The Heart Of A Fighter

Chapter Six

The following day, Cass was annoyed to see him there, hanging out with her friends. They were in a more rundown part of the city and passed an old apartment building that was falling apart where it stood. Cass stared up at it with a pained expression. Clarissa realized where they were and quickly distracted Cass by talking about going to the mall.

Cade had seen the expression clearly and skimmed the building with his eyes. He saw dirty children running around, paint peeling, and a strong odor of bodily fluids hit his nose like a wrecking ball. He glanced over at Cass, her eyes downcast, and her hands fiddling with her jacket.

Cade turned to Bryce, "how long have all of you known Cass?"

"How long? Wow, I guess it's been years. Since elementary school I guess," Bryce scratched his head in thought. "Cass and Red grew up in this apartment building actually. That's what you were wondering, right? You saw her just now?"

Cade nodded, feeling bad he even asked, "her expression got to me. Did you know her parents then?"

"Her mother, yes. We rarely saw her dad, but when we did, he just seemed really distracted. It was a little weird, but I guess Cass was really close with him," Bryce pondered.

"What happened to him?" Cade couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"I'm not completely sure, just that he died a few years ago. Cass doesn't talk about it, though we've tried to find out. I get why you're curious about her, and we're all glad she has you around. I know she'll try to push you away, but we hope you don't give up on her," Bryce glanced over at Red, "I think Red is relieved. I'm sure you've heard about his feelings for Cass, he's driven himself mad over it, but now he feels like he can let go and move on."

"Because of me? Why?" Cade was confused.

"Because Cass has been used and hurt by so many guys. He never liked any of them, until you, even though he won't admit to it. He feels you are loyal and trustworthy," Bryce explained.

Cade scoffed, "now I'm really confused. You all feel that way about me even though you don't know anything about me, except that I am a decent fighter."

"We're pretty good at reading people, don't take it so lightly," Bryce seemed like he had been offended by Cade's words.

Cade smiled apologetically, "I'm not, but speaking from experience, you shouldn't assume someone is good or bad when you hardly know them. Cass is right not to trust me or want me around. I mean it with the utmost respect. I'd like to earn that trust myself."

"Well good luck with that then," Bryce was a bit puzzled, but shrugged it off.

Krista squealed in fear as they walked through a side street in the meat packing district, "a rat!"

Cass kneeled down in front of her and laughed, "it's not a rat, it's a stray kitten."

She pulled a bandana out of her coat pocket and wrapped up something small in it.

"Is it okay?" Clarissa asked in concern.

"Yes, it just needs to get cleaned up and fed. There's probably more of them around here. Fan out," Cass glanced around and held the kitten to her chest.

They all split up and looked in all the small spaces they could find. Cade found 4 kittens in a broken crate behind a dumpster. He waved them over. Cass crouched down next to him and rested her hand on his arm.

"No sign of the mother, these kittens might be abandoned," Cass hadn't realized what she was doing. "What should we do with them?"

Cade could feel butterflies in his stomach but refused to look her in the eye, hoping he wouldn't freak her out, "I'll take them."

Cass stared over at him as he held his hand out for them to sniff. They weren't afraid of him.

"All of them?" Cass asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah. I need to find a box though," he gently removed her hand from his arm and stood up to look around.

Cass became embarrassed and returned her focus to the kittens. She couldn't believe she had been touching him so personally without noticing it.

Cade went up to one of the factories nearby and politely asked for an empty box. They gladly obliged. They even gave him some old papers to line it with.

He came back and carefully placed each of the kittens in it. Cass wondered what he was planning to do with them. She didn't know what kind of house he lived in.

She cleared her throat, "what are you going to do with 5 kittens?"

"Take care of them of course. What else can I do with them? I won't be cruel to them if that's what you're worried about, I'm not a monster," Cade teased.

Clarissa knew what Cass meant and specified, "she means how, Cade. 5 kittens will be expensive and very time-consuming to take care of."

Cade smirked, "well, that's for me to worry about, isn't it? It's fine. I should probably start heading home. Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys, but I think I've bugged Rourke enough."

Cass wanted to help with the kittens, "wait, I'm coming with you. I can help. We found the kittens together, I'll share the responsibilities."

Cade was surprised, he wanted her to help, but wasn't sure he was ready to let her get to know him. Ready or not though, it was best to get it over with.

They took the long bus ride home. Cade held the box to his chest protectively. He could feel everyone looking at him. The kittens had fallen asleep, so they didn't have to worry about causing a racket.

When they got off, he started walking down the street, past all the businesses. She had to jog to catch up to him. He finally stopped at a pet store. He handed the box to Cass as he grabbed a basket and grabbed some things from the cat section. She awkwardly watched from nearby as he paid for the items.

"Okay, let's go," he motioned for her to follow him.

She was so used to him teasing her and pushing her buttons, she was nervous at seeing him so serious. Cade was nervous about showing her his house. He didn't let anyone from school know where he lived because it made him uncomfortable.

