Poison by Leanne Davis Page A

all mile long legs of her emerged from the little car. John gave her a kiss as she wrapped herself around him. Cassie looked away.
    The perfect, dark haired version of Ken and Barbie came over to the porch where frumpy, dull feeling Cassie stood. She wanted to sink into the floor. Cassie was average height, average figure, and average attractive looks, even at her best. But now? She almost shuttered at how downright ugly she looked next to Sarah.
    Then she reminded herself, it didn’t matter.
    “You must be Cassie,” Sarah said.
    “Yes. It’s nice to meet you Sarah.”
    “And you. John says you’re in some trouble.”
    Why couldn’t Sarah be snarky and rude, instead of nice and polite? Cassie darted a look at John. His face was impassive. She had no idea what he thought. Cassie told herself to smile, but her lips didn’t move past a fake thin line she hoped passed for polite. John and Sarah went into the house. Cassie stayed outside.
    Why had her life taken her here? What was it she was supposed to learn from this experience? How to be gracious? How to not attract psycho ex-husbands? Hadn’t she paid enough for her long ago mistakes? Why did she now have to live with a man who detested her and be polite to his young, hot little girlfriend?
    With a long sigh she finally followed everyone else inside.
    As it got later Cassie excused herself to put Tim to bed. She was gone for over a half hour and debated whether or not to go back downstairs. She almost went to bed but for some reason she couldn’t seem to stay away from watching John with his girlfriend. He was different with Sarah. He smiled. He flirted. He patted her ass. He was almost amicable with Sarah, which he never was in front of her.
    Cassie came quietly down the stairs. As she rounded the foyer, she stopped dead when Sarah mentioned her name.
    “How is it you thought I’d be jealous of her?” Sarah said, “I mean she’s what? Forty? And besides that I would have mistaken her for your housekeeper. I mean those clothes. That hair.”
    “Thirty-three,” Luke said. “Cassie’s the same age as me. She was in my high school class.”
    “Well she doesn’t look like it. I mean she’s a nice woman and all and really it’s sweet of you two to do this for her, but she’s no threat to me. Your helping Cassie is just what I’d expect from you.”
    “She’s Luke’s friend,” John answered.
    “Yeah but I wasn’t the one with a crush on her.”
    “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Yes I do. Even when you were fifteen you were always gawking after Cassie anytime she was around. You’d make up excuses to talk to her. Don’t you remember when she started coming to the football games your senior year to watch Kelly cheerlead; you’d always talk to her after the game. You were so obvious. Of course, she looked a lot different.”
    “That’s not how it was,” John said. Didn’t anyone else in the room notice the sudden anger laced through John’s tone? For those times John was around her at the football games was definitely not out of puppy love. She had been at those games for John, not her sister. The thing was, no one else knew that. Not then, and not now.
    “No way. Cassie?” Sarah laughed. “I can’t believe it.”
    “Cassie used to be really pretty. She’s changed a lot.”
    Cassie knew with a sinking heart they were right. Why would Sarah ever think of her as a threat? But still, it hurt. They didn’t know everything. They didn’t know what had happened.
    “It seems like she has more to worry about than how her hair looks, what with her son’s life in danger and all,” John broke into the conversation.
    “Well I don’t think using a hair brush will make a difference in her son’s safety. She’s—”
    “Right here.” Cassie instantly regretted it when predictably all six eyes turned toward her.
    “Cassie,” Luke said, after a stunned moment and guilty looks. “God, we were just discussing—”
    “That