DAMAGED

chapter25 ☪

•••
Kassie's POV

I awoke to the not-so-soothing wails of the police siren. I scanned the environment I'd slept in. The soft grass tickled me as I stood up and grabbed my bags.
It felt so lonely - nostalgic even, standing in the middle of the place where Wolfie and I had shared our only moments of peace.
And now I was here, alone, longing for a sense of security, which, no matter where I was, didn't seem to appear. Instead, this place just made me sadder and afraid.
It then occurred to me that the sense of security that was being longed wasn't going to come from the place, it was, in fact, only coming from Wolfie himself.
I ignored my thoughts and began to walk back to Alex's. Hopefully, all those girls are already in school.

~~~

I arrived about an hour later to find the place infested with cops. Ha. Those sluts probably did something wrong.
"Kassie!" Esperanza yelled suddenly, popping up in front of me. She grabbed my arm and dragged me inside, making my bags fall.
"I found her!" She announced to all the people. Immediately, everyone began to hug me. I blinked.
"Don't run away again!" Albert warned.
"Are you okay?" A female officer asked me.
I nodded. Who the hell called the police? I didn't run away, I just
"You can't just run off like that, sweetie. I mean, there are people-"
"Nobody would've cared less about me." I shrugged.
The officer nodded and wrote something down on paper.
They all began to leave when I got pulled back by someone.
"Why the hell would you do this?" Jarett growled.
I stayed quiet and looked down.
"I'm the one who's still technically your guardian, which means that whatever happens to you will be reported to me. Can't you just stay out of trouble?" He asked.
He noticed I wasn't speaking and sighed before muttering something about wishing he'd never adopted me.
"Just go to school." He told me finally, and I nodded.
I passed my bags and didn't bother to grab them. Instead, I kept walking.

Wolfie's POV

I opened my locker just as some nerd came up to me.
"A-Are you with Kassie?" He asked, obviously scared to death. I mean, who wouldn't be? I could kill him in a second.
"Why do you care? Why are you even-" I began, but he rudely interrupted.
"I need your help with something."
"Why should I waste my time?" I asked.
"'Cause Kassie is my friend a-and she wouldn't like f-for you to b-beat me up."
"Alright. How about we make a deal? I'll help you sort out your shit if you give me a new pack of cigarettes." I suggested, noticing he was shaking. Okay, that's just weird.
He nodded. "I mean, I-I saw you on the news a-and I figured that if you dealt with that, you c-could deal with-"
I grabbed the neck of his shirt immediately and pinned him against the wall. "Don't ever mention my parents again. Got that?"
He struggled in a desperate attempt to free himself, but I was stronger.
I reluctantly let go of him, and he was able to catch his breath. He was pale. Good. He should take that as a warning, because I swear the next time he even thinks about my parents, I will end him.
"So...About the deal..." He began nervously just as the bell rang.
Wow. This must be important to him. The retard is actually willing to skip class to talk about this.
I rolled my eyes. "What is it?"
"I need your help to beat up someone." He stated seriously.
I burst out laughing. "I'm not helping you beat up a random person. If you seriously think you're going to gain popularity, I feel for you. Besides, Kassie wouldn't-"
"Oh, so you'll be okay without cigarettes?" He asked.
I frowned. I needed to smoke. Badly.
"Who am I making unconscious?" I spoke finally.
"Jerry Gold." He replied nervously.
"So a nerd needs help beating up another nerd?" I smirked.
"M-My family owes his family money, and-"
"I didn't ask for your life story. Give me my cigarettes." I ordered.
"Can you just-"
"No, I 'can't just' until I get them. We're done talking." I told him, and with that, I closed my locker and began to leave school.
"Guess who saw Kassie yesterday!" Esperanza came up from behind me and blocked my way. "Move." I ordered.
"We're best friends now!" She squealed.
I raised an eyebrow. "Do I care?"
"Yes! Now that we're friends, you can't hate me anymore, right? Forgive and forget, right?"
I sighed.
"Would this make it better?" She asked with pouty lips, giving me a cigarette.
I lit it almost immediately.
"I'm waiting." She said, tapping her foot.
"For what?"
"An act of gratitude."
I smirked. "All you're getting from me is a thank you." It was actually fun to see her so desperate.
"No. Something bigger than a thank-you, if you know what I mean." She winked.
I rolled my eyes and began walking towards the other exit.
Esperanza began following me.
"Leave me alone!" I groaned.
"You were much easier to talk to when I was at your house yesterday." She told me.
"Don't speak of it."
"You enjoyed it." She mused.
"If you think I enjoyed you touching me with ice, then keep dreaming."
I got her out of the way and went outside.
"Just kiss me, and I'll leave you alone." Esperanza pleaded.
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"I'll leave you alone."
"Shut up."
She was pissing me off, and I honestly don't think anyone would want to see me pissed off.
"I have bigger things to deal with than your stupid little slut problems." I said.
"You'll regret it. Kassie will never give you what I can."
"Yeah. You're right. Kassie will never give me such an annoying time. Oh, how unlucky I am." I spoke every word with sarcasm, throwing the cigarette on the floor carelessly.
"But-" She began just as Kassie herself walked inside with a somber look on her face.
What is she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be in an all-girls school?
Her eyes brightened as soon as she saw me, running to hug me as if I'd come from the military.
I held her tightly and as close as I could to me, breathing in her fresh scent.
"What happened to you? I thought your parents got arrested!" She whispered.
I cleared my throat and glanced over at Esperanza, who was within very close hearing range.
"What?" She said innocently.
I glared at her and she finally left.
Kassie looked a bit confused, but didn't ask any questions.
