Jersey Girl (Sticks & Hearts #1) (30 page)

"Cassie, I—" I'm unable to get the words out before an angry voice bellows behind me and we both freeze.

"You lying motherfucker!" I'm torn away from her and thrown onto the kitchen table. "The whole time? You were fucking her the whole time!"

"Scott, it wasn't like th—" my words are cut off when his fist connects with my jaw. It hurts like hell, but this time I remain standing.

At this point, Cassie's screaming, and when Scott turns his anger on her, I use my hand to move her safely behind me.

"Just friends, huh? I can't believe you went behind my back." His face reflects nothing but disgust when he points his finger at me. "Why him? He's not good enough for you."

"Hey!" I interject, taking offense to the insult he's just hurtled at my expense.

"Cassie, he'll sleep with anything that walks. Hell, he's slept with half the chicks on campus, and now you've let him fuck you too. Don't you know he'll only break your heart?" His hands pull violently at the ends of his hair as he angrily paces the kitchen floor. "Christ, you're no better than his faithful puck bunnies."

I charge at him, lowering my shoulder as I connect, and we both slam against the wall. We're an equal match in strength and throw one another around the kitchen with great force, denting the fridge and breaking the table as we both land on it. As we wrestle, he pins me down and starts pounding my face with his fist. Blood gushes from my nose, and by the crunching sound it made when he hit me, I'm pretty sure it's broken.

Cassie jumps on her brother's back and starts pummeling him with her small fists, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Stop it! You're going to kill him!" her high-pitched screams echo in my ears. "Scotty, please, I love him," she cries out, distracting him enough for me to deliver a two-handed blow to the chest. He staggers back, knocking Cassie to the ground with a loud thud and she scrambles to the corner.

I take advantage of the opening and pounce on him. After he landed first blow, I'd been willing to let it go, seeing as how I had deceived him. But after the cruel things he said to Cassie and seeing the pain on her face, I can't hold back any longer.

I have him pinned against the counter, nailing him with my fist, knee, elbow.

Whatever.

With every swing that connects, the guilt I've been carrying piles onto my shoulders like lead weights until, ultimately, it consumes me and I'm left staring at the mess I've made.

Two people.

Two people I love more than anything else in this world.

Two people whose lives have just been ruined by my selfish choices.

The best friend who trusted me...

The girl who thinks of me as her hero...

Fuck that. I'm no hero. I'm nothing more than a broken mess.

Inside
and
out.

Hell, I don't deserve either of them.

Rivers stands, wiping the blood from his nose on his sleeve before delivering the final blow. "I can't believe you both went behind my back. I trusted you, Cage. I fucking trusted you would look out for her, but instead you took advantage of that trust and you took advantage of my sister. You son of a bitch. I can't even look at you anymore. "

Tears pour down Cassie's cheeks as she's faced with the consequences of our actions. I'd already known something like this would happen. I tried telling her from the very start, but she wouldn't listen.

Neither of us had truly listened.

Until now, it had all been a game. But in every game, no matter how well you both play, there's always going to be someone who loses.

Her eyes fall to mine, and even through her tears I can tell she expects me to rescue her. But I can't. How can I save her when I can't even save myself?

She reaches out for me to take her hand, and just like that the walls that used to guard my heart are once again resurrected. "Come on, B. Let's get out of here."

"You need to go home. Now." I meet her gaze with eyes that feel empty and a heart heavy as stone.

"Pack your shit and get out of my house," he says, putting an arm around his sister's waist.

"Scotty, you need to let us explain. We love—"

"Love?" His laughter mocks her. "You're wasting your time, Cassie. Cage doesn't fall in love." She shoves him away and takes a step in my direction.

"That's not true! He does love me!" She turns and her eyes plead with me. "B, tell him."

I open my mouth. Wanting desperately to tell her what she needs to hear. And what I need to say.

But I don't...

