Cassandra's Breakup

Chapter 1 of 1

Cassandra Fair yawned as she crawled out of bed. Dressed only in a white bra and panties, she slid into blue jeans and pulled a black long sleeve Bon Jovi tee shirt over her skinny frame.

Too skinny, she reflects, as she checks herself in the mirror. She had recently broken up with her boyfriend John, who everyone called Johnny Boy. It had been stressful and Cassandra had lost some weight as a result.
Johnny Boy was a great guy, adorable, really. A real hunk, had been her Johnny. Problem was, he was grade A stupid. At least, that's how she felt him right now.

She paused at her dresser, remembering.......

It had all started with a fight about what movie to watch.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you, Johnny, if I have to watch The Fault in Our Stars one more time, I swear to god I'm going to pick up this bottle of vodka and break it over your head!" She'd said, irritated.

Johnny Boy had looked hurt.

"Cass, please, you know how much I love that movie. Plus it's my turn to pick."

Cassandra had felt a little guilty, but please. That movie again? They had like just watched it.
Normally she was a pretty chill person but she had been ready for a good horror movie. She loved horror movies. Unless if they had spiders. Cassandra had an extreme case of arachnophobia. But any other horror movie, bring it on!

" The problem is, Johnny Boy, you're a pussy." Cassandra said.

" But Cass, no I'm not......"

" Yes you are. Why halfway through "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" you were almost blubbering, clutching my arm like a toddler!"

Cassandra had been only half joking. Most times they would tease each other. Apparently Johnny had been in a funk as well.

"Why do you have to be so mean? You sound just like your mom. I bet you're gonna be just like her before you turn thirty at this rate." Johnny said, in a huff.

Wrong thing to say. Cassandra's mom was currently in rehab after a drug overdose. For the third time. Her mom could make some pretty cutting remarks. Cassandra wanted to be more like her dad but she was related to both.
She was very sensitive about her mom's drug problem, and Johnny knew that. Tears had pricked her eyes.

" Oh Cass, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

" Get the hell out of here! I'm so sick of you, you big stupid oaf!" Cassandra had turned away, embarrassed to cry in front of him. She only cried in front of her dad, who was her hero.

Johnny had tried to stay and talk, but Cassandra just kept telling him to leave. He'd been hurt and a little angry by the time he left. They hadn't talked since then. What was it, four days ago?..........

Suddenly Cassandra was broken out of her reverie by her dad leaving for work.

" Bye Cass, have a great day!" Her dad called

" Thanks Dad, you too!" Cassandra yelled.

The door shut and her father left for work. She turned back to the mirror and put her choke collar on.
After brushing her shoulder length blue hair, she glanced at her lipstick tubes. Black or light red? She opted for black.

Cassandra checked her phone. She was supposed to take some pictures of some stupid Easter parade at 10:00. Cassandra sighed, she'd rather be on a crime case with Becky. But they didn't have anything at the moment, so parade it was.

Cassandra loved her job as a photographer. Especially hanging with Becky and Meg. Becky was fairly new to the area but Cassandra had really hit it off with the new blonde reporter. All three of them worked at the Manchester Daily Times. Becky and Meg were reporters, and Cassandra being the photographer, they made a good team.

Cassandra grabbed her camera, a Nikon D5600 DSLR. It cost around $900 and was her pride and joy.
She went downstairs to put on her boots.

Cassandra thought she heard voices right outside her front door. She recognized them. Setting her camera on the side table, she calmly opened the door.

" What can I help you ladies with today?" Cassandra said cooly.

Two girls stood outside her door. Cassandra knew both of them. One was Alexis Terry and the other was Geri Wise, but everyone in her circle of friends called her Jersey. Cassandra hated Alexis but usually got along with Jersey.

" So, I heard you and Johnny Boy broke up." Alexis sneered. She had short dirty blonde hair with brown eyes. She carried a backpack. The feelings between her and Cassandra were mutual.

" Yeah? So what?" Cassandra sneered back.

