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MATT CONSIDERED IT A MIRACLE THAT CASSIE WAS STILL TALKING TO HIM. By some... miracle, and that was the only word he could think to use, she hadn't woken up when he slipped out again that night. And when he returned and cleaned himself up, he took twice as long because he knew that any dried blood would be a dead giveaway.
The next morning, she was awake before Matt. Quickly running out to the coffee shop that wasn't far, she returned with his favorite drink and a muffin for when he woke up.
He ended up waking up just as Cassie had finished getting ready for the day, only able to spend a few minutes with him before she had to leave if she wanted to make it in on time.
The fact that the bruise on his face hadn't caught her eye was a small victory. But Cassie had been so worried about being late for being early, that she'd mostly just talking while she quickly did her makeup and hair, barely glanced at Matt before rushing out the door.
Matt ended up getting up and ready not long after she left, not wanting to get a call from Foggy asking if he was going to bother coming in today. He was never late, but that didn't stop Foggy from asking since he was also never really early.
As he buttoned up his shirt, he couldn't help but smile at how... normal, the morning seemed. If anyone else were looking in, they'd probably assume that Matt and Cassie were a couple. She'd spent the night again, and was comfortable enough to come and go from his apartment, having her own key. The more he thought about it, he liked the feeling he got knowing that she was going to be there when he woke up in the morning.
As much as Cassie would've liked to spend her morning thinking of her best friend, she was pretty busy from the moment she stepped into the gallery. The hour before they opened for the day was spent at her desk, either typing away on her desktop or on the phone with someone.
Some rich guy had booked a private tour of the gallery for him and a bunch of his friends, so when they finally did open, the first hour was spent walking around and answering any questions the group had.
Once they left, there was still a steady stream of patrons. Cassie loved that she rarely dealt with rude people, and everyone on that particular day was nothing but friendly. In between speaking to people, she chatted with Penny. She'd been working there even longer than Cassie, and the two had grown close.
"So how are you and your boyfriend doing?"
"Penelope he's not my boyfriend," Cassie laughed, knowing that she was referring to Matt. Randomly throughout Cassie's employment there, he'd stop by. Sometimes to jokingly ask for a tour to see all the fine art, sometimes just to make sure she got home okay if he knew she was closing up by herself.
"Whatever you say sweet cheeks. But I've seen the way he—"
"If you're gonna say look at me, you know he's blind right?"
Penny laughs and waves a hand, dismissing Cassie's interruption. "Yes I know. But it's like he knows wherever you are in the room, and let's not forget when he brought you coffee on your first day."
"He— he was being a really nice friend."
"Yeah, and all of these paintings are secretly mine, I just have a lot of aliases."
The phone at the reception desk rings, giving Cassie the perfect opportunity to walk away as Penny answers.
Around 1pm Simon makes it in, and as promised, insists that Cassie goes home for a much needed break.
"Are you sure? I can at least call the catering people and—"
"Cass," Simon shakes his head, guiding her towards her office. "You've done so much, a lot more than what's in your job description that's for sure. Not only running the place while I've been gone, but I'm incredibly impressed with your planning for the showcase so far. You've earned a break, even if it is just the rest of the day off."
Cassie puts her phone in her purse, and Simon walks her to the front.
"Seriously, Simon, thank you. This is still honestly my dream job, and I'm actually having a lot of fun with all of this planning stuff!"
After chatting with Penny and Simon for a few more minutes, Cassie finally heads out. Glancing at her watch, she realizes it's still early enough that she can surprise the good people over at Nelson and Murdock. Going to a bakery across the street, Cassie gets a dozen random donuts and pastries before taking an Uber over to the office.
When she steps through the door, Foggy greets her by eagerly accepting the yummy smelling box. They stand at Karen's desk for a few minutes, and Karen mentions that Matt stepped out for a bit, not saying where he was going.
"Oh while we have you here," Foggy motioned to the door behind him. "What do you think about a sign for the door?"
