HEAT WAVES. manifest

chapter eight: turbulence

┊┊┊┊ ➶ CASSIE 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

FIVE YEARS AGO

After the disappearance of Flight 828 Cassie came home, she moved in with her parents. They were closer to her sister-in-law and niece. Cassie stayed in University but she only went to her classes and lectures. Cassie and her parents would visit Grace and Olive, her sister-in-law was barely holding herself together since the loss of Ben and Cal but Cassie didn't blame her.

Cassie had never been close with Ben and his family, she would see her niece and nephew twice a year, once on their birthday and the second time on Christmas. Cassie was only young when her niece and nephew were born, she was a few months short of her thirteenth birthday, so she was less of an aunt to twins and more of a family friend. But now that Cassie is six months pregnant, she craves the affection of family more than ever but a little bit too late.

Cassie waited as her phone rang. Cassie impatiently tapped the steering wheel of a car as she waited for the phone to be answered.

The line died out.

"Grace, I'm on my way to yours. Mum made you and Olive come cookies, give me a call back when you get this. Bye."

Cassie must have called Grace at least five times before she reached her home. Cassie sighed, she guessed that this would have to be a surprise visit. Cassie knocked on the front door.

No answer.

She knocked again.

"One minute!" She heard her young niece call out.

Cassie took out of her mother's cookies and took a bite as she waited for the door to be opened. Cassie's niece was holding herself together a lot better than her mother. Olive, only eleven years old, refused to let herself grieve. "Ow!" Cassie heard Olive cry after a loud bang echoed throughout the quiet house.

"Olive!" Cassie exclaimed as she grabbed the door handle, despite being twenty-four weeks pregnant, Cassie was prepared to barge the door open. The door opened as Cassie turned the handle, Olive and Grace must have left it open.

Cassie ran into the kitchen, following Olive's cries.

"Oh my god-" Cassie stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Olive nursing her badly bleeding hand.

Olive was sobbing as she held a napkin in her hand, "I'm sorry, I know mum doesn't like me using knives but I wanted to make her dinner, as a surprise. I'm hungry, so I thought she might be too."

"Olly-"

Cassie walked up to Olive and took the napkin off of her hand, she observed the cut. Cassie flinched at the sight of red liquid oozing from Olive's hand. She wiped it away and quickly looked at the cut, it wasn't deep, probably just a scratch but the awkward placement made the cut bleed a lot. "Where's your first aid kit?"

"On the top of the fridge. I tried to get it but I can't reach it."

Cassie nodded, she put the napkin back on Olive's hand and grabbed out the first aid kit. She looked in it, it needed to be restocked, there were no bandages or alcohol wipes but luckily there was a bandage.

Cassie grabbed the bandage and wrapped up Olive's hand, the eleven-year-old flinched as the cotton bandage tightly hugged her hand. "Olive... What do you mean you're hungry?"