" Well, I don't know if you heard or not, but Johnny Boy and I have been hanging out. A lot." Alexis tried to push the door open, but Cassandra blocked it with her foot.

Jersey hadn't said a word yet. She looked nervous.

" Just tell me what you want and go. I don't have time for your BS." Cassandra started to close the door.

Alexis rammed her shoulder against it and the door flung open, smacking into Cassandra and knocking her back against the wall.

Cassandra was surprised, but she recovered quickly, reacting by taking a swing at Alexis, grazing her chin.

Alexis staggered, then yelled " What are you waiting for Jersey? Get her!"

Jersey wasn't fat, she had strong muscles from working out. Cass could not have taken Jersey on her own. Combine the two and they took her down rather quickly.

" What the hell is all this about?" Cassandra panted.

" Alexis are you sure..."

" Jersey shut up." Alexis snapped.
" You agreed to do this with me."

Jersey shut up. She was holding Cassandra down on the floor as Alexis went through her backpack.
She pulled out several white zipties, about a half inch wide.

" You should know what this is about." Alexis finally answered Cassandra.
" Poor Johnny Boy. He was so heartbroken when you dumped him. And a little angry. He said he wished he had a way to get back at you for the other night. Nevermind he was drunk. So I took the opportunity to ask him every question I could think of about you...."

" WTF? You guys think you can break into my house? Both your assess are gonna be in hot water."
Cassandra growled

Alexis and Jersey dragged an unwilling Cassandra into the dinning room and sat her down on a chair. They zip tied her wrists to the arms of the chair.

" Oh, who is gonna care about poor, white trash Cassandra?" Alexis said.

" You b!! You little dumb fu....ccrrmmmffff!"

Alexis took a pair of rolled up dirty socks out of her backpack and shoved them in Cassandra's mouth.
The socks were blue, matching her hair.

" You know how long I wanted to do that?" Alexis laughed.

Cassandra glared but didn't try to say anything. Instead she looked at Jersey, who by now had zip tied Cass's ankles, calves, forearms, biceps and even connected two zip ties together around her chest. She was quite secured to the chair.

Jersey looked apologetically at her, "Sorry Cass, but she promised me some money and times are really tight for me. Speaking of which"

Cassandra just shook her head.

Jersey turned to Alexis. " C'mon, pay up. I did what you asked. "

Cassandra moved her jaw and tongue, managing to push the socks out halfway, then finally spit them out.

" My dad is going to kill you guys."

It was true, Cassandra's dad would be pissed when he came home and found her like this.

"Pay me, now." Jersey was getting impatient.

" Allright allright. Geez." Alexis handed twenty five bucks to Jersey.
" Sure you won't stick around for the show?"

" Nope." Jersey snapped.

" Really, Jersey? You tied me up for twenty five dollars?" Cassandra interjected, incredulous.

" Sorry Cass, like I said." Jersey turned to go.

" I'll give you thirty if you let me go." Cassandra called out, beginning to get desperate.

Jersey paused at the door, contemplating.

" You know I will. Why, I'll even....mmmrrrggfff!"

Alexis had clapped a hand over Cassandra's mouth.

" We had a deal Jersey. And besides, she'll say anything to get me in this chair instead of her."

"Mdfy drmdgsz!" Cassandra tried to say while shaking her head.

But Alexis's grip was firm, and garbled speech was all that came out.

Jersey took one more apolgetic look at Cassandra, then left.

" Now just you and me. Ready for the final act?" Alexis said, releasing her hand.

" Why are you doing this? All for Johnny Boy? Give me a break."

" No." Alexis admitted, " I've always been jealous of you. Your looks, your originality, your smarts, you always have the hottest guys hanging around you. And now I have Johnny Boy. And you about to face your worst nightmare."

Cassandra frowned, what was she talking about? Alexis opened her backpack again.
First thing that was pulled out was another pair of blue socks. These ones were really long and made out of some stretchy, dressy material.

But what she pulled out next almost made Cassandra's heart give out.
A Mason jar, with two huge spiders in it.

