Page 39 of Jockstraps & Newspapers

Chapter twenty-four

Getting a little bit of therapy

Cassiopeia

E lliot was upset. There were tear stains on his fur as he climbed out of the truck. Cass almost dropped everything to comfort him. But then the Minotaur grabbed her by the hips and threw her over his shoulder. "Oi! Hey! What are you—"

"For once, Cassiopeia, just hush!" he barked and her heart stopped.

What was going on?

One moment, she was joking with Rex, pulling up to the shop.

The parking lot was eerily empty, but Rex made a comment about, 'oh, the boys musta gotten tired and closed up shop early'.

They were laughing until they saw the blood.

Rex parked the truck halfway in the parking lot, taking up most of the space, and launched out into the evening sun.

Nikolai, the bugbear mechanic was squeegeeing the blood into the drains.

There was a river of it. Cassiopeia Darling had never seen that much blood.

Her legs were gelatin, wiggling and wobbling as she stumbled toward the shop.

Rex told her not to come any closer as he flew into the back office of the shop.

She stood there, confused and struck as the bugbear spared her an apologetic look.

What was going on?

They closed up and left her out in the parking lot with the tow truck and her destroyed vehicle.

What is going on?!

Cass broke free of the traumatic daze she was in and slapped at Elliot's shoulders, "You put me down, right now, Elliot Bonesaw, or I swear to the dragons above—"

"You'll what?!" he bellowed, tossing her into the cabin of his truck. Elliot threw himself inside and shut the door.

"Don't you fucking take that tone with me!

I'm the one in the dark here!" She threw her hands out, scrambling to sit in the passenger seat properly.

Elliot stared through the windshield, gripping the steering wheel till even his fur paled.

Fury painted his features as well as tears and heartache.

Cassiopeia's lower lip trembled as tears welled in her eyes.

Oh no. Cass breathed, "Elliot, please tell me Jessie wasn't under a car or something. Please tell me he's alive."

Elliot nodded, swallowing audibly. "He's alive."

"How alive?" She slid closer, "Oh Elliot, why didn't you just say an accident happened? What's going on? You can talk to me."

"I can't," he croaked, snapping his gaze in her direction.

"Wha-wha-what are you talking about?" she stammered.

"Just forget it, let me take you home. I'll get you a new car in the morning." He cranked the truck into gear and turned the wheel. Cass was tossed back into her seat as the vehicle lurched. Elliot snapped a hand out and clicked her seat belt in without sparing her a look.

"No!" She furiously unclicked it.

Elliot clicked it back, slamming on the brakes. "Cassie," he warned.

"No! What did you mean?" she snarled. She unclicked it only to have her hand swatted away and her seatbelt clicked back. Her heart slammed against her ribs as Elliot shot her a dirty look. "Elliot Bonesaw, answer me."

"I can't tell you because I can't have it end up in your articles.

If you dig into this one, Cassie, if you treat this like you did Stevie, people are going to get hurt…

you're going to get hurt . And I won't let that happen.

I can't—I love you too much. So, for fucking once, would you just let me do this, just let me take you home and get you a new car and never talk about it. Please!"

The cabin of the truck was dead silence as they stared at each other.

Her mouth hung open an inch as the words died on her tongue.

Did…he just say he loves me and ask me to shut the fuck up at the same time?

Cass blinked once, finding her control once more.

Inhaling deeply through her nose, through the snot and tightness in her chest, she filled her lungs.

Then, she nodded, "Okay, we won't talk about it. "

He grabbed her by the cheeks, flipping the truck into park. Pulling her into his face, he kissed her hard on the mouth. She grabbed every inch of him she could reach and held him close. When he pulled away, he was panting for air. "Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome," she whispered, throat raw and voice raspy. He threw the truck in drive and floored it. She sank back into the seat, glancing back at the shop. All the lights were off. All the doors were closed. All the answers were locked inside.

And suddenly, the guilt washed over her…

because she was going to dig into it. She knew that she was going to dig into it and find the truth.

