The First Day Of The Rest Of Their Lives
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Love Brings Change By Jamie Foxx(1).mp3
Scene 1
Charles fell to the floor with Cassie, struggling to hold her up.
Cassie let out an anguished cry of despair and frustration. "No Charles!....No...I don't want to be!" she said desperately, shaking her head, fighting him, struggling to pull free of his arms. She struggled to stand, get to her feet, trying to leave. "I don't want to be. I don't want to be pregnant! Why did this have to happen?!"she wailed, her tears pouring hard.
Charles caught at her arms, pulled her back down, wrapped his arms around her and held her as she fought him. He swallowed hard and blinked away his tears, not wanting her to see them. "Where are you going?! Stop fighting me." he said sharply, tightening his grip, binding her arms.
Cassie slumped against him, her body going limp, giving in. "I don't know!" she shouted, lightly pounding her fist against his chest. She wasn't sure of anything right now. She and Charles's whole world had just been turned upside down. She didn't know what she was doing, where she was trying to go or why she was trying to run away but the urge to run away from her problem was strong.
Charles caressed the back of her head. "Calm down. It's okay. We knew there was a chance you'd be pregnant right?" he asked, his voice wobbly and shaky.
Cassie stared at Charles wildly, her eyes wide and frantic. The strange sound of anxiety and uncertainty in his voice heightened her fear and made her cry even harder because she knew he was just as scared. "I should take another test." she cried, staring at him, nodding her head, urging him to agree with her. "I'll take another test and we'll make it right." she said more to herself than him. "I made a mistake...did something wrong." she sobbed uncontrollably. She knew it was a long shot and was hoping against all odds but this just couldn't be right. There was no way she could be pregnant. She'd take a million test if she had to.
Charles pulled her between his legs, tightened his arms around her and held her as they sat sprawled on the cold floor. He held her snug and warm against his body. "Cassie no." he soothed softly, trying to comfort her, reason with her. "No more tests. We have our answer." he said, showing her the pregnancy test stick he still held in his hand. "We're gonna get through this. We have to."
"I don't care what that test says!" Cassie spat out loud, snatching the stick from his hand, tossing it to the floor. "It's wrong!"she choked out in denial, her head dropping low. She buried her face in his chest, sobbed against him.
Charles pulled her closer, cupped the back of her head and pressed her head into his chest. "You don't want to believe it but your pregnant. Denying it won't make it go away." he whispered against her ear.
Cassie spoke against his chest, her words muffled. She struggled to speak through her tears. "We can't think that...that...I..I made a mistake? That I took the t..test wrong?" Cassie stammered nervously, struggling to keep her voice steady.
Charles dropped his head for a few tense seconds. He wished he could tell her what she wanted to hear, put her mind at ease but he couldn't. He lifted his head and licked his lips. "No." he manged to whisper hoarsely. He massaged her back with his hand. "You're going to have a baby Cassie. My baby." he added lovingly.
Hearing Charles say the words out loud made Cassie understand the realness of their situation. Her face went blank, void of all emotion and thought as reality set in. She was going to be a mommy..., someone's protector, someone's caregiver. She lifted her head and swiveled in his arms with her back against his chest. She sat with her knees drawn up tightly against her body, her arms encircling her legs. Her chin rested on her knees as she rocked gently back and forth, comforting herself. She stared off into space with silent tears pouring down her face.
Charles held her from behind, his arms cocooning her in a tight embrace, holding her just a little tighter each time her sobs racked her slender body. Cassie looked back over her shoulder at him. A few muffled words escaped her lips but her speech was jumbled and incoherent with heavy sobbing. Charles brushed her hair away from her face and gazed down at her. She was trying to tell him something but couldn't speak pass her tears. "I can't understand you sweetheart."
