A Visit to Ms. Cassidy's

Chapter 4: Anxiety, Awkwardness, and Anticipation

Boy did I not feel ready when the day finally came. I was a nervous wreck. I had told my parents that Carter and I would be travelling to the town over for the day to check out the shops. The town had a large mall in it so the story checked out enough for my parents. In fact it worked a little too well.

When I came downstairs in the morning my Mom came up with a brilliant idea.

"Oh you should take your little brother with you, I am sure he would love it!"

As nice of a gesture as it was, I shot it down immediately. I told her that it was just gonna be Carter and I, which worked well enough for her.

After narrowly avoiding having to explain to my younger brother why the building with a leather clad woman in it was not a Toys R Us, I grabbed my things and waited for Carter outside. Once he arrived I got in the car and we headed off.

The drive would only take about an hour and I was the co-pilot for our mission. A co-pilot who also happened to be a nervous wreck. Carter caught on to this and did his best to calm me down. At first he addressed any concerns I had and helped me talk through them. Then after a while we talked about the latest video games we were playing and what we were going to grab to eat afterwards.

As a way for me to try and repay Carter for his immense kindness I offered to buy him lunch for the whole thing. He denied it at first but I was able to wear him down and he eventually agreed.

We managed to find the place with only a couple wrong turns. It was a small 3 story white brick building that looked like it hadn't been updated in a few years. Many of the windows were either too dark to see in or completely cluttered with plywood and other miscellaneous items. It was discrete enough that nobody would know there is a dungeon on the third floor, while not being so run down that it could be on the verge of demolition.

We had arrived a bit early but I decided that I would go up and see if she was ready. Upon entering the small brick building I was immediately hit with the smell of weed and what appeared to be construction noises. I slowly made my way up the crisscrossed stairs until I eventually found her door. There was a sign next to it that read "Ms. Cassidy's." I walked up to it, heart pounding and knocked.

There was no response. I was confused and wondered if I had made a mistake. I could have sworn that I heard the noises of someone behind the door but realized that it was likely the construction workers on the floor below. I felt great shame walking back down those steps.

Before heading back out to see Carter I stood on the bottom floor, wondering if all of this had been a huge mistake. Doubt washed over me and I was beginning to think that this wouldn't be worth it. With the construction workers moving around the second floor I decided to head back to the car to not seem suspicious.

When I got back to the car Carter asked me what was up and I explained that nobody was home. He then replied, "You have her number, right? Just text her and see what's going on."

Rational as always, I hadn't really considered doing that during my panic spiral. As I began texting her that I was here, we saw a car pull up and a woman get out. Carter and I looked at each other and realized that must have been her. I gave her a couple of minutes to get upstairs and settled then decided to head up to her room.

Before heading up I told Carter that if for whatever reason I was not back in the allotted half hour, or if I called him and hung up that I would need to be rescued. It was a bit of paranoia on my part but this was all very foreign to me and I really had no idea what I was walking into.

The second time facing her door was oddly more stressful than the first. This time I knew she was there, which was in some ways a relief and in others an absolute terror. I didn't know how she would act or really anything about what would come next. I had come this far though, and I wasn't going to chicken out now. Whether it was my head or the area below my belt calling the shots, it decided that it was time to face the music. I knocked on the door and Ms. Cassidy opened it.