My eyes peel open slowly and I take in my environment. White walls... purple curtains...really high ceiling with a cute butterfly chandelier hanging over head, and the faint smell of vanilla...where am I?
For a split second, I think I’ve been kidnapped—again. But then, the memory hits me. Cassidy’s house. I’m in Cassidy’s bed.
She’s lying beside me, her breathing slow and even. Her hair fans across the pillow, catching the faint light from the digital clock on the bedside table.
It’s a few minutes to six, and the sky outside is still cloaked in darkness.
Careful not to disturb her, I climb out of the bed, the floor cool beneath my bare feet. I scribble a quick note, leaving it on the pillow next to her: Gone for my duties. Thanks for everything.
As I tiptoe out of the room, the creak
