*¤*
The rest of the day at the coffee shop was quite boring. Wednesdays were usually slow, so the girls closed up early, and Casey explained she had to go home instead of going out with Belle because she had to get the house ready for her parents to come. That was a terrible lie, and Belle knew it. She asked Casey what she was talking about, and that only made Casey tell the truth. Casey said that Justin (although she didn’t use names) did call and asked her to make dinner for him just one more time. Belle was outraged by his nerve. Belle told Casey to tell her boyfriend that if he wanted to eat that bad then he could just make food himself. “Its not that hard,” she said. Casey smiled, but told Belle that she had to get going, and that she’d talk to her tomorrow.
Casey pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail as she started to think of something for him to eat. She went to the fridge and pulled out the meal she had cooked the night before. She stuck that back in the oven, and waited for Justin to come home. Seven fifty rolled around, and she set the table. She got the food out of the oven, and set it on the table too. Justin would be there any minute. At exactly eight Justin appeared. Casey was looking out of the window in the kitchen and she saw his car. He got out of the car, and he jogged to the door. Casey didn’t get up to answer the door or to greet him, instead she moved away from the window, and sat at the table.
“Casey?” He called when he pulled open the door. “You’re home.” He said after he could smell his dinner on the table.
“Of course I’m home.” She said softly, “You told me to be home.”
“Yeah, let’s eat.” Justin said eyeing the food, and pulling out his chair. He pulled his napkin into his lap, and started to put food onto his plate.
“Um…” Casey said. “Justin?”
“You didn’t wear that to work today, did you?” Justin asked, completely ignoring the fact that Casey was about to ask him something.
“Uh, yeah.” She said, looking down at what she had on. “Why?”
“Why do you even own a shirt like that?” Justin asked like he was disgusted, but he continued to eat.
“I like this shirt.”
“That’s a shirt?”
“Yeah.” She said. “Are the things that Britney wears really clothes?” She snapped.
“Don’t ever talk to me like that again.” He said, grabbing for her wrist. He got it and squeezed tightly.
“Oww.” She winced. “Justin, that hurts.” Justin only tightened his grip on her wrist. “Justin… Justin please. Please stop. Ow! Justin!” She cried. Tears started to pool in her eyes, and a few fell.
“Are you crying?”
“No.” She said wiping away some tears with her other hand. “Justin! Please let go!”
“You ruin everything!” Justin shouted and stood up, taking her with him. “I come home to maybe have a nice dinner with my girlfriend and all you can do is cry. I don’t need this.” Next thing she knew she felt his hand slap her cheek, and he let go of her wrist. Her cheek burned, and it grew warmer in temperature.
“Oh my God.” She said softly, bringing her hand to her cheek as more tears feel. These freshly fallen tears were unstoppable. “Justin, you hit me. Again. I’m crying now. You hurt me again.”
“Oh, baby.” Justin said softly, wrapping his arms around her. “Casey, sweetie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He rubbed her back, and twisted her hair on his fingertips. Casey stood there, holding her cheek in her hand, and her other hand on top of her first hand. “I love you.” He told her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I promise I’ll never do it again. Oh, God, Casey, honey shhh… stop crying. It’ll be ok.” He said softly. He continued to rub her back. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She sniffled.
“I promise I’ll never do it again.”
“I know.”
“I have to get going though.” He said, letting go of her. “I love you,” he said and kissed her on the forehead. “Bye.” He said, and walked out the door… again.
“Bye.” She said just above a whisper and sat at the table. “What is wrong with me?” She said out loud. “He will do it again, you know he will.”
***
That night, Justin never came back upstairs. When Casey woke up then next morning she went downstairs to maybe find a note on where he was, like she did every morning, but didn’t find a note. She went to the counter and started making coffee even though she would get some at the coffee shop when she went. She went into the living room and went to pick up the remote. She looked on the table on the left side of the couch, then on the right, but didn’t see it either place. She then looked down onto the couch and saw Justin sleeping on the couch. She didn’t know what to do. Should she wake him? Should she just leave him there?
“Shit.” He whispered when he woke with a start. Casey stood above him looking down. “What time is it?”
“Six thirty.”
“Oh, ok.”
“Uh, Justin?” Casey asked softly. “Why didn’t you come up last night.”
“I still felt bad.”
“Oh.” She said and stood up from leaning on the couch. “I have to get to work.”
Casey walked away from the couch and Justin and she went up the stairs. She got into the shower, got dressed in a pink shirt that had Hello Kitty on it, and a pair of jeans, and she then dried her long brown hair. When she came back downstairs she saw Justin still on the couch, but now he was sitting up and the TV was on. She got a piece of bread and stuck it in the toaster. She waited for it to pop up, and when it did she put some peanut butter on it. Justin watched her as she moved around in the spotless kitchen. She really was too good to him.
“J?” She asked. “Do you want anything before I go?”
“Uh…” he said thinking if he wanted anything. “Can I have some orange juice?”