" What. The f_#$. Is that." Cassandra said coldly. She was starting to lose her composure. Stay calm, she told herself, Johnny wouldn't have said anything. Except, what else would it be? He had been drunk, Alexis had said.

" Oh yes, after your ex was good and drunk he told me everything." Alexis gloated.

Cassandra only saw the spiders. An extreme arachnophobic, she detested spiders. No one else besides her dad, Johnny, and Becky knew how badly she was scared by them.
She tore her gaze away to glare at Alexis.

" You b!#€h!" She screamed.

Alexis set the Mason jar down about fifteen feet from Cassandra. She picked up the socks including the ones Cassandra spit out earlier.

" Time for you to shut up before your screaming wakes the dead." Alexis said as got in Cassandra's face.

" Open up!"

Cassandra wouldn't open her mouth so Alexis pinched her nose shut. Cassandra opened up. Alexis inserted the two smaller socks then forcefully closed Cassandra's mouth.
She felt Alexis pull one long sock over her mouth, tucking it just under her chin, right up to just below her nose. Then Alexis pulled. It was stretched so tight Cassandra could barely move her jaw.

"Gggrrrmmmgghjdrerrrrrr!" Cassandra moaned.

" Oh wow, that's so tight I can see your lips, sister. Let's see if I can get the second one just as tight." Alexis snickered.

" Srgdmfffkkrrqz mrtfug." Cassandra shook her head.

Alexis applied the last sock by putting her knee behind the chair and pulling with all her strength.

" Mmmmrrrrrggg! Mmmmmppp!" Cassandra moaned as she winced.

" Well, it's pretty tight. Can still see your lips. That's ok though, it'll look great for some pics."

Cassandra just glared, didn't bother trying to talk.

Alexis began taking pictures from all angles. " For memory's sake." Alexis showed one pic to Cassandra. She noted her own pissed off expression, along with the fact you could faintly see her black lipstick through the thin socks.

" Mmmmmppp."

" I know, I thought they turned out good myself. I really like how your black lipstick is still visible. Might have to get it from your room on the way out."

Cassandra didn't respond. She knew what Alexis was trying to do. She winced, Jersey had pulled those zip ties painfully tight.

" Time for me to go." Alexis announced suddenly. She went over and picked up the jar with the spiders.

Cassandra's eyes went wide with terror.

"MMMMMRRRRRRFGGGGGGGFFFFFUUKKFGRRRMMMMFFF!"
Her would be screams were adequately reduced to " inside level "

Alexis opened the jar about ten feet away. Two regular sized wolf spiders crawled around. One of them found the lid off and crawled out.

" Hhhhhffffmmmmmmmm!!"

Cassandra began thrashing in her zip tie bonds, squirming, bucking, pulling, but getting nowhere.

Alexis stared at the normally calm Cassandra, a little surprised it scared her that much. She almost put the spiders back. But really, they were just stupid spiders.

" Mmrgfsdj! Mmmmmppp!" Cassandra continued struggling fruitlessly.

Alexis checked her phone. She had to go.

" Well, I gotta go Cassandra, but remember after this don't ever mess with me or Johnny Boy or I'll come back for an encore. With tarantulas!"

Cassandra jerked her head toward Alexis. Tarantulas? That was all she heard

" MMMPPPHHH! KLFFMMMGRMMMMMMPPPPHH!"

" Bye!" Alexis closed front the door and left.

Cassandra turned her head towards the laundry room. There was a pair of scissors in there and it would be farther from the spiders. She eyed them warily. One was completely out of the jar now and was slowly crawling toward the kitchen. The other one was at the edge of the jar.

Cassandra began pushing with her toes. She was able to move it a little, but it was slow work. All the while she kept an the spiders.

"Mmmfff mmmrfdk."

The spider in the jar crawled out and began coming towards her. " I'm coming Cassandra." It seemed to say with each hairy leg softly pattering across the floor. " I'm coming and you just wait."

