He walked to the coffee table, picked up a white envelope, and held it out.
She stared at it.
“What’s this?” Her voice came through the cheap mic in a broken buzz.
“Open it.”
“A list of short-term rentals.”
Cassidy tore the envelope.
Her face changed as she read.
“What is this?”
“A list of short-term rentals,” Reid said. “And your move-out date. Sunday.”
I sat up so fast my mother got a fright.
“You can’t throw me out.”
Cassidy stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“You can’t throw me out.”
“It’s our house.”
“Maya gave you a safe place to land.”
“Maya invited me.”
Reid nodded at the paper.
“This was always temporary.”
Cassidy’s face hardened.
“Maya invited me,” she repeated.
“I was being friendly.”
“Maya gave you a safe place to land. That doesn’t mean you get to make me uncomfortable in my own home.”
“Uncomfortable? Excuse me?”
“I’m talking about the comments. The questions. Following me into rooms. Sitting in my office after I’ve asked you to leave.”
“I was being friendly.”
“No. You were testing boundaries.”
“I was already planning to talk to you after your date.”
“Did Maya say that?”
“No. I did.”
Cassidy crumpled the rental list.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I was already planning to talk to you after your date, so I had these printed yesterday,” Reid said. “This dress thing just made the conversation happen sooner.”
He nodded toward the envelope.
Cassidy stared at him.
“So you’ve been planning this behind my back?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out how to stop this without putting Maya in the middle.”
He nodded toward the envelope.
“You need to be out by Sunday. Maya and I will talk about everything when she gets home.”
“I’m merely going to tell her exactly what happened.”
Cassidy stepped closer.
“You think she’ll believe you?”
Reid didn’t move.
“There’s no ‘he said, she said’ here. I’m merely going to tell her exactly what happened.”
Cassidy stared at him.
“I have a feeling she’ll see things the way it really happened.”
Then she smiled.
It wasn’t a nice smile.
“Maybe Maya will see this differently.”
Reid folded his arms.
“I have a feeling she’ll see things the way it really happened.”
She snatched her purse off the chair and walked out.
The smile slipped.
Silence.
Cassidy tried to keep his gaze, but eventually broke eye contact.
Reid said, “Your date is waiting.”
She snatched her purse off the chair and walked out.
Less than a minute later, Reid called.
I stayed on the live feed until the front door shut behind her.
Then I closed the app and sat in the dark.
Less than a minute later, Reid called.
I stared at his name on the screen before answering.
“Hey.”
I could feel my jealousy start to sink away, finally.
“We need to talk about Cassidy.”
I could feel my jealousy start to sink away, finally.
“Okay.”
“Nothing happened,” he said immediately. “But I told her she needs to move out.”
“I’ve been trying to ignore how uncomfortable she’s been making me.”
I closed my eyes.
He wasn’t hiding anything from me, after all. I could barely keep myself from smiling from relief.
“Why?”
There was a pause.
“I’ve been trying to ignore how uncomfortable she’s been making me, and tonight I realized that’s not working.”
“We’ll talk when I get home.”
I looked toward my sleeping mother.
“We’ll talk when I get home,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Another pause.
After we hung up, I replayed the recording three times.
“Okay.”
I didn’t tell him I’d watched the whole thing play out. That seemed, I don’t know. Almost like I’d been prying.
Besides, I wanted to have the rest of that conversation face-to-face.
After we hung up, I replayed the recording three times.
When I came home Sunday, Cassidy met me in the kitchen before I had even put down my bag.
“We need to talk.”
Her eyes were red.
“We need to talk.”
By now, I’d become entirely disillusioned by my so-called friend’s manipulative antics.
“Okay.”
She shut the kitchen door.
Even knowing what I knew, hearing the words made my skin crawl.
“It’s Reid.”
I said nothing.
Cassidy’s voice shook.
“He propositioned me Friday night.”
Even knowing what I knew, hearing the words made my skin crawl.
“I rejected him, and now he’s trying to kick me out before I can tell you.”
She rushed on.
After I Gained Weight from Having Twins, My Husband Gave Me an AI Portrait of Myself as a Size-Zero Model, Saying, ‘I’m Waiting for You to Look Like This Again’ – The Next Day, He Froze When He Saw My Gift for Him
My Mom Brought Grocery-Store Cupcakes to My Daughter’s $10,000 Birthday Party – Then My Daughter Saw What Was Under One
My 12-Year-Old Daughter Came Home with a Pixie Cut After Spending the Day with My MIL – When I Learned the Real Reason, I Burst Into Tears
“I rejected him, and now he’s trying to kick me out before I can tell you.”
I stared at her.
“Oh, really? What exactly did he say?”
“He said you’ve been distant. He said he wondered if I felt the same chemistry he did.”
Cassidy spun round, acting like a wounded lamb.
I couldn’t believe the incredibly stupid story she’d spun. And so easy to verify as well.
Then Reid walked in.
Cassidy spun round, acting like a wounded lamb.
“And here he is.”
Reid looked from her to me.
Cassidy’s performance was good.
“Maya, you have to believe me.”
Cassidy’s performance was good. I’d have doubted my husband if I hadn’t seen the clip.
“Tell her, Reid.”
He frowned.
“Tell her what?”
“She says you propositioned her.”
“Don’t do this.”
Reid’s expression changed.
He looked at me.
“What did she say?”
I hoped he could see the exasperation on my face.
I couldn’t blame him for looking panicked.
“She says you propositioned her.”
I couldn’t blame him for looking panicked, but I also commend his quick thinking.
Then he said, “The camera.”
And that finally broke Cassidy’s pathetic little expression.
Reid nodded toward the living room.
I felt giddy with anticipation.
“The camera recorded Friday.”
All the color left her face.
I took out my phone, the evidence ready and waiting.
I felt giddy with anticipation. Of course, I felt remorse at losing a friend, but I didn’t choose to set these things in motion.
“I already saw it.”
When it ended, Cassidy started crying.
Cassidy whispered, “Maya…”
“Any more lies, Cass? Or would you like to see what I saw?”
We watched the recording together, Cassidy trying all the while to explain herself.
When it ended, Cassidy started crying.
“You don’t understand what I’ve been through.”
“You need to go.”
Reid said, “Cassidy, we get you had a horrible time, but I’m sick of you using that to manipulate me and Maya.”
Cassidy looked at me.
“So that’s it?”
“Yes,” I said. “You need to go.”
She waited, as if expecting me to soften.
An hour later, she came downstairs with two bags and her purse.
I didn’t.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Cassidy picked up the crumpled rental list from the table.
An hour later, she came downstairs with two bags and her purse.
“Fine, if you want to do this to a friend, so be it. I’ve booked a room and I’ll be back for the rest of my things tomorrow. Don’t touch them.”
Without any more fanfare, I ushered her out, and finally shut the door on a friend for the last time.
In the entryway, she looked at me once more, her eyes shining with tears.
Without any more fanfare, I ushered her out, and finally shut the door on a friend for the last time.
Afterward, Reid and I sat at the kitchen table.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“For what?”
“For seeing what was happening and hoping it would sort itself out.”
“No Reid, I should’ve said something sooner.”
He nodded.
“I did the same thing.”
“No Reid, I should’ve said something sooner.”
“So should I.”
Somewhere along the way, we’d put someone else before each other.
The house finally felt relaxed again.
Cassidy had come to us because she needed somewhere safe. Somewhere along the way, we’d put someone else before each other.
We don’t do that anymore.
