When It All Falls

By Cassie Maria

From the time that she was a little girl Skye has had her life planned out. She was going to be her own boss, marry the man of her dreams, have a few kids, and build a loving home. The only problem is that the man of her dreams is really a nightmare.

Have you ever had that one person you were so blinded by that you couldn't see them for who they really were? Well that's who Ian is to Skye. He is everything she ever wanted, but when his sins come to light will she see him in a way she never has before?

Just when it feels like her world is falling apart Cree walks in and turns her life upside down. He seems to know her better than those she's known for most of her life and has her changing her plans with each smile he aims at her.

Will she ride this new crazy wave with Cree or will she settle for what she thought she always wanted with Ian?

***Warning this book is intended for adults 18 years old and older. This book contains graphic sex scenes and is intended for those who like their sex a little dirty.***

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassie Maria
• Release date: Sep 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310466991

Cassie Maria

I’m a laid back go with the flow kind of girl who loves to live in the moment. When I’m not writing you can find me with my nose in a book, hanging out with family and friends, or shopping for new hoodies (I am head over heels in love with hoodies and sneakers, don’t judge me). I live life to the fullest and I never know where this journey is going to take me, I hope that you’ll enjoy this journey with me.Please feel free to email me at [e-mail] and like my author Facebook page at www.facebook.com/authorcassiemaria. I hope to hear from you soon!

Book preview

To everyone who learned how to smile again after their world fell apart.

Prologue

Ding.

Pop.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Pop.

What the hell is that noise? I blindly search for my phone and silence it before cracking open one eye and seeing that my Facebook page is blowing up with comments and likes. Oh no, did I drunk post last night? I close my eye in frustration and throw my phone back on the nightstand because I can’t deal with anything until I get rid of this headache. I roll to my back and open my eyes trying to remember what happened last night but the sun pouring into the room has my eyes feeling like they’re burning.

Why didn’t I remember to close the curtains before going to bed? I gently turn my head to see if I can make it to the window to shut them but the floor to ceiling window is clear across the room. I sigh in frustration because I know there is no way that I can make it to the window with the way that I’m feeling right now.

Wait, did my room always have this window?

I try to focus on other details in the room but the moment I lift my head to look around my stomach churns and my headache intensifies. I put a hand to my aching head and gently roll over to avoid the sun but when I carelessly swing my arm to the other side of the bed I hit something warm.

Easy, love.

My eyes pop open instantly in fear and collide with grey ones. I’m a heartbeat away from screaming when I realize that I know these eyes. I scoot further away so I can see his face and when I do my stomach drops. Why in the hell are we in bed together?

I put my hand to my stomach to try to calm it and come in direct contact with bare skin. I don’t want to look but I know I have to and I’m most definitely naked.

Shit!

Please tell me I got hot and fell asleep naked.

Oh it was hot.

I move my hands to cover my face and groan. How drunk were we?

Pretty wasted, but by the time we got here we were a step away from being sober.

My muscles loosen slightly but then tense back up when I realize what we’ve done. Was I at least good?

You were the best.

That’s not funny! He removes my hands from my face and sits up on a forearm so he can look down at me. I wouldn’t lie to you Bianca.

How do you know my middle name?

Ha ha very funny, he says while smiling at me.

What? Did you see it on my license?

The smile is completely wiped off of his face when he says, Bianca this isn’t funny.

Why are you getting pissed? It’s not a big deal that you know it; I was just curious, I say sitting up on my elbows with the sheet secured under my arms.

"Please tell me that this is you using your weird sense of humor to defuse a potentially awkward morning and not that you actually forgot."

Forgot what?

Chapter One

An Old Holey Gym Sock

8th Grade

Ian and I have been officially going out for two years but we weren’t able to hang out for our anniversary yesterday so I brought his present to school today.

I pop my locker open and quickly throw his gift in before he shows up to walk me to class. With only a few seconds to spare I slam my locker shut right before he leans against the one next to mine. I peek over at him as I adjust my book bag strap but he never looks away from the classroom across the hall.