Cassandra truely panicked. She thrashed harder than ever. Finally she pushed too hard and flipped the chair over. The zip ties bit into her flesh, but still held.

"Mmmffrrggg! Brgfmmmmffppphhh!" She tried calling for help, but she knew no one could hear her.

The spider was less than three feet away now. " I'm almost there, Cassandra." Every scuttle, every time it paused, it seemed to scream that. The other one appeared to be coming her way to.

She stared at one spider, than the other. Back and forth, back and forth.
Until suddenly a black,flat pump dress shoe slammed on top of the farthest spider, obliterating it. The wearer of the shoe was unaware she had just crushed one of the creatures that was coming to finish her. That snapped Cassandra back to reality.
She followed the shoe all the way up a slender, sometimes clumsy leg to a beautiful blonde girl with grey eyes who happened to be Cassandra's rescuer. Becky.

" Cass! What the hell happened? Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Becky asked three questions in the same breath.

Like Cassandra could answer them. Really, Becky? She thought.

" Mrrrggmmmbbkkt!"

" Why are you tied to a chair?" Becky asked, looking around.

"MMMMRRRRRGGG! FFGGGGMM!

Cassandra screamed, nodding at the spider who was about a foot from her nose.

Becky caught the nod and looked down. " Oh, right" she stepped on the second spider.


Half an hour later


" Wow, that's crazy!" Becky said animatedly. "Of course I'll help you get revenge."

Cassandra had just finished telling Becky of the events of the last hour, ending with a request for Becky to help her get even.

" By the way, why did you come over? Not that I'm complaining." Cassandra asked.

" Well, I think I might have a new story and I wanted you to come with me. When you didn't answer your phone I got a little impatient and decided to come tell you myself." Becky answered.

" We're gonna have to wait on the story. I have to get even with Alexis first." Cassandra said decidedly.

" Oh, I totally agree. What she did to you was totally inappropriate, capitalizing on your fear of spiders. Also gagging and tying you up? Let's take her down!" Becky said vehemently. " No one treats my best friend like that!"

Cassandra grinned as she began telling Becky her plan.

Alexis Terry was about to have a very bad day.



Chapter 2


"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Becky whispered nervously.

"C'mon Beck, you know I try to plan things out. Unlike you, who usually gets caught." Cassandra said softly. Truth be told, she was a tad nerved up as well. They were in a park, concealed behind some bushes.

"Yeah, but I always escape." Becky fired back.

"Um, you mean you're usually rescued." Cassandra countered.

"Touche." Becky grinned.

The two young women loved to tease each other. It was a part of their close friendship.
Cassandra wasn't sure how she made it before Becky moved back to Manchester. She had her dad, and Maggie had been a good friend. Still, Becky was her go-to friend, and vice versa. There was only one Becky Carter as far as Cassandra was concerned. She could tell Becky felt the same way about her.

"Alexis isn't very strong, is she?" Becky asked.

"Becky, we've already been through this. The two of us can handle Alexis no problem. Now shut up before she comes." Cassandra said.

Cassandra had come with a devious plan to get some payback on Alexis. She had snuck into her ex-boyfriend's house while he was sleeping this morning. Grabbing his phone(Johnny Boy never changed his password), Cassandra had texted Alexis telling her to meet at 11:00 am at the park.
Of course, Alexis thought it was Johnny and would unknowingly walk into a trap set by her and Becky.
Cassandra also wanted revenge on Jersey, and had a plan for that too.
Dressed in tee shirts and jeans, the young women were ready to get down and dirty.
They continued to wait in the bushes. They had different ways of waiting, her and Becky. Cassandra could sit still, knowing her prey would come, staying cool, calm and collected.
Becky kept checking her watch, brushing dirt off her jeans, looking at her phone, etc, etc.
Cassandra smiled. In spite of their differences they made a good team.

Cassandra strained her ears, listening. She could've sworn she heard someone coming up the path.
Then Cassandra spotted her, good ole Alexis lightly jogging, an expectant half smile on her face.

"You ready?" Becky asked.

