Missing Heartbeat

A Special Day

The sound of the car door slamming is what awakened Cassidy from her nap. She looked around the house and realized she had fallen asleep on the couch next to Riley after Blake had left. She quickly got up so she could help her parents with the groceries. Then she let out a yelp and fell to her knees. She had forgotten about the glass that she hadn't picked up yet. She looked at the bottom of her foot and saw a small piece of glass wedged in it.

As she tried to pull it out carefully, her parents came in through the door when she was still on the ground, "Mom, dad! Stop!"

They abruptly stopped in their tracks with a handful of groceries in their arms, "What, what? What is it?" Mom asked, a little worried.

"There's glass everywhere! Just hold on a sec, I'll help you with those." Cass went over and helped them with some of the food they were holding. "Just be careful, I'll explain later. But right now let's just set these down in the kitchen and finish unpacking everything so none of the frozen or cold food gets warm."

"There's glass on the floor?! What the heck happened here?" Dad asked shockingly as Cassidy took some of the groceries from his hands so he could better see the ground in front of him.

"I'll explain, just please, let's finish these up."

Her parents agreed and they finished unloading all the food and putting in the refrigerator and pantry as Cass limped on the foot with glass in it. She forgot to tell them about that, but she would tell them everything now that they were all done. They had brought In-N-Out for everyone to eat, but before they ate, so she told them about the glass piece stuck in her foot and mom helped her remove it in the bathroom. After it was gone, she had poured hydrogen peroxide on it to prevent an infection. It was a little stubborn at first, but mom managed to easily remove it after it got loose from the flesh. It left a little open wound that was red and swollen so Cassidy wrapped it herself with some Neosporin to help quicken the healing process.

Also, all of them cleaned up the remains of glass with the vacuum before they ate. Once they all sat down to eat dinner, Riley got up and laid down next to the table with everyone. Then Cassidy started to explain what happened when they were gone, "So, about ten minutes after you left Blake came by."

"Blake?" Mom asked, surprised.

"Um, yeah."

"Did you let him in?" Dad asked.

"Well, I didn't want to, but he started threatening me and came closer and closer to me until we were both inside the house."

"What'd he say? Did he hurt you?" Dad was worried for Cassidy's sake.

"N..no. He just told me to sit down and then he gave me a present. It was a picture of his face in a frame. He said he will always be with me no matter what. Then I started to get freaked out and a little angry so I started yelling at him and telling him how egotistical he was. I said how none of us wanted him around and that he should go find someone else to love and have a kid with. So I kept telling him how annoying and selfish he was until I proved it to him by shattering the frame and ripping up his picture. I did this because I could see that just by telling him, he didn't exactly believe me, and I did not want to give him an axiom. Then he became a little uncertain and shakey so he left and said he would never come back."

Mom and dad just looked at her. Then mom spoke, "Wow, honey. I'm so proud of you. But I'm so glad you're okay. I hope he doesn't come back. That would be amazing if he didn't." Mom started to tear up. "I don't want him to hurt anyone, it's my fault I brought him among you guys..."

"No, no it's not your fault," Dad reassured her as he set down his burger and wrapped her in his protective wings. "We are a happy family together, and if he comes back he's gonna get it because I won't let him come close to anyone of you anymore. But I really hope he meant what he said."