Cass didn't know how to leave well-enough alone.

Something happened to Jessie in that shop, and she knew it wrecked Elliot to the core.

She was going to figure out what it was and she was going to fix it if she could.

Even if her boyfriend refused to talk about it.

Oh boy…maybe Andromeda was right…maybe she did need therapy.

"T hat's what I'm saying, Lily, he wouldn't tell me." Cass paced in front of the siren therapist. Hands on her hips, Cass created tracks in the flooring of their apartment.

"And why do you need to know? Why can't you just accept that he doesn't want to talk about it?" Lily asked, scribbling down in her notepad. She was spread out on the couch and coffee table, working on her admin tasks for the day. However, there always seemed to be room for Cass and her mess.

"Well, because he didn't want to talk about it." Cass stopped dead in her tracks. "It's a toxic trait, I know. But I have to know."

"Why?" Lily cocked her head, peeking up from her work.

"That's why I asked you. I…I feel shitty about it, okay? Like I know he doesn't want me to know because there's something that could get me hurt. But I can't stop thinking about what happened to Jessie that was so bad, that even Elliot couldn't tell me. He tells me everything."

"Does he? Or did you forget the time he didn't tell you about his heat because he didn't want it to affect you? Or the time you didn't tell him about Stevie, because you didn't want it to affect him?" Lily sat back on the couch, folding her teal hands over her pajama bottoms.

"Woah, okay, that was…okay, damn you're right." Cass pouted as she flopped down into the plush armchair.

"You both have a history of considering the others’ emotions more than your need to be honest with each other.

Which, in of itself, isn't the worst, because it's not selfish; it's just not healthy. You both would rather avoid confrontation with each other in hopes of sparing the others’ feelings than hash it out.

Then, you both spend days or hours after making that decision in agony because you want the truth but you're not willing to share the emotional weight.

You're both showing signs of emotional neglect from when you were children and weren't allowed to express your emotional needs and find them accepted by your parents.

For you, they would find your burden troublesome or a bother, so therefore, you keep things locked up in consideration of the other in hopes they'll love you… "

"Ow," Cass huffed. "Damn Lily, calm down, it's 9am."

"You're the one who asked my advice, and you specifically said you wanted my therapy advice." Lily shrugged nonchalantly and returned to her paperwork.

I did this to myself . Cass tossed herself out of the chair and stomped to the kitchen.

She couldn't face her emotional baggage on an empty stomach.

In hopes they'll love you. Elliot's confession returned to her ears as she pulled out slices of bread for toast. I love you too much.

Her heart fluttered and a terrible ache happened at the same time.

He loved her. Cass gasped for air as she slammed the toast into the purple, fish shaped device.

Sinking back against the counter, she replayed it over and over.

Him, desperately wanting to be honest, but holding it back.

I can't tell you because I can't have it end up in your articles. If you dig into this one Cassie, if you treat this like you did Stevie, people are going to get hurt… you're going to get hurt.

The truth was…he feared telling her anything would end up in an article.

It should hurt to think of it that way, but he had a point.

He'd been the one to tell her about Stevie.

What did she do? Turn around and turn it into an article.

Even if he'd approved of it and liked that she'd gone to bat for him, she'd still used what he told her to propel her professional position forward.

Their whole relationship started on him being truly honest with her for her gain.

"No wonder he can't trust me," she murmured, poking at the whale shaped butter dish.

"He can…but not with things of this nature because he knows you." Lily leaned against the other end of the kitchen island.

"But he can! He could have just told me and said he didn't want me to write about it."

"Would you have listened?" Lily cocked a brow.

"Of course I would have! I love him too much to break his trust like that!

Stevie was a pervert who needed to be outted to keep everyone safe…

but this? Whatever this is, it's personal and telling people about it won't fix anything.

I just want to know, I want to share the emotional weight with him!

" The words flew out of her mouth like water from a fire hydrant. She practically yelled them.

Lily smirked, "Then tell him that. Give him some time to process whatever emotions he's got going on, then tell him. Start there."