Home » The Archives » Chapter 14 » New Beginnings
| Re: New Beginnings [message #2281 is a reply to message #2280] |
Sun, 29 July 2012 23:43   |
Lillehafrue
Messages: 478
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northeastern USA
Karma:
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TB Pilot
Evil Genius |
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Monday, January 14, 2069, 7:30 pm, Tracy Island, Cliff House
Finishing up the email she was typing to Jackie, Cassie clicked on the send button. She had enjoyed hearing some of the adventures her old crew had been getting into and it was nice to know that some things never changed. She was about to open an email from Sachio when her messenger chimed. Looking at the alert, she saw that Luke had just signed on. Opening a window, she typed him a message.
Kitten2039: Hey there! How are you feeling today?
MTHawk17: Hey. Same as usual.
kitten2039: Anything I can do to cheer you up?
As Cassie sent her second message, she heard the alert for an incoming email. Refreshing the page, she saw that she now had a message from Alex.
MTHawk17: Got a way to instantly heal me and teleport me there?
MTHawk17: Forget me, how's you?
Kitten2039: Not bad. Scott had me try landings for real for the first time today.
Hitting the return button, Cassie switched over to the window with her email and opened the message from Alex. She had been waiting for the last couple of days for his reply and didn't want to wait to read it.
MTHawk17: Did you total the plane?
Kitten2039: No! The plane is in one piece. Not so sure about Scott's nerves.
Kitten 2039: Thank-you so much for your vote of confidence!
MTHawk17: Anytime. So, what are you up to?
Kitten2039: Catching up on email. Leaving for Kabul tomorrow for a few days.
MTHawk17: Sounds fun. Pack your sunscreen.
Cassie heard the chime of the incoming message but didn't look at it this time as she was absorbed in reading Alex's email.
MTHawk17: Hey, you still there?
Ignoring the second incoming message, Cassie continued to read through the email. Reaching the end, she blinked away some tears that threatened to fall. Dom was right about one thing; I do know where I stand now.
Cassie glanced at the messenger and saw that Luke had sent her three messages since her last comment. Switching over to the messenger box, she typed a message.
Kitten2039: Sorry! I was reading an email from Alex.
MTHawk17: Alex? Your ex, Alex? What's going on?
Kitten2039: It's nothing important. What were we talking about before?
MTHawk17: Cassie, what's going on?
Cassie stared at the screen. She had a feeling that Luke wasn't going to let the subject go but she also wasn't sure what to write and how much to explain to him. Before she could decide what to type, her phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. Without looking at the caller ID, she simply picked the phone up and answered it.
"Hello."
"Cass, it's me," Luke told her. "What's going on? Talk to me, girl."
Cassie sighed. As she hadn't mentioned Alex to Luke since before he had left the island, she told him about the conversation she'd had with Dom the previous week. "So, I did what Dom suggested, and told Alex that I was enjoying my new position with Tracy Industries and how he would feel about considering a move to Wichita."
Luke sighed. "I take it you got an answer tonight?"
"Yes. To make it short, he suggested I put in for a transfer to the New York City branch," Cassie told him, fighting to keep her voice from breaking. "He's never going to change, is he, Luke?"
"No, honey, I don't think he will. Hold on. I have to go downstairs; the folks are sleeping." He made his way down to the living room, and settled down on the couch. "There, that's better." He sounded slightly out of breath. "Have you actually talked to him? Or just emails?"
"I talked to him a time or two before Christmas, but it's mostly been emails. Guess the emotional distance that comes with exchanging emails made it easier for me to deal with."
Cassie got up from the chair and headed out onto the balcony. A cool breeze blew as twilight settled over the island.
"Don't you think, that if he really wanted things to work out, he would have tried harder? Instead of asking you to come to him, he would have shown you what you mean to him by coming out to you?" Luke shook his head. "That didn't come out right." He sighed. "He could have at least called you in person. Don't you think it's a little cold that he never even called?"
"Sometimes I'm not even sure what to think anymore. Last summer, being apart seemed so right and then he tells me he wants to give our relationship another try. I guess part of me wanted things to work out. He's been a part of my life since I was sixteen. Guess it's harder to turn my back on that than I thought it was."
"I know where you're coming from, honey. When Barry came to visit at the hospital, then stuck around until I was released, I thought things were back to how they had been. But then he went back to LA and..." His voice trailed off. "I wish I were there to help you through this instead of being seven thousand miles away."
"You don't know how much I wish you were here too, but you getting better is what's important right now," she told her friend. "I'll be all right. Dom was right; if he can't even consider making the move to be with me, then Alex doesn't care for me as much as he claims to." Cassie paused. After a few moments of silence, she continued. "It's telling Alex that is going to be the hardest thing."
"You can do it; you know you can."
"Thanks for the pep talk," Cassie said with a smile. She looked down at her watch. "It's too late to call him tonight. Guess I'll try to get a hold of him before I leave tomorrow."
"Anytime, Cass. Wish there was more I could do," Luke replied.
"I know. Just hearing your voice tonight helped a lot. Thanks for calling me, though it's getting late there, isn't it? Your body needs proper rest in order to heal."
Yeah, yeah. I get any more rest and I'll be back in a coma," he muttered back.
"I guess your family has still been getting on you about taking it easy then?"
"My family and everyone else I know," Luke sighed again. "Cass, are you going to be all right?" he asked, changing the subject.
Cassie shook her head. Leave it to Luke to switch the conversation back to me, she thought. "Well, I'm not going to tell you I'll be fine, because I know you won't believe that. It's not going to be easy to tell Alex that it;s truly over, but that's what I need to do. The next few days, maybe weeks, are going to be rough but I don't want you worrying about me. I've got Dom and Elise here to talk to if I need to, and the business trip will be a good distraction. I never dreamed I'd get a chance to go to Afghanistan. I'll get through this, Luke."
"I know you will. Keep me posted."
"I will and take care of yourself. We all miss you here."
After exchanging good-byes, the two friends hung up. Cassie stood at the balcony and looked out over the island trying to figure out how she was going to tell Alex what she needed to tell him.
Written by: lillehafrue and starrynebula
98% pure evil...and loving every minute of it.
 
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