Florida Heat: Book One in the Clearwater Pack Series

Chapter 5: I wanted you to love me as much as I love you

Cassandra’s Point of View:

I rush to the bathroom in hopes to come to grips with what the f**k just happened. I’ve had two shots this entire night and I feel like I’m going to vomit. God, not again. Why, seriously I haven’t ate anything that would upset my stomach. I’m sweating, but I have literally felt on fire ever sense I laid eyes on “ace” or whatever his name is. Harper runs in the room, “I think he is leaving.” I turn to look at her, “What?!” I push open the bathroom door and sprint out looking for the singer.

I see the guy who provided him the guitar to seduce me with and ask which way he went. He points toward the back door and so I do what my job asks of me to do, I go to the door. When I go to pull open the door a hand slams against it from atop of me and halts me from doing so. I turn to look at none other than Landen who looks incredibly furious. “What the f**k Cass! What are you doing running after that singer? He was basically singing those lyrics to only you while out there. If you go out that door we are f*****g done,” he threatens me. I can smell the amount of booze on him, he’s went hard tonight. “Landen, it’s my job. Now get your hand off the door and sober up.”

To my shock he grabs my wrist and whips me around to look at him, “He’s no one, he is playing in a run-down bar in f*****g Clearwater, Florida Cass. I’m serious if you go were done. You can stop using me as your excuse, as your f*****g safety option. I don’t deserve this s**t, damnit Cass!” He is shaking my wrists now, he’s beyond upset. It’s not often that I feel threatened and right now away from the people in the bar near the back door alone, I don’t feel safe, and I’ve never felt like that with Landen, sure he’s said words to me but never actually grabbed me before. I go to move yet again for the door, it’s the closest option for me to get away from him and to be around people at this point.

Instead, I’m being shoved against the door one hand slightly around my throat the other holding one of my hands above my head. “Why are you doing this to me, you are creating me into this person. I’ve only wanted you to love me as much as I love you.” He pushes his arm around my throat a little more causing my air way to close off a bit. “Landen, stop. Landen, you’re hurting me. Please STOP,” I scream out! Hoping I can either get through to him or someone else hears me scream for help. He places the hand that previously on my arm to over my mouth. “Don’t you understand Cassie. I have to have you. I have to. I will do literally anything to keep you. I just want you to want me like you used to,” he pleads and continues choking me. I’m becoming rather lightheaded from trying to break free of his arms and his hand clasping down over my source of air.

I clearly must be dying because I can smell my absolute favorite smell vanilla bean with a hint of sandal wood. I have no idea how long we’ve been back here, but no one is coming and I’m succumbing to the beautiful aroma, I close my eyes and stop fighting. My eyes are not shut long before they are opened wide in horror as I’m being flung forward from someone opening the door from behind me. The amount of strength that, that would have taken – the kind of strength like my dad would have. I stumble forward and fall to my knees grabbing my throat. I look over to the feet on the ground a pair of black converse and Landen’s flip flops stand next to me.

A girl who smells of honey appears in front of me she is beautiful with chestnut looking hair and the lightest of brown eyes I’ve ever seen. She places a hand on my back and rubs it in an attempt to console and encourage me to continue to breath. I see the shuffle of feet coming to me in a hurry, I know that run from anywhere – It’s Harper. She is frantic grabbing my face and adjusting herself next to the lady that smells of honey. I look at Harper with pure horror in her eyes she sniffs the air and looks over to the woman, “Jesus Christ, you smell f*****g wonderful.” She looks back to me, “Don’t speak I can already see the bruising around your neck, where the f**k is that monster, I’ll kill him,” she squeals. I’d put all the money in the world on my little, tiny friend, she’d kick his ass. I try to point to the side of me where I had seen his feet along with the converse, but they are no longer there. I attempt to talk, “he was right there just a second ago.” I look up and make eye contact with Harper and then look over at the women who was attempting to help me. “Thank you, seriously. I don’t know if I would have been able to catch my breath if it wasn’t for you calming me down, thank you.” She smiles a slight smile that doesn’t really meet her eyes.

They both help me up, Harper brushes the dirt of my knees while I try and straighten out what the hell just happened to me. Where is Landen? I look around more so in a panic, and suddenly I’m scared of the Landen I met tonight. My safety net – he called me on my s**t. He yelled at me, he hurt me. Everything is coming back in flashes and instinctively as if it were happening again, I grab my neck with absolute horror sketched across my face. Harper throws her arms around me, whispering to me that everything will be ok. The new girl once again places a hand upon my back as a reassuring gesture – one I appreciate in this moment.

I pull Harper back, “He choked me and screamed at me, told me if I went after that singer, it was over. I tried to explain it was for my job, but he wasn’t buying it. He got really mad and started screaming and begging me to love him like he loved me, he even told me Harper that he didn’t want to be my safety net anymore,” I sob out. The girl looks at me, “Are you really going to cry over a man who just choked you, please don’t tell me you are one of those girls.” I turn to her and look her right in the eyes, “No, I’m crying because I was assaulted by a person I trusted, someone I’ve had in my life for nearly 4 years. The guy who up until a couple years ago was my dream. The person I saw tonight, I’ve never seen him act that way toward me but I’ve been pushing him away for months subconsciously and I think I somehow knew he was capable of this. So yes, I’m crying because this is a lot of s**t to go through when I was just trying to meet that singer and offer him a deal. f**k,” I scream out!

