Houston
Despite my adamancy when Cassidy decided she was coming along with me, I couldn't fight with her much on the whole issue. In some weird, unconditional way, she knew that the best way to help was to join me when I visited my dad. Which no one I dated has ever done.
None of the girlfriends I had in high school or college, nor even Camila.
Instead of dismissing Cassidy like I would have done for any other girlfriend, I grabbed the small backpack she packed and opened the car door for her. It was crazy of me to let this girl I only knew for a month meet my entire family. Cassidy was different.
In a few hours, the car sped through the towns of Plainview and Amarillo, and every single town in between. After a couple of hours of sleep, I woke up to the most grating irritable voice as Dallas asked, "So how long have you been dating Houston?"
Scrunching my brows together, I sat up straighter in the passenger seat and glared at my brother. I questioned, "Why are you asking her, Dallas? You should already know."
"I want to hear it from Cassidy," Dallas answered sneakily, resting his arm on the steering wheel as his flirty gaze glanced into the rearview mirror. "You never know, there might be a different story."
I swore that once we arrived home, Dallas was getting punched in the balls. He needed a touch of reality every once in a while.
Cassidy muttered, interrupting my brother and me, "A different story? Houston and I met last month, and at first, we hated each other mostly because he was an ass."
"That checks out," Dallas said in a mocking tone. "Houston has always been an ass. Ever since he was born."
I raised my eyebrows at my brother, in a perplexed tone as I witnessed his crafted lies. What my brother meant to say was that I was only an ass towards him - and there was a big difference.
I leaned back in my chair and felt Cassidy's head rest on my arm, as the comfort she brought made the trip much bearable. I whispered into her hair, "You shouldn't listen to him. He's lying, and I would never do that."
When Dallas was nearly distracted from the road ahead, Cassidy leaned over the chair and planted her lips on mine, and the kiss was cut short soon after. Unfortunately for me, Dallas always was the one who ended up interrupting me in the most intimate moments.
I craned my neck to look at Cassidy in the seat behind me, with a cunning smirk on her red lips that left me hungry for more. She mouthed the words, her green eyes eyeing my brother in the other seat, "Sorry, guess we'll have to continue another time."
Without any other indication, I settled back in my seat and stared straight ahead at the road, even when I was way too excited to sleep. Every little moment Cassidy and I shared, made me want to keep and protect her for every single day afterwards. Even with every action, kiss, and smirk, it always seemed that being with Cassidy now was never enough.
With her smirks, her lips, and rebuttals to my every word - Cassidy made me want to take the eventual next step. Which I had never done before with any girl before, and I was unsure how I could be meant to find someone who was basically my best friend.
Dallas's grating voice lectured Cassidy and me, as we shared glances between the rearview mirror and us. My brother said, "Okay, this is not happening right now. This trip is only to see Dad and help out with Mom; it's not a honeymoon trip for you two."
Cassidy stuck out her tongue as a thought popped into her head. She replied, "Dallas, this just sounds like you're jealous. You're not jealous of me?"
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.
It was the first place I called home until I moved to Plainview.
A snotty, active kid ran up to me with arms outstretched, as I picked up my nephew without a second glance. He exclaimed very loudly, "Uncle Houston! I missed you. Why don't you visit anymore?"
This exact question was the reason why I had reservations about visiting my parents and family in the first place. In my confused sloppy mind, there was no good lie I could come up with that would be believable to me. However, there was also the other reason being I was a terrible liar.
My gaze shifted to Cassidy, as an idea clicked into her head, and her green eyes lit up with excitement. She knelt down to be eye level with my nephew, as she lied with a planted grin on her face, "Houston can't visit because he's a secret agent, and he's on a Top Secret mission. He can't tell anyone about it."
"Then how do you know about it?" My nephew - Willard - pointed out the obvious loophole in the lie.
"Because..." Cassidy paused and glanced up at me, then back to Willard. "I'm his partner."
My heart swelled with intense emotion, that I was never sure I was capable of. I had never felt this type of emotion with any girl I had dated before, and it was a different type of special seeing Cassidy read my mind so easily.
"Houston? Dallas?" My mother exclaimed from the other end of the house, as surprise lit up her face once she saw me for the first time in a year. "Both of you are actually home?"
My brother stepped forward before me and wrapped our Mom into a hug, and I soon joined the hug which hid her small stature. I stepped away first and once the shock and surprise wore off, I knew the inevitable would happen as Mom planted her hands on her hips and glared at both of us.
