By an outsider, no less! In front of her own friends! In her own town! In front of Ross! Cassie had been bristling like a porcupine all morning, ever since she’d got back from Maynard Street. She was in such a foul mood, in fact, that Cleveland—her big tabby cat—had been avoiding her completely, scampering away whenever she got close. And the state of her place didn’t cheer her up any. She didn’t usually even notice it, but had now become self-conscious. It was clean enough. But not exactly tidy, to understate the case. She had a tendency to leave things wherever was easiest. The furniture was all cheap looking, and the whole apartment had needed redecorating a long time back. She knew that. Except normally, it was of scant interest to her. Not today. She felt vulnerable and on edge today, and everything seemed wrong. The only things that—even remotely—calmed her down were the framed photographs of her three children, which filled every spare corner of her living room. Kevin.