Cassie turned to face him fully. Tears clung to the lashes of her red rimmed, puffy eyes. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, trying to compose herself. Her eyelids fluttered and then closed as Charles cupped her face, using his thumbs to wipe away her remaining tears. She felt like a sobbing, blundering idiot. Here she sat crying all over his shoulder while he had remained strong and steady, comforting and supporting her, holding her tightly when her legs had given way and she'd fallen to the floor. He'd handled himself so well tonight but she'd known the moment she saw the look on his face, saw the glistening tears in his eyes that she was pregnant. "I'm sorry Charles. I just can't stop crying." she breathed, tears threatening to spill over once more. Every time she thought of what they were up against, the obstacles and tough times ahead of them, her tears came.
Charles placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. "You can cry on my shoulder any time." he commented affectionately. Having shed a few tears of his own, he didn't dare ask her to stop. He'd let her cry. Let her get it all out of her system. He'd been preparing himself for this moment all week, knowing if the results were positive Cassie would be distraught. As prepared as he thought he had been, nothing could have prepared him for the moment he'd seen the results. Time had lapsed into slow motion and it had felt as if every drop of air had been sucked from his lungs. He'd braced himself for Cassie's reaction. Her eyes had darted over his face, reading his expression and he'd seen the exact moment when she realized she was pregnant. Her entire body had went rigid against him. Disappointment and fear had shown clearly in her eyes. He'd never forget the anguished, horrid sound of her voice as she'd shouted no repeatedly. It had been all he could do to catch her as she'd slumped against him, falling to the floor.
"Charles what are we going to do now?" Cassie asked, her voice cracking.
Charles breathed in deeply. "We're gonna be okay Cassie. I know it doesn't seem like it right now but we will. We'll talk to your parents and...___" he started.
Cassie became defensive, interrupting him. Her palms flattened against his chest, trying to reason with him. "Charles no! We can't. I'm afraid of what dad will do. He'll kill you Charles!"
Charles shook his head slowly, disagreeing. "Cassie, we can't keep this from your parents."
"I know but give me some time. We need to think about what we're going to say." Cassie explained. This wasn't something they should suddenly spring on her dad. Her mom wouldn't be very pleased but there was no telling what her dad would do to Charles. She'd tell him but she had to figure things out first.
Charles rubbed her arms. "Cassie I'm not looking forward to that conversation either but we can't keep this from him. I want to tell your parents tonight. Your dad's going to be upset but we don't have a choice."
"Charles no..., not tonight. Please." Cassie pleaded. "Besides..., it's late. I'm sure they're asleep by now." It was as good an excuse as any. No way could she face her dad tonight. Charles had seen her dad's temper but he had never witnessed the true fury of his anger. She was afraid for him.
Charles nodded. Cassie was right. It was late and definitely not the time to have such a serious conversation. "Okay but definitely tomorrow." he said, releasing his hold on her, getting up from the floor.
Cassie grabbed for him. "Charles no don't go." she complained, unwilling to let him leave her, wanting him to hold her all night.
Charles held out his hand for her to take, pulling her up, holding her steady with his hand on her waist in front of him. "It's getting late. I need to get you home." he muttered, reaching for a bath towel to clean her face.
Cassie snuggled close to him, rested her forehead against his chest. "I don't want to go home Charles."
Charles wet the end of the towel, lifted her head and wiped her tear stained face. He couldn't send her home looking like she'd been crying all night. "Yes you do. You're just scared." he responded, smoothing the cool towel against her cheek.
"No," Cassie corrected, "I just want to stay here with you."she said, trying to coax him into letting her stay. She needed to sleep in his arms tonight and wasn't ashamed in seeking comfort through his touch.
Charles could think of nothing he'd like more than to have Cassie stay with him, hold her in his arms and lie next to her all night but he was afraid of what might happen if she did. They were both on edge and full of emotions, overcome with worry and seeking comfort and solace. He couldn't lie to himself and wasn't sure if they could make it through the night without turning to each other for warmth and compassion. It was their need for each other that had gotten them into this situation in the first place.
