Later on that evening, Nick walked into the guys' house searching for Cassandra. "Cassie?" he called. "Honey?"
There was no response.
He walked into the kitchen and saw a white rose on the table with a note attached to it. It had his name on the envelope and it smelled of Cassandra's perfume. He smiled and picked up the rose and the envelope. He sniffed the rose and quickly took the letter out of the envelope. As soon as he read it, he turned as white as the rose. "I-Isabella!" he yelled. He paused. "Damn it. Isabella!" he screamed as loud as he could.
She came running into the kitchen with A.J. close on her heels. "What? Are you okay? What happened?"
Nick stared blankly at them both, no emotion showing on his face.
Isabella went up and touched his arm. "Nick? You're shaking. What's wrong?"
"S-She did it again," he said quietly.
"Did what?"
"She did it again!" he cried and dropped to his knees.
"Now you're scaring me. Where's Cassie? Did she do something? Did something happen to her?"
Nick looked up, pouted, and nodded his head.
"What?"
"She did it again!"
A.J. bent down and carefully picked up the note from Nick's hand. "Here," he said and handed it to Isabella.
When she read it, her face paled to the shade of white that Nick's was. "I'll read it to you," she offered to A.J. She looked at Nick. "Do you mind?" He only shook his head. She took a deep breath and began. It said:
"Dear Nick,
You're not going to like this but you and I both know it's for the best. Things haven't been going so well. I've died and that's a lot for me to handle. I had so many dreams. Dreams of college, career, having a family with you, and maybe they can all still be fulfilled and that's what I have to find out. But I have to go without you. I can't have your sickly sweet love hanging around me every second. I have to be real and true to myself and to you. I have things I need to do. People I need to see. Explanations I have to find. I'm sorry, I truly am.
I know that this seems just like the last time that I left. But it isn't. Last time I had every intention of coming back. This time I don't. You belong with Kimberly.
Maybe we will meet again. Until then, Je 'taime, mon Nikolai.
~Cassia"
"I don't believe it," A.J. said.
"How could-"
"I gave her everything," Nick interrupted. "Everything and then some. Everything she ever wanted and more, I gave it to her in an instant. She loves me, I know it. I love her and that has to be enough. Why would she do this to me again? Maybe I was so blinded in my infatuation with her, that she really didn't love me. Maybe I strangled her too much. She did say, once, that she wasn't happy..." He stopped and glanced over at A.J. who was shaking his head. "What?"
"She wouldn't do this to you again," A.J. said definitely.
"Maybe she would," Nick contradicted. "She certainl-"
"I don't think, no, I know she wouldn't do this."
"What are you getting at?"
"Something's wrong."
"What are you talking about?" Isabella questioned. "This isn't the time to be teasing Nick. That is so mean, A.J."
"No, I mean it!" A.J. said, loudly.
"Isabella?" Nick asked.
"Yes, Sweetie?" she asked nicely, giving A.J. a look.
"Have you ever felt your heart break? I mean really shatter? It's like I-I can't breathe, I'm choking. It hurts so bad. I can feel the jagged pieces cutting into the rest of me. Can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure."
"Will you check me for holes?"
A.J. sighed. "Nick stop it. Something about this just doesn't seem right. She had a reason last time, maybe there's a reason this time. Look, they told her that they had her sister and best friend and that she had to leave right away and that she should write a note to her boyfriend, which was you, Nick, telling him that she had to leave but she couldn't say where or why she was going or when she'd be back."
"Are you serious?" Nick asked, standing up from the ground.
"You mean it never came up in conversation?"
"No. We never talked about it."
"Well now you know what happened. I still think that she must have told you. You just don't remember."
"I think that I would remember," he said. "But how do you know about it?"
"We talked about it one day. She was so upset and she needed someone to talk to and you were being a jerk, as usual, and she didn't feel like she could tell you."
"Whoa." Nick slumped down into a chair.
"Back to what I was saying initially. Don't you two feel that something is wrong with this picture? This is not our Cassandra. She didn't leave on her own will once and she certainly isn't doing this on her own will either."
"I don't understand," Nick said truthfully.