Hi, Ian.

He looks at his shoes then mumbles, Hey.

The only time I’ve seen him like this was eight months ago when his dad called to tell him that he was having a baby, so his already limited time with him was about to get even shorter. He was supposed to spend the weekend with his dad but now I’m wondering if his dad even showed up.

Ready to go? he asks, looking down the hall. I can’t let him sulk all day so I pop open my locker and thrust the gift in his face before he has a chance to blink.

Last summer we were helping his mom clean out the attic and I found a box full of his old summer camp t-shirts. He said he wished he could keep them but he couldn’t fit them anymore and his mom needed the space in the attic; so I pretended to throw them out and later retrieved the box from the woods.

I had originally planned to just hold on to them and surprise him with the box sometime later but this winter an idea hit me. I worked with his mom to find some more recent ones to complete my idea and I’ve been working like crazy to finish it.

I was saving it for later but you look like you can use it now. His hand grips the quilt tight (almost as if it’s a life preserver). I know you thought I threw away your box of old camp t-shirts but I saved them and used them to make this quilt. I point to a super small one then to a larger one. All of these range from your very first summer camp all the way to last summer. I shrug. I know how cold it can get watching movies in the basement and I thought it’d be a great way to stay warm and keep old memories. Happy anniversary, I say with a smile.

He looks at me with regret and my smile falls without me having to tell it to. Now I’m gonna look like a dick. The hand holding the quilt lowers to his side the same time that his other hand runs over his close-cropped hair. I forgot our anniversary.

Oh, I say softly before dropping my eyes to the floor.

And I want to break up.

My head snaps up the same time that the five-minute warning bell rings. We’ll be in high school in a few months and I think we’re too young to be tied down. I stare at him for a few seconds before nodding and walking to class alone.

It won’t be until I get home a few hours later, that I let the tears take over and allow my heart to bleed over my first love tossing me to the side like an old holey gym sock.

&&&

The last few weeks of school are tough but somehow we were able to avoid each other until graduation. While waiting for my row to be called I peek over my shoulder hoping that he’s looking at me but he’s too busy flirting with the girl sitting next to him. With my heart in my throat I turn around and quickly swipe at my eyes hoping that no one saw me cry.

Once the ceremony is over I keep my head down and rush my dad off to dinner so he won’t offer to take Ian and his mom out to celebrate. I haven’t told him that Ian broke up with me and I don’t want to have to explain over an awkward dinner.

Chapter Two

The Way It Actually Is

November (9th Grade)

I spent most of the summer hanging out with Paige, a girl I met at summer camp. Her family moved to town at the beginning of summer and she’s going to the same high school as I am. She’s pretty cool and we had a lot of fun together but I missed my friend.

I missed Ian.

&&&

The first few weeks of high school I made myself available for meet and greets and any type of social function that got me out of the house. Well Paige made me available, because if I had it my way I’d stare out of my bedroom window hoping for a chance to catch a glimpse of Ian.

Oddly enough it’s at one of these events that Ian starts to speak to me again. I mean he’d been cordial up until this point but he left no room for friendship. I was holding up the wall while sipping my punch when he walked over and started talking about classes, football, teachers, exams, and girls. It hurt my heart to talk about other girls with him but if this is the only way I can have him then so be it.

Over the next few weeks he starts coming around more and hanging out just like he used to but this time I have the added bonus of being his wingman. I know that secretly being in love with him while helping him bag girls makes me look pathetic but something about him makes me do things I’d never do with another guy.

It’s not long before Paige picks up on what I’m doing but she surprisingly holds her tongue; that is until she sees me staring at him while he flirts with a sophomore six lockers away.

I know it’s pathetic but I miss him and I’ll take him anyway that I can get him.

What is with this obsession you have with being around him?

I shrug. We’ve been friends since we were kids and one day he kissed me, I say, pointing at myself. "That boy, I nod down the hall, with the caramel skin, dark curls, and light brown eyes kissed me; the girl with no boobs and a mouth full of braces. I look back down the hall at him. We were already close but we became inseparable after that. We spent every day together and for two whole years he was all mine."

