The Cassidy Chronicles

Cassidy opened her mouth to answer, but her mother had hung up the phone. She was always being so over the top with things that it drove her crazy. She hated how her mother tried to run her life. She was twenty-five years old and didn't need her mother telling her what to do. At the same time, it drove her crazy that indeed she was right.

Her mother knew that Cassidy had had a vision about Ryan Gates. She knew that he was looking for her and would find out her phone number and call her. Delilah also knew that Cassidy could prevent the death from happening. What she didn't know, and Cassidy wasn't going to tell her, was the reason why he was going to die.

***

Later that afternoon, Cassidy walked out of church into the cold crisp air. It was still very sunny, but still cold. She was wearing her black winter jacket with purple mitts and hat. She loved the fact that she could go to church on a Saturday afternoon. It meant that she could sleep in on Sundays and not feel guilty. She hadn't been paying attention to anything that had happened at church. She didn't feel bad about it though. Her mind was try to figure out how she would tell Ryan what was going to happen to him. She knew that her mother was right and that he would call, probably tonight if she were unlucky. She knew that her vision didn't happen until there was snow on the ground, which gave her a little bit of time.

Cassidy got into the car and her cell phone was ringing. She picked it up, already knowing who was on the other end of the phone.

"Hi. May I speak to Cassidy Caldwell please?"

"This is Cassidy."

"Hi it's me Ryan Gates. I'm the guy who is so scatterbrained that he forgot his jacket at the banquet hall last night. I'm also the guy who you had a vision about. I'm also the guy who would like to take you out to dinner tonight so you can tell me the dream in detail."

"You serious?"

"Yep. Can I pick you up in an hour?"

"How do you know where I live?" Cassidy was a little suspicious.

"Didn't you say you were psychic? Shouldn't you already know the answer to that?" Ryan was smiling. She was fun to tease and he loved hearing her reaction.

"It doesn't work like that. I only see certain things, but I do know why you know my address. You used to work for the police so you probably looked up my name in your database."

"Very good. Dress casual."

Cassidy heard the click of him hanging up and she looked at her phone for a moment before driving off. The drive home from church was short, but she drove in circles thinking about their conversation. She was going to tell him the whole dream, from beginning to end. She would then say thank you for dinner and go home. She didn't care that he found her phone number and address illegally. She wasn't concerned that he sounded so calm about this. Something didn't sound quite right, but she wasn't going to keep this a secret any longer. He showed up exactly at six. He was driving the same car as this morning, the black four-door with tinted windows. It was a normal looking car, not too flashy, but not falling apart either. She locked her front door and then got into the passenger seat.

Ryan had changed into jeans and a sweater. He looked so cute without glasses and she noticed his eyes were steel gray. She looked at him, staring, for almost a full minute before he spoke.

"You look very cute tonight. We're going to Marco's. It's an Italian restaurant a few blocks away. I'm sure you've heard of it."

Cassidy gasped. Of course she had heard about it. An exclusive restaurant took weeks to get a reservation. Politicians and the rich businessmen would have dinners. She had never eaten there, but had always wanted to. If he had asked her what restaurant she wanted to eat at if there was no limitation then she would have said Marco's. Did he read her mind or were they just in tune that much?

"Yeah. Wow. How did you get a reservation?"

Ryan grinned. He glanced one more time at Cassidy. She was also wearing jeans, but they were black and she had on a very low cut pink top. The tops of her breasts were showing and Ryan wondered if she did that on purpose or whether she didn't realize how sexy she looked.

"You don't want to know." Ryan smiled over at Cassidy and hoped she would leave it be.

"No, tell me."

"You're stubborn. I guess you were in awe of me this morning, which is why you didn't pester me half as much as you wanted. To be honest, I had this reservation for about two weeks. Unfortunately, my last girlfriend only lasted four days."

Cassidy looked over at him. He was telling the truth. What guy would be so daring as to tell their date that they were their second choice? Was he for real? She continued to look at him and when he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile. She knew she was looking like a star struck teenager, but she didn't care. She increasingly liked him, which was bad, very bad.

