Soul Searcher Book 1
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Cassie woke up and was surprised to see that she had slept for two hours. Wow! More tired than I thought! After glancing at the time on her phone and the shock subsided, she realized she had an unread text waiting for her. With shaking fingers, she tapped the icon to open up her message log and saw a message with no name tagged to it. Clicking on it to open the message in its entirety, her pulse quickened, and a dumb grin took over her face. She nearly squealed in excitement as she saw Rim’s name associated with the message.

Angry with herself for having fallen asleep and for having slept so long, Cassie stared at the screen as she argued with herself on how to respond back to him. Okay! I will just apologize for taking so long to reply and then invite him over to hang out with me and Khloe. Before she could talk herself out of inviting him, she hit send and watched to make sure the message showed ‘sent’ and then she forced her hand to place the phone back on the nightstand.

Feeling anxious and nervous as to what he might say in return, Cassie felt it best to leave the phone alone and hop into the shower. While in the shower, she tried really hard not to think about her phone or rather what if any text messages might be waiting for her when she was done bathing. Stepping out and feeling refreshed, Cassie dried her body off and threw some lounge wear on. As she was finishing wrapping her hair up in a towel, she heard her phone ringing and made a mad dash from the bathroom to her nightstand to answer the call.

Disappointment consumed her as she saw Ginny’s name and not Rim’s light up the screen of the phone. With a disappointed sigh, Cassie answered trying hard to sound cheerful as she did so. “Hey Gin! What’s up? How are you? Why did you call me at four in the morning?”

“Oh Cassie. It’s so good to hear your voice. I didn’t call you at four this morning, did I? I don’t remember. I’m sorry if I did. I got really drunk because HE went and hooked up with some chick! I’m so done with this tour. Would you be able to pick me up at the bus station if I bought a ticket and came home?”

“Aw Ginny, of course I will. When will you be back?”

“I’m not sure yet. I wanted to double check that you would be able to pick me up before I bought a ticket. I will sort out all the details and then give you a call when I have a ticket in hand. And Cass, thank you. I’m going to get off the phone so I can work on purchasing a ticket. I’ll give you a call later. Love you!”

“I love you too, goof ball. I’m sad that this happened to you but I’m excited that you’re coming back home. Talk to you soon. Bye.”

And though she had been chatting with Ginny, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Rim. Giddy to think there was a chance that he would come over, Cassie made sure that her apartment was spotless (and making sure there were no articles of clothing lying about that could cause her embarrassment). Hearing a knock at her door, she was secretly hoping that it was Rim, she knew Khloe was the one standing on the other side though. “Hey girlie, come on in,” Cassie swung her arm out with the invite.

“I’ve always wondered what this place looked like. Even before you moved in here, I was curious. And I didn’t know if I should bring anything, so I stopped at the store and grabbed some junk food, chips, cookies, and soda,” she added with a grin.

“Dude, this is going to be a great evening. I will order the pizza and then we can chill on the couch and binge watch that new series on Netflix that everyone has been talking about.” Cassie picked up her phone as she suggested the plan to Khloe and hit contacts because yes, she had the pizza shop’s phone number saved. Khloe, meanwhile, took the food items into the living room area and spread it out on the coffee table.

As Khloe made herself comfortable in Cassie’s recliner, Cassie flopped down on the couch. “Pizza should be here in about twenty minutes,” Cassie said as she scanned the display of food. “Oh, very nice. Me like!” She scooped up an individually wrapped cupcake and began to open it. Having stuffed the entire thing in her mouth, Cassie wiped her hands on her pajama bottoms and grabbed the remote so she could find the series they wanted to watch. Hitting play, she realized she hadn’t told Khloe about Rim.

“You will never guess what happened to me today, Khloe!”

“You’re probably right so do tell, please.”

Scooting her body into the couch, Cassie wiggled around until she was comfortable before she spoke. “I ran into Rim at the coffee shop today. We ended up walking around on the boardwalk and just talking. I even gave him my phone number because he asked me if I would like to go out with him. Isn’t that wild?”

“Uh, um, so he isn’t a creeper? He hasn’t been stalking you? I’m just a little shocked that you would agree to go on a date with him.” Khloe’s eyebrows were raised so far up in question that they were nearly touching her hairline.

“I know it’s an odd situation, but while I was chatting with him, something in me, intuition maybe, told me that he is genuinely a very nice person and all those times we’ve run into each other, pure coincidence.” Khloe shook her head in disbelief. “You don’t have to believe me,” Cassie laughed. “But fate works in mysterious ways, and I feel like I’m supposed to follow this path, one hundred percent.”

“Hey, to each their own. I won’t judge, I just hope he isn’t some psycho, serial killer and this is how he lures his victims...” This statement caused Cassie to burst out in a fit of laughter.

“Oh my gosh! Stop!” Cassie said in between fits of laughter. “He may swing by later so you can officially meet him and see for yourself that he’s a genuinely good guy.”

