For Better Or Worse.

Chapter 9.

Cassie's P.O.V

I get home from work to an empty house. I call both my daughters Aaliyah and Asia to make sure their safe, their both at a friends house for homework.

I go to my room door and see that a light is on, I walk in to find my eldest daughter Erin crying with a letter in her hand.

The letter she wasn't meant to find yet.

The letter I've been hiding from her.

I must have left it out last night after going through my old papers.

I walk in and sit next to her on the floor and hold her in my arms and cry.

"I'm so sorry honey. I was going to tell you, but I ju- just didn't know how to. I kept th-thinking you would ha-hate me." I say to her through sobs. She just stays crying, without even speaking.

"I've always raised as if you were born from me, you are my daughter. I just came home one day to find you on my doorstep with that letter on top on you. So I took you in, you were just so young and so little and beautiful. I made you mine that day, the letter was the only thing that was there with you and a blanket that was wrapped around you."

I wiped my tears and looked her in her eyes as I held her face in my hands so that she knew that this next part was serious and that I wasn't lying at all.

"Erin you were born with white hair that had silver at the tips of it. Silver and red eyes, silver at the top half and red at the bottom half. Pale skin and a marking on your back that looked more like a tattoo of the full moon and two big wolves at the top near the moon and little ones scattered down your back looking up to them. That very same moment your body changed, your skin changed and even you hair changed so that you wouldn't look so different from other people. Your eyes simply went gray instead of their original color. At that very moment I knew who you were, but I'm not going to tell you until your ready. We don't have to talk about this anymore alright. Not yet." She just simply nodded then got up and ran out of the house.

I didn't run after her because I knew she needed to run. It always puts her at peace and helps her think. Even when she was just a child she's always go running whenever there was something bothering her.

"Goddess please watch over her." I said to myself and somewhat out loud.

"He can't find my little girl again. I can't and I won't allow that to happen again, we moved to keep her safe." I finished saying.

Erin's P.O.V

I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't sure if everything she had just told me was true or even real. I got up, grabbed my keys and phone before running out of the house. I drove as fast as I could to the one place I knew I could run and think.

I pulled up to the meadow. I found this place on my to work from school. It was a meadow with daisies everywhere. It was huge and one very tall tree off to the corner of it.

I ran and ran and kept running until I was to tired and sat right under that tree breathing heavily.

"I don't understand what was happening to my life. It's always something wrong with me and my life. Something's always happening."

I stood up and climbed the tree until I found a spot where I could sit with my back leaned against a branch.

"First I get picked on at every school I go to because I'm faster than all the boys and stronger, I'm smarter than most kids, I was never girly enough, never went out, never had any friends. It was always just me and my family."

I started to cry even more thinking about hard my life has been, not just for me but for my mom and sisters as well.

"My mom had to work so hard to take care of me, then she met the man who married her, got her pregnant twice and then just left one night without even a word. My mom was so broken. I could tell by the way she talked, moved around and just lost interest in most things. When I finally asked her about it her answer made me feel even more sad for her. I didn't know that's how she felt about him and her together, I was actually happy for her."

Flashback.

I was sitting across from her on the floor in her room helping her fold the laundry. She looked so lost in thought, so sad and tired.

"Mom what's wrong. It's killing me to see you like this. Please talk to me. I can take it I promise, I won't judge you or anything and I'll really listen. In old enough." I begged her while getting up to sit next to her.

She started to cry and I just held her and she held me back. We sat like that for about 30 minutes while I kept telling her 'it's alright' and 'don't cry' constantly before she stopped and said anything to me.

"I'm crying because I wasn't in love with him. I'm not even sure why he left but honestly I don't think I care. I still feel half full, I didn't feel like he gave me the love that I'm supposed to have. I felt so lonely whenever he was here and I still feel the same way now." She said before she started folding again, looking like she just got a huge load off of her chest; slightly smiling.

"I'm not sure what you mean. Why'd you marry him then?" I asked her.

"You'll understand one day when you find that one person who's meant to be with you forever and take care of you. You'll be happy and understand what I mean." Was her reply with a slight sign of hope in her eyes.

End of flashback.

I really don't know what my mom meant but what I do know is if anyone deserves to be happy is her. She's worked so hard to take care of me and my little sisters. Even though I wasn't hers she took me in. She didn't have to do that, she could have taken me to the hospital or someone else's door step; but she didn't.

I climbed down the tree and ran as fast as I could to my car and drove home exceeding the speed limit to let my mom know how I felt.

I ran all the way up the stairs to her room, jumped on her and hugged her.

"Mom I love you. I appreciate everything you've ever done for me and my sisters. I know it was hard and hectic at times but you still did it for us. You are my MOM." I said to her with tears in her eyes.

She smiled at me and hugged me so tight. "I love you so much. I should have told you." She said.

"I know it was just to protect me. I'd never hold it against you." I said.

After we hugged I must have made a face because of what I was thinking about so hard.

"What is it? What are you thinking?" She asked me.

"Mom why'd we move? Please be honest with me, I have to know. I have a feeling it's because of me." I said to her with pleading eyes.

She sighed loudly, looked me in my eyes and held my hands.

"He found you. I had to leave before he knew exactly where we lived. It happened once and I wasn't prepared, I was then and we had to leave." She said with worry in her eyes.

My eyes went wide with fear and started to water. I knew exactly who HE was.

The same HE who made 4 years of my life hell.

The same HE who gave me nightmares.

"Clayton!" I whispered and started to cry.