Replacement (Undergoing Major Edits)

Chapter 9~Discovery

Jennifer sat beside Artie, their eyes locked, relying information silently.

He thought of Jennifer like a mother, he loved her, she was different from all the other foster parents he had been with. She truly cared. In fact, they were going through the adoption processes already, that, is how much she loved him. It was a mere coincidence that he would meet two of his best friends while being placed in another person's care. Seth was, of course, Jennifer's biological son, they became fast, very fast, friends. He had also met Jennifer's husband, he was nice, Artie and Seth didn't get to see him often because of his occupation, but they understood. He also met Miranda a week later when Seth introduced them, and he in turn introduced Cassidy.

Artie remembered when Miranda and Cassidy...didn't get along, but now, the two were the best of friends, sisters even, due to Cassidy's sudden change of heart. He was honest; Cassidy really was spoiled, spiteful, cruel, and thoughtless, but not anymore. That's when he realized that he loved her, when her true personality came to light for everyone to see. He always knew that she wasn't truly like that, she was never like that with him, just with the people around him.

He knew that she was jealous.

She was jealous of them, she thought that she was going to lose him like she lost her father because of the people around him were slowly taking him away from her. Just like what happened with her father. When he got too "busy" for her, to take care of her, to cherish her like the angel she was. Did he even feel remorse for what he had done now that she was...temporarily gone? No, probably not. Grant Carter never felt anything, for anyone, especially Cassidy.

And that mother of her's, leaving so abruptly, and then expecting everything to be perfectly normal after almost nine straight years of no contact? He may have lost his family, but she never had a family to begin with. For that, in a rather twisted way, he could be thankful. He could be thankful that he was in her life to make everything at least semi-okay for her.

She helped him when his father got pneumonia...

And passed away later that year.

It was so sudden, and unexpected. Peter Hale, his father, was only in his early forties when he died. So soon, too soon, much too soon. He was only fifteen, two years ago, when it happened, and he was in the room when his father passed to the other side, and she was right there with him. Embracing him, crying with him, being with him.

He missed her, he missed her so much.

Then he heard Jennifer finally speak, "Are you sure, dear?"

"I know certain things about that guy, I just do. It's hard to explain, but it's there, I just don't know." he answered shakily, he was still part-way in his thoughts. His never-ending thoughts about her.

He did know who he was from Miranda and Seth's snooping, but he remembered who exactly the man was. He knew him, he remembered him from something somewhere, but what?

"Explain."

"I feel like...I feel like I know him from somewhere."

"Do you want to talk about it? Anything at all might help Cassidy."

At the sound of her name he unconsiously stiffened up, but he replied, "Yeah, that'd be good."

*-*-*

Cassidy needed a shower. Badly.

The blood on her thigh dried, making her feel uneasy, the wound there needed to be cleaned as well, she couldn't leave it like that, with the dirt and grime still embedded in the cut. That was the last thing she needed, an infection...or Walsh to come back through that door. Her head throbbed from whatever it was that sicko gave her, but at least her vision was back to normal, now everything didn't look like a big, blurry, mushed up blob. Her feet ached; she needed to soothe, and definitely clean them with some kind of anti-bacterial substance, and water. Water. Speaking of it, she could really use some, her throat was dry, and sore from all the...yelling...earlier, but she wasn't about to ask him for anything.