***
Cassie slid the window open and leaned on the sill as she met Chris's twinkling gaze. "Why don't you just use the door?"
He shrugged as he heaved himself through the window. As big and muscular as he was, he was surprisingly agile and graceful. It was why he was the star of the football team. Well that, and his enhanced speed and strength gave him an advantage. "The window's more fun."
Cassie shook her head as she closed the window again, leaving it cracked to let the cool September air flow through. Chris moved across the room, plopped down on her bed, and crossed his long legs before him. Resting his elbow on his knee, he snatched the remote up and turned on the TV. Though he flipped idly through the channels, his easy demeanor was belied by the tension she sensed running through him.
She walked over to sit beside him. She didn't have to ask what was wrong; she knew it was his mother again. If he decided to talk about it, he would. If not, they would sit quietly until he was ready to go to sleep on the air mattress tucked under the bed just for him.
"Is your grandma home?" he inquired.
His gaze was focused on the TV, but most of his attention was on her. "No, she went to the church social tonight. There's left over lasagna in the fridge for you if you would like some."
He shrugged and set the remote down when he found the Red Sox game. "Someone took my fries," he muttered.
Cassie couldn't help but grin as she shoved playfully at his arm. "There were only a few left."
"The last ones are always the best."
Laughing, she pushed him again. "Do you want me to heat some lasagna for you?" Though she knew that was exactly what he was trying to guilt her into doing.
"I think you owe me."
Cassie climbed to her feet and shook her head at him. "You're lucky I love you."
He flashed his cocky grin with the easy charm most girls couldn't resist. "You'd better!"
Cassie was still shaking her head as she made her way downstairs. She may have been born an only child, but she still had an annoying, two week older brother. Finding her way easily through the darkened halls she entered the kitchen. She didn't bother with the switch, she could see almost as well with the lights off as she could with them on. She pulled the door of the fridge open and removed the hefty piece of lasagna her grandmother had set aside for Chris. Un-wrapping it, she tossed it into the microwave and hit the buttons.
Leaning against the sink, she stared out at the dark night, her mind not on the street before her, but on the strange man from earlier. She had done nothing but think about him since arriving home. He preoccupied her every thought and she couldn't rid her skin of the strange electricity he had created in her.
Instinctively she knew if she could just see him again, just touch him, then things would be better. The thought filled her with excitement, but also with a level of apprehension she couldn't shake. It made no sense to feel this intense of a connection with someone she didn't know.
She hated to see Chris so lost and angry with his mother, but she was secretly grateful for the distraction his company offered her from her strange thoughts and emotions. Now that she was alone again though, the stranger was back on her mind. She was truly afraid she’d never feel normal again until she touched him.
If she saw him again. The thought of never seeing him again sent her heart racing in fear.
Cassie shook her head as she tried to rid herself of her irrational thoughts. She was acting crazy; she was feeling crazy. Maybe everything that had happened to her over the past four years had finally caused her to lose her mind. How many people could actually know of the existence of vampires, fight them, and not go a little crazy? She wondered absently.
Not many.
Movement in the shadows outside the kitchen windows caught her attention, drawing her gaze back to the street. The shadows shifted again before settling down once more. Cassie turned her attention to the copse of trees at the edge of the yard. The sudden beep of the microwave caused her to jump and spun her toward the machine. She shook her head, aggravated with herself for allowing someone to affect her this much. She didn't know him, what she felt for him couldn't be real, and he shouldn't be affecting her this way. Hell, she didn't even know his name.
Grabbing the lasagna from the microwave, she cast another glance out the window. Nothing moved amongst the shadows, but Chris's mom had come onto her porch. She held a beer bottle in one hand, a cigarette in the other, as she stared into space. A man emerged behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Cassie had never seen him before, but then, she rarely saw any of Mary's men twice in a row.
The man's presence explained why Chris was here tonight.
Shaking her head, she hurried back upstairs, eager to get the food to Chris. She swung into her room, not at all surprised to find the air mattress already set up. "Thanks," he muttered as he took the plate from her.
Cassie nodded and plopped herself onto the bed beside him. This was going to be one of the nights when Chris didn't like to speak; one of the nights when he had no words to convey his unhappiness. That was just fine by her, she wasn't much in the mood for talking either, but there was one thing she had to know.
"Chris?"
"Hmm," he murmured around a mouthful of lasagna.
Swallowing nervously, Cassie's hands knotted in her lap. "Do you remember that man from earlier?" When he shot her a confused look, she elaborated. "The one standing next to B's and S's?"
He nodded as he took another large bite of lasagna. "What about him?" he inquired when he swallowed.
"Did you um, well did you feel anything from him?" she hedged.
Chris's eyes narrowed on her. She never asked questions about what he or Melissa knew, but this time she couldn't stop herself from asking. She had to know why she couldn't get the strange guy out of her thoughts, and Chris might be able to help her with that. "No, not really," he answered haltingly. "Why?"
She turned her attention back to the game, hoping that Chris wouldn't notice or pick up on the anxiety and excitement wracking her. "I was just wondering, haven't seen him around before."
It was not a lie, she tried to reassure herself, but she didn't think Chris bought it. Fortunately, he knew her well enough to know not to push her. Without Chris in her life, she had no idea what would have become of her. He kept her sane in a world of madness and confusion.
She dropped her head comfortingly on his shoulder. For the first time all night, she finally began to feel normal again.