Orphic

Spring Thirteen - Cassius

Bella locked me in the house until Saturday.

She refused to allow me to catch up on any work and insisted I sit on my ass and do nothing.

"Promise me you'll be careful."

I was walking her back to the bus stop, she'd switched to wearing my clothes and was taking a pair of sweats and tank top with her.

"Quit worrying. I'm good."

She shrugged. "I just mean. you being out here. in the middle of no where. are you sure it's safe? they won't -."

"I'm fine. hardly anyone knows i'm here. just go home Bella."

By the time we reached the bus stop, we only had a minute or so before Bella would be trapped here until tomorrow.

"Can I have a hug this time?"

I shook my head and held out my pinky instead.

her facial expression stayed the same and she took it with hers and gave me a small squeeze.

"Call me soon. Please."

"I will." I lied.

Finally she turned to go. I didn't wait to chase the bus like they did in the movies and I didn't wait to wave at her through the window.

~

When I reached the town square I was somewhat taken aback by the decorations all over the place.

Mayor Lewis and a few others were in the middle of tidying up what looked like a crazy party.

"Oh Cass! mind helping me lift this?" Robin called.

She was standing over by a bench, getting ready to put it back where it belonged by the saloon.

"I didn't see you at the egg hunt." She added as we began lifting.

"Yea. I had a friend visiting from out of town." I replied, ignoring the pain in my back.

Once the bench was placed Robin got to work on making sure it was completely straight.

I slipped into the Saloon before she could ask me any more questions.

It was pretty packed, normal for a Saturday, but I was mostly surprised to see Shane, standing in his usual corner with a bottle of beer in his hand.

every sip made him wince which immediately irked me every time I watched him bring the bottle to his lips.

I forced myself out of the doorway and moved to my usual spot at the bar. Gus placed a cup of coffee in front of me within a few moments.

"Haven't seen you in a few days. thought you couldn't survive without your coffee."

I turned my attention to Gus and gave him a small smile, "Trust me, I haven't."

He was about to reply when I heard someone sitting in the chair next to me, the familiar scent of alcohol and sweat hit my nose and when I turned, I was face to face with Shane.

He looked worse than usual. He was shaking and still had some bruises healing on his face.

"We need to talk." he snapped before taking another swig from his bottle.

I did my best to focus on my emotions before replying.

"Come to thank me for saving your ass?"

He scoffed and put his bottle down.

"I heard you."

Now, I actually had no idea what he meant.

"You drunk?"

"Quit playing with me Fag. I'm talking about Elliot."

I put down my mug and turned to face him. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just waiting for you to tell me it was a joke. You know he's in love with Leah right. Back off."

His attempts to sound threatening were ruined by his drunken slurs.

"I have a feeling Leah didn't tell you to say that to me? What is it Shane, scared that Leah might like you a little too much? Or, would you rather me divert my attention to you?" I winked at him.

He recoiled enough that he nearly fell out of his chair.

"So you admit it then?" He asked, doing his best to ignore answering my questions but not making eye contact.

"Hmm, I don't remember admitting anything."

I chugged what was left of my coffee, tossed a bill on the counter and Shane didn't try to stop me from leaving.

I slipped out of the bar, angry and just about ready to go back inside and beat Shane until he forgot what his name was.

"Cass! Come on!" Abigail ran by me so fast, all I saw was the flash of her purple hair.

"What?" I called after her.

"The boat is back!! Clint and Willy are home." I weighed my options and reluctantly followed, running to catch up with her.

~

The beach was already crowded and more people showed up after Abigail and I.

Lewis was attempting to reach the rope that Willy kept tossing but he seemed to be having some trouble.

Elliot was standing with Seb and Sam, Abigail immediately dragged me over to join them.

"Weren't they supposed to be back days ago?" Abigail commented.

Elliot nodded but kept his mouth shut, obviously worried.

I watched Mayor Lewis miss the rope a few more times before I decided that the boat was still way to far out for him to catch it at all.

I slipped away from the group and tried to make out what was going on on the boat.

"Where's Clint?"

"Shush boy." Mayor Lewis snapped, smacking me on the shoulder.

"Ow, what?"

He glanced around quickly before turning back towards me, "Between us. Clint is still in the city. I don't know the full story but something happened out there. He's been at the hospital in Zuzu city since."

"The hospital? You're sure?"

Lewis nodded.

I moved away from the crowd and tugged out my phone, immediately dialing Bella's number.

"Cassius." She answered.

"What's going on? Don't lie to me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think to check. The second that man came in and said he was from Pelican town, Lucien immediately had him put under. Shits hitting the fan."

"I'm coming back."

"No. Stay there. It'll be safer for everyone in case he shows up. I'll keep an eye on things here but-"

"Bella. You're not hearing me. These people will keep going for him. He needs out."

"I don't think there's anything I can do."

"Cass, what's wrong." Elliot had arrived with a crying Emily and the others weren't far behind.

"Nothing I'm good."

"Okay?" He didn't sound convinced.

"Listen Clint's not well. I'm going with Emily to visit."

The last thing I needed was Elliot getting dragged into everything.

"Stop. Don't you dare move. Give me five minutes." I ordered.

Confusion hit Elliot's face, but he listened and nodded.

"Bella, I wanna make a deal."

"Cass, I don't think-"

"I want to make a deal."