Finding Hope

Chapter Two

     Cass lulls into the door, half asleep at 4:17 am.

Her mom is sitting on the couch, a book open.

     "Okay, Cass. What is this? Four o'clock in the morning? You worried me to death." Her mom had bags under her eyes and her hair is a mess.

     Cass rolls her eyes and looks to her mom. "Whatever. I'm going to bed,"

"Remember, Cass, you're screwing up your own life by doing this." Her mom says, then stands up and walks into her bedroom.

     Cass hears choked sobs and continues on to her bed, collapsing in a heap if pillows.

*

     Cass wakes up to little, happy squeals. She pulls the pillow over her head, groaning.

     "Where's Cassidy?" One tiny voice asks.

     "I miss Cassidy!" Another voice yells.

     Another second later her door opens.

     "Cassidy? They're here." Its her mom.

"Kelly, I don't care," Cassidy snaps, using her mother's first name.

     "Cassidy Ann," her mother says warningly. "Out there. Now."

"Fine." Cassidy says, pulling herself out of bed, and pulling her shorts out from between her thighs, where they had ridden up in her sleep.

     Cass walks down the stairs, her brown hair in a messy bun on top of her head. She's wearing a gray T-shirt and black shorts.

     "Cassidy!" A little girl with blonde hair, put into two perfect braids, casscadimg down her shoulders, yells, grabbing Cass' legs.

     "Cassidy!" There are two more shouts, almost on top of each other, coming from a brown haired boy and girl.

     "Caleb! Connor! Evelyn!" Cassidy yells, smiling from ear to ear.

     "We missed you!" The blonde girl, Evelyn, says against Cass' thighs.

     Cassidy smiles even wider, and hugs the three little kids. "I missed you guys, too!"

A woman watches from the doorway, and a man stands next to her. The woman is young, dark hair and bright green eyes, maybe twenty-five or thirty years old. The man has dark hair, too, and bright blue eyes. He looks older and unfamiliar to Cass.

     "Aunt Kenz," Cass says, giving the woman a hug. "Who's this?" Cass gestures to the tall man.

      "Hi, Cassidy,'' the woman smiles back at her. "This is Eric. We've been together about four months, and I figured we could stop by to see you guys,"

     Eric reaches his hand out to shake Cassidy's, and she ignores it. "Well," he says, awkwardly putting his hand in his pocket. "I think Evelyn looks a lot more like you than she does Kenz, here," he chuckles, and with that sentence, Cass has hatred for him, burning hot in her eyes. Tears start to swell and cloud her vision.

     He turns away on the ball of her foot and moves to the stairs. She gets halfway up and looks down. "Do not relate me and Eve. She's Kenzie's." Cass tries not to let her voice crack as she says it, then she walks back up the stairs.

     She sits on the bathroom floor and silently sobs, looking at her wrists.

      Cassidy looks to the shower, a razor sitting perfectly on the edge of the tub. Her brain urges her.

It'd be so easy, It mocks. C'mon. You're hurt. Let it help.

Cassidy shakes her head and looks down at her wrist again, her scars had almost vanished.

     Her phone let's out a weak beep sound. She looks at it.

23 Unread Messages

She slides her thumb across the screen, sobs still choking her breaths.

10:15 am: From Lennea: Did u hear??? Stacy is throwing a smash-ass party 2nite! U gunna b there??

10:14 am: From James: Going 2 Stacy's? Every1 is gunna b there.

10:10 am: From Daniel: Hey babe ;) Gunna be at Stacy's?

9:27 am: From Aunt Kenz: We're almost there!! :D The kiddos are excited

9:26 am: From Jax: Accompany me 2 Stacy's 2nite?

And the rest were just the same.

Looks like I'm busy tonight... Cass thinks to herself, and stands up, walking out of the bathroom.

     When she opens the door to her room, her window is open, and she thinks doesn't remember opening it. When she turns, she nearly screams. There is a boy, laying on her bed. She can't see his fave, but he's wearing black combat boots, dark washed jeans, and a white T-shirt. He's reading, 'Paper Towns' By John Green, something she had been working on reading for a while now.

     "Wha-what?" She manages to barely stutter, and the boy closes the book.

He looks up at her. "That book is complete trash,"

     "Winter," she says.