Homecoming || Cassie and Reed
To her surprise and relief, the sky hadn’t fallen. In fact, at the moment the very much intact horizon ahead was in transition to the insipid blue of the early morning as she looked out and followed the signs for Bangor. The town sign loomed in the near distance and she griped the steering wheel. She’d done it. She’d crossed the stupid thing without everything falling to hell around her. She passed it by without a second glance but breathed a small sigh of relief, following it as it receded from sight in her rear-view mirror. She’d done it. Twice.
There was nothing but freedom. No bad luck, no lightning strikes, no tearful phone calls telling her to come back home. Nothing. Aside from a shaky ten minutes she spent fighting the urge to pull over and call everybody she knew to check in most of the nervousness passed by and after a while the unease gave way to relief. Maybe she wasn’t a complete walking disaster after all. Cassie drummed her fingers against the wheel in time to the track playing and flexed her hand. The streetlights outside caught the band on her finger. The silver glinted where the light hit as she looked down at it for a moment. Its existence still felt surreal on occasion. She’d taken it off all about of twice, wearing it on a chain for the last week, but it never left her since she found it. It’s discovery made her smile. No big public display or huge fuss she’d have shied away from. No pressure. Just a quiet question left for her to find. Something that was very them. Her answer had been equally subtle. Maybe a little too subtle, one her sleep starved brain noticed the new addition to her keys anyway. One of the many things she didn’t think she’d ever do. Something that probably wouldn’t happen, that maybe she wasn’t meant to, wasn’t the type. And that had been okay. Had been. Things changed. A lot of things were different now. Life was funny that way.
Cassie finished up the long drive heading down towards Torrance street and passed the lake and made her way towards the centre of town towards her apartment before making the decision to take a turn at Denton Street that would take her back towards Ranch Road, that would take her home.
She spotted the purple car parked close out front as the house came into view. Glancing at the dashboard the clock still showed it was still in the early hours. Maybe on second thought she should just go straight to her apartment. Let him sleep and call in the morning. The regular mornings for normal people she meant. The car stilled as she decided on pulling up on the sidewalk and killed the engine. She looked over towards the house before getting out, she could just stop by to say she was home and she’d see him in the morning. No biggie. Keys in hand she grabbed up her holdall from the back seat and collected the box from the front and wrestled with them for a moment while she pulled the strap of her bag over one shoulder and balanced the box in one hand.
“Okay so,” she started where she stood at the door. “I’m pretty sure I still smell like I’ve been at a week-long cookout, I did not pass go or collect two hundred. I just came straight back, so sorry for this” she gestured vaguely at herself, at her worn oversized hoodie and faded jeans then shook it off. Not Important, really not important, “but uh, anyway, I come bearing gifts.” She lifted the box, noticing one of the sides had taken a bash on the trip home, the glazed were goners, crap. “Little dented,” she quirked her head to the side, “but probably still good, gifts.” She used her free hand to adjust the strap onto her shoulder properly and gripped it with her fingers as she stopped and looked at him properly. “Hi,” she breathed, feeling herself still with a smile spreading across her features.