"Go home, Cassie!" She sucks in a breath, her blue eyes filling with tears, and another piece of my heart shatters. The last thing I see is her running out the door before Rivers' fist connects with my eye.

CASSIE

"Go home!"

Those two words ring loudly in my ears as my socked feet pound the wet pavement. It's snowing out. I guess it must have started sometime after we'd made our snow angels.

I look over and there they are. Side by side and somewhat disfigured thanks to the awkward angle in which we'd fallen. Fresh snow now covers the ground, but if you look closely, you can still see the handprint he'd left when he'd rolled over to kiss me.

He'd known what I was about to say. That's why he'd kissed me. To shut me up.

He hadn't been ready then, so what had changed in the last hour? I'd told him not once, but twice in the kitchen. The look in his eyes clearly indicated he liked hearing it. And the way he responded told me he felt the same way.

He'd been about to say it too. I'm sure of it. Then Scott stormed in and destroyed everything.

Including Brantley.

Why was he always trying to come between us?

Tears sting my eyes, making it impossible to see where I'm going, which is why I collide with Davis at the end of the driveway.

"Whoa, Cassie, slow down. Where are you going?" he casts a nervous glance toward the house before frowning at my appearance. "Sweetie, you're going to freeze to death dressed like that." He slips off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. "What's happening in there?"

I collapse against him and begin sobbing uncontrollably as he guides me over to Scott's car.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jordan demands, repeating the question, and they both look to me for answers.

"Brantley," I manage to choke out, "he's hurt. Scotty came home. They fought. There's so much blood."

"What the fuck?" Davis mutters under his breath. "Jordan, go inside and make sure they haven't killed each other. I'm going to take Cassie home," he orders. Jordan doesn't hesitate. He bounds up the stairs and throws open the front door to check on his friends.

I'm having trouble believing what just happened. I've never seen my brother so angry. So full of raw emotion. Could he really hate Brantley all because of some stupid code?

We're both quiet for the first few minutes of the ride, but the drumming of his thumbs on the steering wheel tells me he's waiting for me to tell him what happened.

"We were going to tell him after Christmas. Brantley wanted to tell him sooner, but I begged him to wait," our eyes meet briefly before I have to look away because of the guilt I'm feeling. "I just needed a little more time."

"Time to do what?" he places his hand over mine to offer a comforting squeeze.

"Make him fall in love with me," I lean my head against the cool glass and picture the look on his face when he'd yelled at me.

Brantley never yelled at me. In fact, he's never even raised his voice before today. He's always so caring. So protective. Even when Scott had turned his anger on me, it had been Brantley's natural reaction to shield me. Scott's words were harsh, but the accusations he made against Brantley were completely false and uncalled for.

B has never once treated me like a puck bunny. Even when we were just fooling around he'd shown me tremendous respect. And I know he's hurting right now. He values my brother's friendship, and because of me that bond has been destroyed. He never wanted a relationship, but that never stopped me from pushing his limits until it was too late to turn back.

"You've got nothing to worry about there. Dude's been in love since the moment he met you," Davis chuckles and downshifts as we turn the corner.

"Yeah, right," I scoff, "he went out of his way to avoid me. I'd hardly call that love at first sight."

"Oh, he was in love. He just didn't know it yet." He deadpans, throwing the car in park when we reach our destination.

My fingers fidget nervously in my lap before I'm able to meet his concerned gaze. We've grown close this semester. I reflect on all the Wednesday lunch dates we've shared. Like Brantley, he's kind-hearted and fiercely loyal. I find myself wondering how my brother could turn his back on someone he once considered a brother. It just doesn't make sense.

None of this does.

"And what about now? You think he's figured it out by now?" I ask quietly, taking a deep breath I don't realize I'm holding until he answers and I finally let it out.

"It's not really my place to tell you that," he begins, then he releases a heavy sigh before adding, "but yeah, I truly believe he's head over heels in love with you. But it's not going to be easy for him. Scott's friendship meant the world to him, and you saw how pissed your brother was."