"You always this direct?"

"Yep. Here we are." Ryan pulled his car into a parking spot and they quickly got out and walked into the restaurant. It was busy, as always, and they got a table at the back of the restaurant. Neither minded as this meant there was quiet and they could have their privacy. The waiter came over quickly with their order for drinks and then Ryan spoke.

"So tell me what you wanted to tell me this morning. Tell me everything and then I'll talk. Hopefully, by then we will have eaten and can go our separate ways in peace."

Ryan had that look again. It was a teasing look that drove Cassidy crazy. She bit her lip gently and then began.

"I'm psychic, but not the way those freaks do it. I used to blurt out things that came true, but now when I touch something personal that is someone else's I sometimes get a flash of their life. When I touched your jacket last night, I had a vision of you, your future. I was frantic this morning trying to figure out how I could get a hold of you and I was very happy that you were at the banquet hall."

Cassidy stopped talking since the waiter had brought them their drinks. Ryan was drinking beer and Cassidy had ordered a long island ice tea. Once the waiter took their food orders, she continued.

"You're going to die in a cemetery. I'm going to be there. There will be snow on the ground. It's going to happen in the next two months."

Ryan looked at Cassidy. Her tone of voice was shaking. She was scared. She was telling the truth. It wasn't a joke. It wasn't some way to get him to ask her out. In that tiny instant when she stopped talking and looked at him, he saw it all in her eyes.

"How am I going to die?"

"You're going to get shot."

Ryan took a deep breath then let the air out slowly through his mouth. He then gulped back half of his beer then began to peel off the wrapper. Cassidy just waited. He was making her very nervous and she wondered how he was going to react.

"So why is it bad that I like you? I mean the future isn't set in stone. Doc Brown said that in my favorite movie. I mean if we stick together we can change the future right."

"You shouldn't like me. You'll be safer if you're not around me."

Ryan reached over and brushed his fingers gently over her lips. He got the exact reaction he wanted.

"That's not going to happen."

Thankfully, the food arrived and they ate in silence. Cassidy was thinking hard, trying to figure out what to say and to do. She had left out one important part of her dream, but there was no way anyone was going to know that part. It was horrible and disgusting and made her stomach turn. She had feelings for him and it was driving her crazy. He obviously had the same feelings and she couldn't figure out why. No guy had ever liked her. No guy in high school or university had even looked at her. She had been the token single friend all through high school. Although most of her friends changed boyfriends on a monthly basis, they were always with someone. She had had one boyfriend, Jason, and that hadn't turned out for the best.

Ryan chewed his pasta more than he should and thought. She was rejecting him for no other reason than she had a vision of him. It didn't make sense. She was sounding neurotic, but it seems reasonable. Maybe she wished she didn't have that vision. As he continued eating, he figure it out. Of course, she didn't like knowing about other people. She probably felt guilty and wished she hadn't touched his jacket. He had thrown the jacket at her friend, but she had caught it. Did she wish none of that had happened? Maybe she wished she hadn't met him at all. It was all making sense, in his mind anyway.

"Can you drive me home now?" Cassidy was talking softly. They had eaten dinner in silence and Ryan had just finished paying. She had had two more drinks and he had had that one beer. They got up and after bundling themselves up for the cold weather they stepped out into the parking lot.

Ryan reached out and grabbed her hand. He wasn't wearing gloves, but she was so instead of feeling her soft skin he felt the soft material of her mitt. She squeezed his hand, but didn't let go. When they got to his car, he leaned her up against it gently.

"I can't let you go Cassidy. I seriously can't."

Cassidy had a flash back to the night before. This was how it had started again with Jason. Now, she was leaned up against a different car in a different parking lot with a very different man. She wanted exactly what had happened last night to happen again, only with Ryan.

"Drive me home please."

