Running In Circles || Nicholas Ruffilo

eight

Nicholas

TW: elusions to SA

Communication with Cassidy has been a little spotty, but I'm okay with it.

She clearly needs space to work things with herself, but it's not like we're dating or anything. I just don't know how to not care about people. I know that me not opening up about Tyler really set things off, but it started when she started at the shop.

~

It was the night we went out after her first day.

"All I'm saying," Tyler slurred out after several beers. "is that I want dibs on her."

"Dibs? What are we, 5?" I shot back with a chuckle, praying that he was joking.

"Dibs might not be the right word," he slurred out, taking another sip of his beer. "But you just know her pussy has got to be good."

"What the fuck are you on?" I snapped at him, wanting him to stop. I'm not one for the stupid locker room talk and he knows that.

"Between her aesthetic, the attitude... God, someone needs to fuck that attitude out of her," he drones on, making me shoot Davis a concerned look, but there was murder in his eyes.

"Keep going, I dare you," Davis says.

"Come on, you know that there's no way that she's getting any dick with the way she treats people. I could gladly supply that-"

"You're done," Davis snatches the beer out of his hand, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Just this once I'm going to say it was because you're a drunk idiot, but next time, I never want to see you again, got it?" Davis gets up, dragging him to security. "I'm calling him an Uber, keep him over here."

"Should we keep them working together?" I asked seriously, suddenly way too sober.

"Again, I'm going to chalk it up to him being drunk this time and see if he even remembers this tomorrow, but if she says anything about his behavior, I'll shift her to you," Davis says, finishing Tyler's beer.

"Oh, I don't think she likes me at all," I quip back honestly, chuckling to deflect how much it hurts since I haven't done anything to her.

"I don't think she likes anyone yet, just give her time."

~

Just give her time.

Tyler never said anything about that night, but drunk words are sober thoughts and I have been worried about Cassidy ever since. She may have hated my guts for most of it, but as long as she's near me, she's safe.

But the longer she spends with him fucking hovering over her with the machine, the more scared I get.

"Do y'all want to go out tonight?" Davis asks to where both Vincent and I could hear him.

"Oh, us, or?" I encourage him to finish his thought.

"No, like the whole shop," he says giddily.

"I don't know, it-"

"Sure!" Tyler yells over his shoulder. "Do you want to, Cass?" he asks, backing off of her. My blood boils at him using my nickname for her. Fucking relax.

"Sure, why not?" she says with disinterest, the tattoo gun kicking back on. Davis gives me a pointed look that shows me that he's not blind and that he sees what Tyler's doing. I just get up and go outside to smoke. Against my better judgment, I shoot her a text.