For A Brief Moment

Chapter 4: Meet the family

As much as Cassie wanted to love her dad, she couldn't. He was horrid towards her. After her mother moved out when she was little, he resented her. She couldn't tell whether it was because he had to use his drug money to keep a roof over her head or because she reminded him of her mom. Whatever it was, he made it very clear that he did not love her, nor like her. However, when he remarried, he fell in love with not only another woman but her son too. Cassie got along with her stepmom; she never saw her as a mom, but she cared for her like some form of a family member. She encouraged Cassie to join the cheer team and without her, she probably wouldn't be the person she is today. Her son, Cassie's stepbrother was probably her favourite family member and to her, he was her brother. Both being brought up as only children, and both having horrible fathers, they bonded over a lot and became very close. He was the golden boy in school. Everyone loved him and wanted to be him, similarly to Cassie, but he was top dog (apart from when Brody tries to fight him for it.) Sebastian Hassing. That was her stepbrother, her go-to person if she needed advice. They loved each other as siblings do and Sebastian was very protective of Cassie. She was his little sister after all, and he only wanted what was best for her, even if that sometimes meant pushing her away from people. Cassie knew he didn't do it in a controlling manner, and that he didn't mean to push her away from people, but it still hurt when he did.

She opened the door quietly and placed her bag on the floor, taking off her shoes and putting them on the shoe rack. She slowly closed the door and followed the voices she could distantly hear. 7:06. This was around the time she would get back from cheer usually if she walked. The sun had set, and an orange light cut through the house. As she walked towards the doorway of the dining room, she could see all three of her family members standing, talking about something inaudible to her. They were speaking in a hushed tone as if they were trying to keep something hidden. She gently cleared her throat, just loud enough to be heard. The tall, brown-haired boy turned with a smile on his face. He opened his arms.

 "Come here shorty." She ran into his arms, and he lifted her lightly off the floor giving her the biggest hug imaginable. It was comforting, a hug she had been longing for, for the past three weeks. After a few moments, he gently placed her back on the floor and released her from his grip, messing her hair up with his hands as she straightened herself back up. 

"Hey," she complained, trying desperately to fix it with her fingers. Cassie looked over his shoulder and saw her stepmom, they smiled at one another before she opened her arms for Cassie to fall into. Cassie walked over to her and wrapped her arms around her. They shared a long hug, but not as long as Sebastian's hug before they both pulled away. Cassie's face was cupped by Karen's hands.

 "Look at you. I've missed your beautiful face." Cassie's cheeks grew red at the compliment. She let her face go after a few moments and Cassie looked over at her dad who looked away from her, walking towards the dining table. 

"Dinner ready yet love?"

"Almost my sweetheart, just need to dish it up. Cassie, can you set the table, Sebastian, can you get drinks ready for everyone." Cassie walked over to the kitchen cabinets, grabbing four plates. She then went to the cutlery cupboard and picked up sets of knives and forks. She walked cautiously back to the dining room humming little tunes to herself. She saw her father at the head of the table, avoiding eye contact with him. Both Sebastian and Karen, her stepmom, were in the kitchen talking to one another. Cassie felt an uneasy feeling growing in her stomach. As she got to her dad's place to set, she shakily placed the plate and cutlery down, as he watched her with eyes that could cut her skin. Once she had finished, she went to walk away but felt a firm grip take hold of her wrist and pull her. He pulled her to face him, as he whispered, "You and I need to have a little discussion." Cassie took a big gulp, shaking anxiously as she felt his grip on her wrist tighten, a grip that would leave a bruise. "Who was that boy this morning?" He was still angry, raising his voice a little, almost to a yell, a mistake on his part as another figure walked into the room.

"What boy?" Sebastian asked. Immediately, Richard, her dad, let go of her wrist, which she immediately held with her other hand, to soothe it from the rough skin which just held it. Sebastian moved his focus between the two of them, as Karen walked in with a large dish.

"What boy?" she said in an enthusiastic tone, placing the dish in the middle of the table. Cassie moved to her seat and sat down quietly, with Sebastian following suit. Once Karen had sat down, she kept her focus on Cassie.

"You were asked a question, Cassie, answer it," Richard said in a commanding tone. All eyes were on Cassie and she was scared of the reaction she may get in return.

"He's just one of the basketball players. He offered me and Chrissy a ride this morning, that's all."

"Are you sure that's all sweetie, you can tell us if there is something else," Karen said happily, she was expecting to hear about a boyfriend, something Cassie did not want, and something she definitely did not want Brody to be. 

"No, that's it. I'm pretty sure he is dating one of the other cheerleaders anyways."

"Which basketball player?" Sebastian asked which filled Cassie with pure fear. How could she tell Sebastian that it was Brody, his worst enemy?

"Brody." Sebastian's eyes widened at the news.

"Brody. Seriously Cas?"

"It was just a ride to school, I swear." She defended sweetly.

"Yeah, I know it was. I know you wouldn't date him, but still Cassie, what did everyone think when you arrived at school?"

"Well Chrissy was there, so they thought nothing of it." That was a lie. Immediately after she said that she thought back to what Greg had said to her during 4th period and the way Dylan smoothly brought it up in conversation during the club.

"Okay good. I don't want him dragging you into anything. I don't want you around him quite frankly but that's hard when you think of our social group." Cassie looked up from her food with a half-smile, which was clearly forced. Richard had been awfully quiet during this interaction, which frightened Cassie the most. She feared what he might say or do, so in order to settle his thoughts, she turned to him with another small smile, "I swear it was just a ride. I won't get another one from him if you don't want me to." He looked away from her, still visibly angry, forcing Cassie to turn to look back at her food. The rest of the meal was shared in silence, as they all feared that one wrong word might send Richard into a frenzy, something no one wanted.

After dinner, Cassie and Sebastian washed up, whilst the adults had a few beers and watched the television. Once the teens were done tidying, they went their separate ways to get ready for bed. Cassie sat at her vanity with papers everywhere as she wrote an essay. It was the work that she was given by Ms Marshall that very day. She wrote and wrote and wrote, filling two pages full of heart-breaking, gut-wrenching words, which inevitably would be seen by another person. She placed the completed work in her folder, stuffing it into her bag. She walked over to her lamp, turning it on, and then to the wall where she switched the main light out. The small lamp illuminated the corner of her room where her bed was placed. She removed her bathrobe and gently began to pull up some shorts, which revealed a bruise on the side of her thigh. How did no one see it during her routine today? It was big enough to see if her skirt rose even the slightest. She then pulled a small crop top over her head, stretching her arms up, where another purple and black bruise was housed. It was on her rib cage. A bruise that would not have easily got there by any accidental event. She hissed slightly as her fingers grazed the bruise after putting her shirt on. She gave a familiar hiss earlier that day when Dylan had hugged her, and similarly when Sebastian did. Their grips were tight and dug into the bruise, which burned on her skin. She hung her robe up and quickly ran over to the bed, where she snuggled down into the sheets. She lay her head gently onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Moments later she jolted her eyes back open. The events of today repeated in her mind and became visual as she closed her eyes. There were parts she wanted to remember and parts she didn't. In her head, she told herself to think of cupcakes and puppies. She gently closed her eyes again and eventually fell softly to sleep. She couldn't get him out of her head though, and he began to show up in her dreams like a beautiful haunting. Why did he call her that? Why was he being so nice to her? Why did he care? She had so many questions she needed to ask but her dreams began to build answers for her. One reoccurring factor in her dreams. Elijah.