"Please Charles." Cassie begged. Tonight was going to be a sleepless night. She'd lie awake worrying all night at home. She might as well stay here with him where they could talk and worry together. She couldn't face going home right now. Sure her dad would be blazing mad but with the trouble she and Charles were already in what difference did it make?
"Cassie we can't." Charles refused. As appealing and satisfying as it sounded, he knew it wasn't what they both really needed. "I want you to stay. You know I do but we can't. We're in enough trouble as it is."
Charle's rejection hurt. She looked at him, her eyes boring through his. "Is it because I'm pregnant?"she asked him softly, feeling dejected.
Charles closed his eyes then slowly opened them, measuring his willpower. Cassie was making it hard to say no. He kissed her on the forehead. "No of course not." he said quickly, frowning. She was thinking he didn't want her around, didn't find her attractive now that she was pregnant. She hadn't said as much but he knew. "We've both had a bad night. Let me take you home."
"Are you going to leave me now?" Cassie blurted out. She held her breath and waited for his answer, afraid of what he might say.
"What?" Charles mouthed shockingly. What could possible make her think that? "What are you talking about?" he asked, trailing his finger down her still flat stomach.
"Nothing." Cassie responded sadly, looking away from him. Charles hadn't given her an answer. He'd simply avoided the issue, answering her question with another question. Were things already changing between them? "I'll just go home." she said, turning to leave. "I'll wait downstairs."
Charles put his hand on her waist, stopping her from leaving. "Don't walk away from me." he sternly but with a note of tenderness in his tone. "Come here." He pulled her in front of him as he stood in front of the vanity mirror, wrapped his arms around her from behind. He rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed the side of his face against hers. His eyes searched and found hers in the mirror. Together they stood, staring at each other. "Listen to me..., pregnant or not, I still want you and love you and with or without your father's blessings I'm going to make you my wife." he stated. His voice was confident and strong with no trace of doubt. Not Mr. Sutton or anyone else for that matter was going to keep him from being with Cassie, being a part of his child's life.
Cassie looked into the mirror, silently staring back at Charles, overcome by his declaration of love and commitment. He was still here with her, pledging to be by her side as her husband. "You still want to marry me?" she asked, looking a little dazed and in awe.
Charles tightened his hold on her waist, drew her back more securely against him. "Look at us." he said, nodding toward their reflection in the mirror. He was delighted by the pretty picture staring back at him. The reflection of a loving couple holding and comforting each other. He looked down into Cassie's eyes from over her shoulder, studying her, his eyes darted from her face to their reflection in the mirror. He held her gaze in the mirror as he lifted her shirt, exposing her smooth flat stomach. He stood watching her quietly, envisioning and wondering what she'd look like pregnant, carrying his child. Through all of his uncertainties and insecurities there was still something so amazing and fulfilling knowing she was carrying his child. His palm flattened against her warm belly, feeling her softness.
Cassie covered his hand with hers, linking their fingers.
Charles gently tilted her head back with his free hand, forcing her to look back at him. "I love you. You're having my baby." he said remarkably. "We're gonna be together and have a real family." he promised, caressing her stomach.
Cassie reveled in his words. Regardless of what happened, what she was feeling, she knew Charles would be a wonderful father. "You promise?"
The corners of Charles's mouth lifted into the faintest of smiles. "I swear." he confirmed. "I know we didn't plan this but it's not the end of the world. I'm scared because I don't know what to expect but I can't think about our baby as some unplanned mistake..., some awful accident. We can be just as happy if not happier than we are now. The only difference is we'll have someone else to love. There'll be some changes but we'll be okay. Let's change things for the better. Promise me we'll try to change things for the better." he said, bringing his head down to hers, kissing her softly.
Cassie returned his kiss. Charles was right. Their lives were changing and she could only hope and pray that it was for the best.
