Just a Game Ch. 04

They were jolted from a deep sleep by loud pounding. Gabe bolted upright in bed and Cass grabbed his arm, confused and startled, her heart beating in her throat.

"What the-"

"Cass! Cass, open the door!"

"Shit," Gabe sighed as Aaron's voice tore through the early morning, shattering the peace.

"You should hide." Cass's mind still felt muddled with sleep and she was more irritated with Aaron for waking her than anything else.

"No, I'm not gonna hide. He already knows I'm in here or he wouldn't sound so pissed."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned down to grab his jeans, standing to slide them up over his taut butt. She couldn't help staring, still unused to being able to look at him openly like this, and a little smile flitted across her face until the banging started again.

"Cassandra Carson, get off your ass and open the goddamn door!" A sharp blow sounded, louder than the banging, and it made Cass jump, a little shriek escaping her. It was enough to bring her fully out of her sleep haze and into the moment.

"That fucker," Gabe muttered. He'd been about to put his t-shirt on, but he tossed it to her instead. "Put that on."

The expression on his face made her heart speed up even more, his uncharacteristic anger sending a spike of fear through her heart. "Gabe? What-"

"Quick, before he breaks the door down." He buttoned his jeans and pushed his hair back out of his face, stepping toward the door with his shoulders squared. Just as he reached for the handle another blow fell, accompanied by the sound of cracking wood.

"That mother fucker better not be in there with you or I swear to god I'm gonna-"

"You're gonna what? Cuss your sister some more?" Gabe asked, swinging the door open.

Aaron was already in fighting stance ready to kick the door again so he when his fist shot out it wasn't entirely a surprise and Gabe was able to jump out of his reach. He walked back a couple of steps, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"Look Aaron I know you're pissed at me, but there's no need to talk to her like that."

Aaron advanced into the room after him. "Shut the fuck up. Don't even try to act self-righteous with me after you've been in here all night FUCKING MY SISTER."

"Aaron!" Cass snapped at him, absolutely floored by his behavior as he took another swing at Gabe's face.

Neither man looked at her; Aaron's fury was focused entirely on Gabe, who was busy blocking another blow. She wanted to get up and intervene, but Gabe's t-shirt barely hung to her thighs and a frantic search through the sheets didn't turn up any underwear.

"You need to chill the fuck out, man," Gabe said, his voice rising in anger as he grabbed Aaron's wrist to stop another punch. "I don't want to fight you, Aaron. Come on, let's-"

Aaron used Gabe's grip on his wrist to yank him forward and slam his forearm into the side of Gabe's face, catching his jaw with an elbow. Gabe's head snapped back and to the side with an audible crack and he released Aaron's wrist and staggered backwards a few steps until he hit the wall, then slid to the floor with a dazed look on his face.

"STOP!" Cass leapt out of the bed, modesty completely lost to fear and anger. She grabbed the back of Aaron's shirt and pulled as hard as she could to spin him away from Gabe, then knelt on the floor between them and ran her fingers gently over Gabe's cheek. "Oh God, Gabe are you alright?"

Gabe just nodded, still in a daze. He opened his mouth and moved his jaw back and forth to test it, wincing in pain.

"Get up, you pussy. I'm not done beating the shit out of you yet."

Cass stood and whirled on Aaron, whose eyes were still fixed in anger on his friend. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed as hard as she could, barely budging him.

"Get out," she gritted out through her tears.

Aaron looked at her for the first time, almost as if he were surprised to see her there. "Cass-"

"I said get out!"

"I've watched him do this over and over for years, Cass. He fucks and then he leaves. Don't for a second think you're any different from any of the others. You were just convenient." He turned his sneer on Gabe again. "Easy target right there in the next bedroom, huh mother fucker? And drunk too, no doubt. I didn't think I had to worry about you of all people taking advantage of her."

"Can I have a little credit please? I wasn't drunk, I am not a target, and Gabe didn't take advantage of me. We..."

She trailed off as she realized that disabusing Aaron of the notion that last night had been the first time anything had happened between them would probably not be a good idea at the moment. Unfortunately he must have heard something in her tone because she watched the comprehension dawn on his face and then morph into utter disgust as he turned back to Gabe.