Khloe just arched an eyebrow skeptically. “Hey, don’t laugh at me. That kind of stuff happens more than people realize. I just want you to be safe. I don’t need to find you dead, ya know.”

“Ugh, let’s just watch this series. I’m probably getting my hopes up and nothing will come of it. He hasn’t even texted me back yet.”

“Okay, okay,” Khloe said smiling. “But if he does end up stopping by, I’m not going to leave you alone here with him. I’ll sleep on your couch if I must.” This comment got a pillow to Khloe’s face and a ‘hardy-har-har’ from Cassie before they turned their attention to the T.V. Show.

Try as she might, Cassie couldn’t get into the show. Her mind kept wandering and she kept sneaking peeks at her phone and when her phone vibrated in her hand she nearly shrieked in excitement. Biting her bottom lip to stop herself from doing so, she maneuvered the phone so that it rested flat on her lap and as discretely as she could, she tapped on the message to see what Rim’s answer was to her invitation to come hang out. Disappointment showed visibly on Cassie’s face as she read the words that he was currently out of town. Unfortunately, Khloe happened to look over and see her expression just then. “What? What’s got you looking so depressed,” she asked before seeing the glow of Cassie’s cell phone. “Oh no, what did lover boy say?”

“Oh, um, nothing. I don’t know why I’m acting like such a girl. I knew it was a long shot to invite him over. He’s out of town and not sure what time he will get back. But hey, at least I tried right...” Cassie said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Don’t get all sappy on me. You’re not that type of girl.” Khloe grinned causing Cassie to smile but also to stick her tongue out at her.

“But you are right. I’m being a total girl. Let’s go do something fun. Want to go hang out on the boardwalk?” Cassie suggested as she wasn’t really one who watched a lot of television and was tired of being cooped up.

“Yeah, that sounds fun. I don’t know why everyone is so hyped up over this show. Honestly, I thought it was boring. I’ll send Jimmy and Sean a message. Maybe they’d like to meet up with us.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Cassie stood up and went to her room to change out of her pajamas and grab a pair of Chuck Taylor’s. Opting for her obnoxiously bright pink ones, she slipped them on and grabbed a hoodie just in case the weatherman had been right for a change, and it rained.

***

Just after 8:30 I pulled into my driveway. I quickly make my way up the steps and into the house so that I can take a shower. My intention is to text Cassie as soon as I have fresh clothes on. Honestly, I felt like I couldn’t move fast enough. Hurriedly I strip off my clothes and remove the amulets, laying them on the counter by the sink. When I got out, I quickly dried off and rummaged through my clothes to find something decent to wear. I feel aggravated that it takes me as long as it does to decide what to put on, but by 8:45 I have clean clothes on and my phone in my hand. Hey Cassie, I just got back into town. Shoot me a text if you still feel like hanging out tonight.

My thumb hovers over the send button in hesitation for a moment before slamming it on the send icon and now I wait.

Fifteen minutes later her name pops up on my screen and my heart feels like it’s doing back flips! Yes, I would like that. Had a change of plans though. I’m on the boardwalk near the Ferris wheel if you want to meet up Cassie. I messaged back an okay and walked out into slightly humid air. Thankfully the weather doesn’t affect me, so I don’t have to worry about being sweaty by the time I meet up with her.

I can feel her soul, her essence, before I actually see her. She has this golden, glowing aura around her, and I can feel the warmth of it as I get closer to her. I want nothing more than to rush up to Cassie, scoop her up, swing her around in my arms, to share in my jubilation. The smile plastered upon my face swiftly falls away as I notice who she is hanging out with. The girl I don’t care about it’s the two guys I see hanging out with them that upset me. They were both hanging out with Cassie the last time I accidentally ran into her on the boardwalk, the Jimmy guy if I remember his name correctly is the one that pissed me off for bumping into me and not being man enough to apologize about it.

Instead of causing a scene, I pull my phone out of my back pocket and send Cassie a text. Hey, I’m here. Fairly close by but don’t want to come over because I’m pretty sure your friends don’t like me...

Her black hair that blends with the night falls around her face as she bends her head to read my message. I can see her contemplating on what she wants to write back to me and then I see her fingers moving quickly across her phone. Who cares what they think. I barely know Jimmy and I’ve only hung out with Sean once before. Khloe is my friend, and she already knows you might come hang with us. So, walk your butt over here Mr.! Cassie

Yeah, but that Jimmy guy likes you. It will be freaking awkward. I don’t want to cause a fight or anything. Maybe we should hang out another night?

… No. Suck it up buttercup. Get over here or the next time I find myself in a dream with you, I will figure out a way to make myself wake up! Cassie

I roll my eyes at her message. I know I’m being a chicken but I’m just not good at socializing with humans. Heaving a sigh, I shake my head, close my eyes and mutter to myself “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.” I walk up to her and tap her on her shoulder, melting at the sight of her face lighting up as she sees me standing behind her. Seeing her so happy to see me makes it worth whatever may happen as the night progresses.

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