Hurt By Revenge

10

Cassandra opened her eyes and was surprised to see it was morning. She jackknifed up. Or tried to. A streak of fire from her abdomen dropped her back on the bed. In her shock, she'd forgotten about her injuries. It was an unlikely thing to forget but her bafflement had thrown everything else out of the window.

She'd slept through the night. Without waking up even once. Something she'd never done before. Not since her grandmother passed away. And especially not with Kendall with her. Her body was more restless and alert to any sound when Kendall slept with her.

From the sunlight streaming through her tiny window and the noise outside, she knew the clinic was open. So why hadn't she woken up? The last she remembered was talking to Daniel. But he couldn't possibly be the reason.

One reason being he had put her in this position in the first place. Well, he might not be the main reason- she was still going to marry Bryan, with or without anyone's involvement- but he certainly didn't help the situation.

And the other reason was his general attitude with her. She still hadn't forgotten his utter dismissal when she'd come to him for help. His continued distrust. His main reason for approaching her in the first place.

Revenge.

She was only a means to an end for him. It was just unfortunate she'd bore his son or he would have never come to her again.

So, with both reasons combined, she could never see him as a safe port.

Right?

Why in the world would she? It's not like her subconscious had betrayed her, right? Even as the question popped into her mind, she knew it was true. Slamming her hands into the bed, she glared at the ceiling.

Why would her body and psyche betray her such? Could she no longer trust her own subconscious judgement? And how could she even change her subconscious? There's a reason why it was called her subconscious.

Exhausted with trying to wrestle her subconscious into line, and failing, she was slightly startled when the door opened to admit Jeremy in. He must be checking up on her, like he usually did most mornings.

But, her eyes narrowing, something was off.

Moving her bed to a sitting position, she warily watched him approach. An air of nervousness was practically palpable about him. And his eyes kept darting away from her and, or so it seems, to the door.

"Hey, Jeremy,"she said brightly even as her hand crept under her pillow. A wave of reassurance engulfing her as she grasped her gun.

"Morning, Ms Smith,"he greeted with obvious false cheer. She could see his file shaking slightly as he approached her. And he was paler than usual. Her hand tightened on her gun. "Let me just take your temperature-"

Suddenly, there was a shout from the corridor and the sound of running feet. Her eyes having been drawn to the door, movement at her peripheral, especially near her IV drip, made her turn back and push Jeremy away. And her eyes widened when she saw the syringe in his hand.

"W-what? Jeremy?"she gasped. His eyes moved from her to his hand and he crumbled in front of her. The syringe and file clattered to the ground as he collapsed. His face leached of color and his eyes dark with guilt and fear.

And Cass was not surprised. Bryan had that effect on everyone. Honestly, she was surprised Jeremy had lasted that long. There must have been some dark secret for him to succumb. And she felt sorry for him. Knowing he was an inherently good man, she knew he'd have to grapple with what he had been about to do. She didn't envy him that battle.

Hearing movement at the doorway, her attention shot to it, her gun providing backup. Only for her to place her gun back under her pillow as Kendall raced to her side and Daniel looking at her with an inscrutable expression.