Adler | The Monarch & The Heirs BOOK 2.

Why | A FORTY EIGHT

A/N: Dedicated to @to_tomatoe
@goodgirlsgonemad
•••

That morning, a direct message from the Coeus forum was sent to Cassandra, supposedly to discuss the upcoming tournament in Kent. Though, since Andrea had been the only other person to get the same vague message, they were hopeful it was actually to do with Lydia.

None of Cassandra’s texts or calls had still been replied to. Her flight to East Sussex to get things sorted out with Mark was today but she had no intentions of boarding until she got updates on Lydia.

Well, if her mother didn’t drag her onto the plane, that was. She'd told Cassandra she was proud of her for choosing to take things slowly but Cassandra didn’t want to push it.
On her way to the clubhouse, she ran into Andrea who graced her with a small smile. Things had more or less gotten back to normal between them, which was one weight off Cassandra’s shoulders.

“Did you sleep okay?” Andrea questioned.

“I guess,” Cassandra muttered. If she guessed that waking up from nightmares about the phone going off to state that Lydia was found dead in a ditch somewhere was okay.

As they approached the garden, Andrea suddenly took her hand. “There’s something I'd been meaning to ask…”

“What is it?”

“It’s about what you said at my house. Y'know, the morning after Will Butler's party,” she started. “I never really got what you meant.”

Cassandra’s brows furrowed, taking a moment for it all to come back; Andrea teary over her drunken actions spurred by McCoy's dumb game, her apologising and Cassandra had been on the verge of confessing one or two things she hadn’t been too sure about.

Even now, it was still a bit unclear but it didn’t feel fair to just continue leaving Andrea stuck on the spot if it had been on the girl’s mind all this time. “I meant that I was partly to blame for leading you on. I mean, I was really flattered because it was the first time anyone had said they liked, liked me and I just didn't expect it from someone like you, you’re beautiful, funny and smart…”

Andrea faced the ground, a tinge of pink dusting her cheeks. “… But, you don’t feel that sort of way?”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true after that night with all the strange thoughts and urges, Andrea Lenning was undeniably a girl that made it impossible not to feel something by her charms. Though… “Sorry,” said Cassandra.

Andrea raised her gaze, her smile a bit strained which tugged at Cassandra’s heartstrings but it was better to leave that moment in the past and let it remain as just that— a moment. “It’s okay. I just wanted to hear it clearly so I could move on. Still friends?”

“If you'll have me?”

Andrea cocked a brow, definitely catching on to the innuendo there.
“Too soon?” Cassandra guessed.

“Just a bit.” Nevertheless, Andrea slipped her arm around the other girl and they resumed their steps.

**

When the girls walked into the conference room, it seemed they’d been the last to arrive and Cassandra’s assumptions on the meetings were correct. Only two other figures were present, Will Butler and Stevie Powell who urged the girls to take their seats, then had all the attendants vacate the room.

As Cassandra copied Andrea to occupy a seat, she couldn’t help but find the room kind of dreary when so many of the seats were empty and odd without the intense presence of the sociopathic captain. Speaking of which, Cassandra couldn’t help but recall that at their earlier standard meeting, the air around the queen and him seemed odd. It was… awkward. There was no better word to describe it.