Deanna's heart pounded as she raced to Cassie's apartment. She went well over the speed limit, ran red lights, and cursed to herself. It was surprising she never wrecked with how reckless she was driving.
The Impala's tires screeched against the pavement as Deanna pulled over, throwing herself out of the muscle car. She sprinted through the lobby and up the two flight of stairs to Cassie's floor, too impatient for the elevator.
When Deanna reached Cassie's floor, her door was thrown wide open with loud gospel music blarring into the hallway. Deanna approached the door cautiously, slowly pulling her .45 from behind her back where it was tucked into her jeans. She had never been more thankful she kept a gun in the Impala before. She hadn't seen the point, but her dad had insisted for her safety. She'd definitely sing his praises now.
Before she got to the door, she turned her phone to silent. With gun in hand, she leaned around the door frame and into the apartment. The place was trashed; furniture was turned over, picture frames were smashed, and stuffing from pillows was flying through the air from the fan still blowing. The stereo was the only thing untouched, still blasting songs praising the lord that Cassie didn't even listen to anymore. No one was in sight, though. Deanna listened carefully beyond the music, but there was silence.
She stepped into the room, trying to keep her footing light, knowing her combat boots were heavy. Deanna felt her stomach twist and churn as her heart rate picked up with every room she checked. If she had thought the living room was bad, Cassie's bedroom looked like a tornado had gone through it. Cassie's bed had been moved and the mattress flipped over. Her books and schoolwork were strewn everywhere. Her closet had been rummaged through and clothes were torn and thrown on the floor.
Deanna swallowed hard, before continuing on to the last room, the guest room. This room wasn't so bad, just things thrown around like the others. Deanna heard something move to the closet and she stepped towards it, gun raised.
She grabbed the handle and threw the door open and was immediately pressed against the wall, a heavy weight against her. There was a pressure on her wrist and her gun clamored to the floor. She felt something cold press against her neck. It had all happened within a matter of seconds.
Deanna looked at the attacker and sighed with relief. Cassie, it was just Cassie. Cassie's eyes were cold and her face expressionless. If Deanna had been anyone else, she would've been scared shitless. The woman was terrifying and Deanna knew in that moment that if Cassie had caught her intruder, they wouldn't have made it out of the apartment.
It took a minute for Cassie to register that it was Deanna that she had pressed against the wall. Once she did, her mask dropped along with her dagger that fell to the floor. Tears fell from her face leaving more black smears on her cheeks from where she had already cried. Deanna pulled her into her arms and Cassie collapsed against her chest sobbing as Dean brought them to the floor.
Deanna rubbed her back, holding her tight, "Cas, baby, it's okay. No one's here, at least not anymore. I checked everywhere. Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"
Cassie shook her head and let herself be cradled in Deanna's arms, simply clinging tighter. Deanna continued to rub her back and kissed her hair, whispering reassurances in her ear, "I'm here, Cas. I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, you know that. You're safe."
After a while, Cassie finally calmed down. She leaned away from Deanna with a sheepish smile, "Thank you, Deanna, for coming."
Deanna smiled, wiping away the tear stains from Cassie's face, "I'll always come when you call."
Cassie gave her a sweet slow kiss. It was wet and salty from Cassie's crying, but amazing, nonetheless, like any kiss with her. Deanna stood up and pulled Cassie with her, "Come on, sweetheart, I'll make you some coffee."
Deanna tugged Cassie along, rubbing soothing circles with her thumb into Cassie's hand. Though she was better now, the shock wouldn't wear off for a few more hours.
The kitchen was trashed like any of the other rooms. Deanna silently let go of Cassie's hand and flipped the table back up along with a chair. She gestured for Cassie to sit down, who smiled in return, but was more focused on the room around her, taking in all the chaos. The coffee pot had survived, thankfully, and Deanna quickly made Cassie a cup, having to settle for a plastic one since all the mugs were smashed on the floor.
Deanna pulled a chair beside Cassie and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, to which Cassie leaned into with a grateful sigh. Deanna looked around again. The apartment was trashed, total chaos, but why? Had they stolen anything? Deanna couldn't really tell, but that didn't seem like it had been the objective.
A few minutes passed with Cassie just drinking her coffee and Deanna holding her, then Deanna had to bring it up, "Did you call the police?"
Cassie stilled, "Oh, no. I-I - it slipped my mind. I just thought of you and -"
Deanna cut her off, "It's okay. I'll call. Don't worry about it." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number.
"Lawrence County 911, what is your emergency?" A woman answered.
"Yes, my girlfriend's apartment was just broken into and the place is trashed," Deanna answered, watching Cassie get up and walking into the living room. She followed after her to find her turning off the stereo with a tilt to her head. Deanna watched her from the doorway.
"Is anyone hurt?"
"No, ma'am. But whoever did it is still out there and could come back. There's a lot of damage and it feels more like an attack than a burglary."
"Okay, give me the address and officers will be there in no more than fifteen minutes."
Deanna spouted the address and hung up. She walked over to Cassie, who was still staring at the stereo and wrapped her arms around Cassie's waist, "Yeah, I know. Weird, right? Who plays music as they trash someone's home? And gospel music at that."