Gabe looked up imploringly, as if he could will his friend to understand. "Aaron, bro, I-"

"Don't fucking call me that! I am NOT your brother." Aaron stepped toward him again, but Cass placed herself squarely in his way so that he had to look over her shoulder to see him. "I trusted you. My parents trusted you. We treated you like family, welcomed you into our home when yours was..."

He shook his head as he trailed off. His voice sounded calmer, quieter, but Cass could hear the trembling underneath. She knew he was speaking from hurt now, not anger, but that didn't excuse what he was saying. He was trying to hurt Gabe and, she assumed, succeeding quite effectively since Gabe was just sitting silently now, taking the abuse. Tears stung her eyes.

"Aaron, please-" she began, but it was like she wasn't even there.

"And this is how you repay us? I can't believe I thought for a second that you had any respect for me or my family. I should have known better than to expect you to think with anything other than your dick. Some things never change."

"That's enough Aaron," Cass said, her voice shaking with emotion as she tried again to push him toward the door.

Turning to Cass he just shook his head in disappointment. "And I can't believe you were stupid enough to fall for his bullshit."

"Check. Yourself." The tone of warning in Gabe's voice was clear despite the mild slurring.

Aaron uttered a harsh laugh. "Really? You're the one waking up naked in my sister's bed and I should check myself?" He turned to Cass again. "I hope you aren't expecting him to suddenly grow a heart and declare his undying love like one of those idiotic romance novels you read because this story ain't gonna have a happy ending."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Aaron. You need to go."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about-"

"No! You don't. I'm not some innocent little girl who got corrupted by your big bad friend. I came on to him and I got exactly what I wanted out of it."

Aaron's eyebrows shot up, then came together in an angry scowl. "Oh I get it. You're just gonna sign on to be another one of his trashy fuck buddies."

"Do. Not. Talk to her like that." Gabe's voice was all cold fury now and when she turned to look at him Cass could see the angry determination in his eyes as he pushed himself up off the floor.

"Get out before you insult either of us any more than you already have." Cass pushed Aaron hard in the chest. Her hands were shaking with barely-contained anger and she had a few choice words she wanted to lay on her asshole of an older brother, but she knew she had to get him out of there before Gabe got on his feet. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if they both went into a fight actually trying to hurt each other. Just the idea of it made her feel sick inside.

Aaron resisted just long enough to make it clear that he was going of his own accord and not because she told him to. "I swear to God if I see your face again I will finish what I started," he ground out, jabbing a long finger into the air in Gabe's direction. "You aren't welcome here anymore."

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Cass wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to see Gabe on his feet, his face a sickly shade of white as he leaned heavily against the wall to steady himself. Wrapping one arm around him, she helped him to the bed and knelt in front of him.

"Let me see," she said, reaching to touch his jaw again. He pulled away and shook his head, wincing at the movements.

"It's fine. I should just go."

"You can hardly walk."

"Yeah. He wasn't pulling his punches, was he?"

The fact that he wouldn't meet her eye led her to believe he wasn't really talking about the blow to the jaw. "He doesn't really think that way about you."

"No, I'm pretty sure he does and maybe he's right about me, but you don't deserve to be treated that way. If I ever hear him talk to you like that again I'll tear his fucking head off."

"He's angry, Gabe. That's his problem, not ours. It doesn't make anything he said true."

She tried again to touch him, resting her hand on his arm, but once again he pulled away. She stood and backed away, confused about why he seemed to be shutting her out all the sudden.

"Cassie, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For all of this, I never should have-"

"Don't!" She stomped her foot, fully aware it was a childish, silly thing to do, but not caring in the least. "Don't let him make you feel like you did something you need to apologize for. You know you didn't take advantage of me. You know we didn't do anything wrong."

"Right. It was just a game. Fun for everyone and no one gets hurt." His voice was thick with sarcasm and her temper flared again, but the look on his face drained all the anger from her. Her heart broke in two to see the shame and self-doubt there.

"I did have fun, Gabe. And you helped me learn things about myself that I don't think I ever would have figured out on my own. That was the whole point, right? I don't regret any of it. Please don't ruin the whole thing by walking away acting like you do."

