Chapter 3 — The Letter

Three Months Later… Cassidy was finishing up drafting a letter that she had just typed up to one of the authors she had started working with when she heard a light tapping sound on her cubicle. She looked up to see Mark, one of the senior editors, standing in front of her station. "Hey, Cass, a few of us are going to Pal Joey's to grab drinks. Would you like to come?" Mark asked as he brushed his wavy hair away from his face. She gave him a friendly smile and said, "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm just going to head home. It's been a long week." "All work and no play makes Cassidy a dull girl," Mark said with a frown. He had been inviting the new hire out for the past two months, and she had declined him each time. She shrugged her shoulders and gave him an apologetic smile. Mark shook his head in defeat and saluted her before walking away. Without giving him a second look, she finished her letter before she headed home. *** As Cassidy entered her apartment, she was met by thumping dance music and the blender sound. Cassidy smiled with relief as she slipped her heels off and entered the kitchen. She was grateful to have her best friend Nat in her life, especially with the recent loss of her Pop Pop. Natalie handed Cassidy a glass filled with a red drink once she entered the kitchen. "You are amazing," Cassidy told her roommate. Natalie smiled at the compliment as she clanked her glass with Cassidy's and took a few sips of their drinks. Cassidy closed her eyes and enjoyed feeling her nerves calm down from the long week. After taking a few more sips of her drink, she looked at the counter and saw a large manilla envelope with her name scribbled on the front. Natalie shrugged. "Don't know, it was on the doorstep when I got home. Hey, I'm ordering out; what would you like?" "Mexican," she answered as she felt her anxiety rise. She pulled the envelope closer to her and read the return label at the top. "It's from a lawyer's office." Her brows furrowed at the envelope; She was under the impression they had already handled all his stuff from his will. Cassidy downed the rest of her drink before picking up the envelope and carrying it into the living room. She plopped down on the couch and tucked her feet beneath her. She flipped the envelope around in her hands as she contemplated whether or not she wanted to open it and see what was inside. Curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to open it. Tears burned her eyes as she read the first lines of the first document. With everything that had been going on, dealing with the funeral and the reading of his will, she had forgotten all about a little property he owned deep in the mountains. Natalie entered the living room with two fresh drinks in her hand. "Dinner's ordered," she said, placing both drinks on the coffee table. "Cass, what's wrong?" Natalie crouched beside her friend. "Nat, I wasn't thinking right with everything that was going on after Pop Pop had passed. It seems I forgot about one of the properties he owned." Natalie tilted her head and looked at Cassidy, confused, "Which property?" Cassidy wiped the tears from her face and looked into her friend's green eyes, "Pop Pop's family cabin." she breathed out. Natalie's eyes widened as she got up from the floor and moved into the chair next to the couch. "You don't mean THE family cabin." "The very one," Cassidy confirmed as she tossed the paperwork onto the coffee table. She covered her face as she tried to block the mental images and nightmares she had endured. "Hey, Cass, deep breaths. Don't let yourself think about it right now." Cassidy pulled her hands away from her face and looked at her friend. "Ok, what do you suggest?" Natalie got up, picked up the papers before sliding them back into the original envelope, and said, "Let's put this paperwork somewhere else. Dinner is almost here; we can eat, drink, and just let all this stuff go, at least for tonight." Cassidy grabbed her drink from the table and said, "I'll drink to that." It was after midnight when Cassidy dragged herself into her room and crawled into bed. She pulled the sheet up to cover her as she laid her head against her pillow. The scar on her leg started to burn as she pressed the cold sheet against it, trying to cool the ache. The burning began to simmer as her thoughts drifted back to that dreadful night. Cassidy tossed and turned as she watched her six-year-old self looking out the window of her parents' car. Her father turned to look back at her and asked, "Are you excited to see the family cabin and meet your Pop Pop?" Young Cassidy nodded her head. "Yes, Daddy. I can't wait to hear all his stories. Are they all true?" Her father laughed, "Every one of them." Cassidy smiled as she watched her father place a kiss on her mother's hand as a sweet gesture. She looked at her young self when she heard a scream directed at her father. "Daddy, look out!" Cassidy felt the car shift and swerve as her father tried to control the vehicle through the slick mud. She heard metal crunching as she was tossed around in the back of the car. She looked around and realized she was her young self again. She cried out to her parents, but they didn't respond. Cassidy heard a loud howl coming from outside the car; her heart raced as she tried to figure out how to get out of the vehicle. Cassidy's eyes popped open as she could still feel the adrenaline from the dream pulsing through her. She rubbed her face as she tried to erase her nightmare, but all her thoughts went straight to the cabin. Cassidy sat up in her bed and tried to calm herself down. She needed to think about this rationally before making any quick decisions. Her cell rang next to her bed, and she answered it without looking at the Caller ID. "Hello?" "Good morning, I'm looking for Cassidy Winters," the gentleman's voice said to her. Cassidy ran her hand through her hair as she answered, "This is Cassidy." "Ms. Winters, my name is Adrian Santos. I was wondering if you would be interested in selling the property that you came into recently. I'm willing to pay over top market value." He offered to her. Cassidy shook her head even though the offer was more than generous. "Mr. Santos, I appreciate the offer. But I am not sure if I'm looking to sell it or not at this moment." "I understand. Please keep my number, and if you ever decide to sell it, my offer still stands." Adrian said in a convincing tone. "Thank you. I'll do that." and ended the call. Cassidy flopped back into the bed. This was not how she wanted her weekend to start.