From Ashes

“Hey, sweetie,” Dana said softly, and sat next to her. “What happened that you’d do something as crazy as walking in this freezing weather?” she asked with a quiet laugh and nudge.

I was glad she was asking, because that was exactly what I wanted to know. I was afraid Cassidy was going to break down crying again, and I knew how much she hated for anyone to see her cry, but instead her eyes narrowed and she harshly whispered to Dana about Tyler walking out that morning and coming in late that night with some redhead whose name she couldn’t remember. Said he introduced Cassi as his sister and took the redhead into his room, and repeated what Tyler said when he came back into the kitchen. That was the last thing I heard before grabbing Adam’s arm and stalking out to my truck. I was going to kill the prick.

We were there in six minutes, and I didn’t even bother knocking when I saw his Jeep in the parking lot. I used my old key and charged in, my anger building when I heard some chick’s loud moans in the kitchen. Rounding the corner, I paused only momentarily when I saw Tyler screwing Cara on the kitchen counter before continuing toward him.

“What the hell, man? Get out!”

I didn’t say anything, just grabbed his shoulder and turned him as my fist connected with his nose.

“Gage!” Cara screeched, and tried to cover herself when she realized Adam was with me. “You had your chance with me, you passed it up!”

“This has nothing to do with you and me, Cara. I honestly couldn’t care less who you decide to sleep with. But he has a girlfriend and he could have killed her tonight because he was being stupid. Now get dressed and get out!” I grabbed Tyler’s arm and dragged him over to the couch, letting him fall onto it and throwing the blanket at him.

“Damn it, Gage! You broke my nose.”

“I want to break a lot more than that. But I’m going to give you a few minutes to explain yourself first. Where’s Cassidy?”

He looked at me incredulously. “How the hell am I supposed to know? I told her to leave and now she’s gone.”

“Your Jeep is here.”

“So?”

“Did you give her your keys?”

“No.” He picked up a pillow and held it to his face.

“How did you tell her to leave?”

“I walked her outside. Why do you care? What’s with all the questions?”

“You locked her out of the damn apartment without a way to go anywhere or call anyone! She was in her damn pajamas and, if you didn’t notice, it’s f**king freezing outside!”

“Wait—if you knew all this, why are you even asking me?”

“Because I was hoping what she told me wasn’t true! She walked to my place and by the time she got there she was blue and completely frozen! She could have died, you son of a bitch!”

“Shit, I didn’t even think—oh God, is she okay?” He stood up and I punched him again before he could go anywhere. Adam came up behind me and kept a firm hand on my shoulder.

“You are a worthless piece of shit. Do not come near Cassidy again, you hear me? I don’t know why she’s clung to you her whole life; all you’ve ever done is let her get hurt. I didn’t understand how you could let her get hurt in the past, and I sure as hell don’t understand why you would treat her like this just because she wouldn’t have sex with you. You don’t deserve her, and I’ll kill you if you hurt her again.”

“Can you just tell me if Cassi’s okay?”

“She’s fine. And she’ll be fine as long as she’s with me.”

“Whoa, wait!” We all turned to see Cara standing there with a disgusted look on her still-flushed face. “You’re dating your sister?!”

“She’s not his sister, and he’s not dating her anymore. He’s all yours.” I jerked my head in the direction of my old room and Adam followed me in there. I grabbed Cassidy’s bag from her closet and shoved as much of her clothes as possible into it, grabbed her phone and charger, and headed to the bathroom before throwing everything in there in another bag Adam was holding. When we walked back through the living room, Cara was on her knees in front of Tyler with a towel wiping the blood off his face and chest.

“Gage—”

I cut him a hard look and he stopped talking. “I’m serious. Stay. Away. From Cassidy.”

When we got back to my place, Dana jumped up and put her finger over her mouth before whispering, “She finished a second cup of coffee and just fell asleep like three minutes ago.”

“Did you put sugar in it?” The coffee was decaf; I wasn’t trying to make her stay up the entire night, but I wanted her to drink something hot and wanted the sugar in her system.

She nodded. “And milk.”

“Thanks, Dana, I appreciate it, and I’m sorry for interrupting your time together.”

“Don’t even worry about it. She’s one of my closest friends and takes care of you boys all the time. I owe her for keeping my guy fed.”

I grunted in agreement and couldn’t help but smile when I walked around to the front of the couch. She looked adorable. There was no other word for it. She was drowning in my sweatshirt; the hood was up over her head and her wavy hair spilled out the sides. Her cheeks were pink from the heat of the fire and she was still fully wrapped up in the comforter.

After a quick good-bye to Adam and Dana, I took both of her bags into the spare room before going back out to the living room and picking up the girl I love. When she was all settled in the guest bed, I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt off her head and brushed the hair from her face. God, she’s beautiful. And she’s here. She’d run to me. For the first time ever, she’d gone to someone other than Tyler. Granted, all this was his fault, but she’d gone somewhere else, and it’d been to me.