Intertwined

Eighteen

I dipped my head low, concealing my unmistakable grin and laugh even when Cassidy and Dallas knew. My brother scoffed at both of us, "Very funny, both of you. Houston, you should know I don't date anyone."

"That's right," I let out a sarcastic comment, avoiding my brother's gaze. "You hook up with every girl you meet, and it doesn't matter how nice or good of a girl she is."

Dallas spouted, "Don't act high and mighty, Houston. We all know you were worse."

I clenched my jaw tight as I felt Cassidy's eyes at the nape of my neck, and I swore it felt like she was disappointed in me. Back when I was a teenager and even in college, I was a different person than I was now - one who did not care about relationships. However now, I fell in love with the perfect girl and all I wanted in this life was to prove she did deserve this shattered shell of a person I was. 

All I wanted was to prove to my damaged ego that Cassidy did deserve me.

"The difference between you and me, Dallas," I began to say, forming a witty remark to fire back. "I actually grew up and stopped breaking hearts."

Dallas finally shut up as I leaned into the chair, staring out the window at what I once called home for four years. An arm wrapped around my shoulders as I felt her breath tingling the curls at the nape of my neck, and I felt ashamed Cassidy would know the real me.

Cassidy whispered, the hair on my neck rising, "Houston, is that all true?"

In reply, I nudged her arm off of me and whispered back, "Mitchell, can we not talk about this? Just not right now."

Cassidy understood as she leaned back, her touch lingered over my shoulder and neck. It was, for the best, that I only focused on Dad this weekend and not Cassidy knowing about my reputation. It took me so long to shed my old shell, and I never wanted the past to come up again.

Especially if I thought it would hurt the one person I never intended to know about.

~

I never imagined being back in Oklahoma soon, and I always thought I had more years ahead of me before I ever had to think about Dad. As soon as we drove into my old hometown, there was a wave of nostalgia that washed over me of high school football games, parties, and lots of drinking. Everything that I seemed to hide from Cassidy was unavoidable and out in the open now.

I stopped right outside of the house I spent all of high school in, which was the only house that seemed to be home for me. If I take one step forward, then all those carefree nostalgic memories I once knew would be replaced with grief and melancholy associated with Dad.

Cassidy strode next to me and intertwined her fingers with mine, as I squeezed her palm. She whispered, "You'll be fine, Houston. If you ever need help, you can always look to me for help."

"I haven't been home since I left for college," I managed to say, with an unusually dry throat and an uneasy feeling under my chest. "Besides for holidays. What if my family is all disappointed in me?"

"They won't be disappointed," Cassidy replied, attempting to cheer me up even though she had no clue to the situation. "You only moved away from home, you have a great job, and you also met me. Which I think is the best part of your life."

I let out a chuckle as the front door opened, and whispered in her hair, "You are very full of yourself."

"You mean confident, level-headed, and self-assured?" Cassidy replied, flipping her hair and fluttering her eyelashes - which always drove me crazy. "But I'll let it slide."

Once our conversation was cut short, the entire house erupted into conversation at our presence as kids ran rampant, and my other siblings sat in the living room. The house that I grew up in for all of my entire high school years was still the same, with photos hung on every square inch and the horrible, burnt smell from the kitchen. I missed being in Oklahoma.