Chapter 7 – Convincing Cassie

Tru ran after Harrison who was moving at a rapid pace down the street.

"Harrison hold on," she called. He slowed down a little but didn't stop. She caught up with him and grabbed hold of his arm. "We need to think this through. We need to decide what to tell her."

"The truth," Harrison replied as he hurried on down the street.

"Harrison, don't be ridiculous," Tru called as she ran after him and grabbed hold of his arm to pull him to a stop.

"We can't let her die," Harrison said with a cautious glance around to see if anyone was listening to them.

"Of course not," Tru replied. "I'm not saying we should. But you can't exactly go up to her and say 'my sister is reliving today because you're going to die'. It sounds insane. She won't believe you."

"You don't know that," Harrison argued.

"Yes, I do know that." Tru stopped walking and waited for Harrison to remember the last time she had confided in someone. He turned around and put his arm across her shoulders.

"Just because Luc didn't believe you...it doesn't mean you can't tell anyone else for the rest of your life." Harrison sounded so reasonable when he put it like that. "Besides," he continued. "I believe you."

"You didn't at first," Tru pointed out. "I had to prove it. And even then you took some convincing."

"I would've been convinced sooner if you'd told me more of the results on the horses," Harrison joked. "Do you know any of the results today?"

"No."

"Isn't there anything you know that would convince Cassie?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tru sighed. "I wasn't planning on telling her about me."

"Well we'll just have to try and convince her some other way," Harrison said. "Come on, she'll be finishing her shift in about ten minutes."

They arrived at the diner just as Cassie was leaving. She swung her purse over her shoulder and started walking down the street in the opposite direction. Harrison dashed after her with Tru following in his wake.

"Cassie!" he yelled to make himself heard above the sound of the busy traffic. They were at the opposite side of the intersection and Harrison ducked impatiently between the cars as he continued to yell for the brunette to wait for him.

Tru waited for the lights to change before following after her brother. They had a clear view of the street and there was nowhere Cassie could go out of their sight in the time it took to wait for the lights to change. By the time she had got across the road Harrison had caught up with Cassie and was waiting for her in the alcove of a store.

"What now?" asked Tru. She was still unconvinced about the prospect of telling Cassie she was reliving the day.

"Cassie's place?" Harrison suggested. "It's nearest."

"Okay," Tru agreed.

Cassie frowned. "What's going on?"

"We'll explain when we get inside," Tru said as Harrison steered Cassie over the road to her apartment a couple of blocks away.

Tru looked around the apartment with a critical eye. It was far neater than Harrison's rooms, though most places were. It was sparsely furnished and there were design boards leaning against the walls.

"Coffee?" Cassie asked as she moved towards the counter. She waved a hand towards the sofa and chairs.

"Sure," said Tru as she took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs. Harrison had already settled down on the sofa and nodded his agreement to a drink.

Cassie brought the drinks over and sat down on the sofa beside Harrison. Tru noticed that unlike other times when they had been together, this time Cassie kept her distance from Harrison.

"So what's going on?" Cassie asked after taking a sip of coffee and placing the mug on the low table in front of her.

"Erm," Tru hesitated at once. How do you tell someone you relive days?

"Cassie," Harrison said, coming to his sister's rescue for the moment. "Do you know anyone who might want to hurt you or someone who might be angry with you?"

"You mean apart from your sister?" Cassie replied with a sharp glance at Tru.

"It's okay," Tru said with a glare of her own at Harrison. "I know what's been going on now."

"He told you?" Cassie asked in amazement before turning her stunned expression on Harrison.

"Not exactly," Tru said. "But is there anyone, besides me, who you might have upset recently?"

"Well I annoy my boss pretty much every day but I don't think I've upset him any more than usual just recently," Cassie considered.

"What about ex-boyfriends?" Tru asked.

"I don't think so," Cassie shrugged. "My ex and I just grew apart, I was leaving town anyway. Where's this going anyway? Why the sudden interest in whether anyone is upset with me?"

"Erm," Tru hesitated again. She shot a pleading look at Harrison to help her out. She just couldn't bring herself to tell someone else her secret.

"Tru sometimes knows things," Harrison began. "Unusual things."

"What sort of unusual things?" Cassie interrupted.

"Like things that happen before they do."

Cassie raised an eyebrow and a small smirk appeared on her face. "Is this some sort of a joke?" she asked.

"No," replied Harrison, quickly before he lost his nerve. The stakes were too high to back out now. "Tru knows that someone is going to...to hurt you, today, tonight. So we need to know who it might be."

"If Tru is as all-seeing as all that, why doesn't she tell you who it is?" Cassie asked.

"She doesn't get all the information," Harrison answered weakly. It had seemed such a good idea to tell Cassie the truth but now he understood just how hard a task that was.

"Why not?" Cassie pushed on, still sounding extremely sceptical, not to mention slightly impatient.

"Because..." Harrison looked over to Tru for help.

"It doesn't matter why not," Tru said in a firm tone. "What's important is who would want to kill you."

"Kill me?" Cassie jumped up from her seat, her gaze darting from Tru to Harrison and back again. She began to back away from them, towards the door of the apartment.

"Cassie," Harrison jumped up from his seat and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You have to listen to us."

"I knew you were crazy," Cassie hissed. "But I didn't know you were completely insane. You've had your fun, now get out."

"Cassie," Tru started.

"You too," Cassie said, never taking her eyes off Harrison.

"Please Cassie," Harrison begged. "You have to believe us. You have to help us."

"I don't have to do anything," Cassie replied as she freed herself from Harrison's increasingly strong grip.

"Please," Harrison pleaded again. "Just promise us you'll not leave the apartment today."

"You're mad!" Cassie shouted as she flung open the door for Harrison and Tru to leave.

Tru walked past her and out into the hallway. Harrison paused at the door. "Please promise me," he asked again. "I'll never bother you again, just promise me. Please."

"Just go, Harrison," Cassie said in a tired voice.

He followed after Tru and turned as the door clicked shut behind him.

"Now what?" he asked Tru as he followed her down the stairs.

"Now we wait," she answered.

"She didn't believe us," Harrison muttered as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"No," Tru replied.

"I'm sorry I insisted on this."

"It's not like I had any better ideas," Tru consoled. They settled down on a low wall on the other side of the road to wait out the next few hours. Both were lost in similar thoughts of what was the right way to tell someone they cared about something impossible without losing them forever.