So what happened?

I don’t know, I say while shrugging. Out of nowhere he decides that he wants to have his options open for high school so we broke up and haven’t been around each other for more than a few minutes at a time since then. He showed up to my birthday party a few months ago but only stayed ten minutes. I focus on her sympathetic eyes. And now he’s acting like the boy who kissed me just a few years ago. My eyes move to him again. "Well, almost like the boy who kissed me."

She sighs and leans against the locker next to mine blocking my view of Ian. The least we can do is give him something hot to look at while he’s eating his heart out.

I look down at my oversized plain white t-shirt, black jeans, and sneakers. What’s wrong with what I have on?

"What’s not wrong with what you have on?" I look at her outfit and of course she looks perfect. Today she has on a purple sweater, blue jeans (that hug curves I’m desperately trying to hide), purple ankle boots, and has streaks of purple in her black hair.

You would think that the three-inch heel would be too much with her standing at 5’8 in flats, but she’s totally rocking it and the colors look great against her chocolate skin. I look down at my outfit again and in an instant I feel insignificant standing next to her. How much money do you have?"

I have some of my allowance saved up.

She nods. We’ll use some of it to go shopping then we’ll go to the movie theater and apply for some after school jobs. I start to decline but she holds up a hand to cut me off. Before you shoot me down let me add that the theater is on the bus route so you won’t have to ask your dad for rides. Plus this will give you some spending money that you can use on anything you want. I look down the hall contemplating. "If you want to get his attention, and keep it, then you have to do something different."

I stiffen as I watch him lean forward to kiss the girl on her lips and a part of my heart aches. Do you want him back?

A part of me wants him back but the other part just wants to see him grovel for hurting me. I close my eyes and lean my forehead against my closed locker. I’m so confused.

If it were up to me I’d say make him grovel. I look at her with a tiny smile but shake my head in obvious confusion. How about we do the makeover and go from there. If you decide that you want him back then we’ll come up with a plan but if you decide that you just want to see him grovel, then that’ll be even better.

You really don’t like him do you?

I think he’s an opportunist and takes advantage of you, she says while shaking her head.

No he doesn’t, I whisper defensively to my locker.

You see it your way and I’ll see it the way it actually is.

&&&

Once my makeover is complete I have dark pink highlights in my hair, a perm, a couple of fitted baby doll t-shirts (short enough to show a small sliver of my tummy), a few skirts, two cute jackets, and a pair of ballet flats.

High school just got interesting.

Chapter Three

Six Years Later...College

August (Junior Year)

I’ve never seen you this excited. I stop bouncing on my heels and sit down on the step next to Brooklyn.

I can’t help it. I haven’t seen him all summer and I’m excited to introduce you to him.

After my makeover guys started to notice me and I decided to give Ian a taste of his own medicine. I dated a bunch of guys and eventually my feelings for him began to wane but during Christmas break last year they made a surprising reappearance.

I’ve been able to hide it for this long because over the summer I interned as an assistant so I rarely got to hang out with him plus we attend different colleges.

Well we did attend different schools.

I found out a few days ago that he transferred to my school and is moving in today and I know I’m going to have trouble keeping my feelings under wraps. Just thinking about seeing him makes me nervously play with my hair.

It’s more than that though, she says as she pulls my hands away from my hair.

What makes you say that? She stares at me knowingly and I concede. Okay so I have a teensy itty bitty crush on him.

Ha, I knew it!

He has absolutely no clue so please keep it to yourself.

Don’t worry, I won’t say a word but you need to tell him.

I will, but not the first day he gets here.

As she nods a beat up pickup truck pulls up to the curb. Is that my Ky Ky? I leap off of the steps and run full steam to the truck. I almost pull him out of the window trying to hug him so tight. What’s up froggy, why are you sitting in front of my dorm? he asks while ruffling my hair.

My hair is emerald, I huff while trying to fix it.

What’s wrong with wearing your natural color?