Scene 2
Lizzie sat in bed munching on a supply of snacks and goodies she'd secretly stashed away in her room. Her mom didn't like them eating in their rooms but it was late and she was having midnight cravings. She stiffened at the sound of a knock on her door and dashed her snacks under the covers. Her mom would kill her if she caught her stuffing her face with so much junk food at this hour of the night. She quickly brushed the crumbs from her mouth. "Come in." she said, purposely masking her voice to sound as if she'd been sound asleep.
Cassie opened the door, the light from the hallway behind her illuminating Lizzie's room. She stood in the doorway holding her pillow and a box of tissues.
Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks a lot Cassie." she whispered roughly, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't wake Tay and her parents. "I thought you were mom. You scared me half to death." she said, throwing the covers back, revealing her hoard of goodies. She tore into a bag of chips and held the bag out, offering some to Cassie. "You want some?"
Cassie walked further into the room and closed the door behind her. "No thanks." she replied quietly. "Lizzie can I sleep with you?" She really didn't want to sleep alone tonight. She'd tossed and turned in her bed for the last hour with no signs of sleep.
Lizzie stared at Cassie awkwardly. She eyed the pillow Cassie was carrying and shrugged her shoulders. "Why? What's wrong with your bed?" she asked casually.
"I'm pregnant Lizzie. I'm going to have a baby." Cassie announced nervously. She had confided in Lizzie weeks ago and had promised to share the results of the pregnancy test with her.
Lizzie dropped the bag of chips as if it were blazing hot and stared at Cassie, her mouth hanging wide open. She reached over and turned on the bedside lamp, illuminating the dimly light room, seeing Casie's face clearly for the first time. It was obvious she'd been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red. "You're p...pr...pregnant?" Lizzie stuttered, in shock.
Cassie gnawed on her bottom lip and nodded, quietly confirming. "Charles and I took the test tonight."
Lizzie gathered up her snacks from the bed and shoved them into the night table drawer. She scooted to the far side of the bed and held the covers open for Cassie. She and Cassie weren't always as close as they should be and had their share of arguments but she felt so sorry for her. She'd never seen Cassie so sad.
Cassie climbed into bed with Lizzie, keeping her box of tissues close by as her tears had yet to subside. She and Lizzie sat propped up against the headboard.
Lizzie didn't want to pry but the news of Cassie's pregnancy was shocking. She wasn't sure what Cassie was thinking but knew she was hurting. Her expression was so sad it was painful to watch. She sat so quietly, not saying a word, hugging her pillow. "Are you okay Cassie?" she asked out of concern.
Lizzie's concern was touching but Cassie answered her honestly. "No Lizzie. I'm not okay." she answered, sniffling, her voice quivering with emotion.
"Oh Cassie please don't cry. You're gonna make me cry." Lizzie replied, putting her arm around her, holding her.
Cassie grabbed a tissue to dab at her tears. "This feels like a nightmare and I can't wake up. I'd give anything to go back and do things differently."
"But I thought you and Charles loved each other." Lizzie remarked.
"We do Lizzie." Cassie responded. She and Charles definitely loved each other. Maybe more so now than before.
A crease formed between Lizzie's brow. She was confused. "Then how can you call it a nightmare? If Charles loves you and you love him like you say you do, everything should be okay."
Cassie rubbed her temples in frustration. How could she make Lizzie understand? "It's not that simple Lizzie. Maybe you're too young to understand."
"I'm not to young." Lizze said curtly. "I'm old enough and smart enough to know that babies are suppose to be a blessing but your angry and talking about nightmares."
"I'm sorry Lizzie." Cassie apologized. She hadn't meant to upset her. "I'm not condemning my baby. I'm just scared."
Lizzie smiled. "You don't have to apologize. I don't like when your sad. Maybe after you get over the shock you'll be happy about your baby and I'll be here to help you. I promise."
Cassie forced a smile. Lizzie's comment about babies and blessings was so wise and mature. Her little sister was amazing. Maybe she was right. Maybe she should accept this baby as a blessing in disguise. She gave her a playful bump with her shoulder. "How did you get so smart?"
Lizzie laughed. "Well, you guys are always teasing me about being a self righteous do-gooder..., always saying I don't act my age."