"So you meant it?"

"Meant what?"

He looked up at her, finally meeting her eye. "What you said to Aaron. That you got exactly what you wanted?"

She hesitated, unsure how to answer that question.

"Because he was right, Cassie."

"Right about what?"

"All that bullshit; physical recreation, sex with no strings...you deserve better than that. You deserve more than just being a fuck buddy."

"I wasn't ASKING for more than that. That was enough for me."

His head dropped and he stared intently down into his lap. Cassie stared at the top of his head, her hands clenched into fists, willing herself not to cry.

She didn't want to lie to him so she was careful not to answer his question, but there was a huge part of her that wanted to admit the truth. Of course she didn't mean it. Of course it wasn't exactly what she wanted. But it was enough. She never expected anything more and was honestly okay with just taking what he'd been offering.

At least she was pretty sure she would have eventually talked herself into being okay with it.

But she couldn't say that. She didn't want him to think he'd hurt her when he'd given her so much. She didn't want him to think Aaron was right about him. Without thinking she reached out and touched his hair, smoothing it back from his face. He jerked away from her as if she'd burned him.

"Can I have my shirt?"

She drew back, shocked at his cold tone. When he didn't apologize or even look up at her she pulled the shirt off and threw it at him, reveling in brief triumph when he sat with it bunched in his hand for a long moment while his eyes drifted over her body. But he turned away before they reached her face. She went to her closet and quickly pulled on her old flannel robe and by the time she turned back around he was standing by the door, still slightly shaky but steadier on his feet.

"I should go."

"Yeah, you said that already."

"I'm heading back tomorrow."

"I know."

He was silent for a long time before he finally spoke, his voice so quiet she almost couldn't hear him. "I guess that's it, then."

She flinched at how flat and emotionless he sounded and wished he would look up and meet her eyes, but they remained fixed on the floor, his hair hanging against his scruffy chin. The left side of his jaw was obviously swelling and he had to hold his mouth slightly open to compensate.

A pang of guilt hit her as she realized that she'd been keeping him there when he needed to go deal with his injury. She wanted to take care of him. She wanted to put ice on his face and hold him and try to make him feel better, but since that wasn't really an option at the moment she had to just let him go so he could take care of himself.

A second later she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his waist. When he finally returned her hug, squeezing her tight against his chest, she tucked her face into his neck and kissed the soft warm spot between his collarbones.

"Thank you," she said, stepping out of his embrace and swallowing back her tears. "I won't ever forget this."

"Me either." His fingertips brushed her cheek and his eyes flicked up to hers for a split second before dropping away again. "Bye, Cassie."

She listened at her bedroom door to make sure Aaron didn't accost him on his way out, breathing a sigh of relief when she heard the front door open and close. Then she gave into the tears and curled up on the bed to cry herself back to sleep.

As it turned out, she didn't get the chance. Her door opened and Avery and Jill poked their heads in. When they saw that she was crying they rushed in and climbed onto the bed next to her, Avery rubbing her back while she sobbed.

"Are you alright sweetie?"

"No," she said into her pillow. "What the hell was Aaron doing up so early?"

"I don't think he ever went to bed. I'm pretty sure he was still drunk from last night. We were sleeping in your parents' room when he came storming in looking for you. He was already pissed because he tried to call Gabe and heard his phone ringing in your room, but the door was locked. When he didn't find you downstairs with us he flipped out," Avery said.

Avery sounded worried so Cass sat up and wiped her eyes. "I'm alright, really. I'm not the one that got sucker punched. Oh God, poor Gabe, this is all my fault-"

"Bullshit," Jill snapped angrily. "Poor Gabe was getting his dick wet and Aaron was being an asshole. Don't even try to take this all on yourself. You're the only person in this scenario that didn't do anything wrong."

"Gabe didn't-"

"He fucked his best friend's little sister. I'm not saying Aaron didn't totally over react, but Gabe's not an innocent bystander."

"She's right," Avery said. "I'm pretty sure there's some kind of guy code he violated."