Ryan reached forward and grabbed her face softly in his two hands. His fingers were freezing cold, but she didn't react. He leaned in and took a deep breath in, smelling her. It was an arousing smell to him. Her hair smelled like vanilla and he could smell a citrus scent that was either her perfume or the lingering residues from the orange she had nibbled on from her drink. He kissed her softly, pressing his lips against hers for a full minute. His eyes were closed and he didn't feel her tense up or push him away. He continued the kiss, wanting to go further, but desperately trying to hold back. If he held back, she might not freak out. If he didn't, would they both regret whatever happened?

He pulled back and then opened the passenger door and closed it for her. He walked around, got into the driver's side, and started the car. The silence was deafening in the car. Cassidy wanted to say something, but the kiss had told her everything she needed to know. He liked her, a lot. He liked her wild purple and blonde hair. He liked that she wasn't stick thin nor were her breasts average size. He loved that she was sarcastic, honest, and witty. He enjoyed spending time with her and had she not had the vision she did, their first date would have been perfect.

The drive back was in silence. Ryan and Cassidy didn't want to say anything to the other person for fear that things would get increasingly more complicated than they already were. Ryan stopped the car and turned to look at Cassidy.

"Can I invite you over to watch a movie on Monday or Tuesday?" Ryan tried to control his voice. He wanted to sound eager, but not desperate. He was desperate though. He wanted to spend time with her and he was worried that she would say no.

"I'll think about it." Cassidy didn't even look at Ryan as she said those words. She got out of the car and rushed to her front door. She fumbled with her keys, trying to get inside as fast as possible. The longer he watched her, the worse it would be. She finally got her door opened and slammed it shut, leaning against it as she closed her eyes.

She heard his car pull away and then waited a few more minutes before opening her eyes and turning around. She locked her door, put away her shoes, jacket, hat, and mitts, then made her way upstairs. She wanted to kiss him back. She wanted to ask him in. She wanted so much, but instead she had told him off. She hadn't exactly said no to his proposition, but she hadn't said yes.

Cassidy undressed and got into bed. She tossed and turned for hours, finally falling asleep when her clock radio said 2:00. Cassidy should have stayed up because she had the same dream again, this time more detailed. Instead of trying to wake herself up, she remained in slumber, paying attention to every little detail of the dream.

She was in a cemetery. The trees had no leaves and the ground was covered in snow. She was standing on the pathway that had been shoveled. Ryan was standing in about a foot of snow facing away from her. He was talking to someone, but she couldn't see whom. In her dream she was transfixed in place, but if she could move a step to either side she would see the person he was talking to.

Then it got dark in the dream. She screamed at Ryan, but he didn't move. The voices were louder and Ryan steeped closer to the person and farther away from Cassidy. The tombstones had a thin layer of snow on them and were in perfect rows. Off to one side was a brown fence that went along the edge of the cemetery. Cassidy was able to look to her right and see this fence. She noticed that there were houses on the other side of the fence. This was an important clue. It meant that the cemetery was in the city. She looked to her left and the tree-lined road continued until she couldn't see any more. The tombstones were all lined up, but were different sizes and shapes. She looked forward and felt something heavy in her hand. She didn't want to look down because she knew what was in her hand. She looked towards Ryan and tried to get his attention. He turned around finally, which allowed her to see the figure behind him. The figure was all in black and stood still, looking straight through her. Cassidy screamed out something. She didn't know what she was saying, but when Ryan fell to the ground, she knew what she had said.

Cassidy woke up with a start. She was covered in sweat and was facing the wrong way in bed. All the pillows were on the ground as was her duvet. She was curled into a ball, shivering. The room was freezing and she realized that once again the power had gone out. "Fuck." Cassidy stood up, grabbed the things off the floor, and threw them on the bed. She grabbed another blanket from the blanket box and wrapped herself up to keep herself warm. The fact she was startled awake made remembering her dream difficult. She tried to remember what part of the dream had been different, but she couldn't remember. The ending was the same and she wished that that had changed. It obviously hadn't because she woke up as scared as she did the last time she had had this dream.

When morning came, the power still wasn't back on and she was freezing cold. She hated living in this neighborhood. It was only about twenty minutes into town and another forty minutes into the big city. The power had been going off every few months and it drove her crazy. She had called the electric company and they had explained that the large number of houses and all the construction on the new houses had put a strain on the system. Once the houses were built, the system would stabilize.