"Turns out the orphanage is close enough to let me stay in this school, so..." I shrugged, thinking whether or not I should tell her about Rosie.
I remained quiet for some reason. Kassie looked at me timidly before looking back down at the floor, her angel-like smile produced by her lips evanescing as she plunged deeper in a sea of thoughts.
"Um...Kassie?" I said. Telling her I found out she might have a little sister she never met was going to be hard.
She looked at me with a gentle, small smile. She was too vulnerable. She's too fragile to be handling so many burdens.
"T-Tuvi's sick." She mumbled, her voice shaking. "She-She needs a lot of treatment and attention. I have to stay with A-Alex and her friends for now, but they think I'm a freak."
"For now? What do you mean 'for now?'" I asked, now fully aware of our conversation.
"Until Jarett finds a suitable, nice foster home...I was thinking maybe look at yours?" She suggested shyly.
I sighed, thinking over all this sudden burst of information.
"Yeah." I agreed at last. "I'll give you the address to the place. Show it to him. Just don't tell him that I'm there, though."
She hugged me softly once more, her fragility of a body trembling.
"I don't know what to do... I don't want to lose Tuvi, I don't want to live with people who think I'm a walking target, and... I don't know. I just don't want any more complications."
"We'll solve all of this easily, alright? As for Tuvi, all we can do is just pray she gets better." I told her in an attempt to make her feel secure.
Our lips touched for a few seconds. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better. What were you going to say?" She asked me.
"Um...I just - I mean...It's nothing." I lied.
"Oh, okay." She said before biting her lip.
"You know what? Let's ditch." I said finally.
"Can we?" She asked.
"Sure. Let's go."

Kassie's POV

"Wait! Don't leave school yet!" I heard someone yell. We turned around to see Phineas panting as he ran up to us.
"I got you...the cigarettes." He spoke in between heavy breaths.
"What cigarettes?" Wolfie said, signaling something to him.
"The ones that you said I had to give you if I wanted you to help me take care of Jerry." Phineas continued, and Wolfie face-palmed himself.
"What part of my gestures didn't you understand?"
"Oh... I thought you were just going insane because you haven't smoked." Phineas shrugged. "Oh, hi, Kassie!"
"What are you guys talking about? What do you mean 'take care of Jerry?'" I asked in confusion.
Phineas's cheeks turned crimson red. "It's really a long story, and I have to go to class-"
"Tell her." Wolfie ordered. "Actually, tell both of us. Why the hell do you need me to beat him up?"
"Don't curse." I mumbled, and he rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
I'm so confused.
"Well, you see, um... When Jerry was beating me up the other day, it was because of a family feud going on." Phineas explained. "My parents fought a lot, and wanted to file for a divorce. They were desperate, but didn't have the money. Finally, they decided to ask their good friends, Jerry's parents, for money, and they agreed on the condition that the money was returned. Their parents lost their jobs and my parents never returned the money."
"That's why Jerry's chasing after you!" I said.
"I still don't understand why I have to be your bodyguard." Wolfie muttered in annoyance.
"I don't want him beating me up everyday. You have to understand. My mom's budget is being cut off continuously and hanging by a thread, and my father, Albert, wants nothing to do with her. That's why they each got a kid and vowed never to see each other again. If Jerry sees that he can get away with beating me up, he might take it to extremes and pay my mom a visit."
"Don't worry, Phin. Wolfie doesn't have to beat up Jerry because I'm not going to let him do anything. I'm pretty sure I can reason with him." I assured him.
"Kassie, why should we get involved in dramas that aren't ours?" Wolfie asked.
"'Cause they are my friends." I replied tiredly, running my fingers through my loose hair.
"I don't think anybody can reason with Jerry when it comes to this. He's become mad - a monster, even. His parents are very, very poor - close to becoming homeless. Imagine what it is to share one room with six other siblings." Phineas sighed nervously.
"I'm sorry." I said finally. "If there's anything I can do to help, feel free to tell me. I just don't think getting Wolfie to punch Jerry a few times really solves anything. Have you talked to Alex?"
"I'm going to. Thanks anyway, Kassie." Phineas huffed sadly before going back in to school.
"Wowie." I yawned. "Looks like everybody here has their own drama."
Wolfie nodded and looked at me with uneasiness.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
We began to walk past school.
"Did your mom ever get...Um, pregnant...after you?" He asked. I froze.
"What did y-you find out?"
"Just asking?" He said quietly, but it came out like a question for some reason.
I sighed, looking at the ground blankly. "She was pregnant with twins when I was 13. A boy and a girl. I couldn't go see them when she had them, but when she came home, all she had was a boy. They told me the girl was stillborn. And as for the boy, he was an amazing little brother. His name was Ashton. He was really cute, and I really, really, loved him. I'd always be the one carrying him...Even more than my mom did. He got meningitis and he-he passed away on my fourteenth birthday."
I hadn't noticed the tears streaking down. Wow, the depression pills probably didn't work.
Wolfie took off his sweater and put it around me, the new bruises showing on his arms.
"You don't have to-" I began, but he cut me off. "It's okay." He said softly. "I felt like it."
I wiped my eyes.
"I need to tell you something." He sighed at last. "There's a three-year-old girl at the orphanage. Rosie. Rosie Cromwell."
My eyes widened in shock.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Three years ago was when my mom got pregnant, and we had planned on naming the girl Rosie. Also, that's probably why my parents didn't want me at the hospital. They just didn't want me to know they were giving her up because I never would have let them." I explained. "I think... I think that might be my baby sister."