"I mean you... technically have a sign?"
Karen holds her hand out for a high-five. "That's exactly what I told him."
"A real one guys."
"I think you should get some clients first before you go spending some money on a nice sign for the door."
"It wouldn't cost that much, right?"
"I love you, but you guys can barely afford to pay Karen."
"Wait," Foggy glances from his sister, to Karen. "I thought you were working for free."
"I... I did."
"Yeah for the first day. But she's on your payroll now buddy," Cassie laughs, gently pushing Foggy on the shoulder.
The door opens, and the 3 of them turn to see Matt walking in.
"You know Karen isn't actually working for free— Jesus what happened to your eye?"
Cassie takes a closer look, eyes widening in alarm when she sees his face. That bruise wasn't there this morning, right?
"I just— wasn't paying attention last night. Fell, in my apartment. It's my fault."
"How did you fall on the side of your face near your eye?"
"That happened to you last night?"
Shit. Matt had been so caught up in trying to come up with an excuse, that turned out to be terrible anyway, that he hadn't even noticed Cassie was there. He prayed that she didn't mention that she saw him last night, and that he didn't have a bruise before she went to bed. Luckily, Foggy spoke up again before she could say anything.
"You should get a dog."
"I'm not getting a dog."
"You don't like dogs? Who doesn't like dogs?"
A series of short, quick knocks at the door causes everyone to freeze.
"Was— was that a knock?"
"At our door??"
"Someone's at the door."
Cassie put a hand on her forehead. "Will someone who works here please get the door?"
"Y-you know," Foggy stuttered, "your last name is Nelson. So technically for all they know—"
"Oh for crying out loud." Cassie hurries over to the door, opening it to reveal a man in a suit. "Hello," she gives him a small smile as she steps aside so he can enter the room.
"Hi. Do you do walk-ins?"
Cassie turned to her brother and Karen, giving them a thumbs up. "Yes they do! Please, come in." She whispers to Karen that she'll get out of there so they can work, and mentions that they should have a girls night soon.
Foggy ushers the man into another room, and as usual, Matt walks Cassie to the door.
"What really happened?" She asks.
Without needing clarification, he knows she's referring to the bruise on his face. "I—"
When he doesn't speak after laughing, Cassie sighs. "Forget I asked."
"No, Cassie I..."
"Did you have that bruise this morning? I didn't even ask if you were okay," the disappointment in herself is evident in her voice.
"I hid it pretty well," Matt shrugged.
"Wait. But you didn't have it when you went to sleep." She bites her lip, hoping that the answer is no, but anticipating what he's going to say. "You left after I fell asleep again, didn't you?"
Her question is met with silence. Matt quickly reached out to grab her wrist, hearing that she's about to walk away. "Wait."
"Unless your next sentence is an explanation, I'm gonna go home. I meant what I said. Whatever you're doing is affecting more than just you. Scared the fuck out of me when I saw your face in there, that bruise is terrible Matt. And you lied in there. You didn't just fall in your apartment, I could tell just from your voice. Your new client is waiting inside, you should go."
Before he can say anything else, Cassie pulls away, and Matt just listens as her steps sound further and further away.
Fuck.
He knows how lucky he was that Cassie talked to him again after their previous conversations. After she knew he was lying and keeping secrets. But she was one of the kindest people he knew, and he knew her heart was in a good place.
But the bruise was an obvious giveaway, and he can only hope that Foggy and Karen don't question his excuse like Cassie did.
He fucked up with her, badly. But how is he going to fix it? One explanation immediately comes to mind. But he still can't bring himself to tell her everything, to put her in danger like that.
So how can he fix things now?
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! 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝚁𝙾𝙳𝚄𝙲𝙸𝙽𝙶 !
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐆𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐫
𝚊𝚜
𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧
────────── · 。ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ──────────
𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬
𝚊𝚜
𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲
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a/n: just because i'm back on my criminal minds bullshit and i did want to cast the people that cassie works with