Cassie chuckled. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt." Lizzie said unbelievably, visions of baby sitting and spoiling her niece or nephew forming in her head. "Can I help you pick out a name?"
Cassie stretched and yawned. She and Lizzie had shared a nice talk but her eyelids had finally grown heavy. She was sleepy. "I haven't even thought that far ahead Lizzie. I still can't believe I'm going to be a mommy."she countered, settling into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders.
"Dad's going to be really upset when he finds out." Lizzie mentioned.
Cassie sighed. "I know. Don't remind me."
Lizzie glanced at the clock and turned off the bed side lamp. "We better get some sleep. Goodnight." she said, turning over with her back to Cassie.
"Goodnight." Cassie replied.
Lizzie covered up and closed her eyes. A funny thought came to mind as she lied in bed and she laughed out loud to herself.
"Lizzie what's so funny?" Cassie asked.
Lizzie rolled over to face Cassie. "I just thought of something." she said, laughing even harder.
"What?" Cassie whispered.
"Who in their right mind would want Tay for an uncle?" she shared, laughing hysterically.
Cassie couldn't help but laugh. "Goodnight Lizzie."
Scene 3
Eddie ran down the staircase, his feet pounding heavily on the stair treads. He found Jenn in the kitchen preparing a huge Saturday morning breakfast. He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a huge kiss on the cheek. "Good morning lovely wife." he said, flashing a huge smile, his pearly whites gleaming. "What a great day it is." he added cheerfully, smiling from ear to ear enthusiastically.
Jenn smiled and swiveled in his arms. She looked up into his face, grinning. Eddie was as giddy as a school boy. His smile couldn't have gotten any brighter. "Someone sure is in a fantastic mood this morning." she acknowledged, winking playfully. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled suggestively. "Does last night have anything to do with your mood?" she whispered seductively. Eddie had all but dragged her upstairs last night. He'd taken her by the hand and literally pulled her upstairs. They had shared some much needed alone and cuddle time. Her husband was certainly one sensuous man. It had been a while since they'd been so close and it had felt wonderful being in his arms again with no doubts or concerns about her marriage.
Eddie pulled away from her and stretched his arms out wide, looking around the room. He pointed toward the kitchen window. "Jenn, last night was wonderful but look at what a beautiful day we've been blessed with." he commented, breathing in deeply, his chest expanding and contracting. "Nothing like a nice beautiful, sunny day. The air is crisp and the sun is shining."he described joyfully.
Jenn folded her arms. "Okay who are you and what have you done with my husband?" she questioned. Eddie normally slept in on Saturdays, yet here he was talking about being at peace with mother nature and she found this very strange and unusual. "Honey what's going on?"
Eddie laughed. Jenn knew him to well. "Watkins called and invited me on a little fishing trip with him and a few buddies.
Jenn frowned. "Fishing?" she echoed. "Honey you haven't been fishing in years. I can't recall the last time."
Eddie gave her another quick kiss and headed for the door as he talked. Watkins wanted to leave this evening so he had to get moving if he wanted to find all his old fishing gear and supplies. "You're right honey but this is just what I needed. A little out door wilderness time with the fellas."
Jenn stopped him before he could leave."Fishing...in the heights?" she asked suspiciously, her eyebrows raised. There weren't any parks or fishing camps in or near the heights.
Eddie paused and walked up to her. "Actually we were going to make it a weekend long trip. Head on out to Bear Valley Springs. You know..., get away for a change."he added nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.
Jenn's eyes narrowed. "Bear Valley Springs?" she repeated, tension showing on her face. "Honey that's hours away." When he'd mentioned a fishing trip she hadn't imagined it would be so far out of town.
Eddie put his hand on her shoulder. His eyes widened as a thought came to mind. He slapped his hands together as he came up with the perfect solution. "It's only a couple hours away but hey... I got a better idea." he stated.
"What?" Jenn asked curiously.