She puts her hand out to me to shake, “Ok, well then I’m Sophia. The Singer you are talking about is my brother Mason. As for your now ex-boyfriend I presume, I’m sure he is getting his ass kicked thoroughly from ‘your singer’ and his best friend Theo…that’s if I had to take a guess anyways.” We both look in horror at her, “No, I won’t let them go to jail over something that happened to me we need to get to them. I’ll file a police report they don’t need to kill him.” I start running toward the opening and look around outside, I peer down the ally way, nothing. I run across the street into the pitch-black night with little to no light other than that from the moon. I see a couple shadows, so I take off in a dead sprint toward them, not thinking this through clearly, because what am I going to do when I get there. I just know someone probably will call the police.

I’m getting closer to the shadows when a hand pulls me in tightly, I can’t see him exactly the but the light shines down just enough for me to catch the converse. I go to look back up at him and he is blocking the moon as to not allow me to see his face directly. Then it hits me, the smell first comes in through my nose of vanilla bean and sandal wood – the same beautiful smell I remember right before the door sprang open. These are the feet that were near Landen before they disappeared. I look up to the dark face, “Who are you?” I can feel my pulse in my ears, and it feels as if where is hand is on my arm is on fire while his other hand is upon the top of my waist holding me. It’s like electrons are being sprung through my body and I can feel his body hum in response to mine. What the f**k is happening, either I died back there on the floor, and this is a dream or I’m having some weird out of body experience right now, no because I feel his breath on the side of my neck, and I can feel his heart within his chest beating at a very rapid rate.

I push off him even though it feels right being this close to him and try and regain my composure. I try and take in my surrounding and standing in front of me now is a very large man along with my now very soon to be ex-boyfriend Landen. The large man introduces me as Adam Gilmore, the Mayor of Clearwater and he had happened to be close by when my son Mason hollered for me and explained to me what happened. I’ve contacted the authorities they will be arriving here shortly and will need your full statement. I nod to Mr. Gilmore, “Thank you, I will be sure to do all of that.”

I walk over to where he stands near Landen and look at him, he has a black eye and bloodied up lip, “I cannot believe you. After, everything – you hurt me. You put your hands on me and physically hurt me. Don’t call me, don’t write to me, don’t even think about me. Erase me from your memory. I swear to god Landen, If I see you again….” This man whom I now know to be Mason grabs ahold of me and brings me away from the current scene that is in front of me. I look at his hand that appears on my arm and notice the trickles of blood on his knuckles. I look up to him, and realize he is staring down at me.

I look away utterly confused by this whole entire situation and alarmed by how I feel around this man. He takes me over to a bench and sits down next to me. “I’m Mason, Mason Gilmore,” he says to me smiling. I look over at him, “Hi, well Mason. I was on my way to find you because before my ex-boyfriend assaulted me, I was on my way to talk to you about a potential offer I have for you.” He smiles at me with a devilish grin. “Was my voice that good for you my dear that you decided to leave your boyfriend for me?” I frown, “Um, no. I’m a talent agent, well no. I’m actually an assistant producer working on finding talent for Disney corporation – we have a reality television show and are looking for people to be on it,” I ramble on. “Oh, you are seriously talking shop with me right now, you really don’t have the hots for me. Furthermore, you were in fact assaulted and are still trying to work,” he looks at me questionly.

I guess he is right, I don’t know I was so focused on getting to him and then everything just happened. Like, very quickly. He places his hand atop of my thigh getting my attention again, “What is your name?” I laugh because this is a horrible first impression. “Oh, for f**k’s sake. This night is a disaster. My name is Cassandra Diez. I’m sorry, I’m usually more put together, but the thing happened and now I cannot get these tingly feelings out of my hands, I don’t know what it is but maybe its from the whole choking thing. I just feel weird,” I explain. He looks at me now with a more quizzical look, he is more intrigued and curious than he was before.

Then abruptly and out of nowhere he gets up and walks away not so much as a second glance or goodbye. I was so caught off guard by the whole situation that I didn’t even recognize the police officer standing in front of me along with a grinning Mayor Gilmore. I give my statement and they both offer to drive me home; I dismiss them and go back to find Harper. I try and explain the entire situation to Harper over and over again, and part of me believes I’m even making this s**t up. Tingles in my hands, blaming it on the choking, yelling at Landen, meeting Mason and his father. It was all incredibly overwhelming.

When I’m back into my apartment, I get all of Landen’s s**t, every picture, every letter, note, item that reminds me of him along with his laptop and clothes he leaves here and put them outside my apartment door. Harper and I then lock the door, dead bolt it and even go as far to putting a chair in front of it.

When I go to lay down in bed that night and look to the ceiling recalling yet again everything that had happened to me that evening…I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what happened to me, I’m afraid of not booking Mason, I’m afraid of what I have to do with the police, they suggested a PPO and I’m also concerned about the weird tingly feeling I had.

…I don’t know if I’m going to be okay after all of this.