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❝you changed me❞
Brad didn't look at Connor the whole way back as Simon escorted them back. Tristan stood on the opposite side of Cassandra, Connor stood behind. Connor felt guilty but equally he knew it was the only other way they could get James back.
Brad held tightly to Cassandra's hand tightly and she felt her heart beating in her throat. Brad could hear it beating rapidly and he just wanted to calm her down.
When they reach the outside of the forest, looking straight at the motel, Simon stops.
"We'll have men guarding the area. If you try and leave, we'll follow and kill you all," Simon states. "We don't deal nicely with people who break deals."
The boys stay still and Simon understands that they're not going to reply but understand what he said, before turning and walking away. The clothed men are high up in the trees already.
Brad glances behind him to see Connor before walking towards the motel with Cassandra. Tristan sighs slowly, turning to the boy.
"I don't know why you'd do that," Tristan shakes his head. "There could've been other ways, but you fucked up instead."
"There was no other way we could get James out—"
"We could've found another way!" Tristan shouts, causing Cassandra to turn around. She purses her lips as Brad opens the door to the motel.
They get inside the room and Brad slams the door shut, letting go of her hand. He just wanted to murder Connor but he knew he had limited time with his Cassie and he couldn't waste it by taking his anger out on Connor.
He lets out a shaky breath, feeling a tear run down his cheek as he leans against the door. He leans his head against it and closes his eyes, too many emotions clouding his mind.
She stepped forward to him, wiping the tear off of his face with a frown, "don't cry, please."
"I can't lose you," his voice breaks and his legs felt weak. He slides down against the door and sits on the floor, Cassandra kneeling down at his height as she wipes the tears from his face. He never thought he'd feel this way over her but he did and it hurt him so much that he was losing her so soon. "I can't. . . I just can't."
"You're not gonna lose me," she promises. "We'll find a way around this, I know we will, okay?"
He lets her push one of his curly locks out of his face and he musters a weak smile. He looked so destroyed and weak and he wanted to cry but he wanted to be strong for Cassandra.
"We'll find a way," Brad repeats to reassure himself. "Of course we will."
"You're not gonna lose me," Cassandra affirms and Brad's breath hitches in the back of his throat at the thought of not being able to see Cassandra every morning, smiling and being happy.
He closes the gap between them both and pulls her close, nestling his head between her neck as his arms snake around her waist. She doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms over his shoulders, both of them trying to stay as close together as possible.
He moves his head away, one of his hands tucking some hair behind her ear. She didn't realise she was crying but she was and it made Brad more upset.
He brushes his nose against her's lightly, and she felt her heart skip a beat and butterflies erupt in her stomach. His eyes flickered from her eyes to her mouth and back up to her eyes and he wanted to kiss her but he knew if he started he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"Brad," she whispers quietly, knowing what's going on inside his head. She rests their foreheads together and their breaths mix together.
He hesitates before brushing his lips against hers, waiting for confirmation that he could kiss her and she places their lips together, causing butterflies to erupt in his own stomach as his hand moves from a piece of hair he was playing with to cup her cheek.
There were sparks literally flying off of his hands as he moved his other hand to her waist, pulling her close as he stood them both up and moved her backwards the bed, placing her gently down without breaking contact.
Her hands stay firmly in his curls as he takes control of their movements. He was getting drawn into the kiss and the more their lips moved the less he wanted to stop and the more he craved every inch of her. He was losing control.
She is the one to move away as she smells smoke and looks over to see the curtains on fire, "Brad—"
He climbs off of her quickly, closing his eyes and getting rid of the fire instantly. They were both out of breath and panting as they tried to get it back.
"I'm sorry," he says, annoyed at himself as he climbs off of the bed and runs his hands through his hair. "I lost control of myself."
She climbs off of the bed, resting her forehead to his, "you're gonna be okay."
"I'm not," he shakes his head. "Cassie, you changed me. I never thought I was capable of loving someone as much as you but you've made that possible. I don't know how I'm going to deal with anything without having you here with me everyday."
He pauses, presses a kiss to her lips.
"My little Cassie," he sighs. "Who's going to cool you down when you're freezing and I'm not there? Who's going to make you hot drinks for when you wake up?"
She smiles, a tear escaping her eyes.
"I should've stopped Connor," Brad says, his jaw clenched. "I should've stopped him from saying anything, because now I've lost you."
"You've not lost me," she shakes her head, her arms around his waist. "Take it as though I'm going on a vacation, yeah? You'll all find a way to get me back."
Brad opens his mouth to say something but he hears two sets of footsteps walking down the corridor and he holds her close as Connor and Tristan walk into the room.
They all look at Connor and he purses his lips, "look, I'm sorry, okay?"
"Sorry doesn't cut it," Brad snaps. "You gave up one friend to get another one back. You should've kept your damn mouth shut."
"We'll find a way to get her back afterwards—!"
Brad snarls, "damn right, you will."
"Brad," she says, a hand on his cheek and he looks down. "Calm down."
He shakes his head, "I can't be calm when he just gave you up."
"Hey," she frowns, taking his hand and pulling them both off of the bed. "Come on, we're going on a walk."
"Why? I wanna stay here and hear why Connor thought it was a smart idea to give you up!"
"That's why we're going on a walk, so you don't end up killing him."
Brad glares towards Connor before guiding Cassandra and himself out of the room. As she walks past Connor, he grabs her wrist and turns her around.
"I'm sorry, Cassandra. I am."
"Don't be sorry. I understand," she smiles half heartedly. She understood that he felt like it was the only way for them to get James back, even though it probably wasn't. There was nothing she could do now.
