I do not own CW's Beauty and the Beast or any of the characters.
Chapter 3 – Encounter
Playlist: Mat Kearney – Nothing Left to Lose
"Cat, there you are," Heather trilled as soon as she saw Catherine emerge from her bedroom. "I've been looking all over for you."
"I was just in my room for a second." Catherine said, striving to sound nonchalant.
"It's time to cut the cake." said Heather, enthusiastically.
"There's cake?" asked Catherine, still a little dazed from her encounter on the roof with Vincent. Heather grabbed her sister's arm and started pulling her into the throng of birthday guests.
"Well, duh. It's your birthday. Of course there's cake. Come on!" Heather rolled her eyes and led her sister to the centre of the room. The dining room table had been picked up and moved to the middle of the living room. A huge chocolate slab cake sat on the table, glowing with the light of way too many candles.
"Um, Heather…how old do you think I am?" asked Catherine, quickly trying to count the candles.
"Don't worry about it. It's for effect!" Heather exclaimed, clapping her hands, pleased with herself.
"Cat!" Tess exclaimed, weaving her way through the guests and finding the two sisters at the centre of the crowd. "Where were you?"
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, innocently.
"Oh, I don't know…we just spent the last ten minutes looking for you," sighed Tess, exasperated with her partner.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you," Catherine said. "The crowd and the noise were a bit much for me. I was just getting some air on the fire escape."
Tess was used to Cat disappearing in the middle of work, in the middle of crime scenes, even. This was nothing new. She looked at Cat's flushed cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. Cat was definitely hiding something. She had been hiding something for more than a year. Tess was determined to get to the bottom of it and find out what secrets her best friend was keeping. She wondered if Cat had been lying about her true feelings for Evan. Tess couldn't remember seeing Evan the whole time Cat had been 'getting some air.' She filed that piece of information away for later use.
"No problem," said Tess. She quirked an eyebrow at her partner indicating that this conversation was far from over. Catherine's cheeks flushed even more. Tess stepped to Catherine's side and focused on Heather. She was willing to let the subject drop for now, but she vowed to get to the bottom of her best friend's mysterious behaviour.
"Alright everyone!" Heather yelled, waving her arms dramatically and trying to bring the party guests to order. A helpful person turned off the music. "It's time for my big sister to blow out the candles on her cake. Let's sing 'Happy Birthday!'"
"Oh, no," protested Catherine. "It's OK. You don't have to…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Catherine was surrounded by her friends. They all joined in and sang a surprisingly in-tune version of 'Happy Birthday' to her.
"Come on, Cat! Blow out your candles and make a wish," Heather prodded.
Catherine leaned over and made a wish. She attempted to blow out all of her candles in one go, but there were just too many of them. Three stubborn wicks stayed lit.
As someone turned the stereo back on, Catherine looked over and noticed Evan standing next to her. His tie was slightly askew and the top button of his shirt was undone. He had a martini in his hand. She smiled warily at him, hoping he wouldn't try anything with her. The crowd of people dispersed, some dancing in the living room and others helping themselves to chocolate cake. The volume in the apartment rose quickly as laughter echoed around the room.
"Evan, how is your evening going?" Catherine asked, searching for neutral ground.
"It's great, thanks. Not enough time with the birthday girl, though," responded Evan, a cocky grin on his face. He slid his arm around her shoulders. "How about you?"
"It's been lovely. Thank you," Catherine answered, uncomfortable under his arm. She resisted the urge to shake it off.
"I'm glad," he responded. "I was worried about you there for a bit."
"Hmmm," she murmured distractedly, looking around for someone to add to the conversation. Tess and Heather were joking with some of the guys from the precinct on the other side of the room. "What do you mean?"
"When you disappeared like that. I got worried."
"Oh, Evan. I was just getting some air from the fire escape. No big deal. Why is everyone so worried?" Catherine felt like rolling her eyes.
"The fire escape or the roof?" Evan asked, his eyebrow raised.
