Black Out Days // P. Lahote

one

The cold press of the window against her cheek was the only thing that's grounding her right now. She couldn't cry right now. She had already cried too much.

Kim sat next to her in the backseat as Jared drove. Cassandra was eternally grateful for her cousin. When she got the text that they had arrived, Cassandra nearly broke down once again. She was safe. After forty-eight hours of pure hell, she was finally safe.

She stepped out of the coffee shop where the exceedingly kind Meena had kept her hidden and saw her cousin standing there with a huge guy next to her and she just collapsed into Kim's arms. The reunion was short but sweet with Jared, Kim's boyfriend, ushering them out and into the car.

And now they were on their way to La Push after a quick stop in Seattle to get her a new phone, something Cassandra vehemently refused until Kim begged her with tears in her eyes.

"Are you hungry?" Kim asked. Her voice was soft and quiet, as if anything louder would break Cassandra. Cass shook her head and then hesitated. Her hand drifted down to her midsection and she nodded.

"How...how far along are you?" Kim handed her a bag of chips and a banana.

"About nine weeks. I found out two weeks ago." She ran a hand over her slight stomach, a small grin tugging at her lips. It was the first smile Kim had seen on her cousin's face. Cassandra's dark eyes were lined with bags and lacked the mischievous sparkle she always had. Her usually bright features were dimmed and gray. Every part of her seemed deflated and small, from her body to her personality.

"Do you want to go to my house? Or do you want to wait?"

"I don't know. I didn't actually expect to get this far."

The admission caused Kim to flinch.

"Cassie, where's Aunt Julie? Does she know?"

Cassandra fought against the burning tears that threatened to emerge. She shook her head and looked back out the window. "She got a new boyfriend and just stopped caring. I told her. I showed her the bruises. She laughed it off and said every man gets angry sometimes."

Jared's hand tightened on the wheel. Sure, he was a supernatural being that shifted into a massive wolf when angry, but never in his life could he justify hitting Kim. Never would he want to hurt her. He saw the torment Sam put himself through everyday. Hurting his imprint purposefully and repeatedly? The sheer thought of it made him both furious and sick.

"That's not true and you know it," Kim declared. "Aunt Julie's a fucking bitch."

Cassandra let a bitter laugh escape her. "Thanks."

"We can take her to Sam and Emily's so you can go tell your parents first," Jared offered. "Test the waters and make sure they're okay with it. If they go to call your mom, then we keep you safe at Emily's until we can figure out a better idea."

Cassandra nodded in agreement. "That works. I can't thank you guys enough. Seriously. I...I thought I was going to die."

"How long?" Kim whispered.

"Eight months," she admitted. "When I saw the test and it said pregnant, I just knew that I needed to leave. I wasn't going to lose this baby and I wasn't going to bring a kid into that home."

Kim reached across the seats to grasp her cousin's hand. She squeezed it, drawing Cassandra's gaze to hers. "You're going to be an amazing mom, Cass."

Cassandra sent her a shaky smile and looked back out the window once more.

A flash of something light darted by the car. She frowned and tried to get a glimpse of whatever it was. The animal darted into view again and she bit back a shout of surprise. It was a massive wolf.