***
Cassie walked woodenly through the cafeteria. She tried to ignore the whispers and comments following her, but most people weren't discreet. She knew every one of them intended for her to hear what they had to say, and none of it was good.
She'd been called every name in the book today, a few of which she'd never even heard of before. Titters and whispers preceded, and followed, everywhere she went. Though she tried to play it off as if it didn't bother her, inside she was a mass of raw nerve endings. She'd never been hated before and had never expected to be hated. Disliked, maybe, but not hated.
And she was hated. It beat against her in waves that made her stomach turn, and her body ache. She hadn't thought people could turn against someone so quickly. She didn't know what she'd done wrong, Mark had attacked her. She'd done nothing to merit this treatment, and because of that she was swinging between turbulent bouts of anger, and trying not to cry as she worked hard to keep up a nonchalant appearance.
Her hands trembled, and she had to take a calming breath in order to steady her tray. She was greatly relieved Chris was already at their table, which not surprisingly, was empty. Dropping her tray on the table, she slid into the seat beside him. His tray was loaded with mounds of food he hadn't touched yet, which was highly unusual for him.
"You look exhausted," he remarked.
"Rough day," she muttered as she shoved the tray away from her. She wasn't in the least bit hungry; other than habit she didn't know why she'd bothered to stand in line.
"And these are the people you want to stay and protect."
Her eyes widened at the cynicism in his voice. "Chris." The bleak look in his eyes was almost more than she could bear. "They need us," she finished lamely.
"And they're showing you that now."
"Chris, you wanted to stay too."
"That was before."
"Before what?"
"Before I saw into what is out there, before I saw into a soul of pure malice and deviance. Before all these people turned against you like a pack of hungry hyenas."
She was stunned breathless for a moment, and she found herself unable to move. "You think we should leave?" she managed to choke out.
His relentless gaze scanned the cafeteria one more time. Finally, his shoulders slumped as he shook his head. "No. I don't understand what is going on with everyone, but we have to protect them. I know, I'm just aggravated with these idiots." He turned back to her and clasped her hand. His action caused the buzz in the cafeteria to increase to a dull roar. "I also caught a glimpse of what that monster is out there Cass, and all it wants is to play with us, torture us, and then kill us. There is no stopping that kind of determination."
She could feel the fear running through him. What he'd seen last night had permeated his bones and seeped into his soul. She held his hand firmly as she tried to give him strength to ease the anguish he radiated.
"We can," she said more firmly than she actually felt. "Together, we can do anything Chris. We've survived so much, we can, we will, survive this."
"When did you become the optimistic one?" His smile was weak, but she saw an easing in his eyes that relaxed her.
"How many men is she going to have?"
Cassie turned at the nasty hiss and her gaze locked with Marcy's. Deliberately, defiantly, she lifted Chris's hand and squeezed it harder. She tried to control the anger humming through her body as she focused on Chris again.
"Sure you want to stick around?" Chris's eyebrows were raised inquisitively, and a teasing gleam reappeared in his sapphire eyes. No matter how awful this day had been for her, the gleam in his eyes made it all worth it.
"I'm sure," Cassie replied.
"Jerks," Melissa muttered as she slammed her tray on the table. "Bunch of idiotic, useless, jerks!"
Cassie and Chris grinned at each other before turning toward Melissa. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes spit black fire as she glared around the cafeteria. "Tell us how you really feel," Chris said and issued the first laugh Cassie had heard from him all day.
Cassie chuckled along with him and squeezed his hand. He was going to be all right, she believed that now. Whatever he'd experienced last night had rattled him greatly, but his spirit was too strong to be beaten down for long. Devon appeared behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. She turned toward him as he bent over her and brushed a quick kiss against her cheek.
His eyes darted to the hand entwined with Chris's on top of the table. Cassie wasn't sure how Devon would handle her connection with Chris. He knew they were friends, but he probably didn't realize just how good of friends they were, or how strong the bond between them was. It was something he would have to get used to though, if he was going to be a part of her life.
"Trying to steal my girl?" His tone was far more jovial than Cassie had expected from him.
Chris grinned back at him as he shook back his shaggy blond hair. "No worries there, she's too much of a pain in the ass for my liking."
Cassie shot him a look as he released her hand. He grinned back at her before eagerly pulling his tray over to attack his tuna fish sandwich. Devon chuckled as he slid into the seat beside her and turned sideways to face her. A dull flush of excitement crept through her as he leaned toward her and his closeness caused her body to heat.
"How are you doing?" he asked as he massaged the back of her neck.
It took her a few moments to answer as the thump of her heart made speaking difficult. "Fine," she murmured.
She was surprised to realize that with Chris's smile, Melissa's unwavering loyalty, and his solid presence, she was fine. Nothing else mattered, not the cruel whispers, not the hatred, not even the monster lurking within their town. As long as she had these three standing beside her, she could survive anything.
She hoped.