"Why don't you come with me?" he invited. "You and I can rent a separate cabin, get away from the kids for a while and I can still enjoy a little fishing with the guys. What do you say? I promise you we'll be back by Monday afternoon. I'm taking the day off."he said, trying to coerce Jenn to join him. It had been a while since they had been away from the kids. It would do them both some good to get out and enjoy the outdoors for a change, get away from the heights.
Jenn shook her head and held her hands up, refusing. The thought of pesty sand gnats, mosquitos and burnt camp fire food made her cringe. "Oh honey no. You go on and have a great time. I'm going to stay here with the kids and relax. Besides, me and my allergies do not get along with mother nature." She'd stay right here in the city where she was sure to be comfortable.
Eddie persisted. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive." Jenn replied, glancing up as Cassie came downstairs.
"Good morning." Cassie said solemnly. She'd gotten a good night's sleep in Lizzie's bed but unfortunately had still woken with the same bleak thoughts on her mind. She and Charles had their answer. Now, all they had to do was tell her parents or more importantly, figure out a way to tell her dad without him killing Charles.
Eddie turned to greet Cassie with a soft kiss on her forehead. "Good morning beautiful daughter. You look lovely this morning." he said joyfully, his voice loud and high pitched, full of joy. He greeted Cassie with the same bright smile he had given Jenn.
Cassie eyed her dad awkwardly. He was acting very strange and was unusually happy..., his behavior peculiar to say the least. Even more surprising, was finding him up at such an early hour on a Saturday. She'd come downstairs early, hoping to find her mom alone so she could talk with her about her pregnancy. She and Charles had agreed to tell her dad today but she really wanted to tell her mom first. She needed the comfort and support of her mom right now.
Eddie turned for the door. "Well, I better get my things together. You sure you won't change your mind?" he questioned Jenn once again.
"Very sure." Jenn answered, turning back to the stove to finish breakfast.
"Do you know where my tackle box is?" Eddie asked, his hand on the doorknob.
Jenn stirred the scrambled eggs, sparing Eddie a seconds glance. She didn't want to burn breakfast. She spoke without looking at him. "Uh...I think I remember seeing it out back in the tool shed with your fishing pole."
"Thanks." Eddie responded and walked out the door.
Cassie stood silently in the kitchen, holding her hands in front of her, trying to think of a way to broach the pregnancy subject. "Dad sure is in a good mood." she said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Watkins invited him up to Bear Valley Springs for a weekend fishing trip. He's excited. Looks like it will be just us girls and Tay this weekend." Jenn told Cassie.
"Oh." Cassie said sadly. If her dad was going out of town when would she and Charles have a chance to tell him the news? Charles was right. The longer they waited, the more complicated the whole issue became.
"Yeah." Jenn stated, smiling. "You want to help me with breakfast?"
"Sure." Cassie answered, taking plates and silverware from the cabinet. The ceramic plates clinked together as her hands shook violently. In her nervousness, she turned to place the dishes on the table a little too quickly and one of the plates slipped, shattering to the floor. "Great!....just great!" she shouted angrily. "I can't even set the table." she grumbled, her voice stiff with frustration.
Jenn rushed over to her, motioning for her to step away from the the shards of broken china. "Hey ...hey,"she said softly, "Honey it's okay. It's just a plate." she comforted, rubbing Cassie's shoulder. "Nothing to get upset about."
Cassie threw her hands up and back down again, her irritation plainly showing. "I'm doing everything wrong lately." she said, downing herself.
Jenn bent her knees to look Cassie in the eyes. Cassie couldn't be this upset over a simple piece of china. "Honey are you okay? You look tired. I'm surprised your up so early."
"I'm fine." Cassie said, turning to get a broom. "I'll get this cleaned up."
Jenn put her hand on her shoulder, refusing to let her walk away. "Forget about the plate and tell me what's going on."
