Later that day, after chaos erupted I played back my conversation with Francisco. Especially the part where he assumed Blaine and I were sleeping together. Do people actually think that?
The way he was speaking was as though only the high up members ate dinner together and I was an exception to that rule.
I asked Blaine earlier who confirmed my theory. I was obviously (and rightly) worried that it might cause suspicion but Blaine assured me that I'd would be fine, especially since I'm meant to be a family friend.
The only reason Francisco is hesitant to trust me is because him and Blaine are close, not that Blaine would admit that. He's sceptical to trust me because in all the years he's known Blaine, he's never said anything about me to him. He knows Blaine, probably better then anyone, and I think deep down he knows he's hiding something. I'm staring to gain his trust but one wrong step and it's game over so I need to tread lightly.
Not that long ago, Mrs. Cole came into my room and told me that Blaine wants to speak with me at breakfast. I usually skip breakfast but since it seemed important I decided to humor him. I sit at the long table next to Blaine who is sat at the head and Francisco sat opposite me.
"Cassandra." He greets as I take a seat. "I have a group that will help you with your constitution work, they'll be at your bakery and begin today at 10:30am. Let them know what you need doing and be there to oversee it. They'll need breaks and I'm hoping you can provide food for them."
"Yeah, I can do that."
"And treat them appropriately, I'm doing you a favour so I don't want any time wasted, understand?" He says, a hidden meaning behind his words.
"Got it." I reply. "The cooks, I haven't seen them in the kitchen downstairs." I say, trying to make conversation instead of the awkward silence that was creeping in.
"The kitchen downstairs is there for anyone to use. The chefs use a different one, it's behind those double doors." Francisco says turning around and pointing at the doors behind him.
On today's episode of how rich is Blaine I learned that the guy has two kitchens.
"The kitchen in there is bigge-" As he turns back around he cuts himself off and stares at the doorway, as does everyone else, including Blaine. All chatter and nose in the room suddenly ceases.
I turn to see a wavy, black haired woman, with a high ponitail stood at the doorway with a smile on her face. She's wearing a pretty black maxi dress with a dark blue shaul. Her diamond earings and matching necklase shimmer in the light. Her full attire screams money.
Another woman stands behind her. She's tall and her skin a darker shade. From her white pressed suit, under which she wears a tight black top that fits her perfectly, to her white handbag with golden font and her black hair neatly braided into a halo braid, she radiates power.
I hear Blaine's chair screech back so I turn to look at him. He stands and makes his way over to the pair of women.
"Vanessa." He says as he goes in for a hug with the girl infront.
I didn't see him as the hugging type, whoever this girl is she must be special. For some reason I feel a pang of hurt at the thought.
As they pull away she keeps her arms on his shoulders. "Did you miss me?" She asks with a knowing smile on her face.
"You know it." He replies.
Ew. This is disgusting and it's hurting me way more than it should be. I don't even like Blaine so why do I feel so....out of place?
Before I know it Francisco is over there too. He goes for a hug but after the weird look he gets from Blaine he settles for a handshake instead.
"Hey Nessa, long time no see." Unlike Blaine, after he greets her he goes to the girl behind and gives her a quick hug. "Hey Reyna, how you doing?" He says to her.
"I'm good." She replies.
I tune out of the conversation until they start coming back.
When Francisco and Reyna sit at the table, I notice the absence of Blaine and this Vanessa girl. I look around and spot them out of the corner of my eye, they're in the upstairs part of the dining hall, overlooking the main room. They're up there alone.
Vanessa is laughing and Blaine has a genuine smile on his face from the presence of this girl.
I have no right to feel like this but I can't help it. So instead of sitting here and taking the pain, I simply leave.
I feel used and that's exactly what's happening so I don't know why it's only hitting me now.
I feel small.
I feel hatred coursing through me.
As I reach my door I hear a voice that quickly snaps me out of my thoughts.
I automatically turn and swing but this time he catches my arm.
"See, told ya I could stop you if I knew it was coming."
"Vincent, you almost give me a heart attack." I say.
"Yeah, you looked deep in thought." He says opening my door and motioning for me to walk inside.
"Why'd you leave?" He asks laying down on my bed, his arms crossed under his head.
"I wasn't hungry, I was only there because Blaine needed to talk to me." I say sitting on the edge of the bed. He said what he needed to say and then ditched me for some other girl. So yeah, maybe I'm a little jealous.
"What about?" He asks.
"About the construction work."
"Ah, yes. By the way I'm driving you."
"Would you mind looking after Frinkles? I'll probably be gone a long time and I don't want him to get hungry and you seem to be the only person he likes so-"
"Yeah I'd love to." He says with a bright smile on his face.
"Thank you, it is highly appreciated."
He rolls onto his side, now facing me. "So are you going to tell me the real reason you left?"
"I already did." I state.
He let's out a breathy laugh. "Sure."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm guessing that you leaving has something to do with the look you had on your face when you looking at Blaine and Vanessa."
