C. Brown: Compromising

“Come for me, Blondie. I’m coming!”

In almost perfect unison, Cassie and I cried out our release, coming undone together. I stilled, filling her with a violent release that left me completely spent. Careful of her belly, I leaned down and kissed her before falling to her side.

She turned to face me, a coy smile spreading across her lips. “I think someone is feeling better.”

“You always make me feel better, babe. Always.”

++++

Two days later, my grandma, Adriana, and Abel were packing their bags to make the trek back down to Santa Ana. It had felt good having them around, even if it were only for a short time. Adriana had spent time with Jensen, which I fucking hated, but Cassie was teaching me to mind my own business and allow her to be her own person. I had always been the authority in Adriana’s life, and it was hard giving that up, but we agreed to disagree on Brandon Jensen.

“You take care of your mama. Okay, little man?”

“I will, Nino.”

I held Abel in my arms, kissing his forehead before placing him down on his feet. He immediately ran to the door, like he couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“I love you, Abuelita.”

“Te amo, Alejandro. You take care of Cassie,” she ordered, her finger up in my face.

Laughing, I brought her in for a hug. It amazed and pleased me that she had put her earlier reservations away and had accepted Cassie wholeheartedly. Losing my mom made me realize that all of the women in my life needed to be one functioning unit, not a fractured mess splitting me every which way.

She walked over to Cassie and enveloped her in a hug, whispering something in her ear that made Cassie laugh. I made a mental note to ask Cassie about it later.

“Call us when you make it home, Adriana. This is a long, shitty drive.”

“I will. Thanks for opening your home to us. Love you guys.”

Adriana and Cassie hugged, holding on to one another before Adriana pulled back and rubbed Cassie’s belly. “I love you already, little one.”

“It’s a girl,” I quipped.

“Shut up, Alex. You don’t know.” She turned my way and hugged me, holding on longer than necessary and whispering in my ear, “I hope it’s a girl too…a little Imelda growing in there.”

We were in sync. I felt the same way.

When the house was empty, I grabbed Cassie a tall glass of water and sat her down in the living room. Nat and Riley had gone snowboarding in Big Bear for a couple of days, leaving Cassie and me peacefully alone.

“Sit down. I have something I want to do for you.” I ran down the hallway into our room, pulling out my guitar and taking it back out to the living room where Cassie sat.

Her eyes lit up when she saw it. “What are you playing for me?”

“Whatever you want, Blondie. What are you and my little girl in the mood for?”

She sat thinking, tapping her temple to exaggerate the act. “How about Wonderwall by Oasis?”

I strummed the chords as Cassie sang the words. We went through a few more songs before the perfect song crept into my head, making me stop and stare up into the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen. After a slight pause, I began strumming the chords for the beginning of Sweet Annie by Zac Brown Band. I’d heard the song in my truck on the way to work one morning and immediately placed myself and Cassie into the lyrics, then played it over and over again. Tears filled Cassie’s eyes as she listened to me play. The song was us to a tee. I never wanted to spend another day apart because I had found everything I needed in her.

“You know my emotions are all over the place. Why would you play that song?” she asked through sniffles.

When I’d finished, I dropped the guitar and took her in my arms, kissing her over and over again. “That song was written for us, Blondie. You’ve put up with me, saw me through some bad times, and you’re still here. I don’t know how else to show my love and appreciation.”

No words were spoken as she took my face in her hands and kissed me, pressing her plump lips to mine.

We cuddled on the couch together, Cassie in front, me behind with my hand affixed to her belly. This was perfection at its finest, and there was nothing in the world that would ever take this away.

++++

The next day, our momentary peace and quiet was no more. Riley and Nat came barging through the door, screaming their asses off at one another. Cassie was in our room sleeping. She’d had a rough night and finally caught a break, so I’d put her to bed, hoping she could sleep now to make up for her restlessness the night before.

“What the fuck is wrong with you two? Cassie is sleeping.”

“Ask your boy, Chris, Mr. Fucking Popular on the Mountain.”

The look on his face showed amusement while her’s showed wrath. I could tell this would be an interesting story that I’d side with Riley on, further pissing Nat off.

“Well, what happened?” I asked, unable to contain my laughter. It was funny seeing cute, little Nat angry as a fucking bull and ready to charge.

“Well, she is mad—”

“Shut up, Chris. Anyway, I’m pissed off at your boy here because the second I leave his side, he’s got bitches for days lining up to be around him. One bitch even kissed him. I yanked her ass by those fake, bleached blonde extensions of hers, then let them fall in the snow to keep her ass away from my man.”

I burst out laughing. Picturing Nat grabbing some chick by her hair and screaming in her face, was much too comical to hold it in.

“What did you do, asshole?”

“I laughed. But then I grabbed Nat since Bridgette was ready to go toe to toe.”

“Yeah, and we got asked to leave the resort. Your boy thought it was funny the entire way home, but I didn’t think so. If I could have snatched that bitch’s lips off her face, I would have done it.”

Cassie’s voice could be heard from our bedroom, making me frown over in the fighting fucktard’s direction. “You two assholes woke her up. She didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Alex, she’s pregnant, lay off of her. I think you’ve done enough.”

“Man, get your chick. Go fuck this aggression out of her while I go and tend to mine.”

Nat flipped me the bird as I walked past her and into the room where Cassie was sitting up with her phone in her hands. My smile immediately faded as I took in her expression.

“What’s the matter?”

“Just got a text from Taylor.”

That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I didn’t know that fucking girl, but I disliked her immensely. She was a fucking thorn in my side, even from far away.

“You woke up for a text, Cassie? Jesus Christ, get some damn sleep.”

“I was already awake, Alex.”

“Fine. What did the bitch want?”

“Alex!”

“Fine. What does she want?”

She swallowed, looking at the phone again, then back at me. “My mom is in the hospital. She overdosed on pills.”

I felt nothing for Emmalyn. She’d been on a pill binge for far too long, so hearing of her overdose did nothing but confirm for me what I thought would eventually happen to her anyway. “What else did she say?”

“Alex, don’t be so callous.”

“What the fuck do want me to say, Cassie? This has been a long time coming.”

“Nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

She was pissed, and her attitude concerning my attitude was doing nothing but further pissing me off. We were circling the wagons, accomplishing nothing. “If Taylor texted you to make you feel guilty, it’s fucking working. Your mom is a poison…a cancer. You have a responsibility to nurture our daughter, and I’m not letting anyone jeopardize that.”

“Alex, shut up, for two seconds. My mom has been in the hospital for two days now. She begged Taylor to call me, but Taylor refused, saying we drove her to binge out on pills.”