Chapter 25 Miscommunication
There's a feeling that you get when you know that you're with the right person and when you know that no one and nothing else in the world matters except for the person that you're with. It had been the first time in a long time since Cassie had left her phone in her hotel room. She normally did that when she felt safe or when she knew she was going with her driver, but this time she wasn't with her driver and she wasn't with anyone that she knew she could be safe with, except for the person that she was with.
They were both seated at the same table and funnily enough, they were seated at a table where the bride and groom could see them clearly. When Brandon looked over to where Cassie was sitting, he was surprised not to see Jake with her because he was pretty sure that he had invited both of them to come to the wedding. Something must have happened because Jake wasn't with Cassie, and Brandon knew that Jake wouldn't miss his wedding because they were all friends.
A lot was going on, but as the evening progressed, Brandon wanted to get Cassie alone because he thought that she would be flying up to the States with Meagan. Brandon's events were always in order and everybody knew where they were supposed to be at what time, but there was a point where everybody could get a chance to mingle and it was known as the social hour.
When they all got together for social hour, Greyson saw one of his old friends across the room. He glanced at Cassie, his jaw tightening slightly as he noticed how some of the other guests kept stealing glances at their table, whispering among themselves.
"I'll be right back," he said curtly, his voice lacking its usual warmth. "Don't go anywhere."
The way he said it made Cassie look up sharply.
"Greyson, what's wrong?"
Grey was already walking away, his shoulders tense and his stride purposeful. Cassie watched him go, a knot forming in her stomach. She could see the way his hands were clenched at his sides, the way he held himself like he was preparing for a fight.
She felt abandoned by him, and since most of her friends were angry at her for breaking up with Jake, she was left alone as a result. It was easier for Brandon to talk to her while she was at the bar, nursing a Coke and whiskey.
"I'm sorry that everybody is treating you like an outcast because you're going out with someone that they don't approve of," Brandon said, sliding up beside her.
"I mean, out of all the guys you could go out with, you go out with the one guy that is just complex and not to forget that he has a dark past."
Cassie's grip tightened on her glass.
"You people should know that I love complex situations and complex people, but most of all, you love who you love. I told you once and I'll tell you again that I don't think this guy's going to hurt me. Jake, on the other hand, cheated on me with Love and not only that, he had a child with her and didn't tell me. So why does it make me the villain to break up with someone who disrespected our relationship? Come on now, you've got to level with me, you've got to help me because I have tried to see the brighter side of what he has done but I can't. He has a son with this woman and he lied to me for five straight years every time we came home."
"Then why are you with Meagan's brother? Isn't he like taken? You haven't noticed he has a wedding ring on, so he must be married to someone else. So what are you doing speaking with him? And if memory serves me correctly, there is something called girl code."
Cassie's heart sank. She glanced over to where Greyson was standing with his friend, and even from a distance, she could see the tension in his posture.
"The person I just came here with left me to go hang out with his friends, which means that he'd rather prefer the company of his friends than me. But I have to try and be understanding, and I understand why he did what he did. I, on the other hand, also want to understand why you're marrying someone you don't love because we both know that you love Meagan."
"The person that you're walking around with is low-key narcissistic, okay, and he's a control freak. I couldn't even get close to the person that I love because it was impossible for me. He gave me rules, he gave her sister curfews, and funny enough, there are twins and I don't understand why the one twin would not be happy for another twin's happiness. That's beside the point. I'm marrying someone who loves me for me, who loves me back, and I have told them that I love them and they said I love you too."
"Yeah, you and I know that you're marrying someone that you don't love, so please tell me who's fooling who. I want to be happy for you, I do, and I am happy for you. She's a lovely girl, but right now I'm persona non grata for some sort of odd reason because I broke up with a guy who, by the way, has a son with another woman and not me. He also put me in hospital with a concussion."
Brandon gave Cassie a hug and a kiss on the forehead, the gesture innocent and comforting.
"I'm sorry, I know that you are going through the most right now, and by the way, I need to tell you that you look exquisite in that blue dress. It was made for you. You must like you because you look stunning and you deserve to get spoiled once in a while. The blond hair is also gone too . Im sorry."
"Thanks. I'm feeling tired so I'm just going to track my date down and tell him that I'm headed home to thank him for being my date."
"Aren't you staying for dessert?"
"No, I'm not, and anytime you need to talk you know that I'm a call away."
Across the room, Greyson had been trying to focus on his conversation with his old friend Marc, but his eyes kept drifting back to Cassie. When he saw Brandon approach her, something dark and possessive twisted in his chest. He watched as they talked, noting how comfortable Brandon seemed with her, how easily he made her laugh.
"Earth to Grey," Marc said, following his gaze.
"That your girl over there?"
"Yeah," Greyson said, his voice tight. "She is."
"Looks like you have some competition," Marc observed, and Greyson's jaw clenched so hard it ached.
"She doesn't," Greyson said firmly, but doubt was already creeping in. Why had she been so quick to let him walk away? Why hadn't she protested when he left her alone?