Cassie held her breath and tried her hardest to look her mom in the eyes but she couldn't. Her eyes fell to the floor, avoiding her mom's penetrating gaze. A huge knot of anxiety grew deep within her chest. "Mom..." she called out softly, her voice cracking.
A look of apprehension came across Jenn's face and she grew a little impatient. As a mother, she could read her children, each and one of them. They all had certain traits. Their own little special way of letting you know when they were upset or when something was bothering them. Cassie tended to shy away and tell you nothing was wrong when she was hurt and depressed. "Honey?...," Jenn questioned, her own voice sounding strangely unfamiliar and shaky. She was scared..., terrified of what Cassie might say. She grew increasingly anxious by the second. It wasn't Cassie's silence that gave her away but her posture was rigid and she wouldn't look her in the eye. She took Cassie by the shoulders and gently shook her. "Cassie ...., baby...., what is it?" she asked again, her voice wavering. A part of her knew without asking. Deep down inside she knew but refused to believe it. She needed to hear Cassie officially say the words and confirm her worst suspicions. She didn't want to believe Cassie could be pregnant. Ever since she'd found the pregnancy test in Cassie's room, she'd thought about nothing else. It had weighed heavily on her mind and she'd hoped and prayed Cassie's mistake would turn out to be yet another false alarm just like the last time. "Cassie....," she paused, swallowing hard, "are you....baby are you...___?" she faltered, unable to say the word, losing her breath.
Cassie lifted her head, a single tear falling from her eye. She nodded her head softly. "Yes." she whispered almost too quietly for Jenn to hear. "I'm pregnant mom." she confirmed, tears forming in her eyes.
Jenn closed her eyes and clenched her fingers together. Her hands knotted at her sides. Burgeoning tears threatened to fall but she held them back. She wrapped Cassie in her arms. "Oh my God. Oh baby."she whispered breathlessly, softly rocking Cassie in her arms. Her lips quivered as she fought to stay strong. Her baby was crying in her arms and for the first time she wasn't able to tell her everything was going to be alright. This was the first time she couldn't tell one of her children everything was going to be okay and it made her feel helpless and useless. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what was going to happen now and it scared her. All she could think about was how scared Cassie must be right now and the changes a baby was going to bring to both her and Charles's life, their future. Cassie was her oldest child but she was still her baby. Her baby Cassie was having a child of her own. As her mother, she knew she'd stand by her and help her in every possible way regardless of how upset and disappointed she was. She couldn't let Cassie face this alone.
She pulled back and gazed into Cassie's tear filled eyes. She wiped her tears and tried to calm her down. "It's okay to cry baby. I know your scared but I'm here okay?"
"Mom," Cassie cried out pitifully, "will you help me? I don't know what to do mom." she breathed, her body trembling helplessly.
Jenn's eyes swelled with tears. She cupped Cassie's cheek in her palm. "Of course I will baby. I'm going to help you with everything. We'll handle this together." she promised.
Cassie pursed her lips. "Will you help Charles and I? Will you help us explain to dad? Please." she begged, her voice ragged with fear.
"I'll do whatever I can to help you honey. I promise. I will." Jenn agreed.
"I'm afraid to tell dad mom. He's going to be so disappointed in me." Cassie said sadly.
"I know you're scared but he's your father and he deserves to hear it from you and Charles..., no one else." Jenn stated. "I can't do it for you. He cannot hear this from someone else." she insisted. Charles and Cassie owed Eddie that much at least. If he learned of Cassie's pregnancy through someone else it would only make matter worse. Eddie's temper would surely explode but he had a right to know. He had a short fuse and she shuddered to think of what he might do and how the conversation would go over but she couldn't bring herself to have Cassie and Charles face Eddie alone. She knew her husband. He could cut a grown man down with a few simple words. There was no telling what he'd do or say to a young man like Charles and it scared her. They had to come up with a plan and the correct approach. If Charles approached Eddie the wrong way all hell would break loose.
