“What?”
An annoyed laugh barrelled out of Cassie. “Castillo is using Vernon to do her dirty work. Why else would she have this dude around again? From what I can tell, she knows he loves her, and she doesn’t love him, but she will gladly use him so that she stays clean. How can you not see this?”
Cassie had a good point. Castillo was manipulative, and I wouldn’t put something like this past her. “I didn’t even think of that, but now that you mention it, it does sound like something she would cook up.”
Cassie looked up, melting me with those sparkling eyes of hers. “At this point Alex, I know all about your sordid past, the scorned lovers, the angry ex-friends, and all I want is for us to be happy. I just want to be your wife and start fresh.”
“I want all of that too, except I don’t want to be your wife.” She hit my chest, then laughed. “And I’ve been giving it some thought. I have too much history, too much baggage here, and I think it’s best that we unload it all.”
“What are you saying?” she asked, shock filling her voice.
“I’m saying I think it’s best that we get out of here. Leave Twentynine behind. If I can request orders, I’m going to request that they PCS us to another base. We need it.”
“No!” she shrieked.
I was caught off guard, and certainly not expecting that reaction. “Why not? I thought you’d be happy to get away.”
“No, Alex, I was so happy when my Lejeune orders got cancelled, and I got to stay here.”
“Yeah, and that was when we thought we’d be split up. Now we’re both stuck here, sitting around in this cesspool of fake fucking people, trying to under mind every fucking thing we’ve worked so hard for. We need to get away from here, Cassie.”
“I don’t want to leave. I figured me getting to stay with you was what we wanted.”
“Us being together is what I wanted. I don’t really give a shit where it is as long as it’s away from here.” She sat up, looking down on me as if she couldn’t conceive what I was saying. “Cassie, let me remind you that you have orders to the fucking wing. And not just any wing unit, but you’ll be back with Ruiz. That bitch hates you, no matter how nice she tried to play at the end of it all.”
“This has nothing to do with her, Alex. I hate the shit going on with these idiots, but Dalton is here. I don’t want to leave him either. What happens if you deploy, leaving me here? At least I’d have my best friend to help me through it.”
“Or he’ll deploy, and you’ll be alone with a bunch of fucking vultures. It makes no sense to stay here.”
“And you didn’t even ask me. You just decided that it would be best for us, and you’re running with it.”
“Cassie, it is what’s best for us. I know you’ll miss Dalton, but that’s the Corps. Friends come and go. That doesn’t mean your friendship has to end, and anyway, me and you, we’re the focus here. We’re the priority. What becomes of us is what you should be worrying about.”
“Don’t try that, Alex. Of course, I worry about us. You’re my rock, but I do love my best friend, and I’m a little pissed that you casually threw out that you’d be requesting orders for us without even discussing it with me first. We’re getting married, Alex. Marriage is about give and take, it’s about compromising, and if you think you can just bulldoze your way through everything, it’s not going to work.”
She was breathing a little heavy, noticeably showing her distress and irritation. The front door closed, signaling Riley was home. I was hoping to go out and smooth things over with Nat, but when I walked out into the living room Riley was alone on the couch, drinking a beer.
“Hey man, where’s Nat?”
Riley turned around, rubbed his head, then sipped on his beer. “She’s at the parlor.”
“Will she be over tonight? I figured I’d go ahead and smooth shit out.”
He stood, then rubbed his head again before finishing off his beer. “No, she said she’s uncomfortable coming over here right now, so I’ll be going over there once she’s off work.”
He seemed a bit bothered by that, and truthfully, I was as well. Nat and I had a pretty cool relationship, shit talking one another while I passed on her flirtations. I’d lost my shit with her, but I was ready to make amends for it, and the fact that she was staying away just didn’t seem like her.
“Did you tell her I was hoping to clear this shit up?”
“Yeah, man, I did, but I’m not going to force her to come around. You really hurt her, Alex. You and your shitty ass temper.”
Cassie came strolling out of the room, wearing a tank top and a pair of PT shorts. “What’s going on?” she asked, her eyes fixated on a rigid Riley.
“Nat’s not comfortable coming over here, and Riley’s pissed about it,” I answered, hoping to ease him back into talking.
“Did you let her know that Alex knew he was an ass and that he was hoping to fix it?”
“Yes, I did. Doesn’t change the fact that she was hurt and blindsided by it. She had no fucking clue that she was doing anything wrong, and I’m sorry Cassie, but if anyone had spoken to you the way he spoke to Nat, he would have cut their balls off and fucking fried them. A simple sorry may not fix this, and yes, I’m fucking pissed about it.”
“Do you want me to go and see her, or call her? I don’t want your and Alex’s friendship to suffer over this.”
“I don’t know. I’m gonna take her some food, and I’ll see what’s up.”
“You still planning on rolling with us tomorrow?” I asked, growing agitated that this was becoming a much bigger deal than it needed to be.
“I don’t know. I need to get shit straight with Nat.”
I couldn’t fucking believe what I was hearing. Riley, the guy who had been my right hand through all of this, who had saved me from mistake after mistake, was now turning his back on me even though I had acknowledged my wrong and was trying to make it right. If I didn’t think it would be another colossal mistake, I would have gone up to the tattoo parlor myself, but I was sure that would only add more fuel to this already burning fire.
“Well, let me know. Cassie and I are getting married tomorrow, and we need a witness.”
“I said I’ll let you know,” he murmured under his breath. “I need to go. I’ll let you know later on tonight after I have a chance to talk to her.”
“You can’t go without her?”
Riley was beginning to walk away, but paused after hearing my question. “Are you really fucking asking me that? Would you go off without Cassie? I should have decked your ass when you talked to her like that, but I stopped myself. If she isn’t comfortable around you, Alex, then I’m going to stay by her side.”
He turned to Cassie, lowering his voice and softening his tone. “Nothing against you, Cassie, but I think you get it a little more than he does.”
Cassie nodded her head.
Riley grabbed his keys and walked out. The roar of the engine filled my ears as he started his truck, then the barreling sounds of the exhaust as he peeled out of the driveway, leaving me and Cassie standing there.
“You have to understand, Alex—”
“Orders. Now do you see? We fucking need them, Cassie. We need a fresh start, away from this stupid bullshit. I was wrong, yes, I fucking was, but I wanted to make it right with Nat and now this. Fuck it. I’m not kissing ass. When she’s ready to talk to me, she can come to me. The only person I’m chasing is the one I’m fucking, and she sure as shit isn’t it.”
“Alex…I thought you didn’t fuck me anymore.”
Fuck! I was so caught up that the words came out all wrong.
“You know what I mean…”
Cassie stood there agitated, arms folded across her chest, lips in a tightly held pout. I was beyond pissed and growing more and more irritated by the second. She couldn’t see it now, but a new set of orders would be good for us. It was just what we needed, and I intended to make that happen as soon as I slipped a ring on her finger and got through all of this court shit. Life was growing more and more challenging by the day, and if getting out of this desert would make it easier for us, I was hell bent on making that happen.