An Unexpected Love, Amber Riel [i have read the book .txt] 📗

popped into his mind from the night before. “Hold on… I’m going to go get something. It’s another surprise. I’ll be right back.” He stood up and left the room.

          Cassie picked up the remote and turned the television on. She flipped through the channels until she found a show she wanted to watch. She didn’t understand everything that was going on in Brandon’s mind. She had wished that she could help him but didn’t know how.

          A couple of minutes later, Brandon had walked back into the room. He held something behind his back and cleared his throat.

          Cassie looked over at him.

          “I’ve got something for you. I was going to give it to you last night but forgot.”

          “What is it?”

          “I need you to stand up.”

          “Why?”

          “Just stand up.” Brandon smiled.

          “Okay… fine.” Cassie stood up and Brandon walked over to her.

          “You know… I’ll never see you as anything less than what you really are.”

          “Oh really… and what would that be?”

          “A queen,” Brandon answered, placing a small silver tiara with ice sapphire diamonds on top of Cassie’s head. “Well, a princess for now.”

          Cassie smiled and her cheeks turned red. “Thank you.”

          “Now, I know it’s late, but can I have one dance with the prom queen?”

          “Of course.”

          Brandon off the television, moved the coffee table over toward a wall, turned on the radio, and walked over to Cassie. Luckily, a slow song came on and they danced.

 

 

          Zeke was at his house. He had sat down on the couch and turned on the television, using the remote control. He watched the news and Cassie’s picture had appeared on the screen, but oddly enough, he hadn’t recognized her. It was one of those moments where he hadn’t put two and two together. “That poor girl… I hope they find her even though it’s been a few months since she was kidnapped,” he told himself. “Hopefully, she’s still alive. Why do people do that?”

One Phone Call

Brandon stood in the kitchen, thinking. Everything was rushing through his mind and he knew that Zeke would figure everything out eventually, it was only a matter of time. He had to do something. He was considering of turning himself in before things got worst. He looked out of the window and placed his hands on each side of the sink.

          “Brandon?”

          Brandon jumped a little at the sound of Cassie’s voice. He hadn’t realized that she was in the room. “Cassie,” he said, turning to face her.

          “I was wondering if I could call a few of my friends so that they know I’m okay. I know that it’s been a few months, but I want them to know I’m okay and I don’t want to hear my crying mother… can I?”

          Brandon thought about it. He didn’t think it was a good idea but he knew she wasn’t going to try anything. “Yeah,” he replied, pointing to the phone which hung on the wall.

          Cassie grabbed the phone and began dialing numbers.

 

 

          Jennie sat in a chair, whilst Melinda sat on the couch watching a television show. Jennie flipped through a magazine when the phone began ringing. Jennie waited to see if her mom was going to answer but it just kept ringing. She tapped her right foot, growing annoyed. Finally, she jumped up, a little mad. She walked over to the phone and read the name on the phone. “Melinda,” she asked, turning toward her friend, “do you know anyone by the name of Brandon Cook?”

          Melinda looked over at Jennie, confused. One of her eyebrows was raised. “No.”

 

          “Come on, please, be home?” Cassie whispered, waiting for someone to pick up.

          “Hello?” Jennie’s voice asked.

          “Jennie!” Cassie shouted with excitement.

 

          Jennie was shocked. “Melinda, it’s…. Cassie.”

          “Cassie?” Melinda asked, jumping up off of the couch.

          Jennie nodded. “Cassie, I’m going to put you on speaker… that way you can talk to Melinda too. Okay?”

          “Okay,” Cassie’s voice replied.

          Jennie removed the phone from her ear and pressed the speaker button. “Cassie.”

          “Yeah?” Cassie asked.

          “Oh my gosh!” Melinda exclaimed. “We’re worried about you!”

          “I can tell… I’m okay, surprisingly,” Cassie answered. “What’s new?”

          “Nothing much,” Jennie replied. “We’re just….”

 

 

          Brandon walked over and sat down at the table. He listened to Cassie talk. He could hear the excitement in her voice and he decided that it was good for her to talk to people she knew. He smiled.

          “Things are actually pretty good,” Cassie told her friends. “I’m sure…. Yeah….” She laughed. “Okay… well, it was good to talk to you two. Bye, Jennie, and Melinda.”

 

 

          “Bye, Cassie,” both girls replied. Once they hung up, Melinda and Jennie were a little relieved to hear from Cassie. The goodness was that she was alive. The bad news was that they still didn’t know where she was.

