Before Her Eyes (Constance Langdon x OC)

Confronting Her Demon

When Cassandra's doorbell rang that evening, she jumped. She'd done nothing but wait for it for hours, yet the sound still startled her. Taking a deep, calming breath, Cassandra smoothed out her already wrinkle free black slacks and pulled her grey cardigan tighter over her chest. The house had always been drafty, but she seemed to be unable to shake the chill. With her hand on the doorknob, she swung it open and put on a smile. "Cassandra," Phineas greeted warmly.

"Phineas, you haven't changed a bit," she enthused, hoping her clenched teeth weren't noticeable. She was so on edge she felt that she was very nearly vibrating. How she was going to get through dinner was a notion she couldn't fathom. Somehow she was going to have to manage, so she could keep in control of the situation tonight. She couldn't let him know something was off. He had to think she was still oblivious.

Cassandra silently showed him to the dining room, gesturing for him to take a seat. "Dinner should only be a minute more. Just have to check that everything cooked thoroughly. I didn't know exactly what time you'd be here, so I've just had it on a low simmer." She felt ridiculous explaining this to him. So, before she said anything else that made her seem like a madwoman, she excused herself to the kitchen without another word.

Standing next to the stove, she clutched the edges of the countertop, turning her knuckles white. She took a couple of deep breaths, hoping to stave off a full blown panic attack. She had to get through this. Forcing herself to move, she dished up the meal, giving herself a rather small portion. She didn't trust that she was going to be able to stomach much of anything at all. Simon acknowledged her with a concerned meow as she glanced at the cupboard under the sink. She knew there was rat poison in there, she'd used it when she first moved in. She shook her head. When Simon was the voice of reason in the house, she knew things were bad. She could hardly believe she'd even considered it. She picked up the plates and went back to the dining room before she changed her mind.

She sat down to dinner with Phineas and tried her hardest not to stare. She was so caught up in wondering how she could have worked with him day in and day out and never seen his true nature. If he had really...done what he'd done, how could she not have seen it in his eyes? Was she that blind? Her answer had been right before her eyes the whole time, and for years she couldn't fucking see it.

The anger built up within her. She was angry at him, most definitely, but some of that anger was directed towards herself. She'd trusted him, admired him, and this was what she got for it. "So, Cassandra, I heard you met with Benjamin Norrange," Phineas prompted, interrupting Cassandra's muddled thoughts.

"I did," she confirmed. "He was very nice. He pointed me in a whole new direction," she told him, hoping to strike a nerve.

"He did, did he," Phineas asked, seeming only the least bit surprised. She'd have to try harder to get him to let something slip. "Any good leads," he followed up, dabbing his chin with his napkin.

"Nothing too promising. He just informed me that in his professional opinion, it couldn't have possibly been a demon. He didn't offer any sure alternatives, but he gave me something to rule out."

"Progress then," he stated in a satisfied tone. It almost sounded arrogant to Cassandra's ears, which only infuriated her more. She wasn't going to get anything out of him this way, and if she had to make small talk much longer, she wasn't sure what she'd do. Her patience was wearing dangerously thin.

Abruptly, Cassandra shoved her chair back and got up from the table. "I've completely forgotten to feed Simon! You will excuse me, won't you?"

"Of course. Can't let you allow the poor kitty to starve." He grinned, and his smile was sickening to her now. She was glad she hadn't ate any more than a few bites off her plate. Waking off to the kitchen, again in attempt to regain her composure, Cassandra ignored the cat's food bowl. She'd already fed him, it had only been an excuse to catch a breath of air. The idea of the poison popped back into her mind, but she quickly shoved it away again. There had to be a way to get him to admit it. She needed to hear it from his own smug mouth. Only then could she accept it and truly begin to heal.