Temptation

James~Part 3

12 Years Earlier

Cassie was waiting. That's all she could do. She was waiting for her dad to come home so he could take her away and just get her out of here. She couldn't be with her mom anymore. If she had to be with her for just a few more hours, she was thinking of taking her packed bag and running away. 

Her dad will find her no matter where she goes. 

A few minutes later, she could see headlights from outside of window. She gasped and put her bag over her shoulder. She started to rush downstairs, but quickly stopped herself when she saw Kate stomp her way towards the front door. 

Cassie hid herself by the bars of the stairs and watched as Kate opened the door and started shouting, "Get out of here! You wanna leave, then you leave on your own!" She could hear James say in an oddly calm tone, "Give me my daughter."

"No!" Kate shouted. "If you take her, I'm calling the police!" Cassie gasped and shook her head. It was then that she saw the headlights start to disappear. "Dad," she breathed. "Daddy, no! Wait!" She sprinted down the stairs and past Kate. 

Kate tried to reach for her as Cassie ran out into the rain to chase her dad. "Dad!" She screamed as she chased after his car that seemed to be going quicker and quicker down the street. "Daddy, wait! Please!" 

She clearly saw it before he did...but there was nothing she could do. It just all happened so quickly. The truck, it ran the stop sign and plowed into the driver's side of the car. Cassie stopped in her tracks and stared with a gaped mouth. 

"Dad...daddy..." She started to slowly walk towards the accident, while other people came out of their houses running to it. Cassie gradually started running, then sprinted when they pulled James from the car. "Daddy!"

She fell down beside him and he immediacy took her hand. Cassie started sobbing at the sight of him. He was very badly injured with some glass sticking in his sides and chest, his mouth overflowing with blood. Half of his head was drenched in blood, making it hard for the bystanders to find the source of the wound. 

James held tightly to Cassie's hand and struggled to breathe. "Cass," he croaked out, "Cassie, I...I'm sorry." The ambulance could be heard coming quickly down the street as she said, "I love you, daddy." He gave her a weak smile and said, "I love you to the moon and back."

The ambulance pulled up a fe seconds later and the paramedics immediately got to work on James. Cassie had to be pulled back by some neighbors to give them some work room. At one point, she glanced back towards her house and saw her mom standing at the end of the street with her arms crossed. 

There wasn't an ounce of worry on her face. 

"We're losing him," a paramedic said, grabbing Cassie's attention. She watched as they preformed CPR on him, while getting the gurney ready. Cassie pushed her way to James and held on to his hand once more. "Daddy," she cried. 

His eyes were hardly open, but they were on her the entire time. He kept muttering something, so she put her ear to his lips. "Be...better...be...better...be..." She brought her head up to look at him and saw his eyes were closed. "No," she cried. "No, please, dad, no!"

The paramedics sighed and shook their heads at each other. Police cars started showing up and the officers questioned the truck driver, who was clearly drunk and confused. Cassie continued to cry as one of the officers pulled her away from James. 

They tried talking to her, but she didn't hear them because she was too focused on the blood that was on her white shirt and hands. She looked back over to James, who was being put into a body bag. 

This moment...this was going to change her. Forever.