When he saw Brandon hug and kiss Cassie's forehead, something inside him snapped. All the insecurities he'd been trying to suppress came rushing to the surface. She was too good for him. She was beautiful, kind, successful, and he was just the guy with the dark past and the controlling tendencies. Of course she'd prefer someone like Brandon someone uncomplicated, someone who didn't come with baggage.
He excused himself from Marc and started walking back toward the bar, his steps quick and purposeful. As he approached, he could see Jake entering the venue from the corner of his eye. Panic and rage warred in his chest. Jake was here, and Cassie was talking to another man, and everyone was looking at them like they didn't belong together.
Without thinking, without considering the consequences, Greyson reached Cassie just as she was saying goodbye to Brandon. He didn't say a word,he just grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her hard, possessively, desperately. It was a kiss that screamed 'mine' to everyone watching, especially to Jake who had just walked in.
When they broke apart, Cassie stared at him in shock. "Greyson, what the ..."
Greyson was already pulling back, his face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "I need some air," he muttered, and before she could respond, he was walking away again.
Cassie stood there for a moment, her lips still tingling from the kiss, her heart racing. She could feel the eyes of the other guests on her, could hear the whispers starting up again. She hugged Brandon good night quickly and headed for the elevator, her mind spinning.
In the elevator, she pressed the button for her floor and leaned against the wall, trying to process what had just happened. Greyson had kissed her like that in front of everyone, and then he'd walked away like nothing had happened. She could see the turmoil in his eyes, the insecurity that he tried so hard to hide, but she didn't understand why he was pushing her away when she was trying so hard to be there for him.
When she reached her hotel room, she kicked off her shoes and started to unzip her dress, but before she could get it off completely, she heard the door open and close behind her.
"Go away," she said without turning around, assuming it was Greyson.
But the voice that answered wasn't Greyson's. It was Jake's.
"No. When everybody sees me, they see you. We are going to get married. Why the hell did you just kiss someone that is not your fiancé? Are you deliberately trying to hurt me?"
Cassie spun around, her dress half-unzipped, her heart pounding.
"Get out. You lied to me for 5 years and you also have a son. What do you expect me to do? There's no sticking around and waiting around while you do it to me again and again, but this time to a different person. It's not happening. Please leave and get out right now."
"Or what?" Jake stepped closer, and Cassie could smell alcohol on his breath.
She backed toward the door, her hand reaching for the handle.
"Jake, I'm serious. Get out."
"You think you can just replace me with him? You think he actually cares about you? He's using you, Cassie. He's using you to get back at me, and you're too blind to see it."
"That's not true," Cassie said, but even as she said it, she could hear the doubt in her own voice. Greyson had been acting strange all evening, moody and distant.
"Isn't it? Then why did he leave you alone tonight? Why did he walk away from you twice? A man who really loved you wouldn't do that."
Before Cassie could respond, she heard the door open again, and this time she knew who it was because she could sense him. Greyson stood in the doorway, his eyes taking in the scene Cassie in her half-unzipped dress, Jake standing too close to her, the tension thick in the air.
"Jake, leave or I will throw you out," Greyson said, his voice deadly quiet.
"Or what?"
Jake turned to face him, his chest puffed out with false bravado.
"You'll hit me? Go ahead. Show Cassie who you really are."
Greyson's hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"Don't test me."
"You think you're better than me? You think you deserve her? You don't even know her. You don't know what she likes, what she needs, what she dreams about. I was with her for five years. Five years and you think you can just waltz in and take my place?"
"She's not yours anymore," Greyson said, stepping into the room. "She's mine."
"Is she? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like she's having second thoughts. Look at her, Grey. Look at how she's looking at you. She's scared of you."
Greyson's eyes flicked to Cassie, and his heart sank when he saw the uncertainty in her expression.
She was scared not of him, but of the situation, of the tension, of the way everything was spiraling out of control. But in his current state of mind, clouded by insecurity and jealousy, he couldn't see the difference.
"Get out," he said again, his voice shaking now.
"Make me Christianson O'Malley."
That's when Greyson snapped. All the pent-up frustration, all the insecurity, all the fear that he wasn't good enough for Cassie came pouring out in one explosive moment. He lunged at Jake, and suddenly they were on the floor, fists flying.
"Stop!" Cassie screamed, but neither man was listening. They were too caught up in their own anger, their own pain, their own need to prove something.
Jake was bigger, but Greyson was angrier. They rolled around on the floor, knocking over furniture, breaking things. Cassie tried to get between them, but it was too dangerous. She grabbed her phone and called security, her hands shaking as she dialed.
"Security, I need help. Room 1247. There's a fight, and I can't make them stop."
By the time security arrived, Jake had gotten the upper hand. He was using Greyson as a punching bag, and Greyson was barely fighting back anymore. The fight had gone out of him as quickly as it had come, replaced by a hollow emptiness that hurt worse than any physical pain.
Security managed to separate them, and Cassie convinced them to kick Jake out and take Greyson to the hospital. As they loaded him onto a stretcher, she could see the defeat in his eyes, the way he wouldn't look at her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered as they wheeled him away, and Cassie's heart broke all over again.