This did not help considering it was freezing in her house and she had work to do. Molly had left a message yesterday discussing the assignment they were going to be doing next weekend and she had to read up on a few things. She wanted to be as prepared as possible and figured if she filled her mind with reading about the Kennedy family then she wouldn't be thinking about him.

She couldn't do that of course because without power she had no internet. Her laptop had a battery, but that was not going to help. She got dressed then decided to go take a walk. She normally hated the cold, but staying inside her cold house wasn't an option. She put on sweatpants, a non-matching sweatshirt, winter jacket, hat, and mitts. She didn't brush her hair or wash her face simply because she didn't care what she looked like and from past experience, she knew that there wouldn't be hot water anyway.

Cassidy strolled along the leaf-covered streets. For a Sunday morning, things were quite active. Many children were playing on the play structure at the park she walked by and she smiled and said hello to a few families on their morning walk. She finally settled down on a bench that overlooked her street as well as the park and a sports field. If she looked to the right, she saw the blue, yellow, and red play structure that had just been erected the year before. In the summer time, she could hear the sounds of children laughing and playing. It was a great neighborhood to raise a family. In front of her was the sports field that in the summer was filled with young children playing soccer and then adults playing ultimate Frisbee and soccer as well. She glanced to the left and saw down the street her house was located. Her house was on a crescent that wrapped around in an L shape. There were fifty-two houses on the street, all townhouses. She wasn't really paying attention as she sat and thought about everything that had gone on in her life.

Two weeks ago, she had been dreading going to the charity ball. She knew Molly did it out of love and concern, but at that point, she still hated her. Now she was caught up in falling for someone she had just met and truly believing that he had the same feelings for her, if not stronger. She continued thinking until she noticed some commotion happening near her house. A car drove up very fast and slammed on its brakes. She could hear the sound from down the street. A man jumped out of the car and rushed to knock on her door. After a minute, he turned around and ran back into his car. Cassidy was too stunned to do anything, but she did pay attention to the make and model of car and what the driver looked like. She realized it was the same man that she had met this morning at the banquet hall. It was the security guard.

Cassidy got up and walked the short distance back home. She stepped inside and was happy to hear her furnace humming happily from the basement. She picked up her phone and after searching for a specific phone call, she dialed Sonya Billings' home phone number. She cringed as she hoped that ten wasn't too early to call on a Sunday morning. The phone rang a few times and then finally Sonya's high-pitched voice was heard.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sonya. It's me Cassidy. I helped with the charity ball on Friday night. Listen, I want to apologize for the incident that happened and if there is anything that I can do to make it up to you let me know." Cassidy took a deep breath and since Sonya didn't say a thing, she continued. "I went there yesterday morning to help out someone who had forgotten their jacket. I guess we must have set off the alarm because a security guard showed up. Anyway, he was just at my house. Is there a problem?"

There was silence. Cassidy did not like this type of silence for two reasons. The first reason was that Sonya was never quiet. She always had something to say, especially when it was to Cassidy or her mother. The second reason was that even though the blinds were closed on the window to her front door, she could see the shadow of someone standing on her front steps. She carefully checked to make sure her door was locked and tiptoed her way down the hallway and up the stairs.

"The banquet hall burnt to the ground Saturday morning."

Cassidy gasped. "What? That's impossible."

"It happened around eleven. There was a big explosion that came from inside. By the time the fire trucks arrived, it was engulfed in flames."

"That's horrible. Was anyone hurt?"

"No. There was no one there and you must be delusional because the security company didn't dispatch anyone there that morning until after the fire. I'm assuming you would have noticed the place on fire." Sonya's voice was thick with sarcasm, but Cassidy was too freaked out to respond.

"Thanks." Cassidy hung up then sat down on the top step of the staircase. Her heart was thumping hard in her chest and she took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She was almost calm until she heard both a knock on her door, followed by the doorbell ringing three times.