Come Around

In the two and a half weeks All Time Low had been on tour, Alex had called Cassie only twice. Both were ridiculous hours, the first at three in the morning and the second at five in the morning. Both times he was drunk. Both times Cassie ended the calls by hanging up on him.

She was angry with him for not calling at more often or at a decent hour and for ignoring her calls and texts. She had received multiple calls and texts from Rian asking what was going on with her and Alex. He knew that they were fighting and she finally told him why when he called her the third time to ask.

Everyone knew they were upset with each other, but only Rian and Angie knew the whole story. Alex hadn't told anyone.

It was rather early in the morning when Cassie's phone rang. She had just come back from her run and was about to jump in the shower when she heard it. She almost ignored it, but when she saw it was Rian calling her, she answered it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Okay, seriously, what's going on with you and Alex? Are you two still together?" he asked.

Cassie sighed and sat on her bed, "Honestly Rian, I don't know. I stopped trying to call him a few days ago. He always sends me straight to his voicemail. I tried leaving messages, but he never calls back. I don't know what to do anymore," she said and he was silent for a long a time, "Why?" she asked.

"You didn't hear this from me," he began, "But he seemed awfully cozy with some random girl last night," he said.

"Oh."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I don't even know how to answer that question anymore. Was he doing anything with her? Did he kiss her or anything? Or were they just talking?" she asked.

"It looked like they were just talking. But they were physically very close and I wasn't able to stick around all night and watch them. I really don't know if he did anything, but I just thought you should know. It's possible that it was nothing," he said.

Cassie sighed again, "Thanks for looking out for me, Rian," she said, "I'm going to go shower and get to work. I'll call you later."

"I love you, sissy," he said and hung up.

She stared at the wall for a few minutes before sliding her phone open and opening a blank text message. Looks like you may have been right, she typed and pressed send.

After taking a long shower, she felt slightly relaxed but was not in the mood to make herself look nice. She pulled her wet hair into a ponytail and put on the first shirt and pair of jeans she found. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the red light on her phone blinking, indicating she had a new text message.

She grabbed her phone and slid it open. I'm sorry. For everything, was the text message Matt had sent her in reply. After sending a simple reply of Me too, she slid her phone into her pocket and put on a hooded sweatshirt.

Her day was spent keeping herself busy at work. She went around the office and asked everyone if there was anything she could help them with and in a few hours had completed everything that she had taken. She had just found some busy work when her phone vibrated on her desk next to her. Without thinking, she picked it up and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" she said, and immediately regretted not checking the caller ID when she heard the voice on the other end.

"He's an idiot and doesn't deserve you."

"You're supposed to be on his side, you know? I mean, he is your best friend," she replied.

"Why would I be on his side. He's fucking up the best thing that ever happened to him," he said.

Cassie sighed, "I can't do this right now, Matt," she said quietly, her eyes welling with tears as she spoke.

"Cassie, wait," he said quickly

"What?"

"My feelings aside, he's an asshole. You can do better than him. And you deserve someone who will treat you like royalty," he said.

"Well I don't want to be put on a pedestal. I want someone who will treat me like an equal. And Alex may be an asshole, but he did just that. Bye Matt," she said and hung up.

It didn't take long for her to decide it was time to leave work. She quickly tossed her phone into her purse and walked out of the office. She drove off and soon found herself parked in Rian and Alex's driveway.

Upon letting herself into the house with the key Rian had given her, she made her way upstairs to Alex's room and looked around. The bed she helped pick out was a mess. Half the clothes left in the closet belonged to her. And as she slid down the wall that she'd helped paint, her eyes fell on the picture of her and Alex that she'd framed and placed on the night table on his side of the bed. At the realization that this room was almost as much hers as it was his, she drew her knees up to her chest and put her head down, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

She missed him. She missed hearing his voice. And she was angry with him. She didn't know where he was or what he was doing. She was always thinking the worst. And at that very moment, it hit her.

She didn't know how to trust to him anymore.

And it broke her heart. She sat against the wall crying harder than she'd cried in a long time. Her body shook and breathing became a struggle. Her heart pounded. And after half an hour of this, Cassie finally managed to calm herself down.

She pulled her phone out and dialed Alex's number for the first time in four days. Maybe if he answered, they could talk things out. Maybe he could convince her that she could trust him. Maybe they could be okay. But her heart broke all over again when she got his voicemail after the first ring. She pulled the phone from her ear and hit the end button and opened a blank text, crying as she typed the message.

I give up. I can't do it anymore. When you get back to LA my things won't be at your house.

Her vision blurred as she hit send and she stood slowly. Her legs felt like jello but she managed to start gathering her clothes from his closet. It felt it had been an eternity, but in reality was only a few minutes, when her phone rang. Her heart raced when she saw his name flashing on the screen.

"Hello?" she said quietly, her voice shaky.

His voice was equally shaky, "What are you saying?" he asked.

"What do you think, Alex? Did you really not see this coming? You basically did it already, I'm just saying it and making it official," she said

"Can't we just wait and talk about this when I get back from tour?" he asked after a minute of silence.

Cassie sighed, "No. I can't just sit back while you're out doing God knows what with God knows who, not even thinking about me. I'm not that girl."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "I haven't done anything with anyone. Cassandra, I-"

"Don't say it. Don't you fucking dare say it, Alex," she said angrily, "We've gone this long without that stupid word. It's not going to fix this."

He sighed, "Fine. But I need you to believe me when I say I haven't been doing anything with anyone," he said.

"How am I supposed to believe you when I have your friends calling me, telling me not to trust you?"

"Who told you not to trust me?" he asked.

"It doesn't fucking matter!" Cassie shouted.

"It does matter. I haven't done a goddamn thing to give anyone a reason think that you shouldn't trust me," he replied.

Cassie's eyes filled with tears again and she blinked in an attempt to keep them from falling. It failed, however, and she wiped them away quickly and sniffled.

"You gave me a reason when you didn't make any effort to call me and so easily ignored my calls. Do you have any idea how much this hurts?" she asked.

"Probably about as much as it hurts to be told that you're not good enough."

"I never fucking said that! You're such a fucking child sometimes, you know that?" she said.

Alex laughed dryly, "Yeah, my ex girlfriend told me that more than a few times over the course of our relationship," he said bitterly, knowing it would cut her deeply.

Tears poured down Cassie's face and she let out an exasperated sigh, "I can't do this anymore," she said, "Call me when you grow up."