For Forever and A Day

15.

Since the Accident:
10 months, 3 days
October 10th, 2010

A hesitant knock sounded at the door of the girls apartment. Cassandra slowly walked towards the sound. With a shaking hand she unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open.

Tina stood before her, a nervous smile on her lips. "Hi."

"Hi." Cassandra motioned for her friend to come inside. Tina stepped over the threshold and the strawberry blonde gently closed the door behind her. The blackette turned to her friend but before she could speak Cassandra stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace.

Tina froze for a moment, her emerald green eyes wide with surprise but she quickly recovered and wrapped her arms around her taller friend.

"I'm so sorry." Tears streamed down the girls face and onto her friends shoulder. "I'm so so sorry." Her voice broke and her body shook along with the first sob to escape her lips.

Tina held onto her tightly as she rubbed circles on the girls back. "Just let it out. We can talk when you're done."

~*~

It took a strong forty minutes but Cassandra Williams was finally able to regain her composure. She let out a dark chuckle after splashing her face with water. "Wow. I didn't expect to do that today."

She knew that she would be emotional considering the last visit with her parents, however she didn't expect it to be as emotional as theirs. Then again, this was her best friend she was talking about, she was family. She shouldn't have expected any less.

She grabbed a nearby washcloth and patted the skin dry. Tina smiled at the girl and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. Everyone needs a good cry now and again."

Cassandra smiled as she hung her towel up on the wall to try. "The tea water should be warm by now, let's go get ourselves a cup."

"Lets."

The two women made their way into the kitchen. Tina grabbed the mugs and teabags while Cassandra grabbed milk and sugar for their beverages.

The two prepared their drinks and quickly made their way to the living room to catch up. They sat on the couch facing towards one another. Tina took a sip of her tea.

"Your hair looks longer. Did you grow it out?"

Tina nodded. Her curly black hair was now down her back, a little under her shoulder blades. It swayed more whenever she moved and seemed to add a more extreme look to her face.

"I decided I'd change it up a bit. I needed a bit of a change." The girl said with a smile. "And look at you! We need to get some weight back onto those bones. You look like a skeleton."

Cassandra laughed, her hazel eyes lighting up. She knew it wasn't a joke but she was so relieved that they could joke like they used to.

"I know. Ryan and I have been getting stuff to eat but I'm still not eating as much as I used to or should be."

"Ryan?"

"Oh sorry." Cassandra laughed. "Officer Ryan Blake. He's on Bryan's case now."

"Oh I met him!" Tina exclaimed, causing her friend to jump and look completely astonished.

"You've met him?"

Tina nodded at Casandra Williams who still looked completely in shock. "Don't worry, he just had to check in on some stuff from the case. See if you told me anything else that you couldn't remember."

Cassandra nodded, satisfied with the answer. She trusted Tina and she trusted Ryan. The situation made her feel uneasy but he was doing his job, nothing more.

The two then talked and laughed for hours. It was almost as if they had never been apart all these many months. As the two smiled and enjoyed the others company they knew there was still a lot of work to do.

Cassandra still had to work to overcome the loss of Bryan and his death. She has to fix the relationships with her family and her friends. She has hurt them, Tina included, and she had to earn their trust again. Not only that but she has to find herself.

Tina was broken from the many months of silence from her best friend. They had grown up together and told one another everything but this time Cassandra pulled herself back into the darkness. It hurt Tina to know that Casandra didn't want her help and that what she tried was ineffective.

If made the girl feel weak, useless even. She would have to come to terms with those feelings and be able to overcome them, similar to Cassandra's battle.

Apart they are strong but together they are stronger. Now that they are back together and working to make things right Cassandra Williams and Tina Platen are stronger than ever and can battle almost anything that comes their way.