The Backstory

Chapter Three - I Have No One Else

A/N: Before you read the next chapter, I just wanted to say thank you so much! 56 reads!!! I was so excited and laughed and screamed all at once. You guys rock!!

Enjoy.~*

Chapter Three

Cass lay curled up on the mattress, gently rubbing at her stinging cheek. She could feel it already starting to bruise, the skin rising into a hand shaped welt.

It was a while later when Jace returned. He was casually leaning against the doorway, watching her with a curious expression.

"Hey, you hungry?" He asked, his voice soft and casual. But she ignored him and closed her eyes. On top of all the pain she was feeling, she was extremely hungry, and her stomach snarled loudly as proof.

The sound only angered Jace and he strode into the room and grabbed her roughly by the chin, much to her whimpering protests.

"I asked you a question and I expect a damn answer! If not, you can wait until tomorrow to eat," he spat.

"F-fine, now let go! It hurts," she cried, and he complied and released her.

She was almost positive that his fingertips had imprinted on her chin from his force.

He left the room and locked the door behind him. Moments later she heard the front door slam shut and she let out a shaky sigh. Could she have been in a worse situation?

There were no windows, the walls were the color of puke, and she could only walk back and forth about four steps. (If she even had the strength to get up.)

She had never thought any of this would happen to her. She had always refused the body guards her father would hire for her; she wanted to live a normal life without the Hollywood drama.

Guess that was a dumb idea, she thought bitterly. Maybe if she had listened to her father, this whole situation would have never happened.

She sat just how Jace left her for a few minutes and then shifted, slowly sitting up and carefully pulling her knees to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. Then she simply stared at the door until Jace Goliath returned.

***

When Jace came back, Cass had fallen asleep braced against the wall. It was kind of cute, he thought, and dropped the McDonald's bag he was holding to lean against the doorframe, watching her.

He jumped when she made a slight movement; her head moved to the side and tipped her body over so that she was now laying on the mattress, still asleep.

He smirked and walked over to her, crouching down beside her to gently brush her hair out of her face. When he did that, his fingertips grazed over a thin scratch just about her eye. He knew that mark, he gave it to her the first night he brought her here. He could remember that night clearly.

He knocked her out after taking her cell phone; she had started to scream and he wasn't up for that. Then he drove far out to this remote and private beach house. While carrying her in the house, she decided to wake up and began to scream and claw at him, so he simply threw her through the door and swung his keys at her face. Then he slammed his head against hers and knocked her out before dragging her into the small room she occupied now.

He was still staring at her when her eyes fluttered open and she caught her breath.

They stared at eachother for a few more minutes and then Cass finally broke the silence.

"Where's my dad?" She whispered, still staring blankly ahead. Jace cocked his head to the side, a confused frown forming on his lips. "What do you mean? Your father is-"

"I need to see him," she said a little louder, cutting him off. "He promised me he'd come to the contest!"

Jace regarded her uncertainly. Is she dreaming, he thought to himself. Though her eyes were open, she seemed to be in a daze.

"I don't care if he's busy, he promised!" she shouted and Jace had enough, grabbing her by the shoulders to shake her as a young girl would shake a rag doll. "Cassie, wake up!"

Immediately, Cass snapped out of it and then screamed when she saw Jace.

"Get off! Let me go!" She squirmed out of his grasp and moved to the end of the bed, watching him warily. "What do you want?"

Was she kidding? Jace rose his brows and replied, "You were talking in your sleep."

"And what was I saying?" She asked, and he noticed that she relaxed a bit. Frowning, Jace sat back and crossed his arms. "Something about your dad promising to come to a contest."

Silence.

"Was it a surfing contest?" He asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah," she sniffed, and looked down into her lap. She looked so sad, Jace couldn't help but feel like holding her to make her feel better- wait, what. He shook his head and let her continue, his frown deepening.

"My dad never has time for me," she mumbled, and Jace looked down at the floor uncomfortably. Why was she telling him this?

As if reading his mind, Cass laughed, and he looked up at her curiously. "Why am I even talking about this to you?"

There was another break of silence and Jace was about to get up and leave when Cass decided to answer her own question.

"I have no one else..."

He looked at her for a moment and then cleared his throat. That's when she looked up and he saw the tears glistening in her eyes, ready to spill. He quickly averted his eyes and stood up.

"I, uh, brought your food," he said, crossing back over to the door to pick up the discarded McDonald's bag. He tossed it to her and then turned to leave the room, saying over his shoulder, "I'll be right back."

Cass, who had a fry in her hand, stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "Where are you going now..?"

"To make a call."

***************

***************

Whoa Jace, what's going on there?

Feel free to comment what you think of the story so far, and maybe who you think should be casted for Jace and Cass? And always, vote!

Next update, Tuesday.

Cleo *~<3