Her Fear Of Falling Again

Chapter 35

After dinner, instead of going back to her hotel, Cassie followed Michael back to his flat as it was close to the restaurant, and for some reason, the dinner had exhausted her mentally and she didn't want to be left alone with her thoughts. "I can't believe the audacity he has to come to dinner and asked to be placed next to me! And to sit there all smug and cocky. He is so annoying!" Cassie complains as she enters the warm flat and Michael helps her take her coat off. 

"Yes, you've said this about 15 times the whole ride here," Michael says, slightly annoyed by her going on about Sebastian.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go on like that." She says slightly convicted. Michael wrapped his arms around her waist, as he pulled her closer to him and they began slow dancing in the living room. "What are you doing?" She giggles. "We're dancing." He says as he took her arm and spun her around, and pulled her back into his chest. "There is no music Michael." She laughs, feeling a little silly.

"Who cares? You're clearly having fun." He says as they continued dancing around the living room to no music. 

Cassie wrapped her arms around his shoulder and laid her head on his chest as they swayed. Her mind couldn't help but drift to her memory of when she had her head on Sebastian's chest and they swayed the same way at her aunt's house. It was one of the most comforting experiences she had and she remember the pang of fear that hit her at that time as she was beginning to fall for Sebastian, and she knew falling for him would mean that he could break her heart at any given moment, and he did. 

"I'm so mad at him." She blurts out. "What?" Michael asked in confusion.

"It's not right for him to come back now. I mean, I'm happy and I've moved on." She says as she looks up into Michael's eyes.

"Have you?" He asked her as he pushed her away a little and walked up to the bar to pour himself a drink. He was starting to be aware of the fact that Cassie still had feelings for Sebastian. 

"Of course I have!" She says, slightly upset that he would doubt her.

"All you've done is go on and on about him. Heck, we were having a really sweet moment there and you brought him up again" He says slightly upset.

"Yea cause, he's here and he's trying to ruin what we have going on. You saw what he did at the restaurant." She says as she began pacing.

"I don't care what he did at the restaurant, I care more that at the end of the day, you're here with me. So why does it bother you so much?" He questions as he takes a sip of the scotch he poured himself.

"It bothers me because... He just makes me mad. Why did he have to come here? I was fine." She says slowly tearing up. 

"Cassie, you still love him," Michael says. "It doesn't matter. He broke my heart, I don't want to be with him anymore." She whispers.

"You're lying to yourself," Michael says as he walks towards her.

"Look, I really like you and if it was up to me, I would say, ignore him, and let's just see where this goes." He says gesturing to both of them. "But I can't be with someone who is clearly in love with someone else." He says.

"But I'm trying to move on. I don't want to be with him." She clarifies. "Cassie, I don't want to be a distraction or a bounce back to help you get over Sebastian if that's what you're trying to do."

"Are you dumping me?" She asks with a frown as she looked up at him and into his eyes.

"I'm doing it before you do it." He says. "I was never going to break up with you." She says.

"You would have at some point and I'm afraid I would have been in too deep at that point to let you go." He says sadly. Cassie instantly felt a pang of guilt. He was right, she was using him as a distraction from Sebastian. She was never going to be able to replace what she had with Sebastian, with Michael.

"I'm sorry for stringing you along." She says in slight relief and also guilt. She had no idea she wanted this to be over with and was glad Michael called it quits.

"It's okay, I sort of knew what I was getting into when we started." He says shrugging.

"Do you hate me now? Is this going to affect us working together?" She asks concerned.

"Unfortunately, I can't hate you. So don't worry, we're cool." He says embracing her in a hug. "Thank you." She sighs in relief as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"You know, if you really want to get back at Sebastian, I can think of something we can do." He says seductively. "And that's my cue to get out of here." She says, hitting his arm and pulling away from the hug. Causing him to chuckle.

As soon as Cassie gets back into her hotel room, her phone buzzes. "Dad?" Cassie says picking up. "Hey honey, how's it going?" Her dad's voice over the line instantly made her homesick.

"Dad, isn't it like 4 in the morning there? Are you at the hospital?" Cassie asked. "Yea, same old, same old. Did you meet Sebastian?" He asked.

"Yea he... Wait... How did you know he was here?" She asked confused as she sat on the bed balancing the phone between her ears and neck, as she unbuckled her heels. "He came to me. He told me he found out where you were and wanted to see you." Her dad says.

This revelation was so bizarre to her. The thought of her dad and Sebastian actually hanging out after what happened. She instantly felt a little sick to her stomach as she wondered if Sebastian told her dad about Jake.

"What did you guys talk about? Did he tell you anything about the breakup?" She asks worriedly. And her dad stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me Jake came back?" He asked in disappointment. "Dad, I didn't know how to, he came so suddenly and randomly and he ruined everything," Cassie says almost on the verge of tears.

"Do you still have feelings for him?" He asked. "Absolutely not! I want nothing to do with him anymore." Cassie states.

"Good, then make sure Sebastian knows that," He says.

"Dad, I don't know if I want to get back together with Sebastian. He really broke my heart and he left me just like that for two freaking months and who's to say he won't do it again any moment I slip up?" She says.

"Honey, that man loves you, yes he took too long but honey you messed up too. He clearly needed time to come to his senses but I have no doubt that he loves you. I told you he would come back. I saw the way he looked at you when we were at your aunties house. He loves you, Cassie. don't let your pride ruin something special." He says and Cassie couldn't help but begin sobbing.

"I wish you were here to hug me right now. I'm a crying mess." She sniffles and he laughs. "I trust you'll make the right decision." Her dad says before talking to her a little more and hanging up.