Cassie frowned at the stereo, "They dug out one of my old CD's and put it on."
Deanna looked at the CD in Cassie's hand. She had never seen it before, which meant it was old. Who the hell would do that? This was just getting stranger and stranger.
"So, the police are on their way. Why don't you tell me what happened, before they get here, so you're not still trying to make sense of it yourself?" Deanna offered.
"I had been coming home from my Shakespearean class, when I saw the door was open and this music was playing out into the hall. I had thought it must be you, but when I stepped into the apartment, everything was trashed. I looked around, but didn't see anyone. I took another step and then, I heard shuffling from the kitchen. So, I quietly sprinted to my room. I grabbed the dagger from under my pillow and was about to hide in my closet, but I didn't think I could close it quietly and quickly enough, before the intruder realized I was home. So, I slipped out of my room and into the guest room. The closet hadn't been touched, but the room had, so I thought it was my safest option. I thought risking going across the apartment back to the front door, was too risky. Then, in the closet, I texted you and prayed for you to come. I was too scared to try calling 911. I was afraid of the intruder hearing my voice."
Deanna pulled her closer, "I'm sorry, I wasn't here, Cas."
Cassie spun around in Deanna's arms and wrapped her arms around Deanna's neck, hugging her close, "But you were. Deanna, you came."
When the officers arrived, Cassie had gotten a better hold of herself and told her story with a firm voice, though Deanna could tell she was still shaken up by it.
"Is this the first something like this has happened?" Deanna overheard Sheriff Henricksen ask Cassie from the bedroom. Deanna decided to let Cassie stay with her for a while until this whole mess was cleared up. She stepped away from Cassie's side for the brief second to pack some of Cassie's clothes to take back to her place.
Deanna expected Cassie to respond with a quick no, but she heard her hesitate, "Uh, well…"
Deanna listened closer, standing still in the middle of Cassie's trashed bedroom grasping a green button up shirt.
Henricksen sighed, "Now, Miss Novak, if something's coming to mind, you need to tell me."
Cassie let out a nervous chuckle, "It's probably nothing, but the other night ago, I thought someone was following me as I was walking home."
Deanna walked out of the bedroom and back to the living room, where Henricksen was wrapping up with Cassie. Cassie didn't meet her eyes as Deanna leaned against the door frame, but Henricksen glanced at her curiously.
"Can you describe this person?" Henricksen asked.
"I never saw a face – well, I never saw anyone. I just heard someone following me for about a block or so. Just the constant sound of footsteps behind me, but whenever I turned around, no one was there."
Henricksen sighed again, flipping his little notebook closed and stuffing back in his coat, "Well, I suggest you stay with Deanna or a friend, until we can catch whoever this was. I'll send the report to your insurance to cover the damages. And Miss Novak?"
Cassie looked up from staring at her shoes, "Yes?"
Henricksen put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "John and I go back, so I make an effort to look out for his kids. I won't let anything bad happen to you. You're probably the only reason Deanna hasn't been assigned a permanent cell yet." He looked over at Deanna with a chuckle and she flipped him off with a smirk.
Cassie smiled, "Thank you, Sheriff."
He nodded at her and waved at Deanna before walking out of the apartment.
Deanna crossed her arms over her chest as Cassie looked at her apologetically, "I didn't want to worry you."
Deanna huffed and gestured to the broken furniture around them, "Seems like I would've had reason to."
Cassie didn't reply and Deanna asked softer, "Didn't Chuck walk you home that night?"
"He had to run an errand."
Deanna sighed and let it go, "Forget it. Are you ready to go? I packed some clothes for you."
Cassie nodded and went to her bedroom to grab her suitcase. The anger Deanna had had from Cassie keeping that from her slipped away and was replaced with worry as she glanced around the chaotic room. She looked over at the walls where there were a few picture frames. They were all untouched except for one that was smashed on the floor.
Deanna walked over to it, her boots stepping on broken glass. She picked it up by the corner and saw that it was a picture of Gabriel. She scrunched her eyebrows together confused why he was singled out. She looked back up at the wall, the other pictures were of friends. He was the only family. An uneasy feeling settled in Deanna's gut as this break in became more personal as it was investigated.
The ride to Deanna's was silent besides the hum of Baby's engine with neither woman wanting to voice their thoughts in case it worried the other. When Deanna parked in front of the apartment building, she didn't make a move to get out and looked over at Cassie.
"Hey, I want you to promise me something?"
Cassie nodded her head for Deanna to go on.
Deanna let out a breath, "I want you to tell me when things like that happen. Some freak following you home? I wanna know about it. If anyone weird starts talking to you, I want you to tell me."
Cassie grabbed Deanna's hand and squeezed it, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just thought I was being paranoid, I guess not. But I promise, I'll tell you everything from now on."
Deanna smiled and kissed her on the forehead before getting out of the cab of the Impala. She was happy that her girlfriend would be staying with her for a while. She just wished it hadn't happened under these circumstances. Though Cassie was unharmed and Deanna wasn't going to let her out of her sight, she had this sinking feeling in her chest that this was only the start of something very bad.