"I didn't have a look and if I did it's only because he's flaunting his relationship around."
"His relationship...." He says sitting up. "...with his sister? Seems innocent enough to me."
"Sister?" I say in disbelief. "Oh." Well I misjudged that.
"Do you like Blaine?" Vincent asks.
"No." I say and he gives me the 'I don't believe you' look. "No I don't like him. I mean he's attractive," I admit. "but I still hate his guts." I conclude. "Wait, did everyone else see me looking like that?"
"No, don't worry they were all preoccupied watching Blaine and your secret is safe with me."
♡♡♡
The construction work started with fixing any open entry points which included the doors and windows so that any random person can't come and go as they please.
Blaine sent a group of around 15 people to help out. The majority of the group I hadn't yet seen before but a few faces from the dining hall are present.
August, Ren and Tyrone, who I've had a few small conversations with at meal times are all helping out. There's a woman and a man that are also from the higher up members, they seem vaguely familiar but I've never spoken to them before.
August, who I'm guessing is the oldest out of all the workers, seems to be taking charge.
I didn't have a clue where to even start, up until recently I thought all hope was lost.
August suggested starting with the doors and windows so that the work inside wouldn't be ruined by the weather and people breaking in. I agreed that it was the smartest move and so we started with that.
The crew got to work straight away. They split off into pairs and started measuring the windows and door frames, writing down the measurements.
Ren and I dusted off some seats and began searching online for the style and sizes of the windows and doors. Once we'd found the correct ones, 5 of the men went to pick them up while the rest of us sat around waiting.
I knew my coffee machine had been stolen so I temporarily borrowed Blaine's and handed out fresh cups of coffee.
"I don't even really like coffee, it's normally so bland but this is delicious." August says after taking a sip. "What did you put in this." He says taking sips of the burning hot liquid.
"Dark chocolate with a pinch of cinnamon." I also stole them from Blaine's house.
"In coffee?" He asks.
"Yep, like you said, normal coffee is boring."
"I'll never drink coffee the same again." Rose says.
"I know this is amazing." The guy I know as Oli adds.
"Remind me to stop by when this place reopens." Ren says.
"I second that." Abigail, one of the other members says.
Being good at remembering names has always been a talent of mine but maybe it's just the people pleaser in me that hates to forget and disappoint people.
When the guys come back with the glass for the windows, everyone gets to work installing them. By this point it's starting to get dark so Rose, who's already finished, and I go to pick up some food. I could've gone alone, only problem is the fact I can't drive.
I would've handmade something for them all to eat but the place is still a mess, especially the back where the acctual cooking would take place. It would be extremely unhygienic to cook there at the minute so take out it is.
We go to McDonald's and order a lot of food, enough for everyone. Figuring it will take a while because of the big order, Rose and I sit at a table and wait for our order to be called.
"You were done fitting that window quickly, have you done stuff like that before?" I ask her, trying to start a conversation.
"Yeah I've been building things since I was a kid. Me and my dad acctually helped build some of the houses nearby Blaine's."
"Do you all live in the same neighbourhood or something?" I ask. Blaine's house is huge, the land around it is even bigger so he doesn't have all that many neighbor's in close proximity. With the business he has I can only assume that's deliberate. Having his men and women as neighbor's would make sense as they'd be close when he needs them and they won't ask questions. Although a lot of his people live at his house, I've seen many more that don't.
"Not all of us but some of us. Any somewhat close neighbour's to Blaine are our people." She says.
"Do you live close to Blaine?" I ask.
"Yeah, me my dad live with August and another guy, you probably don't know him."
"So did Blaine arrange for you all to live in these houses or what?"
"It's better for us to be close by for various reasons and a lot of us couldn't afford things like houses. Blaine takes care of us, makes sure we have a roof over our heads."
"You know, I'm starting to think Blaine isn't as bad as he's made out to be."
"Oh trust me, he is. He's generous and nice to his people but the moment you get on his bad side you're screwed." She explains.
"Well he hates me and I'm still breathing."
"If he really hated you and I mean fully despised you, you would be dead." Rose says leaning forward and whispering, cautious about anyone nearby.
"So he just strongly dislikes me?"
She snorts. "Probably but I don't see why."
"His parents give me a job in his house."
"You know Edward and Andrea?" She asks, clearly shocked.
"Yeah."
"Wow."
"That seems to be a reaction from a lot of people." I state.
"Many of us joined after Blaine became the leader, we've never even seen Edward and Andrea only ever heard stories."
"Stories? What kind of stories?" I ask.
"About how ruthless they were."
"Isn't that a given with their line of...businesses."
"Well yes but within reason." She says leaning closer again. "Apparently they'd start wars for no reason, they didn't give a shit about casualties not even of their own people. They did stuff simply because they could, consequences be damned. When they retired they left Blaine with a ton of mess to clean up and a bunch of unloyal soldiers who ended up leaving when Blaine came in and implemented a load of different rules."
