Sour Candy | T. Drake ✔

[20] The Unusually Silent Wayne

She stood in front of the mirror as she got dressed, knowing that Alex was waiting down for her at breakfast. Her gaze traveled down to her stomach and she sighed softly, buttoning up her cardigan as her arms gently hugged her own self.

Not long ago, a tiny soul had resided within her but she had had to let go of it before she could even feel the faint heartbeat or behold the small form.

A month had passed by since then and yet she still felt horribly empty each time she thought about it, the guilt clawing at the void inside her. Tim had been very supportive throughout and she had recovered considerably also with the antidote Pamela had finally prepared for her. But still it couldn't bring her child back and the thought of never being able to have that feeling again was quite tormenting.

Even with the antidote, they had managed to stop the toxin from deteriorating her further but Pamela had not been so sure of whether it would be able to heal her completely. So she had advised her not to take the risk of getting pregnant again as the pregnancy seemed to have sped up the deterioration to an alarming rate earlier as well.

Dora had been devastated to hear that initially but as time passed, she had begun to reach acceptance.

She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and descended the stairs to the kitchen at last. However, a surprise was awaiting her because not only Tim was there but he had also brought someone along.

Dora smiled as she saw how delighted Tim was, her brown eyes flickering towards the girl beside him with short black hair, pale skin and dark eyes. The girl nodded her head slightly and she returned the gesture with a slight greeting, "Hi."

"Good morning," Tim spoke up, "I brought Cass along."

"Cassandra?" Her eyes widened in surprise, "it's so nice to finally meet you."

She had extended her hand out towards her that the girl took, shaking it for the briefest of seconds before letting go. "Dora," she nodded in acknowledgment but spoke no further.

Alex had brought breakfast and Tim helped him set it on the table while Dora fetched the plates. Cass was silently observing the siblings she had just met, her eyes taking in each detail out of habit.

"Cass came back to us after two years," Tim had joined Dora and took the plates from her, "and I wanted her to meet you so I brought her over."

"That's great."

He noticed that her tone was slightly lower than usual so he whispered, "you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, gently kissing his cheek, "come now, they're waiting for us at breakfast."

Throughout breakfast, Dora noticed that Cassandra was probably the most silent Wayne she had ever met. She hardly ever spoke though she could see the girl was very observant as her eyes kept flickering towards even the slightest of sounds.

But Dora didn't find that uncomfortable, Tim had told her a lot about Cass already and she knew the girl was much different from the rest of them.

On the other hand, Cass was silently observing her little brother's girlfriend. She could see that Dora was very pretty and sweet, someone Tim would feel immediately drawn to. And the way the two were comfortable with one another also suggested that they were genuinely content in each other's company.

But Cass couldn't help noticing that Dora was sad about something even though she managed to hide it well with her smile and light bell-like laughter. She could easily read her body language and to her it somehow translated into grievance.

Almost as if the girl was grieving over a huge loss even then but holding it within herself because she didn't want anyone to get worried due to her.

"Is it okay if I call you Cassie too?" Dora asked, a soft smile playing on her lips as she mixed the batter of the cupcakes.