Page 37 of Jockstraps & Newspapers

"Quit it!" Cass warned with a laugh, knowing full well she didn't mean it.

Despite it all, she enjoyed giggling and talking with her sister about the naughty things she'd explored with Elliot.

Lyra plopped her rump onto someone's hood and they talked.

Really talked. Cass couldn't help spilling the tea about Elliot's heat, the sex in the shower, the fucking on and off the field, getting caught by his mom…

all of it. It spilled out of her mouth without hesitation.

Lyra reveled in it, egging her on with pride in her smile.

The sun slowly set more, giving them more visibility of the parking lot.

It wasn't till that moment, when she glanced at her poor death trap, parked two rows back…

that she saw the smashed windshield. Her stomach lurched as she stumbled away from Lyra, across the asphalt, and toward her car.

Nails in her tires, not yet flat but would likely deflate, smashed windshield, her sideview mirrors were ripped off.

"Fuck!" Cass shrieked, looking around. Lyra was scrambling inside, bellowing she was going to get them to pull the tapes. It didn't matter, Cass knew only one person who would make the effort to ruin her death trap. There was only one person who hated her enough to ruin her car. "Fuck."

If McMatterson didn't do it himself, he paid someone to do it.

If he didn't win his case for defamation, he was willing to ruin her day.

She would not make it to her place in its condition, let alone anywhere else.

No, it needed to be towed. Cass grumbled to herself as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

There was only one shop she trusted with her car…

well…trusted with her. She was going to have to sell it to them in pieces.

Begrudgingly, she called up the Bonesaw shop.

The same delightful pixie from behind the desk answered, "Bonesaw's, if it's got an engine, we can take care of it. How may I help you?"

"Uh, hi, my names Cassie—"

"Oh! My! Dragons! Cassie! Elle's girl, hi! Long time, no see. Your death trap alright?"

"No," Cass confessed like a deflated balloon.

"Oh no! Honey, what's wrong?" Cass could heard the bubblegum pop from the phone.

"Someone smashed my car. Windshield's fucked, tires have nails in them, they stole my damn sideview mirrors," she couldn't help the pout on her lips as she stomped around her destroyed car. "I can't drive it, can I get a tow? I'm in the Salamander Press parking lot, you can't miss it."

"Oh-ho-ho, honey bun, don't you worry, the boys wouldn't dare miss you. Hang on a second— Hey Rex! Reeeeeeeex! Hey! I got a tow! Salamander Press, it's Cassie. Yeah! Yeah, I know! Car’s smashed, you're gonna need to bring the winch— Alright, Cassie, I'm back. You know who botched your ride?"

"I have an idea," she grumbled, glaring at the back bumper that was dangling by a thread. "This fucker ripped off my bumper!"

"Ooof, that's rough. Don't worry, honey, Rex's grabbin' the truck now. He'll be over there lickity split. Just hang tight. Are you safe there in the parking lot?"

"Yeah, my sister's coming to stand with me right now.

Thanks." Cass hung up the phone and texted Elliot.

Maybe he'd be able to meet her at the shop.

Cass stormed up to her sister's non-broken bumper and flopped back against her trunk.

Lyra eventually meandered back, already on the phone with dragon knows who.

Cass did her best not to look at her car.

Just don't look at it, you'll be fine. But she was seething.

First, he threatens Elliot to his face. Second, he tries to fuck with her job.

Now? He's getting broke bitch’s cars totaled?

There was no way in King's Fall she had enough for a down payment on a new car.

"What am I gonna do," she breathed, chewing on her thumb.

"Breathe first. Second, we'll figure it out. You might be taking portals for a while, but that's fine. Plus, your boyfriend's got a big truck he doesn't normally use, right? Could you borrow it for emergencies?" Lyra pulled the phone away, muting her side for a moment.

"Probably…fuck, I'm gonna need to get something with a sunroof," Cass grumbled to herself as Lyra returned to her call. They sat in relative silence as the sun sank further and the streetlights came on. Only a few moments after that, a massive tow truck with a white and rust spotted Minotaur in the driver’s seat rolled up.

"Hey, Cassie!" Rex called as he bound out of the tow truck. "Woooooo-ey, that's a bad smash job. Who did it?"

"Don't say anything," Lyra warned.

"What?" Cass scoffed.

"Defamation, remember. We don't have proof, so don't say anything till there's an Enforcer's report." She hung up her phone call and directed her full attention to Cass.

The journalist groaned, rolling her eyes before turning to Rex. The Minotaur was frozen in place. Cass spoke between snaps of her jaw, "I'm. Not. Sure."

Rex winked at her, "Heard that, loud and clear."

Cass stewed in her rage while Rex somehow wrangled her car onto the tow truck.