Tomboy||h.g

Prologue

"Are you sure you're all right, Cassandra?"

Of course she wasn't sure if she was all right. How could anyone be? So what if time has passed, she was still her mother, she's still gone. She can never come back.

"In fine, Jason," she said quietly, though she wouldn't meet her husband's eyes. But he knew. He could never expect her to not be upset about this.

"Daddy, let's go, come on!" Said happy little zoey, tugging on her father's arm. She was only five years old. She didn't know grief could last as long at it had for her mother. It's been nearly three weeks, Zoey has accepted it only two days after she found out. In fact, Cassandra was the only one still grieving. Out of the children, it took Marcus the longest to move on, but that was to be expected. He had known her the longest.

"Okay," Jason told he's only daughter, smiling. Today, he would be teaching Tanner and Henry how to play football, and zoey, waiting to be just like her brothers, would not let them learn without her. Jason reached down and picked her up zoey, asking, "where are the boys?"

"They're all ready outside, come on, Daddy!"

This caused Jason to laugh. "I'm going, I'm going" he assured her. Jason then turned to her wife " we'll be outside, okay? Go ahead and call me if Ethan wakes up."

Cassandra simply nodded, even though she wouldn't be calling him if Ethan wakes up. Jason thinks that taking care of her youngest would be troublesome for someone who had just lost her mother, but Cassandra actually finds comfort in it. It reminds her of her childhood, when she and her sister would play baby dolls. Her sister's baby doll had always been Nora, while her baby doll has always been named zoey.

Ever since she was about six years old, Cassandra had wanted a baby girl. She wanted three, actually. Three baby girls, the first one names Zoey, the second named Rachel, and the third named Tiffany. But her first child had been a boy, so she had gone with her grandfather's middle name, Marcus. Four years later, she and Jason tried again, and in all prayers, Cassandra hoped for a girl, but instead came another boy, who was named Bryce, a name her husband had always liked. Then a year later came Caleb, named after Jason's father. Three years later, Henry, another year, tanner. Then finally, just ten years after her first son was born, after Cassandra had given up hope, she was again pregnant, but this time, with a baby girl. Her name was, Zoe.

But Zoey hadn't turned out exactly how she had hoped. There was nothing wrong with her, or her birth, but she just wasn't the girly-girl Cassandra had imagined. In fact, Zoey spent a lot more time with her father than with her mother, and though Cassandra didn't want to admit it, she was jealous. Now she was little Lucas and Ethan to take care of, and Zoey has been spending even more time with her older brothers. Now she's all about sports. When you turn on a Disney princess movie, she'll lose interest in five minutes, but when you have a NFL game on, she's just into it as her father. And now, she even resents her own name. Since she's been born, all her family has been has called her Zoey, but now, she wants to be called Zoe, because apparently, 'Zoey' is just too girly.

Cassandra was completely and shocked when she heard this. She has always loved the name Zoey. But she was honestly disgusted with herself for becoming depressed all because her own daughter didn't live up to her expectations, even though she's only five years old. What kind of mother does that? But that was not the only thing causing her depression. Four months ago, Cassandra's mother went to the doctor's appointment, and found out that she had lung cancer, so suddenly. She fought and she fought, but she was old, and there was not much more she could do. Up until three weeks ago, she was a warrior, but now, she's finally at rest she needs.

Cassandra sighed, and stood up from her spot at the kitchen table. She couldn't just sit there and wallow in her own sadness all day, she felt like she had to do something normal, to get her life back on track. These things happen. People die. We all just need to move on. That's life.

So, to fall into a pattern, Cassandra went to the kitchen sick, and began to clean some of the dishes while looking out in the front yard. She had watched as Marcus, waved to a passing car, probably a friend of his passing by. Caleb and Bryce seemed to be extremely focused on the soccer game they were playing, because both seemed to share a lot for that particular sport. Marcus was more into basketball, something that Cassandra did in both high school and college. Cassandra smiled when she saw Tanner and Henry working together to bring down Jason, but her smile faded when she saw her little Zoey join in, and finally bringing down their dad.

But she has no right to be upset. Zoey- Zoe is happy, that's all should matter, right?

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Credit to fatecanberewritten