Voodoo [H.S.]

Eleven

June 25th, 2022

"Ruse is up. I know you're hiding something. Cassie Bennet. But that's not your real name is it?"

Time stopped.

We've been standing here, staring at each other long enough to confirm his suspicion. I've been caught, there is no way around it. I'm going to have to move, probably live in my car until I can the pay the lease here until it's up. I was so careful. I finally found somewhere I thought I was safe. All it took was one mistake for it to all come crashing down.

Harry is looking at me with betrayal and malice and that hurts almost as much as everything else. He's looked at me in a lot of ways before, but never like he hates me. I never wanted to be someone he hated. None of that matters anymore though, because after today I will never see him again.

Where do I even start with this? How do I explain to him that what I went through four years ago caused me so much trauma I didn't have a choice but to completely alter my identity and move away?

"Well?" He questions, blocking my pathway out of the kitchen. "I'm waiting."

I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the feeling of wanting to throw up. With my heartbeat pounding in my ears, I decide a watered down version of the truth is better than nothing.

"When I decided I was going to move away from Arizona, I bought a fake identity online. Or rather, it was created for me. I spent a lot of money trying to make it as realistic as possible. It's not really a fake name, Cassie is a nickname and Bennet was my mothers maiden name," I start truthfully, avoiding his harsh gaze. He raises his eyebrows to signal me to continue further, but I feel like the words are frozen in my throat.

"Why would you need to do something like that? People don't change their name to that extent just because they want to move away," he bites, clearly annoyed with my lack of explanation.

"I was in a really bad accident four years ago." I keep eye contact with him this time, so hopefully he can see that I'm not trying to lie my way out of this. "It made the news globally. It was humiliating, having my name and story plastered for everyone to see. People made their own assumptions, most were supportive of me but there were a lot of people who think there's more to the story. I couldn't handle it. So I changed my name, dyed my hair, and moved away. Even now, it's hard to talk about. I never thought it would come to this."

Harry searches my face, looking back and forth between my eyes. He looks completely torn and I get it. His loyalty lies with his boss, not me, some girl he just met who he barely tolerates. I know he confessed some things last night that made me question how he felt, but he was drunk and I never trust something someone tells me when they're under the influence of something.

"I still don't trust you," he says with a hardened expression.

"I understand," I say immediately. "You don't have to worry about it though. I'm leaving tonight. You never have to see me again. I'll sign an NDA for your boss if I have to, whatever you need. I have no interest in turning you guys in, please believe me."