Chapter 9

Cassie’s POV

I suddenly felt slight tremors ahead of me. My first thought was to ignore it, they would stop soon enough. I was wrong.

At first the tremors came in short beats, but they soon increased in tempo. 

What in the world…? Where is it coming from? I wondered.

It took a minute to realize two things:

One. I was still in bed.

Two: Those tremors were actually vibrations. Coming from my phone.

Argh! It’s too early for this!

I thrashed lightly under the covers before yanking them over my head. Unfortunately, the vibrations didn't stop. I let out a loud groan before shoving the covers off.

With a huff, I rolled off the bed, landing on the rug with a light thud. Another groan escaped me as I finally took on a sitting position before grabbing my phone from the bedside table.

My eyes widened at the number of notifications I had.

15 messages!

All from Ledger.

“What the hell?” I glanced at the time. 7:30 am. “Lectures don't start till 9:00 am, though. So, why would he…?” I decided to check out the chat.

Smirky Douchebook: Hey.

Smirky Douchebook: U up?

Smirky Douchebook: Lol, that sounded like a booty call, didn’t it?

Smirky Douchebook: Hey, Cassie.

Smirky Douchebook: Earth to Cassie.

Smirky Douchebook: Hellooo…

Smirky Douchebook: Don’t tell me you’re still sleeping?

It was 6:00 a.m. when he sent that. Freaking doofus.

Smirky Douchebook: Wow, for someone so studious I thought you woke up at 5:00 am or something...

I swiped through the endless string of texts—sarcasm, jokes, and complaints. Then finally:

Smirky Douchebook: I know you place your phone on vibration. So, I'm simply going to keep texting you until you wake up.

I sighed, closing my eyes briefly. Perhaps I should just leave him on read and…

Brrrrr.

Another buzz. Another message.

Smirky Douchebook: Are u here yet?

Right. That wouldn't work.

You: Gosh, you're loud even through the screen.

Smirky Douchebook: Heyyy, there she is! :-⁠)

You: What do you want, Ledger? It’s too early for this.

Smirky Douchebook: Well, a great morning to you too. Look out the window.

…Huh?

What did he mean by that? There’s no way…

I nearly tripped rushing towards the window. There was nothing interesting happening outside, though.

I looked down, intending to give Ledger a piece of myself when I got another text.

Smirky Douchebook: Ah, wait. Wrong timing. One sec.

A couple seconds later:

Smirky Douchebook: Alright, check now.

I turned my gaze to the window once more, and there was a fancy car parked in front of my home. The roof of the car itself was retracted, so I could see Ledger clearly as he wildly waved his hand. I ducked instantly, pulling the curtains shut.

Jeez, why was he here?

The sudden pounding on the door startled me out of my thoughts. I had barely managed to unlock it before someone came barging in.

It was my little brother, Quentin. “Cassie, did you see the car parked outside?” There was no denying just how elated he was. He was grinning from ear to ear. He shoved my curtains apart and stared out the window. “That is an Audi R8 Spyder!” he announced while I scrambled to close the curtains again.

I must look like an idiot to Ledger.

“Quentin, go to your room. I need to freshen up,” I said as gently as I could muster.

In truth, I was panicking. Ledger could show up at my doorstep at any moment.

“You don't understand! That is a—”

“Audi R8 Spyder. I heard you the first time,” I said, beginning to lose my patience.

“It’s so cool, right?” he asked innocently, still wearing that easy smile. Quentin had always been fascinated by cars, even for a seven-year-old.

I smiled. It was hard not to when it came to my little brother. I ruffled his hair fondly. “It is cool,” I agreed. “But the owner of that car is gonna be here soon.” His eyes widened at that. “Can you stop Mum from letting him up while I freshen up? You can tell me just how cool the car is when I’m done.”

“I will!” he said happily before hurrying out of the room.

As soon as he left the room, I began to move quickly. Washing up would have to be done swiftly.

---

Whew! All done.

Now that I was all cleaned up, I felt better. I left my room and began to make my way down the stairs. The voices of my mother, Quentin, and Ledger got louder the closer I was.

“…Was always Cassie’s dream to become a journalist. She used to rehearse fake interviews in front of the mirror,” my mum was saying.

“Aw, that’s adorable,” Ledger commented. The corners of his lips were quirked up in a smile.

“Right? Did you know she used to sign all her stories with ‘Future Pulitzer Winner’ when she was twelve?” she informed him. Wow, it seemed Mum was intent on embarrassing me today. Where is Quentin? He was supposed to—

My gaze fell on him, seated in the midst of his toys. A replica of Ledger’s car sat before him. Ah, a bribe.

“You know what, I still have the stories somewhere,” Mum was saying. “I can show it to—”

Oh, hell nah.

“Why don’t you give him my social security number while you’re at it, Mum?”

Both Ledger and my mum looked up at me. My mum leaned backward.

“Is that the way to speak to your mother, young lady?” she chided, but she was wearing a smile. “Especially since I’ve been a gracious host to your guest.”

As I approached the table, I didn’t miss how Ledger's gaze seemed to roam and linger on me. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Mum looked between us before finally settling her gaze on Ledger. There was a mischievous smile on her face.

“She looks lovely, doesn’t she?”

“Mum!”

I was going to die of embarrassment at this rate.

“Yes, she does,” he replied, startling me. The usual teasing lilt to his voice was absent, and his smile was genuine.

“See? The young man agrees,” she said smugly.

Ignoring her, I hastily grabbed Ledger's hand and began to pull him towards the door.

“We’re leaving.”

“What? Cassie—”

“Bye, Mum!” I cut her off. We were already almost through the door.

“It was great meeting you, Mrs. Monroe,” Ledger called out, just as the door closed.

I didn’t stop there, however. I led him towards his car,heading straight for the front passenger seat while he took the driver’s seat.

“Drive,” I ordered, not wanting to deal with my mum any further in case she stepped out.

Ledger chuckled. “As you command, my lady.”