"Are you okay,"

It was just the pet sitter.

She had grey, piercing eyes that were hidden behind black, square glasses that were perched on her perfectly shaped nose that looked to small, Cassandra feared that the glasses would fall right of, though she didn't share her worry, her eyes betrayed her and her inner feelings. She was craving to just push the glasses higher so that she would be more assured that they didn't fall, but she clasped her hands behind her back to not do exactly that. The grey eyes matched the exact same shade of grey as her dyed hair, she had extremely sharp features. If Cassandra was going based off on looks, the lady in front of her did not look like someone who would take their time on a Saturday to pet sit two animals for a few measly bucks.

She felt the presence of Lily leave as she went to gather the two domesticated animals as she analyzed the body structure of the five-foot-one female in front of her. She had her lips pulled into a friendly smile, but something felt off about it. Fake almost and she couldn't shake the feeling that was clawing at the back of her mind that the sitter was not who she stated she was, but then again, she was just a paranoid bitch, so she just shook the nagging feeling and shown her pearly whites to the sitter.

Lily claimed that she found her advertisement when she left the apartment to check if Cassandra disposed of the trash properly and left no trail from the front of the door of the building to the trashcans behind the establishment that sat perched between a duplex and another apartment building from different organizations. She saw the poster perfectly stapled to a wooden pole that held a single streetlight. Cassandra trusted Lily's judgment and agreed with her that they should get a sitter after the incident when the pair left to buy a few essentials and groceries for the month when they found the homey apartment trashed by the tiny animals.

Lily came back, and her energy chased away the awkwardness that Cassandra's quietness brought, and the fact that she hadn't even invited the lady that looked to be in her mid-twenties; older than both Cassandra and Lily, "Thank you for taking your time to look after Gemini and Libra," she said with a sincere gaze.

"It's just my job," she said with a smile as she took hold of the leash that was on both the kitten and puppy. She looked ready to leave and I couldn't have agreed more with her body's action, though it would be amazing if she left without the house pets. The would definitely raise her serotonin levels (A/N: Get the reference 😉), but alas, she doubts that Lily would agree, given the fact that she seemed to be having a little girl crush on the grey-eyed girl with incredible, fair, and clear, porcelain skin. The suspicious girl left before any more pleasantries were exchanged, and the nagging feeling clawing its way deep in the jungle of Cassandra's brain made itself more known than before. If the slight grimace on her face was anything to go by.

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The redhead girl and the brown-haired girl sat apart in the back seat of the Uber's car. The pair were a little tipsy from the few drinks they had consumed minutes before the arrival of the driver. Though Lily promised Cassandra that she would not get drunk to reassure her friend about going, Cassandra insisted that she can at least get tipsy so she would necessarily be alone.

Cassandra pulled down the bottom hem of the little black number the two had finally agreed on after three glasses of champagne and two arguments. The dress in its self was pretty much basic and had nothing special about it, though it wasn't was Cassandra was usually about, she found it much better than the rest of the dresses with plunging necklines and silts that either reached mid-thigh --and if you were bold-- all the way to the hip. It was bad enough the midnight black dress was short, had spaghetti straps, and clung to her body like a leech that lives on blood does when it comes in contact with anything with that specific thick, red liquid that matched the dress of that Lily wore.

But Cassandra had to admit, she did think she looked at least fuckable –though that was not her intentions—or at least someone a guy would want to hold up a decent conversation with her. Though she wasn't going to be welcoming about it. Not one bit. She would only do as promised, and that was to flirt with only one guy. And she couldn't help but feel, that she actually was feeling a little bit giddy and had forgotten the demon(s) of her past.

Our protagonist watched as the streetlights whooshed by, she couldn't help but think about her past, no matter how much she wanted to avoid it. She couldn't help but think that the everyday things in her life had so many relations to events in her dark past and what she had to deal with. For example; the streetlights that just went by with her even getting a good look at it had similar similarities to her daunting past.

The lights symbolized the many opportunities she had to escape the nightmare that she had the disdain to call her life, no matter how many they were, they were all gone within a blink of any eye. Gone before she could even contemplate the risks and the benefits of her freedom. The darkness, night sky, surrounding the opportunities. In turn, they were the risks and they also symbolized the demon(s) and devil(s) that ruled her life, that squashed and chased away those opportunities. No matter how much she wanted to avoid them, just like the day can't avoid night, she couldn't avoid her demon(s). No matter how hard she tried, the repercussions would be greater by the end of the tiring day.

Cassandra looked away from the window when she felt the worried gaze of her best friend. She gave an unconvincing smile towards her, but no matter how many times Cassandra tried to hide away her turmoil, nothing would ever get past Lily, "Are you okay?" she whispered, her words carving a wound with a sharpened knife.

Are you okay? Those three words would always make Cassandra feel emotional, mostly due to the fact that she had barely heard it directed to her. Throughout her childhood, she had never been genuinely asked if she were fine unless it were to mock her, something she was very used to. Even her so-called best friend at the time had never asked the question in her life, not even when she saw the bruises that painted Cassandra's skin. All she did was offer concealer to cover up the evidence of domestic abuse, she always offered it in a manner as if she were uncomfortable and didn't feel the need to even take the time to ask her if she were okay. The words were almost foreign to Cassandra, and it did feel nice to hear that Lily did in fact care about her wellbeing.

Cassandra swallowed the emotion bubbling in her throat, "Yeah, just thinking about some shit. Nothing serious," she lied straight through her teeth. Though the matter wasn't so pressing at the moment, it was something she had to talk about, to let go of the ghosts in her past that held her back mentally; and in most cases, emotionally. Lily gave her an unconvinced looked, which Cassandra counted with another look that showed that she didn't want to open up about her personal life in the presence of a stranger.

Lily decided to drop the topic, "Did I mention you look bomb. There is no way you won't be approached tonight. Not a fucking chance," Cassandra smiled at the compliment and complimented Lily as well, though she had a feeling that Lily didn't need compliments, she sure as damn well knew that she was the bomb and irresistible. You could say that Lily's confidence in herself was through the roofs.

Too bad they never made it...