Together Again

1

Cassie's POV

Raindrops echoing on the roof broke the silence in the house, as I waited for my boyfriend to come and pick me up for out one year anniversary. Although things have felt different between Richard and I, our one year anniversary was something that I didn't want to miss.

Despite my ressurance to myself that everything was fine, and that everything was only made up in my head, I still wondered what was keeping Richard away from me these past couple of weeks. He has seemed distant, his calls becoming less frequent, and the time spent together dwindling.

At first, I thought that it was just me, but he has been acting this way to everyone, even to his best friend Ace Merrill. No matter what Richard was feeling, or what mood he was in, he could always be found hanging around with Ace, and the Cobras. I thought about calling Ace, but I know that all I would get was a lecture about how I shouldn't be needy, and that I am over thinking something stupid.

Fortunately, the doorbell rang before I could think of anymore scenarios of what could be happening. A wave of happiness flooded over me, excited to see Richard. As I open the door, however, I am greeted with a face of sadness. There is silence, as neither of us know what to say.

"Richard, is everything okay?" I finally speak up. He lowers his head and I motion him to come inside. He sits on the couch, with nothing to say. I have never seen him like this. Is he nervous, sad, angry, confused? I sit down next to him, and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing is okay right now, Cassie." He leans back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. He puts his hands over his face, hiding himself from me.

"What is it? Is it us?" I ask, worrying that this might be the beginning of a breakup. He leans forward and puts his hands in his lap, turning his head slightly to look at me.

"No, not us. Nothing is wrong with us."

"Then what is it." I say with my voice becoming more stern. That was the biggest downfall of this relationship, the lack of communication. I stare at him, and he looks down at the floor

"My mother is back in town." Richard says hesitantly. "She called two weeks ago, saying that she was going to come back with Rain, and she is at my house right now?"

I stare in shock, not knowing what to say back. Richard's mother had left when he was twelve, taking his little sister Rain with her. She left him and his brother Chris to live with their father, who was a no good drunk.

"Why did she come back?" I ask. I have so many questions, but I know that I don't want to seem intrusive, as he rarely talks about his mother. Richard has never truly forgiven her for leaving him, or Chris, with their father.

"She wanted to be with us I guess. She never really said, just wanted back in our lives I guess." He leans back on the couch, holding my hand.

"Does she want to be a family again?"

Richard shakes his head. "I don't even know. Before this happened, I always thought that life would be easier if she came back, but know it is just terrible. You know, when I left, her and dad were fighting. Just like they used to."

Although I wanted a perfect night with him, I knew that his attention would not be on us tonight, but rather his family. "We don't have to do anything tonight. If you want to be with your family, I understand."

He smirks at me, pulling me down beside him. He puts his arm around me, and I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Trust me, there is no other place that I would rather be. Besides, it's our one year anniversary, I wouldn't want to miss it?"

I smile, wondering how I got someone like him. Despite his family's reputation with the public, Richard was always the nicest and sweetest person around me. "What do you want to do then? We haven't really planned anything."
He starts playing with my hair, something he always does when he is upset. "Sorry about that. I should have told you about my mother coming back, but I didn't really know how to handle it myself. But I wouldn't mind if we just spent tonight here, together."

I pull myself closer to him, smiling to myself. "That would be nice."

For the rest of the night, we watched movies cuddled up on the couch. It was perfect, but I couldn't help but to think of what was happening. Richard's mother is back in town, things are going to change, but how much?