The Neighbor

Party Foul

Sarah led Cassie to a corner table at the other side of the room. They sat down with their drinks and she asked, "Why is Ben scaring you? How?" Knowing what James had done in the past, Sarah had immediately gone into overprotective big sister mode. Cassie took a deep breath and said, "Well, he goes through this thing where he tells me that I belong to him, that he owns me. At first, I thought it was just a sex thing, but now I'm not so sure. When he gave me this necklace, he said, "Now everyone will know" and said he could stop giving me hickeys." Sarah nodded and listened intently. Cassie continued, "And a few weeks ago, he had a really bad dream. He woke up sweating and when I was trying to comfort him, he started crying. He kept saying that he hurt me in his dream and that he never wanted to hurt me. Then, he started getting angry, talking to himself and pacing the room, so I was going to give him some space, but he begged me not to leave him. Like, literally, begged on his knees. I don't know, this is all...bizzarre."

Sarah took a moment to go over everything in her head. She didn't want to ask, but she had to. "Is he hurting you, Cass? Physically and/or emotionally?" Cassie shook her head and said, "No, no, he would never. If he did, I'm afraid he would kill himself for it." That made Sarah more at ease. "Well, you two have been dating for a couple months now...have things gotten worse since you started?" Cassie thought for a moment and said, "He's been better, but I know he's bottling up his feelings. I mean, he gets insanely jealous if a guy even looks at me. He doesn't think I notice, but I do." Sarah scoffed, "Well yeah! You two had only been together for a fucking day and he looked like he was going to murder that waiter, remember?" Cassie nodded and started looking around. She saw Ben staring at her from the bar, while drinking his vodka and tonic. She gave him a small smirk and looked back to Sarah who was staring at Ben. "He looks like he either wants to kill you or fuck you into next week. I can't tell." Cassie sighed and told her, "Sometimes I don't even know. Though, so far, it's been the second one." Sarah looked back at her and asked, "He still a freaky beast in bed?" Cassie nodded enthusiastically. "The only thing is...I'm never..." She struggled to tell her older sister this problem. Sarah just encouraged her by taking her hand. After taking a breath, she said, "I'm never on top. I'm never...in control, so to speak." Sarah shrugged and said, "So? Make yourself in control. If he tells you no, you tell him yes! Be assertive! This guy has probably never been told no by a woman and you need to be the first! Tonight, you make sure he knows who he belongs to. Play along with it, be a slut." Cassie broke out into a fit of giggles. "I can't believe I'm actually going to listen to you," she told her. 

They continued to talk for a few more minutes, then went back to join the crowd and the party. Ben was still at the bar, so Cassie made her way there. When she got to the bar, Ben linked an arm around her waist and held her close. "Everything alright?" He asked. She nodded and told him, "Yeah. Just sister talk." He hummed and kissed her head. Again, he was taken away by the men, but Cassie stayed at the bar. As she was contimplating what to order, she felt a hand at the small of her back. She turned and saw someone she really did not need right now. 

James.

"Wow, you are looking hot tonight, Cass," he purred. Cassie pushed his hand off her back and said, "Please don't. I'm here with someone and I don't think he'd appreciate your gestures." James let out a cackle that sent an uneasy feeling through her. "Let me at least buy you a drink," he insisted. Cassie ignored him and continued looking at the drink menu. She heard him, and then say, "I broke up with Kate. So I was thinking...your place tonight?" She scoffed and asked a bit loudly, "Did I not just tell you that I was here with someone?! Jesus, James, give it up!" That didn't set well with him. Next thing she new, he was squeezing her wrist and harshly tugging at her arm. She tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. He was pulling her to him when she heard Sarah shout, "LET GO OF HER!" 

Then...he came out of nowhere. Ben attacked Jamie; grabbing him by the shirt collar, and then flipping him over on top of the bar, smashing every glass that was in his way. Cassie slumpped to the ground, holding her shoulder and Sarah rushed to her side. Ben was seething with anger. He stared crazy eyed at James and shouted, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING TO HER?!" He lifted James upper half and slammed him back down on to the bar, causing his head to smash against the broken glass. James groaned in pain, not being able to answer him. Ben put his lips close to his ear and whispered (so no one could hear) in the most sinister tone, "If you come near her again, I promise I will skin you alive. If you so much as look at her, I will kill you. She belongs to me. She is mine and you do NOT lay a finger on her again. Undertand?" James weakly nodded, staring wide eyed at him. Ben leaned back up and loosened his grip on Jame's shirt collar. James started to get up as Ben turned away, but then Ben spun around hit James so hard, he fell off the bar, hitting bar stools, and landing limp on the floor. The crowd around them gasped, but Ben ignored it and went straight to Cassie. She was now at a table with Sarah and the girls, still holding on to her shoulder.

Once Ben got to the table, he knelt down in front of her and put his hands on her hips. Cassie noticed that his entire demenor changed. Instead of looking like he was going to kill someone, he looked incredibly worried and scared. "Baby, are you alright?" He asked quickly, while flicking his eyes over her face. "Yeah," she told him. "My shoulder just hurts a bit." By now, Alec had ordered everyone to continue having a good time, so weren't any prying eyes on them. Ben got up and looked over her shoulder. He saw it was a little swollen. 

Alec came over after helping the other guys get James out of the bar and into a cab, and checked out her shoulder more thouroghly. "It's not out of place, which is good," he told her. "But it is sprained. You need to keep off it and switched between icing it and heating it every twenty minutes." Ben kept thinking about how lucky James was to be gone, or else he would have gone back a beat the shit out of him. After Alec was done giving Cassie orders, Ben suggested that he get her home. She agreed and started to make her rounds of goodbyes and apologizes with Ben by her side. When they got outside, Cassie snuggled up to Ben and he carefully put his arm around her. While he was waving down a cab, she looked up at him and said, "Thank you for doing that. For protecting me." Ben put down his arm and smiled at her. He kissed her sweetly on the lips and said, "Honey...I would kill for you."

He waved down a cab and got her safely inside.