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THE FIVE OF THEM WERE SILENT AS THEY STARED AT THE TAPE RECORDER, their thoughts hazed as they processed what they had just heard and Cassidy gently picked up the tape, rewinding it once again to hear her mother's voice make its entrance to her ears for the first time in a year. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream until she couldn't scream any longer.
'Cassie, Baby, I hope that you have found your way back to Bird. I truly do. But if she hasn't, John B, you go find her and you don't let that girl go. You two need each other more than ever and I pray to whoever is listening that you two stick together. You need each other, okay? And Cassie, Baby, I need you to know that I love you. I love you more than you will ever know. I love you more than life itself and that will never change. I'm sorry, Baby. I'm sorry that I have to leave you like this, but I love you. I love you, Cassidy Noelle Blaire.'
Her fingers moved to rewind it yet again but JJ fell into the seat besides her, his hand falling over her own to prevent her from doing so. He wrapped his free hand around her body as she slumped in her seat, the tremors from her body flowing freely into his own as he dug his fingers into the back of her head and pressed a kiss to her temple. He didn't know what to do in that moment but he knew that he had to be here for her.
In one quick movement, Cassidy shoved herself off the seat and out of JJ's arms. Much to his dismay, she staggered over to where John B was holding onto the door frame and threw herself into his body as he began to sob softly. She still made no noise, her tears silent as they fell in contrast to to his own.
John B clung to the girl as they both sank to the ground in embrace, his arms securing her to his body as he broke down against her. He didn't know what to say or how to say it, but for the moment, just being with the girl that he once seen as his sister was enough for him. He knew that she understood the way he was feeling in ways that nobody else could ever begin to fathom.
Kiara looked behind her to see Pope and JJ still frozen in their spots and felt like she was on the verge of her own breakdown. She made her way over to the two shattered teens and wrapped her arms around them, holding them as they cried together.
Within seconds, Pope and JJ joined them as well, the embrace only pushing John B to sob even louder as Cassidy still remained silent in his arms. She felt like she should be mimicking his actions, showing some sort of grief in the way that he was, but her body simply wouldn't allow her to do anything but cry in silence. The tears that fell down her face felt like blades drawing blood but she couldn't help them to stop.
"I'm sorry," she whispered aloud, the words heard by everyone but they all knew that they were only directed at the boy who held her against him. John B only shook his head and tightened his grip, scared that if he ever let go, she would slip away just like their parents had and he would be alone in this maze of horrors like he had always been.