"Nick, stop being an idiot!" A.J. yelled. "You know damn well what I mean. She explained everything to me and now I'm trying to explain it to you, and you're not listening! Something is seriously wrong here!"
"Hey, guys." The three of them turned to see Kimberly. "What's going on?"
Cassandra rolled over and felt an incredible pain rush through her head. She tried to sit up but found that she couldn't. Where she was, was dark with very little light. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she realized that her hands and feet were bound with rope and her mouth was gagged. What the hell? she thought. Where am I? What happened? She couldn't remember anything no matter how hard she tried. The next thought that entered her mind was Nick. Oh God, where is he? Oh please, let him find me. Her heart pounded faster as she realized where she was. Oh God. No.
Mercedes rolled over in her bed. She saw Chase was still asleep next to her. She brushed a lock of his dirty blonde hair out of his face and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. Brian still insisted that he sleep on the couch so Chase could stay in Mercedes' bed, just until they were sure that Chase was a little more accustomed to everything. She slowly climbed out of her bed and walked downstairs. She turned into the living room and saw Brian asleep on the couch. She smiled, walked over to the couch, and knelt down beside it. She gently swept her hand over his face.
He slowly opened his eyes. "Hey Sweetie."
She looked at him and a ton of emotions raced through her. A tear slowly fell down her face. "Sorry."
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
She smiled. "I just still can't believe that you would get Chase. Go through all of that, just to bring my baby home. God I love him. And God I love you. I don't know how I could ever thank you. I just-"
"You don't have to thank me," Brian said, sitting up. "I did it for you and I would have done it a long time ago if you had only told me about him."
"But Brian, how did you possibly get him? They told me to stay away forever."
"Does it matter?"
"Y-You didn't kidnap him, did you?"
Brian laughed. "No! It's completely legal. He's always been your son, and now he's our son."
"Brian," she said, shaking her head. "You are something else." She leaned over and kissed him passionately.
"Um..."
They turned to see Chase standing in the doorway. Mercedes jumped up and laughed. "Oh, good morning, Honey," she said and gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head.
"Hey buddy," Brian said. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," Chase replied quietly.
"Are you...hungry?" Mercedes asked.
"I am!" Brian said, jumping up.
"Brian, I didn't ask you. I was asking Chase."
"I know, but I am hungry!"
"I don't care!"
Chase giggled as he watched Mercedes jokingly yell at Brian. He leaned up and whispered to Mercedes. "He's funny."
"Don't let him fool you," Mercedes said. "He is as dumb as he looks."
Chase giggled again.
"Fine, I'll make breakfast," Brian offered, and sauntered off into the kitchen.
"I like him," Chase said.
"Good," Mercedes said. "I'm glad. He's your step-daddy."
"And I like you, too, I guess, Mer...I mean, mommy."
Cassandra heard footsteps coming towards her. She held her breath but the person seemed to know exactly where she was. "Don't struggle, Cassandra," they said. "Don't breathe too heavily, either. You know what happened in this house." The person walked close to Cassandra.
Kimberly, Cassandra's mind gasped.
"This is probably the worst torture that I could, or anyone could inflict upon you. Don't you think? Remember the fire, Sweetie? Of course you do. You lost your precious husband that night. It's such a shame you didn't have enough light to find that door." She pointed behind her and Cassandra looked.
Oh my God! That's the door.
"Things would be totally different if you hadn't had me killed! Well, speaking of loverboy, I think I'll go see him now." She leaned down close to Cassandra's face and whispered, "He thinks that you've left him again. And there's no one there to comfort him in his time of need, except of course, me." She stood up and laughed. "You'll never win this now, Sweetie. If you weren't already dead, I'd leave you to die. But since you are, I'm going to leave you to rot for a while. I'll be back later, though, when I've fucked Nick."
She wouldn't. He wouldn't fall for it!
"The letter that I wrote was pretty convincing. I even used his new nickname and French expression. What is it? Oh, tell me if I'm saying this right. Je 'taime, mon Nikolai?"
Cassandra gasped. How did she know that? He would definitely believe that-
"Well, I can't keep Nick waiting." Kimberly smiled and walked away.
