3 Simple Steps

TWENTY-TWO: It's A Comforting Thing.

TWENTY-TWO: It's A Comforting Thing.

 Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I picked up a laminated menu from Happy Coffee as I waited for Adriana to show up. She had a lot of explaining to do. Trying to keep my eyes open was hard. First the memories of Isaiah had haunted me in my sleep and then the separation from Cas meant I had double the nightmares jolting me from my sleep. Persephone--the blonde waitress with the goddess name--poured some coffee in my mug and stared at me for a long time.

"You're usually never here this early. I mean, not that's it's any of my business." She said. I put my menu down and yawned, hastily trying to cover my mouth.

"Ah, I just need some coffee this morning." And a memory eraser. She nodded a little unconvinced but took out her note pad and a pen.

"So, what can I get for you?"

"Let me get an order of crepes, please." I mumbled absently.

"Sure thing, kiddo. Whip cream and strawberries on the top?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Please." She nodded and jotted the order down.

"You know what? It's on me. You look like you could use a break." Persephone said before winking at me and walking away. I smiled at her thankfully.

Shrugging out of my sweater, I poured sugar and creamer into my coffee, stirring lethargically. Five minutes later, Adriana stepped into the café wearing a yellow pea coat and faded skinny jeans. She wore the black lace-up boots she had been wearing the day we had gone bottle-cap digging. And had found HTHAAI3SS. She slid into the seat across from me and folded her hands together on the table.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked.

"Yes. You told Cas about 9th grade?" There was hostility in my voice that I hadn't intended to use. Adriana's mouth opened in shock and she leaned forward.

"Alexis, this is dangerous. You haven't spoken about...him...in two years. Don't start bringing those memories back. I know how bad you'll get. I was there trying to console you with Maribel, but you shut us out."

"Exactly. So why did you tell Cas something so...secluded? Only you, Maribel, and my Mom know about that. My brother was in college during that time. You basically betrayed me again." I arraigned. 

She sucked in her breath.We hadn't spoken about her betrayal in which--in order to be with Logan Aaron--she had let Genesus go after me like a ferocious, foaming dog in forever. So she had to know this was serious.

"I only told him you had had a boyfriend before Josh. In fact, he asked me that months ago, Alexis. He's kept quiet about that information. That means he's had time to figure all those other things out. He's been investigating you. It may sound creepy, but he probably has. So he probably only made it sound like I had told him everything, when in fact, I hadn't. I swear."  I shook my head, mortified.

If she had only told him that, then who had told him the rest? Or how had he found out? I remembered now. I remembered when Josh had asked me if he had been my first boyfriend while we had been snuggled up on my couch. I had laughed so hard I had choked. Isaiah hadn't counted. In fact, I hadn't even thought of him. That's how good I had gotten at forgetting him. That meant Josh hadn't believed me, so he had gone and asked Cas who had asked Adriana. 

Cas had known about Isaiah for a long time, and he had kept quiet about it until he had finally reached a conclusion; the conclusion that it wasn't that I didn't love him, but that I couldn't bring myself to. Because of Isaiah. He had searched and searched for answers before, but to him, me not loving him back didn't make sense so he dug deeper. And by doing so he only made me hate him. Not love him. He had re-opened old wounds that had faded already. In fact, he hadn't just re-opened them, he cut them himself in a cruel way.