Away (17 page)

It didn’t matter; I was going to win this game. “Are you prepared to lose?” I asked him with full certainty that he would.

“I think you might have met your match son,” Bart said.

“Alright Sweetheart, let’s see what you’ve got,” he said as he passed out the letters to each of us.

I laid out my letters, and already had a word, it was small, but it would do. Trish started, then we were to continue clockwise, which meant Bart and Jason had to go before it was my turn. I watched as Trish put down her word and then Bart exchanged a couple of tiles. I wasn’t that familiar with the game, but it didn’t take long to catch on.

Jason bit down on his lower lip as he put his tiles down for his first word.

“A double word and that makes twenty two points for me.” He looked over, giving me a shrug with a slightly cocky grin. He wasn’t normally cocky about things, but I actually enjoyed seeing this side of him. He was more competitive than I thought.

Trish broke my thoughts to let me know that it was my turn.

“Hmm, I guess I’ll just have to play this word, which just so happens to tie me up with Jason.” I looked over at him after I was finished laying out my tiles for the word ‘MAKER’, giving me exactly twenty-two points. “I tried to tell you, Jason,” I said teasingly.

“It’s not over yet Sweetheart,” he said, batting those perfectly long eyelashes over his green gems.

“Not even close,” I whispered to him as Trish took her turn.

So, this is what a family night felt like. It was more than refreshing to see parents like this, parents who showed affection and who had fun with their kid. I would have never guessed a night of Scrabble would have been just the ticket for a fun evening. Normally family nights for me were awkward and uncomfortable, especially the older I got. Now I realized what I’d really been missing. It made me sad, but also happy that I had the chance to experience it, even if it was only for this one time.

The game continued for over an hour. Bart was the first one out, Trish followed him, leaving Jase and me to finish for the winning spot. This was a true cowboy showdown, or so Bart told me. You’d have thought this was a national contest on television as intent as they sat with their eyes on the board, waiting for Jase to make his move.

If I wasn’t able to connect my letters to his next word that he laid out, I would lose the game. I sat fidgeting with my hands on my lap as I waited impatiently for him to take his turn.

He finally put down his last letter and glanced over at me. ‘LUCKY’.

I could tell by the way he looked at me that there was more meaning behind the word than anyone could ever know. I felt the same way too, but right now, this time, I had to put my letters out for a win that Jason just made possible.

“Fourteen points, Jason,” Trish said, keeping score for us.

I started grinning ear to ear, knowing the word I was able to spell. He was either going to laugh or get pissed, and if I knew him as well as I thought I did, he was going to do exactly what my word spelled out.

I laid out all my letters, spelling the word ‘BLUSH’. I sat back in my chair after I finished placing all the tiles. I looked over at Jason immediately.

“Seriously?” he asked, shaking his head as his cheeks started to turn that color of red that I loved seeing.

“Oh you better believe it. I couldn’t have worked it out more perfectly if I had planned it myself,” I said.

Trish and Bart were now laughing hysterically along with us.

Trish lifted her head up after putting the score down even though I already knew my numbers. I was unfortunately too good at adding in my head. “Our new winner is Cassandra,” she gushed.

“What? That’s impossible,” Jason said as he grabbed the score sheet.

“Read it and weep mister. Triple word and my H landed on a double letter score. Correct me if I’m wrong but that puts me twenty-four points over you. I win, I win!” I realized after saying it out loud.

“WOOHOO!” I screamed. I might have also done a little dance as I got up from my chair, cheering myself on. I looked over at Trish and Bart who were still in hysterics at my word and for my pure enthusiasm for winning. It had been awhile, but I finally did something without failing.
Baby steps, Cassandra, baby steps.
I couldn’t help but giggle at myself. I had just compared not failing at life to winning at Scrabble. I really must have been getting too much fresh air this past week. I sat back down before I took my excitement any further.

Jason sat forward in his chair with a sexy look on his face, not at all the face of a loser. That was probably because he was not even close to being one. He was winning me over every day.

“I’ll let you have this win, but only because,” he paused as he leaned over closer to me, “you look so happy right now and I like seeing you like this.”

“Or, how about because I actually really did win,” I said, leaning in closer to him. “I also am really happy right now.”

He shot me another grin before getting up from his chair.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun playing a board game before,” I told Trish and Bart as we started cleaning the table up.

“We play once a week, but never has it been this competitive or exciting,” she said.

We finished cleaning up our board game, putting the tiles in the bag they came in and the board back in the box.

“Okay who’s ready for some dinner? I was thinking of grilling tonight.” Bart announced as he grabbed a pack of chicken out of the refrigerator.

“Sounds good Dad,” Jason said. He made his way closer to me. “That okay with you, Cassie?”

As much as I loved home cooked meals now, I was just too exhausted to stay up any longer. I had a hunch because of the pregnancy that I was starting to feel more tired than usual. “I think I’ll pass, I’m actually really tired and was going to head to bed.”

Trish came up to me as though she was trying to keep it between us. “Are you sure Sweetie? You really should eat something. Do you feel sick? Do you want a pack of crackers?”

She was too kind. “I have a pack in my room. I think I just had too much fun for one day,” I told her.

She nodded her head and went back into the kitchen.

Jason had a worrisome look in his eyes as he made his way over to me, making my stomach feel guilty for lying to him. I knew I had to do as Mel said and give him the chance to respond in his own way, but I was just too afraid. I was protecting my feelings from being hurt beyond repair.

“Night Bart, night Trish,” I hollered over to them as they started preparing dinner.

“Hey I have somewhere to take you tomorrow.” He nudged his head toward me.