Catherine looked over at him, an eyebrow raised. The bottom of her stomach dropped and her pulse galloped frantically. Her mind started racing. Was there any way Evan could have been on the roof? Could he have seen Vincent? Wouldn't Vincent have heard him approaching? She stepped back and shrugged out of Evan's arm. She looked at him and tried to keep her voice calm and emotionless. "What do you mean, Evan?"
"You know what I mean, Cat. You know what I saw," he replied, his tone even, his eyes steady. He noticed the flush creeping up her neck. Catherine took his hand and pulled him out onto the balcony. He followed her, a grin on his face. Once out of the balcony, she let go of his hand and shut the door gently. It was chilly and she wished she still had her sweater.
"Look, Evan, I'm not sure what you're talking about."
"Something's going on. It has been for a while, isn't that right?" he asked, his tone possessive and dark. "I was out on the balcony when you came back down from the roof. It was dark and you didn't see me, but I saw you coming down the stairs. You were distracted, you had a ridiculous grin on your face. You couldn't even walk straight. What were you doing up there?"
It seemed like Evan hadn't been up to the roof. He had just seen her returning from there. The only thing she could do was down play it. "I still really don't know what you're talking about. There were lots of people and I was feeling hot and overwhelmed. I went out to the fire escape to get a moment to myself. I climbed the stairs to catch the breeze on the roof. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Cat, I have a problem when you lie to me," said Evan, earnestly. He leaned towards her before he looked back at the balcony door. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Are you on drugs?"
"What? Evan, that's ridiculous," Catherine scoffed. She lowered her voice. "And I'm not lying. I don't think I need to justify my actions. To you or to anyone."
"Fine. Who is he, then?" Evan demanded, his tone harsh.
Catherine blinked up at him. She was stunned. Had he seen Vincent or was this just a shot in the dark like the drug question? Just what did he know? She took a step back, determined to end this conversation. Catherine looked into his eyes, her gaze unwavering. "I think we should go back to the party now."
Evan suddenly took her in his arms and pushed her up against the outer wall of the apartment. He took her chin in his hand and crushed his mouth onto hers. She let out an incoherent protest and squirmed in his arms. Catherine kept her lips pursed tightly. She didn't want this at all. Tears pricked her eyes. She squeezed them shut, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of making her cry. Evan opened his mouth and tried to coax her to do the same. She gasped for breath and her mouth opened. Evan rammed his tongue inside. Catherine quickly brought her knee up, connecting with his groin. He moaned and stepped back from her, doubling over.
Catherine stumbled away from him. She righted her dress, smoothed her hair back and wiped a hand across her face. She looked back at Evan. He looked at her with mournful eyes and tried to stand straight. "Cat…"
"Don't." Catherine warned, holding her hand up in front of her, silencing any further words from Evan. She opened the door and stepped back into the living room, leaving him out on the balcony. She shut the door behind her.
Catherine looked around the room. Her sister and Tess were still occupied. One of the younger beat cops had his arm around Heather's shoulders. Tess appeared to be Heather's wingman, either by design or not. She had just finished saying something which caused everyone around her to burst into laughter. Catherine smiled weakly as she looked on. She decided not to break up their fun and she slipped into the bathroom to check her make up.
One look in the mirror revealed that she felt worse than she looked. Her make up had held up fairly well and her hair was messy, but it sort of suited her. She sighed and looked down. A single tear slid down Catherine's cheek. Her breathing was unsteady and she braced herself against the edge of the counter with her hands. She rocked back and forth, allowing herself a moment to give into her emotions. She wished Vincent was there. On second thought, she was glad he wasn't. He wouldn't have let Evan go so lightly. She vowed not to tell him about her balcony experience, figuring she was protecting him as much as Evan.
When she came out of the bathroom, Evan was nowhere to be found. The balcony was empty and Catherine joined the crowd around Tess and Heather.
xxxxx
"Uh, what happened to Evan?" Tess asked Catherine once the crowd had dispersed. Perhaps she would get some of her answers this evening.
"Evan? I don't know. Did something happen to him?" Catherine asked, her eyes wide. She hadn't seen him since their encounter on the balcony. She was sure he had gone home by now. She hoped he had, anyway.
