GIRLS LIKE GIRLS

chapter twelve.

warning- slurs

june 15. 1989. tuesday.

   IT HAD BEEN FIVE MONTHS SINCE cassandra moved to derry and met the boys and beverly. she had gotten close with every single one of them, but they never hung out in a big group after the movie they saw.

her and bev were almost always together, and when she wasn't with beverly she was with the losers. she talked to ben in school, but she never seemed to see him around town, or at any stores. she saw mike almost everyday when he made his deliveries. mike treated her like his little sister, always asking her if she was okay after what had happened. whenever they saw the bowers gang around town he hid her, making sure they never laid hands on her again.

henry, patrick, and the other boys had stayed away from her for some reason, only sending a slight smirk in the hallway, knowing that there was nothing she could do.

patricks dad worked with henrys in the police force, so patrick had gotten away with what he did. with what he's done many, many times.

the thought alone made cass want to puke, so she tried to preoccupy herself.

tried.

now here she sat, on a tuesday night, back against the bathroom door, her mind screaming the words her mother had said before she left that night.
the night her life fully fell apart.

"cassandra! get your ass back here, you fucking queer!" her mom screams echoed through the house, while her dad sat at the kitchen table, silent. cassandra ran up the stairs and into the bathroom, locking it behind her. the only thing heard for a moment was her heavy breathing, and her moms footsteps slowly coming up the stairs. they reached the bathroom, and everything was silent.
   cassandra jumped as her mom began banging on the door, screaming at her.
   "i told you to clean the fucking kitchen! i also told you to clean your room! what have i told you about messes?!" although cassandra was protected by the door, she repeated the words that had been spoken to her several times.
   "a messy space is a messy life."

   she looked down at her hands in her lap and sighed shakily running a hand through her hair. cass stood up slowly, looking towards her reflection, and whispering to herself.

   "you're okay now. you can't get hurt here anymore."

'stop lying, cass. its not ladylike.' she jumped backwards at the words in her head, cursing softly.

her god damn mother had found a way to affect her life, even if she was states away.

june 16, 1989. wednesday.

   CASSANDRA AND BEV SMILED AT eachother, counting down the seconds left of their last day of school before summer.

"three! two! one!" the bell rang, and the two jumped up from their seats in. unison.

"we're free!" bev squealed, pulling cass in for a hug. cass blushed, and hugged back, enjoying the feeling of being in her arms. they pulled away and hooked their arms together, walking out of the classroom.

"i have to go to the bathroom to smoke real quick. wanna come?" cass scrunched her nose up and shook her head.

"i gotta meet the losers, bill wants us to go down to the barrens. do you wanna come search some shitty water?" bev laughed and shook her head no, before saluting the brunette in front of her.