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Chapter 19

“Cass, is that you?” Nick sat up in bed, feeling his heart beating faster.
“Yes…” She whispered.
He could hear it in her voice that something was wrong. She sounded scared, and he could barely hear what she was saying.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… Oh, Nick, I…” She started crying silently.
“Why are you crying? Cass, what happened?” His voice was filled with concern.
Cass took a few moments to collect her thoughts, before she continued.
“Umm… are you busy? I mean, I’m sorry if I woke you. I didn’t have anybody else to call.” She was on the verge of crying again. Nick didn’t know how to respond.
“It’s ok Cass. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Cass silently told Nick what had happened, and Nick got more and more worried as he listened to her.
“I don’t know where they left me, Nick… I have no idea where I am, and I can hardly move around.”
Nick was on his way out of bed by then, and with his free hand, he got dressed as quickly as he could.
“I’m on my way Cass. Describe the surroundings to me, ok? Tell me how long you were driving around and in what direction from where they picked you up.”
Cass started telling Nick, as he quietly walked out of his room, careful not to wake the others. He walked outside and got in Aj’s car while he listened to Cass, trying not to forget anything of importance that she told him.
“Shit, Nick. My battery is getting low…” She said frustrated.
“Ok, Cass. Whatever you do, stay where you are. I’m on my way, ok? I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He waited for an answer.
It never came.
“Cass? Cassidy? Fuck…” He said to himself. The line was dead. He tried calling her back, as he drove away, but there was no response.
“Fuck.” He said again.

Cass was sitting on the cold ground. Over an hour had passed since she had spoken to Nick, and she was starting to get worried that he might have given up looking for her. Her right arm was hurting and she was trying not to fall asleep. As she sat there, she started thinking about her mother. She had been the greatest person Cass had ever known, and losing her had been like losing a part of herself. After her mother’s death, Cass had always felt like a piece of her was missing, and she was always looking for something to fill that empty space in her heart. Sometimes she wondered is she would ever be able to move on. As she thought of her mother, she started crying again.
‘How did this ever happen to me?’ she whispered to herself.

“Damn.” Nick said to himself as he reached another dead end. He had been driving around for over an hour and he had no idea where he was. He was getting more worried about Cass every minute, and he was driving way faster than he was supposed to. He didn’t care though. All he wanted to do was to find her, and bring her back home safely. After another half hour he was driving around in an area which, in his mind, looked quite similar to the place Cass had described to him almost two hours before. He looked out of the windows on both sides as he drove, but… nothing. He kept on driving, but felt his heart sink as the landscape started changing again. Nick was about to stop the car and turn around when he thought he saw something moving a bit further down the road. He increased the tempo, and as he got closer, he saw a girl sitting on the ground gently rocking back and forth. She was looking down, her head in buried in her hands and her knees pulled up to her chest. He didn’t see her face, but there was no doubt in his mind that he had finally found her.
She suddenly became aware of the sound coming from his car, and looked up. He could see the relief in her eyes all the way from the driver seat, as he parked the car and ran over to her. She was crying when he sat down next to her on the ground and he put his arms around her.

“God, Cass…” He said, stroking her hair. “I’m so sorry I took so long. I didn’t know where to look. I was so worried.” He took her head in his hands to look at her. “Are you ok? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.” She sobbed. “I’m so glad you found me. I was so scared that you might have given up and gone home.”
Nick pulled her into another hug.
“I would never do that Cass.”
“Thank you.” She whispered wanting to put her arms around him, but knew that she couldn’t. It wasn’t until then that Nick realized that her arms and legs were still tied. He took her hands in his. They felt cold against his warm skin.
“I’m going to get a knife from the car to get these ropes off, ok?”
She nodded.
“I’ll be right back.” He stood up and walked over to the car. He knew that Aj kept a tool box in the trunk. Moments later, he came back with a pocket knife. He sat down next to Cass again, and pulled her legs onto his lap. The knife wasn’t that sharp, so he struggled a little to cut the ropes, but after a couple of minutes, her legs were finally free. He then moved up to her arms.
“Hold out your arms, and try to keep as still as possible. I don’t want to cut you.”
She sniffled and did as she was told. Moments later, the rope came off. Nick helped her stand up, and pulled her into another hug. This time, she put her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. She could feel tears forming in her eyes again, and tried to blink them away, but she felt so relieved that she couldn’t hold them back. And as she started shaking again, Nick pulled her even closer.
“It’s ok Cass.” He whispered. “I’m here now. No one’s going to hurt you.”
They stood there until they both lost track of time, and Cass finally pulled away from his embrace.
“Maybe we should head back?” She said.
Nick looked down at her, and wiped away her tears.
“Maybe we should” He said and nodded. “Come on, let’s get in the car.”
He took her hand, and walked her over to the car. He then opened the door to the passenger seat, and helped her inside. Once she was seated, he walked around the car and sat down next to her.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt.” He turned to look at her.
She nodded. “My right arm hurts a little, but not that much anymore. Other than that, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“Good.” He smiled at her and started the engine. “So, where do you live? I’m guessing you want to go home and get some sleep.”
“Do you remember Mary, the nurse?” She asked him.
He nodded, but didn’t quite understand why that would answer his question.
“I’ve lived with her ever since I left the hospital.”
“Oh…” Nick said without taking his eyes off the road. He wanted to ask her why, but didn’t know if she would want to talk about it. “Well, what’s the address?” He asked instead.
She gave it to him, and they continued the ride in silence.

Once he pulled over in front of Mary’s apartment, he noticed that Cass had fallen asleep. He looked over at her, and wondered if she would ever open up to him. For a few moments, all he could do was stare at her and hoping that she would be alright. He then gently leaned over to stroke her cheek.
“Cass.” He whispered, pulling a stain of her hair back. “Cassidy… we’re here, wake up.”
She stirred, and slowly opened her eyes. She looked confused at first, but after a few seconds, she realized where she was, and what had happened.
“You want me to walk you inside?” He asked.
She nodded slightly. “Yea, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He walked out of the car, and helped her out. Together, they made their way inside.
“Have you called Mary to let her know what happened?” He asked her.
She shook her head. “She’s working night shift at the hospital. I don’t know how to reach her.”
“When will she be home?”
“Around noon, I guess.” She looked at her watch. It was almost 5.30 in the morning.
“You want me to stay until she gets home?”
Cass hesitated. Would she?
“No, I’ll be fine.” She answered.
“You sure?”
“Yea.”
“Ok, but call me if you need anything ok?” He walked over to her and gave her a hug. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on his shoulder. She felt so safe in his strong arms, and suddenly, she regretted her answer.
“Maybe, umm… you know, maybe you could stay until I fall asleep?” She whispered without moving away from his embrace.
Nick smiled a little to himself. “Yea, maybe I could.”