have anything to do with Alex!”
“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” He was standing, too. “I just thought maybe it had something to do with that note he left for you, that’s all.”
“Why would it? Alex is gone, Brandon. It’s not like I can bring him back this time. I don’t even have his body!”
“I know. Which is why I thought you might be thinking about the portal.”
“Seriously? You thought I might be contemplating going into the Blood Moon Portal to retrieve Alex’s body—if it’s still there—to try to bring him back through the Blue Moon Portal? You are a special kind of moron.”
“Thanks, Cass. I appreciate that. I really do.”
She glared at him for a moment and took a few hasty steps toward the door. Torn between letting her go and trying to stop her again, Brandon raised a hand in her direction, put it back on his hip, and then reached for her again. “Cass, wait.”
“Sorry. I think I’ve had enough of your inquiry for the evening. Thank God I wasn’t stupid enough to tell you what I’m really working on. Who knows what you might’ve thought then.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Only that you’d probably just assume I’m in love with the person I’m working with, that’s all.”
“Who is that?”
Shaking her head violently, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Brandon followed. “Cass? Who is it?”
Stopping in her tracks, she turned around to face him. “It’s this really hot guy I’ve been lusting after for months, ever since I saw him with his shirt off at the gym.” She licked her lips in a way that shouldn’t be legal and then turned around again.
He followed.
“Okay, I know you’re just trying to piss me off, but it’s not funny. Seriously, Cass, who is it?”
“It’s no one, Brandon. Go back to your apartment!” Cassidy kept walking and was almost to the elevator when Ashley poked her head out of Jamie’s apartment.
“You guys all right?” she asked. “Cause if this is another lover’s quarrel, can you keep it in your heads, please? Some of us are trying to have a nice evening.”
“Sorry, Ash,” Cassidy said, stepping into the elevator. “Won’t happen again.” The doors closed and she was gone.
Brandon watched the elevator light change from four to three, wondering where she was going, and then looked at Ashley. “What do you mean again? We hardly ever fight.”
“Whatever,” the blonde replied. “Lately, seems like all you do. You need to get yourself some help, bruh.” She closed the door again, leaving Brandon with even more unanswered questions.
He slowly walked the few steps back to his apartment, considering all of the times lately when he and Cass had disagreed and could only think of three. Maybe four. Had they been loud? Had they been yelling enough to disturb their neighbors? How many of those arguments had he started, and how many had she picked? He didn’t know, but the entire situation left him feeling completely unsettled.
Sitting back down on the sofa, he snatched up the remote and absently flipped through channels. Maybe if he had actually seen the note Alex wrote to his girlfriend, he’d feel better about the entire situation, and he could believe her when she said she wasn’t thinking about him. But for now, every time she seemed even slightly distracted, he was going to assume it was because she was imagining how much better her life might’ve been if Alex hadn’t died.
Brandon turned the TV off and headed toward the door. He didn’t know where he was going either, but he wasn’t going to be able to stay there.