"Cat," said Tess, her patience slipping. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"Cat, you know exactly what I mean. You two were deep in conversation and then I saw you take Evan by the hand and lead him out to the balcony. You came back in alone and you looked pissed. When Evan came in a few minutes later, his face was red and he didn't pause for a moment before he left the party. What happened out there? And tell me the truth. I'm getting tired of your excuses."
"He came on to me," said Catherine, simply.
"Nice," responded Tess, a big grin on her face.
"No, Tess. Not nice," Catherine shook her head at her partner. "Not nice at all. He kissed me even though I was trying to get away from him."
"What?"
"Oh, yeah. Happy birthday to me. Evan kissed me, even though I didn't want it. He pushed me up against the wall and rammed his tongue down my throat. So I kneed him in the groin and left him on the balcony. That's the last I saw of him."
Tess looked shocked. Her mouth gaped open and closed a few times without any words coming out. She shook her head, as though trying to clear out the conversation she and Catherine had just had. "OK, let me get this straight. You took Evan out to the balcony, you talked, he kissed you, got a little too physical and you assaulted him and left him there."
"Yeah, pretty much," said Catherine, wiping her hand across her mouth.
"Damn. Well, I never saw that coming. I mean, I know he likes you and all but I never thought he would try to get the milk for free, if you know what I mean," joked Tess, desperately trying to lighten the mood.
"Tess," Catherine warned.
"Fine. Sorry, Cat. Not the time, I get it," she said, contrite. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure. Probably avoid him for a bit. It's bound to be awkward at work. I just don't really want to see him now."
"Well…"
"Well, what?" Catherine sighed.
"Evan's a nice guy. You could go on a date with him, try it out. I know he really, really likes you."
"Are you serious, Tess? Did you just hear what I told you? No way, I'm not dating someone like that. Evan and I have a pretty good friendship and I don't want to mess that up." Catherine's cheeks heated. "Besides, I don't want to be an Evan Marks notch."
Tess chuckled. "Well…to become a notch, you'd actually have to have sex. You do realize that, right?"
Catherine elbowed her partner lightly. "Tess…"
"I'm just saying. Leave it any longer and I'm sure something will grow shut!" scoffed Tess.
"Ew…Tess, really? That's gross. You sound like the guys at the precinct." Catherine rolled her eyes at her partner's crudeness.
"I know, I know," said Tess, putting her hands up. "But if the shoe fits…The guys at work are totally inappropriate, but they're not wrong. You do need to get out and you do need to have s…"
"Tess…" Catherine said, her tone a warning. Tess put her hands up again and stopped talking. She linked her arm with Catherine's and led her out onto the dance floor. Catherine was almost able to forget everything that was going on once she threw back her head and started dancing. She waved her hands in the air and started to smile.
"Hey, the night is still young. Let's find someone to buy the milk." Tess winked and Catherine just laughed.
xxxxx
"Hey, Tess…who's that?" Catherine whispered sometime later, not recognizing one of her party guests. They were at the bar chugging chilled bottles of water. The cool liquid was heavenly after all that dancing. She had scanned the room and had noticed someone she had never seen before. The crowd had thinned out substantially in the past few hours. The stranger was a woman with dark hair and chocolate-coloured, almond-shaped eyes. Catherine held her water bottle discreetly in front of her mouth as she talked to Tess.
"Who are you talking about?" Tess asked, distracted. She had finished her water and was trying to open a beer with a bottle opener.
"That woman over…" Catherine scanned the crowd again. The woman was nowhere to be seen, "…there. She's gone."
Tess looked up and gave the room a once over. "Cat, I'm not sure who you're talking about. I'm pretty sure you know everyone here. I know everyone here. Maybe someone brought a friend or a girlfriend. I don't know."
Catherine looked again but the woman was gone. The chills running up her spine alerted her to the fact that she had seen the woman somewhere before. She had recognized her dark eyes and cold gaze. The feeling that she was being watched nagged at her for the rest of the party.
A/N – As ever, thanks for reading and thanks for your support. Hope you are liking the story so far… xA