"If you knew he was that angry then why didn't you and Jordan stop him? You had to know what was going to happen when he got inside the house."

"Scott asked us to wait outside to give him time to talk to both of you. I know it sounds crazy, but this has been coming for a long time. Those two haven't seen eye to eye for the last year. Ashley drove a pretty good wedge between them," he crosses his arms over the steering wheel and looks up at the stars, appearing to be deep in thought. "He broke up with her tonight, at the concert. That's why we were headed home early. He was already pissed and driving fast. Then he got a call from your ex saying you've been screwing Cage. Well, as you can imagine, he drove like a bat out of hell the rest of the way home, muttering under his breath and cursing up a storm."

Justin? How the hell would he have found out about us?

"He said some really awful things about Brantley. If they're truly best friends, why would he do that?"

"Cage was a mess when that shit went down with Vanessa. Scott really helped him through all that. Those two were already close, but that seemed to make their bond stronger. Soon, they were inseparable, and then Scott met Ashley. At first, he was able to divide his time between hockey, Ashley, and everything else. But a year ago, Ashley decided Scott needed to be up her ass twenty-four-seven. Cage gave him shit about it. Personally, I think it was because he was secretly jealous Scott had found something he'd lost. He's tried for years to play it off like he didn't want a relationship, but then he met you and everything else took second place. I think that says a lot. Don't you?"

"I'm scared, Davis. He yelled at me tonight. He's never done that," I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, wishing desperately life was a giant remote and I could just press the rewind button and change the last two hours. "I realize things got pretty intense in there, but you weren't there. You didn't see the cold look in his eyes," I swallow hard and angrily brush the tears from my face. "We were so close to figuring it all out. Now I'm terrified he'll throw it all away."

He leans across the console and pulls me in for a hug. The angle is awkward, but I rest my head on his broad shoulder and find comfort in the stroke of his hand on my back. "Give him some time, Cassie. Cage is a smart guy. He'll figure it out. You both will."

"I hope so," I whisper and close my eyes. "God, I hope so."

CASSIE

Time...

Why does it seem to fly when you're doing something you love, but drags ass when you're miserable?

I manage to survive three days without contacting him. Instead of dwelling on what happened, I try my best to focus on what Davis told me. Surely he knew what he'd been talking about when he said Brantley loved me. Being he'd never actually said the words, and with every day of silence that's passed, it's hard to ignore the doubt clinging to the edges of my already fragile heart.

I remember what it felt like when I'd fallen in love with Justin. He was the first boy I ever kissed, and my heart used to race when he'd score a goal and point to me so I'd know he'd done it just for me. Everything with Justin had been over the top. He always made a grand show of letting everyone know I was his girl. It was his way of staking claim. At the time, I thought nothing of it. Later, I came to realize I no longer wanted to be someone's property, especially when he didn't even respect me.

Unlike Justin, Brantley never treated me as a possession. He treated me as if I were a prize. Often I would find him staring, and he'd give me a look that said he wasn't completely sure if he deserved me. But nothing could have been further from the truth. When we met I'd been an emotional wreck, but he'd gone out of his way to care for me.

Loving B had been easy. He made me feel safe. He made me feel wanted. He's never shown me anything but respect. He took all of my insecurities and gave me a confidence I never knew I possessed. In some ways we were complete opposites, but other times, we were one and the same.

I was a storm and he was my sun. And when we came together we formed one hell of a rainbow.

Some say we never should have been together. But I say we make perfect sense.

"You have another delivery," Roni announces, entering the room with another vase of brightly-colored flowers. She walks over to my desk, places them on the only empty space available, then tosses me the attached card.

That makes four bouquets and countless phone calls from Scott. Not to mention the lengthy voicemail Justin left last night after I refused to answer his calls. He gave me some sob story of how concerned he'd been for my safety, claiming a guy like Brantley would only break my heart. So naturally, he had to share his concern with Scott.