In A Perfect World

Chapter Eleven

"Cassie, you're an eleven year old girl. Surely you can't eat a slice of cake that large."

My little sister's hazel-brown eyes met mine, challenging. "Sarah had heaps of cake left over from her party so she gave it to me. I get to eat as much as I like."

"That doesn't mean you should," I laughed, taking a fork from Marie's cutlery drawer and breaking off a mouthful for myself. When Cassie groaned in protest, I reminded her, "You'll make yourself sick of you eat that much sugar at once."

"Aunt Marie lets me eat as much sugar as I like."

I rolled my eyes; of course she did. She wouldn't notice of Cassie ate poison, let alone if Cassie had too much cake than what was good for her. I hated how Cassie idealized Marie's lack of rules around the place; it seemed like they only ever applied to me, and I wasn't the one being raised by her.

I'd done that perfectly fine myself.

"It doesn't matter," I eventually replied, settling myself back onto the stool. As I watched Cassie finish her cake I noticed that her clothes from school needed washing. Cassie, noticing my stare, tilted her head at me.

"What are you thinking about?"

Liam. The band. Work. Her. What wasn't I thinking about? I sighed, suddenly feeling awfully overwhelmed by everything. Cassie must have notice this because she hobbled over to the stool next to me with her cake and a glass of orange juice and turned to me, ready to listen. "Do you remember Liam?" I asked her, spinning my own glass of juice around in circles. The condensation was cool on my fingers.

Cassie's blonde head of curls nodded quickly. I hadn't spoken to her about him since the day we left home but perhaps now was the time to. "I saw him yesterday," I whispered. The words sounded foreign. "He's not the same, Cas. Three years apart has changed him."

"You saw Liam?" she asked, sounding rightfully surprised. I nodded. "What happened to him?"

I told my little sister everything about my past week and a bit. I began from the night at the bar when Liam was my masked hero, to meeting Miles and Jayce at work. I continued to tell her about joining their band and seeing this as a great opportunity. Well, that was until I found out that Liam was the guitarist and that he'd been in an accident. I told Cassie that Liam didn't remember anything; not about me, not about our family, nothing. The only thing he vaguely recognized was his guitar.

She listened silently as I unwound the story, telling her every piece about the broken and fucked-up situation I was in. And then, after everything, she said, "You need to tell Liam that he knew you."

I blinked, surprised. I hadn't been expecting that at all. "I want to," I admitted, "and I will. I just need time, Cass. It could really mess with his head."

"It sounds like his head is already being messed with. He recognized his guitar."

I let out a frustrated groan. "But this could make it worse and that's not fair on him."

"This isn't fair on you either."

God, my little sister suddenly sounded ten years older. And she had a point; she always had a point. That was her thing. "You're smart, Cass," I told her, ruffling her hair a little. "And I know I need to tell him. I just have to find a way to do it."

"Get those guys you met to help you," Cassie suggested, wiping away a bit of chocolate cake from her lips. She suddenly looked like an innocent eleven year old again.

"Jayce and Miles?"

She nodded, staring at the glass in front of her. But then something changed in her manner, something so minimal but as recognizable as anything; she folded her hands over each other. I frowned deeply; she only ever did that when she was hiding something from me.