Cassandra nooded.

Alexis was approaching the bushes when Cassandra leapt out, grabbing Alexis's feet. Becky came running and snagged the girl's arms.

"What are you doing? Oh my gosh, Cass!?" Alexis exclaimed.

"Beck! Her hands!" Cassandra yelled from the ground.

"I'm on it! I'm on it!" Becky hollered back, fighting with Alexis.

"Less talking, more doing!" Cassandra reiterated.

Alexis fought back as much as she could, but two against one proved her undoing.
She was dragged kicking and screaming over to a tree Cassandra had picked out.
They tied Alexis's wrists in front of her, than to an overhanging branch above, pulling her arms above her head. Her ankles were bound to the base of the tree, preventing anymore kicking.
A handkerchief was pushed into her mouth, followed by another tightly pulled over her snarling lips.

Cassandra stepped back to admire their handiwork. "Pretty damn good, right Beck?"

"I think miss torturer is going to regret messing with you." Becky said, a faint smile on her lips.

"Mmmppphhhhhh" Alexis moaned angrily.

Cassandra went about the next part of her plan. Opening her backpack, she pulled out several stakes and homemade signs. Handing a marker to Becky, they both began writing.


***


Save the trees!

Stop air pollution!

A silent protest against factories!

We are in bondage to modern society!

Four signs planted around Alexis, showing that she very much cared about a green earth.
Being tied to a tree really brought out the best in Alexis, Cassandra decided, watching the dark blonde yank around on her bonds, muttering angrily.

Arms folded on her chest, Cassandra eyed the display critically. "What do you think? I think she needs a few more rags pulled over her mouth. Way too much noise."

"Totally, Cass. She's got to be quieter if she wants to be a tree whisperer." Becky said.

"Mmmfffff!"

They tied two more rags over Alexis's nose and mouth, further muffling her gag talk.

Becky checked her watch. "I hope Maggie was able to do what she said she could do."

"C'mon Beck, it's Maggie. She's like the Black Widow, can escape out of anything or catch anybody. Speak of the devil." Cassandra saw Maggie come down the path, leading a muscular girl.

It was Jersey, and Maggie had tied her up very, very well. Ropes were everywhere except below her knees so she could still walk. Even a chest harness, Cassandra noted.

For her part, Jersey looked subdued, like she knew all along karma would come back and bite her in the butt.
Cassandra lost no time securing Jersey to a tree next to Alexis, completely ignoring Maggie.

"What? Not even a hello?" Maggie said with an attitude.

"Keep that up and Cass is liable to tie you to a tree." Becky nodded at the busy Cass.

"Still, a thank you would be in order. You two sure couldn't have done what I did." Maggie huffed.

"Maggie, leave her alone. We should go and let Cass do what she needs to do." Becky said. "Cass! We'll wait for you by the cars."

"Ok." Cassandra mumbled. She had listened in on Becky and Maggie's conversation but didn't say anything.

The two girls left and Cassandra finished tying Alexis and Jersey very securely.

They both looked at her with expectancy. Cassandra cleared her throat.

"What you two did to me the other day was horrible. Taking advantage of me like that was repulsive." Cassandra began.

Jersey stared at the ground.

Alexis looked furiously at her.

"So I thought it was time for payback." Cassandra pulled the fifth and final sign out of her backpack.
It said,
"This is a silent protest. We do not wish to be untied or ungagged until our association comes to end the protest. All expressions of hostility are against factories that pollute the air.
Save the Earth!"

Cassandra savored every moment of their reaction.

"FFFEERRRRRMMMMMMM.FFFFFFFFFFMMPPPPPPPPPPPMMMMM!" Alexis screamed.

"Mmrrfffhhpp! Mmmppphhh!" Jersey yelled.

Even Jersey was angry now.

Cassandra smiled devilishly. "Don't ever mess with me again girls, or you'll regret it. Don't worry, I'll text Johnny boy this evening, he will let you out I'm sure.

Cassandra walked leisurely back to the car, feeling all's right with the world.