Chasing Cassandra
Tianna Grosch
I jolt awake to someone straddling me, hands tight on my forearms and pinning me against
the cot. My first thought is to scream, but when I open my mouth a sweaty palm slaps over
my lips before I can make a sound.
“Hush, sweetheart, it’s only me.”
I feel her breath in my ear and loosen my muscles.
Charlotte removes her hand from my mouth.
“You scared the shit out of me. What’re you doing?” I demand, trying to sit up.
Charlotte’s leaning so close to my face, our noses almost bump each other.
“I couldn’t get you to stop thrashing.” She rises off me.
A slight disappointment settles in my gut at the absence of her skin. Heat rises,
prickling my cheeks. “Sorry, I must’ve been dreaming.”
“More like nightmares.” It’s too dark to see, but Charlotte tilts her head and I bet she’s
giving me a look. “You alright, hun? I’ve been worried.”
“I’m fine, just dealing with consequences.”
“We’re all dealing with those in here. You want to talk, it’s good to get that shit out.”
I take a deep breath and hold it for a few counts. “I still see his face, sometimes.”
“Your husband?”
“Fiancé.”
“Whatever he was,” Charlotte says. “He’s your past. Don’t give him control over your
present.”
“I know I shouldn’t let him, after everything he took from me.”
“You’re still giving him power to take from you.” Charlotte places a warm hand on my
shoulder. “It’s past time to let him go, sweetheart.”
I lean into Charlotte’s touch as she puts an arm around me. We rest back against the
cold wall of our cell, nestled together and listening to each other’s breathing. Her heart
pounds fast, a heavy rhythm in my ears as I rest my head against her shoulder. When she
begins talking, it’s a low rumble of thunder in my head, the vibration of her voice echoing
all throughout my body.
“I had a few bad relationships in college. Whenever one of those douchebags made
me feel worthless, I went down the shore. I’d head to the nearest beach and curl my toes
beneath warm sand, wipe my mind clean listening to the sound of the waves.”
“I’ve never been to the ocean.”
“Never?” Charlotte shifts beside me and brushes hair off my forehead. “I take it
for granted, growing up with it in my backyard most of my life.”
“What brought you to New Mexico?”
“My husband got a job out here. It broke my heart to leave the seaside, but I was
pregnant with our first child and I wasn’t going to raise him on my own.”
“I would’ve done the same.”
“Yeah,” Charlotte says, then sighs. “Who would’ve thought I’d end up in here?”
Cauldron Anthology
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