Chapter 6

John's POV

I felt extremely out of patience.

What was supposed to be a pleasant day in the company of my friends had turned into a stress that could have - and should have - been avoided, if not for Bryan and his childishness. Talking to Helena that way was despicable, she had become unstructured and I was bothered by the sorrow on her features while listening to my friend's provocations, so I decided to intervene, although it was too late considering the slap the girl gave him. To be honest, I was amazed at her courage in speaking so confidently.

I usually saw Bryan's provocations directed at her, and she always fought back with dignity, and all I did was observe her behavior in front of my friend's immature behavior - behavior that I disapproved of completely - I had thought of reprimanding him several times, however, Helena usually took the reins of the situation and defended herself very well, it was interesting to know that a girl who seemed so serene had such a sharp tongue.

Today, however, the situation got out of control, and Bryan had definitely crossed the line. I wanted to understand why he picked on her so much, after all, this had been going on for a long time. With all the fighting, I ended up arguing with my mother. I spent about two hours trying to convince her that Bryan had caused all that fuss and that I would talk to Helena later to get her attention.

Of course I wouldn't.

As if that wasn't enough, Cassie and I argued for the exact same reason. She didn't like my intrusion into the argument and drained what little good humor I had left, ignoring me for the rest of the day and answering my calls in the early evening only because we had a party to go to. I was driving to the venue with my girlfriend sulking beside me even after numerous attempts on my part to get us to be okay again. I glared at her and sighed, annoyed to see her closed expression.

"Cassie, we've already talked. How long are you going to keep this up?" I questioned, trying, for the thousandth time, to get her to stop doing that.

"As long as I want to stay. I still don't understand why you meddled in that little show." Her tone of voice was rude and I was tired of repeating the same thing a thousand times.

"I lost my patience again, watching her stare at me dumbfounded "I couldn't let the fight happen in my house. And even less could I allow someone to be mistreated like that."

"That's not the point, but what was that little talk you two had? It sounded like you were friends," I let out a long sigh, trying to remain calm.

"We're not, but I don't see anything wrong with having a good relationship with her, after all, her mother has worked in my house for years, and whether you like it or not, she lives there. She's not the one who should listen, Cassie. Just because my mother pays her mother's salary and offered them both a house doesn't mean she has to be treated badly. My girlfriend now stared at me in disbelief at what I had said and, knowing that expression, she was furious.

"Hello?" her tone of voice rose "I'm sorry, I don't think I understood correctly. Did you just say you want to be friends with the maid?" I felt her gaze burn over me. I clenched my hands on the steering wheel, losing count of how many times I took a deep breath and stared at her, serious.

"Cassie, I'm done. I'm not going to talk about this anymore and I'm not going to wear myself out," I finished, getting out of the car next. Cassie did the same, but slammed the door. We entered the elevator like two strangers, I was getting more and more impatient with the climate between us.

We arrived at the floor of my friend's incredible apartment and I rang the doorbell, revealing, a few seconds later, an already cheerful Paolo with a huge smile on his face. He raised his arms almost making his drink spill out of the glass, coming towards me and giving me a half hug and patting me on the back. 

"Well, if it isn't the admirable John Carter and the beautiful Cassie Privost! The most illustrious of couples!" he greeted in a slurred voice and I laughed. Cassie gave a yellow smile.

"What's up, Herzog? All this time without seeing me and you get me drunk? You're a piece of shit, huh?" Paolo smiled drunkenly and showed his middle finger, giving us passage to enter.

The party was to celebrate his moving into the triplex that he had recently bought. The place was already full of people, many of them also known to me. We walked up to the penthouse, which was as crowded as the one inside the apartment, with a wide view of a good part of the city. Loud and lively music took over the environment, some people were enjoying the heated pool and, at the bar, some bartenders were doing acrobatics with drinks. 

"I'm going to get something to drink," Cassie warned and left without even waiting for my response. I ran my hands through my hair impatiently.

"Did you see? Sophie brought that friend of hers. The one who lives in the Carter house" I heard someone say my last name and turned around, realizing that the conversation was coming from a group of girls behind me.

"John! Hi!" one of them greeted me. 

I nodded and Cassie came up beside me looking excited by their presence. They immediately struck up a lively conversation going somewhere else and I realized that I would be ignored all fucking night. I grabbed something from the bar and leaned over there, chatting with one person or another and watching my girlfriend pretend I didn't exist. I looked around the place sipping my drink nonchalantly, until I stopped at someone familiar. I narrowed my gaze and recognized Helena along with a girl I occasionally saw with her, a friend from college if I remembered correctly. Paolo was chatting excitedly with his friend and she was just watching, clearly trying to keep up with them. I frowned, clearly confused. Where did they know each other from?

My eyes involuntarily hovered on Helena's figure and I raised my eyebrow slightly as I analyzed her.

She was wearing a long skirt that came up to her stomach and was open on one side of her leg, showing. The hem of her long-sleeved blouse reached close to the beginning of the skirt and allowed her neck to show as well. Like her clothes, her heels were also black. Her makeup was stronger than she usually wears, and her lipstick was an almost wine red. As if noticing that someone was watching her, Helena suddenly looked away and her gaze collided with mine, leaving me in an awkward situation. Not having much choice, I nodded my head in a sort of greeting. She returned it with a brief smile and disappeared from my field of vision as soon as her friend pulled her inside. I took another sip of my drink and ran my free hand down the back of my neck, caught by surprise by staring for a few seconds at the girl who had previously been in front of me.

The party was getting livelier, the pool was more crowded, the music was loud, and I had probably talked to half of the people there.

But I was fucked for life.

Very fucked up.

Cassie practically pretended that she didn't know me and ignored me every time I tried to talk to her. It was surreal. She had a right to be angry, I couldn't change that, however, that tantrum attitude exceeded all limits. I was leaning against the glass balcony and I guessed that my expression was not the best, because Paolo came to ask me if everything was okay every five minutes, even though I said so every time. I saw Cassie approaching me and followed her with my gaze as she approached.

"I'm going away with Suzi and I'll sleep over at her place," she warned as if it was no big deal, flashing me a petulant smile.

I laughed derisively and looked at her incredulously.

"You're not serious."

"You bet I am" she retorted with the smile lingering on her face.

"What the fuck, Cassie! Cut the crap, it's over. Look at what you're doing," I said, trying to control my tone of voice, even though I knew my expression oozed irritation. 

My girlfriend looked at me with her arms crossed and one eyebrow arched, seemingly undeterred.

"I've made up my mind, John. I just came to warn you. I'm not going to your place," I took a deep breath and rubbed my hands over my face in a clear sign of weariness. I looked at her and nodded slowly, looking away with a skeptical smile and then back at her again.

"Do what you want, I'm tired, really. I'm amazed at your childish behavior," I finished speaking and didn't even wait for her response. I turned my back on her and walked towards the bar, ordering a Negroni* from the bartender. I looked back and Cassie was no longer there.