"I don't give a crap about guy codes, Aaron was totally out of control. I had the most amazing night of my entire life; the most amazing week really, and now it's over. Just like that. I mean, I wasn't expecting...well I don't know what I was expecting, but I didn't think it would end with my brother thinking I'm some kind of slut and Gabe wishing none of it had never happened."

"He didn't say that, did he?" Avery looked shocked.

"He made it clear he felt like the whole thing was a mistake." Cass dropped her head in her hands so she missed the disbelieving look her two friends exchanged.

"I seriously doubt Gabe feels that way," Avery said. "But I was talking about Aaron. He didn't really call you a slut, did he?"

Cass broke into fresh tears as she remembered what her brother had said to her. "He called me a trashy fuck buddy."

"Ugh, guys are such assholes," Jill fumed. "What a fucking hypocrite to say something like that after he hooked up with that skank from the bar last night."

"Look, you get some more rest," Avery said, pulling Cass into a tight hug. "We're gonna go get started cleaning this place up. You have five hours before your parents get home."

"I'll be down in just a minute."

Her friends closed the door quietly behind them and Cass lay down and covered her head with a pillow. She planned to just lay there long enough to stop crying and then get up and take a shower, but exhaustion overtook her and the next thing she knew she woke up with sunlight streaming brightly through her window.

A quick glance at her phone told her she'd slept another two hours and she quickly jumped out of bed, anxious to make sure the house was ready for her parents' return and worried about what she was going to say to Aaron when she saw him.

After a quick shower she felt more awake, but no more ready to renew the fight she knew was coming. The house was silent as she descended the stairs. She padded through the empty rooms to find that the majority of the mess had been cleaned up already and that she appeared to be alone.

Making a mental note that she owed Avery and Jill her eternal gratitude, she stuck her head in the living room. Aaron was slumped on the couch with a glass in his hand and a bottle of whiskey on the table beside him. He'd pulled the curtains and was sitting in the darkened room staring at the Christmas tree, its lights throwing mottled colors and pine needle silhouettes against the walls.

"Are you drunk?"

He looked up at her in mild surprise, so absorbed in his thoughts he hadn't heard her approach. "No. Not anymore." He set the glass on the table. "Pouring a drink seemed like the thing to do, but I haven't been able to choke much down. Straight whiskey kind of tastes like shit."

He didn't appear to be in a violent rage so she entered the room and tentatively sat down on the opposite end of the couch.

"I'm so sorry, Cass. I was out of line. I said things I shouldn't have."

"You sure as hell did. I don't know what gave you the idea you could say and do whatever the hell you want just because you're pissed off, but let me tell you right now that it is not okay."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's not even you I'm angry with."

"I don't know why not. If you're going to be angry at all it might as well be at both of us equally. What happened between Gabe and me was my decision as much as it was his." She noticed his flinch when she said Gabe's name, but ignored it. "Not that I think you have any right to be mad at either of us."

"Oh you don't? How long has he been sneaking around behind my back and lying to my face?"

The heat had returned to his voice and she had to suppress a surge of irritation. If she could talk to him rationally he'd be more likely to actually listen to what she was saying without this devolving into another yelling match.

"No one lied to you about anything. And we only snuck around because we knew it would upset you and we didn't see the point," she said, maintaining a level tone.

"How long?" he demanded, his voice as hard as his stare.

"Just the last week."

His shoulders relaxed visibly and she could tell he was relieved to hear that it hadn't been going on for very long. But he was chewing on his lip in that way he always did when he felt uncomfortable so she knew there was more. She started to really get curious when he reached for his glass and took a sip of whiskey.

"Was he...were you..." With a shaky sigh he rubbed a weary hand over his face and turned away, staring intently at the Christmas tree across the room. "Were you a virgin?"

"Jesus Christ, Aaron." Cass jumped up and walked a few steps away, irritation, amusement, and embarrassment warring for her attention.

"Come on Cass, believe me I don't want to ask that question any more than you want to answer it. I just... I need to know."

She waited a minute for the burning in her face to die down. The amusement was winning out and she was half-tempted to lie just to mess with him. Then she thought of Gabe and how much Aaron's words had hurt him. Maybe the truth would soften him a bit and he'd be more likely to apologize to his friend.