Brandon pushed past Elliott into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, downed it, and tossed the plastic into the recycling that also needed taken out.
“Okay. What’s going on? You’ve been bumming around here for the last couple of days. I ain’t seen our little sunshine much either. You two have a fight?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” He rested his head on the refrigerator, wondering if Cass would even care if he got sucked up by another portal.
“Well, I do. So what’s going on?”
Brandon turned to look at his dad whose features were much softer than his tone at the moment. The teen ran a hand down his face, wiping away sweat and angst. “We had a fight a couple of nights ago. We’ve been civil to each other since, but not like before. I thought when I got back from the portal, everything would be easy, like we’d never argue or be apart again because she’d know what it was like to live without me and wouldn’t ever want to experience that.” Resting his hands on his hips, he shook his head. “But that’s not what’s happened at all.”
“Brandon,” Elliott began, taking a step forward but stopping, and waving his hand in front of his face with an exaggerated expression indicating the perspiration was too much. “You’ve gotta understand Cass is dealing with a lot right now. Besides the fact that you were gone, I’m sure she’s missing Alex. Her sister just got married, she’s adjusting to Heather, and then there’s this whole episode in Europe she’s convinced herself is her problem. I’m not sure if she’s just tossed herself into all that because she wants a distraction or if she really thinks she needs to solve it, but either way, she’s committed.”
Crossing his arms and slumping against the counter next to the fridge, Brandon agreed. “Maybe she needs to be committed.”
“Huh?” Elliott took the same position across from him, leaning against the wall.
Shaking his head, not certain of whether or not he should even say what was on the tip of his tongue, Brandon decided to just let it all out. “I saw her in the coffee shop the other night, after our fight, talking to Christian of all people.”
“Say what now?”
“I know. What in the world would she need to talk to him about? I mean, he’s such a douche. And I thought she hated him. Especially since it was his fault we disappeared in the first place.”
“I’m pretty sure she does hate him,” Elliott confirmed. “You have seen the footage of her literally ripping his face off, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen it. So why go meet with him for a late night latte?”
Elliott snickered, distracted by his alliteration, no doubt. “I don’t know. Maybe she was feeling bad about the bloodshed and wanted to apologize.”
“Uh, that doesn’t sound very much like Cass.”
“True. But... maybe the death of another friend has brought some perspective. She’s lost a lot of people recently, Brandon. Alex, her grandma, Jack, Drew. Me.”
All Brandon could do was nod. It didn’t seem fair that Cassidy had already lost so many people she cared about, and she wouldn’t even be seventeen for a few more weeks. “I want to help her with all of that, but I don’t know how.”
“Maybe what she needs right now is some space to deal with it. She loves you, son. I know she does. And she doesn’t have feelings for Christian.” Elliott did some sort of whole body shiver, as if he had the heebie-jeebies.
“I know she doesn’t.” It had been a shock to see them talking together, but he knew his girlfriend better than to even suspect she had any interest in Christian at all, romantically, or even as a friend. “But what about Alex?”
“What about him?” Elliott opened the refrigerator door and took out a Coke, cracking the can open.
“I think... maybe there was more to the two of them than just the teasing. I mean, all of our friends always gave Cass a hard time about Alex, saying she had a crush on him. She’d deny it, but she always blushed. And I could see it in her face when she talked to him, you know? Like he was a celebrity, and she was his biggest fangirl.”
“He was a celebrity. And she was a fan.”
“I guess.” He’d never really thought of Alex as anything other than a Roatan Guardian who’d been around a long time. But since Cassidy was such a history nerd, it did make sense that she’d be focused on his legendary first life and not what he was when they’d met him. “Anyway... what if she really did have a crush on him—or more? And... what if that letter he sent her said that he had feelings for her, too?”
Elliott took a swig of his soda before he answered. “So what if he did? What if she did? What if she does? Does it make a difference now? He’s gone, and this time, he’s not coming back. It might mean it will take her a little longer to get over him, but Brandon, even when he was here, she still chose you. Don’t make her think there’s any reason for her to stop making that choice.”
His dad patted him sharply on the arm and headed out of the kitchen, back toward his room. He didn’t make it too far before he shouted, “And for the love of God, take a shower!”
Brandon let his father’s advice sink in for a moment before deciding he was right. He needed to give Cass some space, but he also needed to apologize for being a dick the other night and not allowing her the space she needed when she was clearly asking for it. With a sigh, he headed to the bathroom to take a shower, not feeling much better but glad to at least have a direction to go in.
