Gathering Roses

4.

Flashback

"...and this is my best friend, Cass." Maya beamed, introducing Cass to Jed. They both noted and said hi. "Jed asked me to get a shake at Stacey's tonight!" Maya squealed in Cass' ear as she slid onto the bench at lunch. Cass smiled, but couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't dampen Maya's mood, so she said nothing. Adam sat down next to Jed and didn't smile, just gave a nod of his head. His calculating eyes found Cass', and she looked away immediately. Aaron had always made her feel uneasy. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 

"Maybe Cass can come and hang with Aaron." Jed offered, grinning and elbowing Aaron in the side. Before Cass could say anything, Aaron glowered at Jed. 

"Nah, man. I'm busy tonight. I'll see you around." He stood up and left the table without so much as a glance back. Jed shrugged as if that was par for the course with Aaron. 

"Guess not." He said, then asked Maya about the upcoming history exam. They fell into conversation and Cass picked at her lunch. She had bought some questionable-looking spaghetti and meatballs, having forgotten her lunch in the chaos that had ensued that morning. Her parents had been fighting— again. Cass couldn't count the nights she'd spent lying awake, listening to them argue about each and every little inconvenience in their lives. Cass tried to block it out best she could, especially when her name came up, but her pillow only did so much. She yawned and put her fork down. She was don trying to eat Washington High's sorry excuse for her favorite Italian dish. 

"I'll see you guys later." She said, barely getting a nod from Maya as she left the table and walked out of the cafeteria. If she knew Maya, Cass was sure Jed would be singing her praises by Friday. 

                    ~          ~          ~          ~

"Well, here it is." Tucker let the van idle down as he pulled up to a small cabin in the middle of the woods. The road that they had rejoined after the river had petered out a mile back, but Tucker seemed to know right were to go. Cass tried not to think about that. If Tucker was in league with Jimmy, he wouldn't have let Aaron die— would he? Was that part of the plan to trick Cass into getting comfortable with Tucker? She knew Jimmy was heartless, but she couldn't believe that he would completely disregard human life like that. She tried to push the thoughts from her mind. 

Her worries were interrupted by Emmy, who was still whimpering slightly but now had begun to reach for the door handle. Cass slowly unlatched the door and got out, reaching back for Emmy. She clambered down after Cass and insisted on shutting the door, then quickly grabbed Cass' hand. 

Tucker motioned for them to follow him. They traveled the short distance to the front door and Tucker turned the handle— which opened, complaining slightly from many long years of disuse. There were no cables connected to the cabin, so Cass assumed there would be no electricity. There was also an outhouse peeking through the window over the sink, so Cass also assumed there was no bathroom. She shivered slightly, drawing Emmy close. 

"Is this where you kill us?" She asked, only half joking. Thankfully, Tucker chuckled and shook his head. 

"No, if I were that kind of person, well, let's not go there. Ben's mom and dad are huge advocates for completely detoxing from society every once and a while, therefore no electricity. Ben and I always complained that one could be away from society just fine while still having a toilet, but they never saw eye-to-eye on that one. Let's see what Ben's mom left for supplies." They kept their shoes on as they crossed the dusty wood plank floor to the cupboards in the kitchen. Inside, they found dozens of bottles of water and canned products. No fresh bread or fruit or anything of interest to Cass or, she supposed, Emmy. However, she was grateful for the water and to even be alive with everything that had happened, so she would happily accept anything. She didn't have much of an appetite anyways, after seeing Aaron... she shuddered, blocking off that train of thought. She forced a smile and gathered Emmy into her arms. 

"We're lucky there's anything here! Looks like this place has been vacant for a long time." She said, accepting a water bottle from Tucker. She opened it and gave Emmy a sip. 

"Yeah, it's been at least ten years since I've been out here. Ben's parents have been out here several times since then, but Ben is out on the coast and hasn't been back here in years either." He opened a bottle for himself and chugged half of it without stopping. Cass hadn't realized before, but he was rather attractive— in a rugged kind of way. He looked right at home as he slipped a pocket knife out of his pocket and split open a can of chicken noodle soup— and started drinking it cold. 

"Ewww." Emmy said, wrinkling her little nose as Tucker slurped the noodles. He picked one out of the can and shook it in Emmy's face, prompting her to shriek with laughter and bury her face in Cass' chest. Cass smiled, but she couldn't bring herself to join in the laughter. How was this not upsetting Tucker? Granted, he hadn't known Aaron, but it still was a terrible thing to witness. 

"How is this not bothering you?" She asked him in a low voice as he opened Emmy her own can of soup. Much to Cass' surprise, the young girl began to slurp the noodles and giggle as she did so. Tucker's grin faltered. 

"Of course it's bothering me. This afternoon I've gone from getting my first plumbing job to fleeing from a murderer, then fording a dangerous river after off-roading in my plumbing van after a high-speed chase down the interstate to watching a man die. I'm freaking out, Cass. I just haven't processed anything yet, so I'm slurping noodles with Emmy. Later on, I promise you, it will hit me. Okay?" He answered, trying to keep the agitation out of his voice. Emmy looked at him with concern in her eyes, but he raised the can of soup to his mouth and slurped the next noodle, making Emmy collapse in giggles. 

Cass nodded, her heart sinking. Tucker had not asked for this. He had not volunteered to be her hero and watch a man die. His life would be forever changed because of her and her problems. The guilt began to wash over her, and it was all she could do to stay standing upright on that dusty kitchen floor.