I roll my eyes because we have this conversation every time I see him and I really don’t feel like arguing about it so I deflect. I was waiting out front because this is my dorm too, plus I wanted to introduce you to Brooklyn before you got lost on me.

You sure that’s the only reason you were sitting out front? I can’t admit that I just wanted to see him so I pull him out of the truck to meet Brooklyn.

Ian this is my friend Brooklyn, Brook meet Ian.

Brooklyn slowly rises and Ian does a full body scan before slowly pulling her hand into his and kissing it. It’s a pleasure, Brooklyn.

My smile falls immediately. I look Brooklyn from head to toe and know that she’s exactly his type. Her hair falls to the middle of her back, her skin looks like butter pecan ice cream, her dark chocolate eyes draw you in, and her athletic physic makes you stare longer than what’s polite. If that’s not enough to make him drool then the oversized sweater, leggings, and ballet flats she’s wearing is.

I look down at my outfit and find myself lacking. My emerald hair is slightly wavy from a braid out I did a few days ago and falls just below my arm pits, my Cove University t-shirt is tight but faded from the numerous washes over the years and comes across as lazy instead of relaxed cute (which I was going for), my comfy ripped jeans come across more as tomboy than casual, and my sneakers has definitely seen better days. I thought that I had picked the perfect outfit to look cute while not trying too hard and in twenty seconds Brooklyn has blown that idea to unidentifiable little bits.

Call me Brook, she says while pulling her hand away. She moves a few feet away before speaking again. I’ll let you two catch up. See you later Skye. She waves as she damn near runs into the dorm.

I can’t even look at him. I’ve seen that move enough times to know he’s on the hunt.

She’s beautiful.

I give him the side eye and he laughs before reaching into his truck for something. I know I missed your birthday last weekend, when he turns back around he pushes a silver wrapped package my way, so here.

I turned twenty last weekend and it was the first birthday, since we met, that we haven’t spent together. I slowly open it and find an album full of photos extending from when we first met up until my last birthday. There’s one slot open and I smile up at him. Thank you.

He nods and takes out his phone to snap a pic with me. I guess it’s an end of an era, but when I look up at his smiling face I start to think that maybe it’s a new beginning.

Come on, let’s get you moved in.

We work silently but I know once he gets settled the quest will start. I try to escape as soon as the last box is brought in but he isn’t having it. So tell me about her, he says as soon as my fingertips connect with the doorknob.

I sigh and rest my forehead against the door because I really don’t want to tell him about her but there’s no way to gracefully get out of it. So I take a deep breath and head over to his desk to start organizing it while I talk. When we got here the dorms were over crowded so they were assigning three to a room wherever they could and she ended up rooming with Paige and I freshman year. She’s very sweet, a junior, majoring in accounting, and engaged.

Engaged?

If you weren’t so busy checkin’ out her boobs you would’ve seen the rock on her finger, I say while rolling my eyes.

He throws me a cocky smile when he asks, How long has she been engaged?

A little over a year. They plan to get married after graduation.

Is he a student here?

No.

So tell me about him.

My neck snaps his way. Heck no.

He looks at me for a few seconds before laughing. Why not?

Because I know you. You’ll try to dissect him and use his faults as a way in. I won’t let you ruin my friend’s relationship just because you like a challenge.

What if I genuinely like her?

Then genuinely like her as a friend. I point at him before speaking again. She’s engaged so hands off.

You used to be a better wingman in high school.

It was easier to look the other way when they were dumb smuts. You’ll have plenty to choose from as soon as classes start.

Fine. He throws up his hands in frustration. Let’s order some pizza while we work.

For the next few hours we eat and laugh as we catch up and as soon as the last box is unpacked I stretch and head for the door. You not spending the night?

Every summer, since tenth grade, I would sneak out and go to his house. His mom worked the night shift and my dad always fell asleep by 11:30 so by midnight I was usually climbing through his window. We’d just sit around watching movies and eventually fall asleep on his bedroom floor but it was some of the best nights