They walked through a residential area, past a grove of apple trees, then down a long gravel driveway. It was surrounded by fields and pastures, then lead to a large yellow farmhouse, with a light brown barn a few yards behind it.

Cass came to a halt, "this is where you live?"

Cade nodded, "with my mom and my grandparents. Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just not what I expected. But honestly, I didn't know what to expect," Cass just stood there and stared up at it, still in disbelief.

She glanced at Cade, then back at the house. He was really a farm boy disguised as a street-fighter. Cade was usually embarrassed by the fact he lived on a farm, but seeing how stunned Cass was made him smile to himself.

"Is it really that shocking to you? It's my grandparents who own this property. I grew up closer to town than this, I've only lived in this place for a few years. But my grandfather is the town's veterinarian. Sometimes he brings his patients here to watch them more closely, just thought you should know that," Cade waved for her to follow him. "Come on, let's get started."

The farmhouse had a spacious porch that wrapped all the way around the house. They walked towards the back and Cade led her into a sunroom. He set his purchases out on a wicker coffee table, took his shoes off by the door, and stepped into what looked like a utility room.

He came back with a pitcher of warm water and a hand washing basin. She watched him pour the water into it and get up again. He came back with some washcloths and a blow dryer.

"Generally, you don't want to give kittens baths, since the mother cat is usually the one in charge of keeping them clean, but since we don't have that option, we're going to use washcloths," Cade smiled as he started pulling the kittens out of the box.

He handed a kitten and a damp cloth to Cass and showed her how to do it. As they sat there on the floor, cleaning kittens together, Cass watched him with fascination. She had seen a glimpse of his gentle side back in the alley when he touched her hand, but now she could see the depth of it as she watched him take care of the kittens.

"So what are you going to name them?" Cass asked with a warm smile.

"I don't know, I was going to wait until they started showing their personalities," he grabbed a calico colored kitten with amber eyes. "But this little girl reminds me of you."

He handed her to Cass after she scratched and hissed at him. Cass held the kitten cautiously and looked her over. Cass recognized her as the kitten they had found first, wandering around by herself.

"How does she remind you of me?" Cass asked curiously.

"She's independent, feisty, and a bit of trouble," he smiled playfully and rubbed his side where Steel had beaten him.

Cass blushed, "I really am sorry about that, but no one made you follow me around."

"That is true, however, I regret nothing," Cade's eyes sparkled as he grabbed an old basket and some old blankets to make a bed for the kittens.

Cass bit her lip and changed the subject, "is this gray striped one a boy or a girl?"

"That's a boy, female cats have rounder faces, males' faces are more pointed. Just another way to tell, you know, besides the obvious way to find out," Cade winked.

"Oh... Good to know. So this black one is a boy? And that orange one is a girl?" Cass wondered aloud.

"Yep, and this solid gray one looks like another boy. They look like they're hungry. Be right back" Cade got up and put his shoes back on. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Where would be going and what about the kittens?" Cass inquired suspiciously.

"We won't be gone long, we're just going to the barn."

Cass folded her arms and slowly followed behind him, "you're not secretly a serial killer, are you?"

Cade chuckled and replied sarcastically, "you got me, I really brought you out here to torture and kill you. Come on, have a little more faith in me."

"I might if I knew you better," Cass retorted.

He tugged her by the hand and closed the door to the sunroom. He grabbed a small bucket and walked in front of her. They entered the barn and he opened a back stall where a cow was chewing on some hay with a fairly young calf curiously standing off to the side, but not too far from its mother. Cade grabbed a little wooden stool and put the bucket beneath the cow's udders.

"You milk cows? Wow, you're a genuine farm boy, the real deal," Cass teased.

Cade smiled sheepishly as the calf had come around and nudged his shoulder playfully, "I guess I am. Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all. It actually makes you somewhat interesting. Do you plow fields and plant seeds too?"

"You're making fun of me now? Real nice Rourke" Cade had finished milking, and after affectionately ruffling the calf's head, he was heading out of the barn.

"No, that's not it. I've never been on a farm before, so I really have no idea what all goes on. I'm sorry if it sounded like I was making fun of you," Cass grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her.

Cade's face broke into a grin, "gotcha. You'd really feel bad if you hurt my feelings?"

Cass rolled her eyes and punched his arm, "you're such a pain!"

Cass walked ahead to cover up a blush. Cade went straight through the sunroom and beyond the utility room. He got a syringe from a kitchen drawer and sucked the cows' milk into it, then started feeding it to the kittens. Cass's attention was glued to the scene. After he finished feeding them, he started litter training them. He had them trained in no time at all.

Once the kittens were asleep in their basket, Cade asked her if she wanted to stay for lunch.

"Actually, I should probably head home," Cass wasn't sure she wanted to be alone with him in his house.

Cade acted like it was no big deal, "okay, do you want me to walk you home then?"

"No, I'm fine, but thanks anyway," Cass grabbed her jacket and her bag, then made her way back to town.

All the while, she thought about what else there might be about Cade that he didn't share with people. If he lived there with his mom and his grandparents, why did he seem so alone?