“Where to?” I asked.

“Moose wants me to bring you in to see your car.”

I wasn’t ready for my car to be done yet. I couldn’t place the feeling, but I wanted more time with this man standing in front of me. I wanted to see what these tingles and goose bumps really meant. I just needed more time. I never thought I would say that, as much of a hurry as I was to get away from my life or from Keaton, but my heart was telling me to stay. Mel could tell there was something going on, but I needed to know if he did too.

“You don’t seem happy about that?” he asked, inching closer toward me. “We don’t have to go look at it. I mean it might be hard for you since it’s not done yet, the parts just came in.”

And exhale.
I looked up at him. “No, we can go. That would be good. Well maybe not good to see the way it is, but to see it progressing, I guess is what I meant,” I said, stumbling over my words.

He shook his head and chuckled. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah I’m just really tired, I will probably be asleep the minute my head hits the pillow.”

“Do you want me to keep you company?” he asked, his eyes looking me over as though he was looking for signs of illness.

Yes. I do want you to stay.

“As much as I would like that I don’t think I’ll be much company.”

“Get some sleep then. Night Cassie,” he said quietly.

“Night Jase,” I said to him, mirroring his tone. He lingered, his lips parting open. He looked like he wanted to say something else but he didn’t. He shut his mouth and left.

As I got into bed, the only thing I could think about was Jase and the tingles he gave me. One I hadn’t ever experienced before and goose bumps that weren’t because of being cold. I suddenly smiled as I thought about how it was good to have these feelings.

T
HE
NEXT
DAY
WE
WALKED
into the garage and it was nothing like I was expecting. It wasn’t like the shops back in Denver, but it certainly wasn’t awful like I envisioned and I was glad for that.

A sudden gasp left my mouth as I saw my car sitting there. “Oh my God! She looks terrible,” I said, pointing to it in disbelief.

“Well you did do a number on it, Cassandra,” Moose said as he rolled out from underneath the car sitting next to mine.

“I know, but I wasn’t expecting to see this. It’s been a week and she still looks so...” I paused, trying to find the right word.

“Rough?” Moose suggested as he came walking over to us in greasy coveralls and a baseball cap.

Rough was exactly the perfect word.

“I think you were so shaken up from your accident you didn’t realize the shape your car was in. Now you see why I wanted you to go to the hospital to get checked out,” Jase said as he stood next to me, both of us taking in the shape of the metal before us.

“I definitely get it now.” I hadn’t understood the severity of the situation before, but I did now.

Moose walked over to the front left of the car, pointing to various places explaining to me in gibberish what he had already done and what was still left to do. “We had to pull the door off. The windshield will have to be replaced. We also had to pull your hood off, your front bumper, the left fender, and that don’t even cover the frame damage underneath, the radiator, the radiator core support, the alignment it will need, or the tire and wheel that will have to be replaced too,” he finished.

“Huh?” I asked, gawking at him.

“Your car is hurt badly, but I’m going to fix it,” Moose said, giving me a ‘you are such a girl’ look.

Jase and I both looked at each other and laughed. I hated that I had no clue what he was telling me, but I wasn’t raised around fixing cars.

“Your car is in good hands, don’t worry,” Jason said.

Moose walked over to a large toolbox and pulled something out.

“Dad found this when he was pulling your car apart, I believe this belongs to you,” he said, handing over a white phone. MY white phone.

I looked at him, my eyes not even believing what was in front of them. My stomach was doing a happy dance inside as I let out a sigh of relief. “Oh my God. Seriously. You, Moose, are too awesome. Thank you so much.”

“Man, you don’t realize how long we have been looking for that thing,” Jase said to Moose who had a look on his face like he just saved a kitten from a tree. This was no kitten, but it was my only connection to the world and I was more than glad to have it back.

I looked up at Jase who had the same excited look on his face as I hit the button on the front illuminating the screen. “It works!” I gasped.

“So this means no more calls from the feisty one. I’m bummed,” Jase said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at him as I slid my finger across the screen.

“Forty five missed calls,” I said out loud. I clicked on the phone icon bringing up all my missed calls. “And all from Mel. I should have known.” I sunk my shoulders. I didn’t know why I thought I would have any from my parents. Even though my week had been flipped upside down, it didn’t mean theirs had. I also never let them know, so I only had myself to blame for the absence of calls from them.

“Hey,” Jase said, catching my attention.

“It’s fine. I didn’t tell them. It’s my own fault for thinking they would just know that something was wrong with their daughter,” I said.

“It’s not okay, Cassie, but if you want to call them, we can give you some privacy,” he offered, being the sweet Jason I’ve come to know.

I shook my head. “No, I’m okay. Really,” I lied, my eyes blinking away a few tears that wanted to push through. This wasn’t anything out of the normal I hadn’t dealt with before.

I felt his hands on my shoulders, squeezing them as he whispered in my ear from behind me. “They really do care about you, Cassie. Sometimes parents just have an odd way of showing it.”

“I know,” I whispered back.

“Big D could relate,” Moose said.

“Big D?” I asked.

Jase walked back around standing in front of me. “My brother; he has parent issues, so I see what you’re going through. It’ll be okay,” he tried to assure me.

“But you said you didn’t talk about your brother. So how is it going to be okay?” I tried to understand, but I couldn’t. His parents didn’t discuss his brother but he said everything would be okay. How would he know for sure?

“Because in the end, everything will be okay. It has to be,” he said.

“I guess.” I shrugged, trying hard to trust him.

“Sorry man,” Moose said to Jason with an apologetic look.