Cassandra knew that she was in trouble. She knew that she could feel things, that her sense of feeling and touch still worked, but if the house fell on her, would it go through her or would it hit her and cause her great pain? The house, Isabella and A.J.'s, creaked occasionally. She looked around the burnt foundation and her heart pounded louder and harder each second. There was a musty smell and a ring of smoke floated around. The whole basement was covered with ruins, piles of burned wood, broken glass and crumbled cement. Memories of that night came into her mind no matter how much she tried to stop it.
**Flashback**
"Nick, thank you."
"For what? I made you come down here and I got you trapped down here. It's all my fault. I should thank you. I mean, you risked your life to find me over here and you trusted me when I said that nothing would happen. I'm so sorry I've let you down."
"God no. You haven't let me down at all! Don't ever think that. I forgive you, if you forgive me?"
"Forgive you for what?"
"Anything and everything. I walked out on you, and ran away from you, and you still put up with me."
"I forgive you," he said.
"And I forgive you," she said.
"You know, you are a pretty good dancer," he said abruptly.
"Nick, I love you," Cassandra said. She gave Nick one last long, and desiring kiss."
"I love you, too. I must be the luckiest man alive. Cassandra....."
"Nick....."
A tear ran down Cassandra's face as she couldn't figure out how she was going to get away.
Kimberly walked back into the guys' house and saw Nick, Isabella and A.J. sitting at the kitchen table with solemn faces. "You guys okay?"
"Kimberly, I thought I told you that I never wanted to see you again?" Nick said coldly.
"Oh, now you didn't mean it. So, where's your little wifey?"
"She left me. Again."
Kimberly bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Oh my God! Why? When I last saw you guys, you know, on the beach, you guys were doing great!"
"Yeah, well, that was a while ago. Things change. People change."
"Yes I know, but the only way that Cassandra keeps changing, are in ways that hurt you."
Nick only nodded his head and looked down.
"Let's go for a walk," Kimberly suggested. She grabbed his hand.
He pulled it away. "Just a second. Wait for me by the door."
Kimberly only nodded and walked out of the kitchen.
"She knows something," Isabella said.
"Most definitely," A.J. agreed. "How convenient that she shows up as soon as Nick gets that note from Cassandra. Supposedly."
"You still think that Cassie never wrote that note?"
"No. I know that she didn't write it. Isabella, she's your sister. Don't you know her well enough? Wouldn't you be the first one to question all of this?"
"Trust me. I am. I know why Cassie left before and-"
"Did she tell everyone except me?" Nick interrupted.
"Nick, stop interrupting," Isabella said, giving him a look. "As I was saying, I know why she left before and she had a good reason then. You seem awfully mad about this, A.J. Yes I'm upset but I haven't even figured out what's going on yet."
"I'm very mad!" A.J. said. "Something is terribly wrong here and the answers that we're looking for, I think, lie in Kimberly."
"But how are we going to confront her?"
"Leave that to me," Nick said
"I don't think that we should worry about that right away," A.J. said. "I think that we should worry about how we're going to find Cassandra."
Emalia and Kevin were sitting together in Kevin's bed that evening. "Are you okay?" Kevin asked her abruptly. "We haven't talked much about your cousin's funeral."
Emalia took a deep breath. "Kevin, can I confess something to you?"
"Sure, anything."
"That day, when we had found out that Cassandra was dead, I was a little bit happy-"
"You what?" Kevin yelled, jumping back.
"Only a little bit. She threatened to ruin my life."
"But how?"
"She knew about Everett and I and was threatening to tell you everything."
"You mean, she knew, and didn't tell me?"
"I made her swear to secrecy, her and Brian, because I wanted to tell you. I didn't want you to hear it from her."
"Whoa. Well, I guess that I am glad that I heard it from you and not her. Or Brian. I guess I'm going to have to talk to Brian." Kevin paused and then smiled. "But later. I have different things on my mind." Kevin leaned over and kissed her.
Emalia pulled back. "Aren't you mad?"
"Of course I am! But we are working on putting what's done behind us. Right? I think that right now all we should focus on is our wedding."
"Hmm, I totally agree with you on that one." Emalia smiled back at him and leaned in to kiss him.