          “We need to call her parents,” Melinda told Jennie. “Let them know that she’s still alive.”

          “Good idea.”

 

 

          Cassie hung up the phone and sat next to Brandon. “That was Melinda and Jennie. I would have mentioned that we were dating but that’s something I need to tell them in person.” She wrapped her arms around Brandon’s right arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

          “I understand.”

 

Being a Good Boyfriend or Just Whipped?

Brandon was at work and Cassie decided to clean the mess on his dressers in his room. It was obvious that his clothes needed to be washed. “And he complains about not having any clean shirts,” she told herself. She picked up all of the dirty shirts and dropped them into the hamper. She noticed a folded piece of paper when she walked back to the dresser. She decided to be nosy and picked it up. She opened it and realized that it had been a list. It took her a moment to realize what it had been for. “He wasn’t planning on killing anyone or kidnapping me.” She noticed that one of the drawers was opened and she noticed the gun. She took a clean shirt, used it to pick up the gun, and went through it to see if there were any bullets. She smiled a little.

          It was the thought of knowing that Brandon killing Micheal wasn’t supposed to happen but now she wanted to know why he wanted to rob the bank and what he had actually planned to do.

 

 

          Brandon and Zeke were hanging out by the truck. They had finished painting the last room in the one-story house. Brandon leaned on the hood of the truck whilst Zeke stood with his arms folded.

          “Oh man. I can’t wait to get home. I need to get a shower,” Zeke told Brandon.

          “Yeah, cause you stink. Oh man. You need to take three or four bathes because one isn’t going to help,” Brandon laughed.

          “At least, I don’t have a girlfriend to stay clean for.” Zeke knew that Brandon was joking with him.

          “Yeah and that’s why you don’t have a girlfriend yet.” Brandon looked at his watch to see what time it was. “Oh… I need to go. I told Cassie that we’re going to have a movie night. I’d figure I’ll surprise her with a movie with one of her favorite actors.”

          “Oh.” Zeke nodded. “I see… she’s got you wrapped around her finger.”

          “No, she-”

          “Dude, you’re going to be watching a movie with an actor who she likes.”

          “Hey, I’m not wrapped around her finger. I’m just-”

          “Just what? Whipped?”

          “No… a good boyfriend.” Brandon stood up and walked around to the driver’s side of the truck and opened the door.

          “Yeah… whipped.”

          Brandon climbed into the truck, closed the door, and started the truck. He rolled down his window. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Zeke.”

          “See you,” Zeke replied, waving.

          Brandon had his truck pull out of the parking space and drove off.

 

 

          Cassie and Brandon sat in the kitchen, eating dinner. They had decided to have breakfast foods. Cassie swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking, “Brandon?”

          “Yeah,” Brandon replied, looking up from his fork with a piece of pancake which was mixed with an egg on it.

          “Were you planning on killing anyone the day of the bank robbery?”

          Brandon was shocked by Cassie’s question but didn’t see what he couldn’t tell her the truth. “No.”

          “Were you planning on kidnapping anyone?”

          “No… why?”

          Cassie smiled a little. “Just wondering.”

          Brandon raised an eyebrow. He didn’t believe her but decided to let it go.

          “So… what movie are we going to watch?”

          “It’s a surprise.”

          “Oh… I love surprises.”

 

 

          Lloyd stood outside of the bank, waiting for Melinda and Jennie. They had told him about how Cassie had called the day before and now they wanted to visit the crime scene again. He was glad to hear that Cassie was alright. She was like a sister to him and he worried about her. Although, he wasn’t into the idea of playing detective.

 

Realization Hits

Zeke was at the house. He sat in the recliner, whilst Brandon and Cassie sat on the couch. Brandon’s left was wrapped around Cassie and his fingers were intertwined with hers. They waited for Zeke to find a channel on the television.

          Finally, he stopped on the news which was still playing the story about the missing girl and the bank robbery from months before. That was when realization hit and he knew Cassie was the missing girl. It all made sense to him. He dropped the remote, shocked.

          Brandon knew what was happening.

          Zeke jumped up. “You kidnapper!” he looked over at Cassie. “Are you okay?”

          “I’m fine,” Cassie replied.

          “Zeke, calm down,” Brandon told him.

          “Calm down? Why should I?” Zeke asked.

          “It’s not as