Only Consenting Adults Ch. 24

"Hi Eve," Cassie said, "Thought I'd drop by, if that's okay?"

"Cassie, yeah, uh. That's fine. I just... I wasn't expecting to see you."

Cassie frowned, then continued, "We saw each other at Sanctuary Point, in the car park, remember?"

Eve grimaced, and then a crestfallen expression settled on her face. She shook her head.

"Look, don't worry. Traumatic events do strange things to the memory, Eve. The main thing is that you're safe now."

"I guess."

Cassie flicked a look at Colette, who could only shrug in response.

"Hey," Colette said, "Would you like something to drink? I got all kinds, herbal tea, hot chocolate. I was just gonna get Eve a hot chocolate."

Cassie smiled at her, replying, "That sounds lovely. Yes please."

Colette took that as her cue to leave the other two women to it, heading into the kitchen. She kept an eye on them as she prepared the drinks.

Cassie sat down next to Eve and began to talk to her. Their heads were together, their voices too low to hear, but Colette studied their body language, watching the petite blonde woman as she took Eve's hand and stroked it. Eve's eyes were riveted to that action, staring down at Cassie's hand, not meeting her gaze. She nodded occasionally, offering few words.

Colette gave them space, electing to boil the milk in a saucepan to kill the time. Cassie's demeanour was gentle and confident, and for the first time in what felt like days, Colette could let herself feel like things were under control. Eve was talking now in hushed tones, responding to questions as Cassie probed gently. She glanced up at Colette, and Colette took it as a signal, coming back over with three steaming mugs. She set them down on the table and perched on its edge, sipping her drink carefully. Cassie looked up and smiled, taking a mug.

"Thank you, this smells wonderful."

Eve took hers, but said nothing. Colette waited for Cassie to fill the silence, cocking an eyebrow at her guest.

"She's going to be alright," Cassie decided, patting Eve's hand. "She's a tough cookie, aren't you?"

Eve took a sip of hot chocolate then shook her head.

"I don't feel like a tough cookie."

"Not now, but just give it a little bit. You'll see," Cassie beamed at her.

The smile seemed to lift a weight off of Colette's shoulders, hearing the confident tone of the trained psychologist. Eve reacted too. Maybe that was half the battle, Colette mused, just stating that things would be better might be enough to begin the process.

"What do you think?" Colette asked, delicately.

Cassie surveyed the dark-haired woman for a moment, giving her hand a squeeze again.

"I've seen Eve do all sorts of things. She's smart, astute, able to turn a situation on its head. When she plays, she plays hard," Cassie said.

"True," Colette replied, picking up on Cassie's lead. "I've seen her kick doors in, literally. She doesn't take shit from anyone."

Eve looked up then, a pained expression on her face, replying, "I know what you're doing. I don't, uh...."

Her voice trailed off and she stared down at her mug. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet.

"I thought he loved me," she murmured.

In a single fluid movement, Cassie took her mug from her, placing both down on the table, and wrapped the other woman in a tight hug.

"Oh babe, it's going to be okay," she murmured, her face buried in Eve's hair as the tears began to roll down Eve's cheeks. "A friend of mine told me I'm hard-core. I'm marshmallow compared to you."

Eve was bawling now in Cassie's arms.

"I thought he loved me," she repeated over and over in heartbroken sobs.

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[Next chapter: a wedding and a release for Mina, after a year of enforced chastity. Surely Cam's going to release her, isn't he?

Were there's smoke there's fire. As Eve recuperates, The Light Between the Trees reaches its conclusion.

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