"You've probably heard that I'm a family friend of Blaine's. I didn't know about their family business though so I can't comment on it." Right after I speak, our order number gets called out.
We take the food back to Castle, my bakery.
Everyone doesn't eat all at once, only when they've finished the job they're in the middle of doing, which makes it easier for me to talk to individual people.
I talk to August and Oli first who were working together to fit in one of the windows so are done at the same time.
"So are you guys from Italy?" I ask as the two of them eat.
I didn't want to eat takeaway so I'm just going to make something when I get back.
"Sì." August says. (Yes)
"Technically yes but I have no memory of it." Oli says.
"You don't?"
"I was young when my parents died and my brother brought me to the US with him." He continues.
"Do you live with your brother?"
"No, he died around 4 years back." Oli says.
"I know how you feel. My older brother died almost 4 years ago, the date is coming around and I'm dreading it."
"It doesn't get any easier does it." He says and I shake my head. "What was his name?" He asks.
"Sidney. What was your brothers name?"
"Leon."
"I wish I had a brother, or any family for that matter." Says August. "Even for just a short amount of time." He pauses. "Would you change it, if it got rid of the pain?"
"Not for the world. I love my brother more than anything. He was worth knowing even I that means I have to suffer the pain of his loss." I refuse to use the word love in the past tense because as long as I'm still alive my love for him is ongoing.
"I quite litterally wouldnt be where I am today without Leon so no." Oli says.
"August, you don't have any family?" I ask.
"I have a family just no blood relatives." He replies.
"Did you both join after Blaine became the leader?"
"I joined before." August says. "I decided to stick around and it worked out for the better."
"You didn't like Edward and Andrea?"
"No I did, Blaine is just better."
"My brother joined when they were in charge, he needed a way to provide for the two of us. I only joined after his death." Oli explains.
"By choice or did you need the money?"
"Blaine give me a place to stay, in return I help him out."
When they finish eating they go off to help Rose with the lights. She's gotten one light working but the room is only dimly lit and with the darkness outside we can barely see.
I go over to another table that are sat eating.
"Hi, I'm Cassie." I say sitting beside Ren, the only one from this table I've had a conversation with.
"I'm Troy." One says.
"Harrison." Says the other.
"Nice to meet you, where are you guys from?" I ask.
"Italia." Harrison says. (Italy)
"New york." Troy says.
"Well that's a first." I say to Troy.
"I know, most people are from Italy but I'm not. I don't even know Italian to be honest."
"Me neither." I say. "What about you Ren?"
"I'm from England but my family are all Italian."
"Did Blaine like travel the world to recruit you all?"
"He was mainly looking in the US and Italy for new members." Harrison says.
"Yeah, I'd moved to America before I joined." Ren said. "Funny story acctually, I'd originally met Blaine back in England, neither of us knew each other back then but he stopped at the coffee shop I worked in as a teenager. When I met him again I realised."
"Life works in weird ways."
"Definitely." He says.
"Where are you from?" Troy asks.
"I'm from here, this is literally the town I grew up in."
"Are you and Blaine close?" Harrison asks.
"I wouldn't say close exactly."
"Is it true that you knew him when you were younger?" Troy asks.
"I'm friends with his family."
"Are his parents really as bad as everyone says?" Troy questions.
I shrug. "I've never seen them in work mode but they seemed normal to me."
"What did you guys do? I can't imagine them like going to the movies as a family or something." Ren says slightly laughing.
"No we didn't go to the movies. We just had dinners together, things like that."
"Did your family go too?"
"Yeah." It's not like they can ask any of them. "Have any of you met Edward and Andrea?"
"No." Harrison says.
Troy shakes his head.
"I've formally met Vanessa but not the rest of them." Ren says. "Oh and one of his cousins too."
"Jackson?" I ask.
"Yes, him."
We talk for a while and when were done it's late so we all decide to head back to the house.
I didn't manage to talk to everyone today but I still have probably around a week left.
Most of the information I got today I could've probably gotten from Blaine but I wanted to see how each person talked about him, their personal opinions on him.
When we get back to Blaine's house I'm exhausted so I go straight up to bed.
I notice Frinkles isn't in my room and I feel bad for leaving him with Vincent all day so I walk to his room to pick him up.
I knock on the door and wait for an answer but get no reply so I knock again.
Damn it.
Please don't let me walk in on something. I silently beg.
I turn the handle and I'm met with darkness. The light is off so I'm guessing he's asleep.
When my eyes adjust more to the light I make out Vincent asleep on his bed with Frinkles in his arms who is also asleep. The sight is adorable.
I walk over and snap a photo on my phone before leaving the room.
I walk to my room while sending Vincent a thank you message.
Once I get to my room, I lock the door and get underneath the covers before switching off the light.
♡♡♡
A/n The end scene of her going back to Blaine's might not seem significant but it definitely is. Hint: she forgot about something.