"Now that I know both of you are okay and not dying or in jail," Mom scolded, her eyes peered over to me which was understandable to me. "Dallas, call us more. You may be living alone, but I deserve to know if you're alive or if you got some other girl pregnant again."
Dallas went silent, his face gone white as he slumped against the nearby doorway. I almost thought I was off the hook until Mom rounded her eyes on me, and her neverending lectures began.
"Houston, you are not off the hook at all," Mom continued to scold me, as I took in the lecture like I was the same young teenage kid again. "You never call. All I know about you is from Dallas, who only told me you up and moved to a town where you know no one and you dropped out of law school. What else is new, Houston? Are you working as a drug mule now?"
I shook my head in reply and sarcastically replied, "Mexico is too hot right now. Maybe, in November."
"You're not funny, Houston," Mom exclaimed and subsequently continued her neverending lecture and avoided Cassidy next to me. "Why did you drop out of law school and move out of your apartment?"
I let out another sarcastic comment, unable to hold back my huge grin, "I wanted to be an exotic dancer."
Mom finally sighed and gave up her lecture, "You were always the worst child to parent, Houston."
In reply, I shrugged my shoulders and gave a sheepish grin, as I side-eyed the girl next to me who was enjoying the conversation way too much. Mom immediately noticed the girl next to me as I intertwined my fingers in Cassidy's hand, which was quickly growing to be a habit.
My shoulders immediately tensed and shielded Cassidy from the knowing glances from my family, as the reason why I never wanted Cassidy to meet my family was presented in front of me. Throughout my entire childhood, I never had the ability to set up roots in a town that I loved because every two years it was time to move. We moved from North Carolina when I was seven, then moved from New Mexico when I was twelve and moved from Texas when I was fourteen.
The moment we moved to Oklahoma, I already hated every part of the town I called home.
Since moving away and setting up roots in Texas, I did not care a damn about their opinion if my family liked Cassidy.
Cassidy stepped forward and let go of my hand, planting a winning smile on her face. She introduced, "Hi, I'm Cassidy. I'm-"
Quickly, I cut her off, "She's my room- friend... She's Beckett's little sister."
Mom did not buy a single word I said, as her green eyes peered over me and the girl I brought home to. Like I was still a stupid teenager who didn't know he was doing, and would eventually get himself into trouble.
Mom said coldly, "It's nice to meet you, Cassidy."
The conversation died down as Cassidy found a seat on the couch, gesturing for my seat. Then, my mother called me toward the kitchen away from inquiring ears and the family reunion in the living room. Despite what was the whole point of the trip, I knew that all of my "bad" decisions would come to light.
Once I entered the kitchen, Mom immediately rattled off questions, "Is this the real reason why you dropped out of law school? Are you throwing your entire life away for some girl?"
"No, I met Cassidy a long time after I gave up on law school," I immediately spat back, not backing down from the fight. "Why are you bringing this up, Mom? We're supposed to be there for Dad."
"I don't want you throwing your entire life away for some girl you just met," Mom continued, ignoring my pleas and input like she always did. "All you wanted to do was go to law school, like Austin. Now, you're moving to a new town, picking up small jobs, and not committing to anyone."
"I never wanted to be a lawyer like Austin," I said with gritted teeth, as Mom finally noticed my rising anger and the entire house went quiet. "I only went for one year because I thought it was what everyone wanted from me. It was a big mistake."
Before Mom could reply, I spun towards the entrance to the living room with anger emanating from me in waves. With one glance at the girl chatting with every family member in the room, I turned back around and faced my mom, who seemed to notice the same thing.
"And moving to Plainview was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself," I whispered to myself, remembering the laughs and smiles I gained over the past month. "I wouldn't change a thing. So this weekend, I am only here to see Dad. I don't want to hear anyone convincing me to move back to Oklahoma, or go back to law school, or do something better with my life."
Leaving with the final say in the conversation, I took my place next to Cassidy and wrapped my arm around her, as the previous hesitation disappeared. Every day spent with Cassidy meant that every problem I thought I had was more significant in my head. She was a light at the end of the tunnel as I walked closer to it, not anticipating the darkness coming for me.
~
houston is a big fat mood when it comes to answering questions from parents... he might be my favorite character to write from (or eventually Avery)
The song of the chapter is Tomorrow by Chris Young... and a gif because totally how I see Houston as being a sarcastic, witty character ;)