“Yeah.” She went to a cupboard on the far left side of the kitchen and pulled out a tall clear glass. She went over to the refrigerator and got out the orange juice. She filled his glass and took another bite of toast. She twisted the top of the juice back on and put it back. She picked up his glass and walked out into the white living room. “Here, honey.” Justin took the glass from her hand and set it down on the table and in one swift movement he reached for her wrist again and got it. She sucked in a breath quickly, and said, “I’m sorry.”
“No, no.” Justin said, clearly hurt by what her reaction to him was. “I just wanna talk to you.”
“Oh.”
“Case, I’m really sorry about the way I treat you.” He told her. “Its really terrible of me, and trust me, I don’t like it any more than you do. I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
“Justin, what else am I supposed to do? You’re so much stronger than I am. I’m not going to try to fight back, because the first time I tried that I got hurt even more than I do now. Its easier to just let you do it without me fighting.”
“I know, and Casey, that’s why I think we need to go public with our relationship. I think the reason I get so upset is because I hate lying about it to everyone. You’re the big secret that no one knows about and I don’t want to hide you anymore.” He said. “I don’t want to hide us.”
Casey sat there next to him for a moment, taking in what he said, before she answered him. “Justin, that’s a lot to take in. Can I think about it for a while?” She asked. “I have to go. I’m already late.”
“Yeah, just call my cell later. I have no idea when I’ll be home.”
“Ok, I guess I’ll see you when I see you.” She got up from the couch and walked toward the door. “Bye.” Justin followed her and kissed her on the lips. She was a bit taken aback by his gesture, but didn’t want to make a big thing about it. “Bye.” She said again, and left.
***
“Can I have a…” JC said, “…a grande coffee?”
“Sure.” Casey answered. “So, have you talked to Belle lately?” Casey asked as she got his drink ready.
“Uh, I called her last night.” He told her, “Actually, I’m taking her out tonight.”
“Ooh, what time?” Casey asked.
“Around seven….” He answered. “Hey, where is Belle?”
“She was here at six, but she had to go home so she‘s not coming back until noon.” Casey said, handing him his drink. “Careful, it seems to be hotter than usual. Anyways, yeah. When its really slow we just sit in here, drink coffee and I do her homework.”
“Oh, she’s in school?”
“Yeah, she’s actually a year and a half older than I am, but I graduated high school early, and she didn’t really want to go to class that much her freshman year so I graduated college before she did. She’s graduating next month though.”
“So how old would that make you?” He asked, “Twenty two?”
“Yeah, I’ll be twenty three in September.”
“Wow, you have a late birthday.”
“Yeah, I’ve always been the baby.” She smiled. She just clicked so well with him. He was so easy to talk to.
“Hey, come sit with me and we’ll talk. I don’t have to be anywhere until nine.”
“Ok.” Casey followed him to a table and she sat down across from him. “So….” SHe said.
“Are you dating anyone?”
“Uh… yeah, but don’t tell Belle that because I told her that I broke up with him.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well, its actually quite complicated. See, I’ve been dating this guy for almost a year and a half and just recently he’s been getting kind of mean and I’d go to her house crying, or I’d come here crying, or I’d call her. It just isn’t a good situation.” Casey stared deep into his eyes. They made her want to tell him everything, but she knew that she couldn’t. She knew who this guy was, and he knew who her boyfriend was. When she told him her story he listen so intently, and his eyes softened even more than they already were.
“Wow.” He said. “that’s really sad. Does he hit you or something?”
“Only when he’s really mad.” She answered. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”
“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, I’m practically a stranger. We don’t know anything about each other.”
“Yeah.” Casey agreed. “Uh, I gotta go make this person something to drink.” She said uncomfortably. She had said too much. She knew that would happen.
“Oh, ok, well if you talk to Belle before I do then tell her I said hi.”
“Ok.”
*¤*
“Hello?”
“Hi, uh… is this… who is this?” Belle asked into the phone.
“Who is this?”
“Is Casey there?”
“Yeah, just a second.” Justin said irritably. “Casey! Phone!”
“I got it, thanks.” She answered him. “Hello?”
“Case?”
“Belle? What’s up?”
“Is that him?”
“Yeah, we’re just friends, and I don’t have a house, so I’m staying with him. It will only be a little while longer.”
“You can stay with me, you know.”
“Oh I know, its just easier since all of my stuff is here anyways….” She said. She had to switch topics because not only did it make her uncomfortable to lie to her friend, but Justin had moved into the same room. “So, how was the date?”
“Oh my God!” She exclaimed. “It was amazing. What else could it have been?” She asked, not really wanting an answer. “Although, he talked about you most of the time.”
“You’re kidding.” Casey said, the truth of the matter was that ever since that morning she couldn’t get him off of her mind. The way he listened, the way he smiled, the way his eyes seemed to soften even when they seemed that they couldn’t get any softer, the way his eyes shined when he got excited-- like the day when he didn’t know what the frappucinnos were-- and the way he seemed to be so interested in what she had to say.
“No, and Case, he is totally more compatible with you. I think I should set the two of you up….”
“No. No Belle, definitely not.”
“Oh come on! Just one date.”
“Will that make you never do it again?”
“Most likely….”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Ok, so I’ll talk to him tonight, and then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
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