Open Heart Choices: Falling Into Dust

Part 2: The Healing

Summary: Back in familiar surroundings, Cassie falls back into old habits but finds it's not that easy to start over without first healing the soul.

The sounds of waves crashing against the rocks were distant, but in that quiet period of dawn Cassie could hear them as loudly as if she was standing on the cliff.

When the soft knock came, as she knew it would, she called out for Max to come in.

He peeked in to see her lying on her side in bed, her hands tucked beneath her face on the pillow, eyes unwavering from the view outside the French doors leading to the terrace.

She turned to face him when she heard the door close and felt him climb on the bed.

"Morning, sis. Figured you'd be up. You never could resist dawn here," he said, smiling as he lay down next to her on top of the covers. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she said finally. "I need more time."

He watched her for a minute and then nodded.

"Take as long as you need," he said, placing his hand over hers. "I'm here whenever you're ready, but you should know that Ethan's worried about you. You should have told him, Cassie."

"I know," she said softly, tears gathering in her eyes. "I can't face him right now."

"Why?" he asked, puzzled. "Did you guys have a fight?"

She shook her head but didn't say anything more. Max saw the sadness in her eyes and gave her a look as if to say he understood and wouldn't push her.

"Want to go for a run?"

"Always," she said with a smirk. "But you know gym fit isn't street fit, right?"

"Care to make a wager?" he smirked back. "Fifty that I match you, mile for mile. Loser has to cook breakfast."

"Make it a hundred," she said, rubbing her fingers together. "Residents don't make as much as hotel magnates, and I could use the extra dough."

"You're on," he said, hopping off the bed. "Just don't whine too much when I beat you. I'm gonna grab my gear. Meet you downstairs."

Over the next few days Cassie's life developed a routine. Every morning, she and Max would go for a run, alternating routes. Sometimes they took the cliff path down to the beach, other times it was to the western edge of the property or to the security gate and back.

The guards had gotten used to seeing the twins razzing each other as they tried to outdo the other.

That first morning, she had won the bet, barely. Even though the poison was no longer in her system, it had taken its toll by leaving her muscles weak and her heartbeat irregular whenever she pushed herself.

Completing her normal five miles had been excruciating; only the thought of losing to her brother had kept her going.

Afternoons were for gardening in the conservatory or hanging out by the pool, while evenings were for experimenting with cooking or baking followed by watching a movie or playing games.

Even there, she and Max couldn't help but get competitive. He seemed determined to push her out of this passive mood she'd gotten stuck in.

Cassie saw it for what it was and just ignored it, determined to live in a make-believe world where the last six years had never happened. There, she was just Cassie Valentine, daughter, sister and socialite, not Dr. Cassie Valentine, resident and Diagnostics junior fellow.

Max knew she knew, but still, he watched her like a hawk, ready to step in when she hit the wall. He'd asked their parents to stay away until then knowing their mom wanted to enfold Cassie and never let her go.