She held Cassie by the shoulders. She was nervous and it showed. She fidgeted, pressed the wrinkles on Cassie's shirt with her fingers and toyed with her collar lapels. "Your father is leaving late this evening." she said, sniffing, her tears subsiding. "Why don't you invite Charles over and we'll have a family meeting before he leaves for his trip."
Cassie laid her head against her mom's chest and Jenn held her tightly in her arms. She closed her eyes and held Cassie as she cried, offering her the only comfort she could give her right now.
"Thank you mom." Cassie mumbled. She was going to have a baby. It was time to be and act like a responsible adult but right now she felt like a scared little girl crying on her mommies shoulder.
Eddie walked back into the kitchen, an armful of gear and supplies in hand, humming a cheerful tune. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Jenn standing with her eyes closed, quietly holding and comforting Cassie in her arms. He cleared his throat. "Ahem." he grunted loudly. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked sensitively. Cassie stood with her back to him but he could have sworn she was crying.
Jenn opened her eyes, startled to see Eddie carrying a rifle along with his pile of fishing supplies. "Honey I thought this was a fishing trip. What in the world are you doing with that gun?!" Just a little mother daughter pep talk. Nothing to worry about." she fabricated.
Eddie set his gear down and propped the rifle in a nearby corner. "You can never be to safe out in the wilderness and don't worry it's not loaded." he responded, walking up close to Jenn and Cassie. "Everything okay?"
Jenn tried to make light of the situation. She patted Cassie's back with her hand playfully. "Just a little mother/daughter pep talk. Nothing to worry about."
You okay Cassie?" Eddie asked, still feeling as if he'd walked in on something.
Cassie kept her back turned, lifted her head and quickly wiped away her tears. "I'm fine dad." She spoke without turning around to face him. She didn't want him to see her tears.
Jenn ushered Cassie upstairs. Charles would be there later and they could sit down as a family and discuss everything then. "Honey why don't you tell Tay and Lizzie to come down.
"Okay." Cassie agreed, hurrying off upstairs.
Jenn knew Eddie was suspicious and she wanted to avoid the subject at all cost. "I better clean up this mess." she said quickly, eager to change the subject. She pretended to be busy washing dishes, vigorously scrubbing a greasy frying pan. She let the water run on high, intentionally drowning out the silent tension in the room.
Eddie was no fool. Despite Jenn's denial, he knew he had interrupted something important.. "Did Cassie have a fight with Charles?" he inquired.
Jenn winced at his question. She might have known he wouldn't let the subject drop. He sensed something was wrong. She knew it and struggled to behave as normally as possible, hoping he wouldn't detect her uneasiness. Why couldn't he just drop the subject and let it go? She'd just been dealt the shock of her life. She was going to be a grand mother and needed time for the news to sink in, to adjust. She wanted to avoid Eddie's question but it was obvious he wasn't going away. "What makes you say that?" she asked lightheartedly.
All was not right in the Sutton household and Eddie knew it. Jenn was uptight and jittery. She was trying to hide it but wasn't doing a very good job. He walked up close to her, stared at her as she pretended to be completely engrossed in washing dishes. Oddly enough, he watched her wash and rinse the same skillet three times. "You keep that up and you're gonna wash the paint off of that thing." he pointed out, nodding down at the pan in the sink.
Jenn dropped the pan down into the sink, watched it sink below the sudsy water. She curled her wet hands around the edge of the counter in front of her and squeezed it tightly. Lord give her the strength she thought to herself, sighing heavily. Who was she fooling? She had been washing the same pan for the pass five minutes, unable to focus and concentrate on anything but Cassie and Charles. A guilty conscious could surely make a person lose their mind. If she hadn't allowed Cassie to have birth control pills, maybe she and Charles wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place. Maybe they would have been more careful if they hadn't had the added security of contraceptives. She felt somewhat responsible for this whole situation and it made her sick to her stomach. She was a mess. A bundle of nerves. She had allowed Cassie to have birth control pills, had known she and Charles were sexually active. How in the world was she going to explain all of that to Eddie and did she dare tell him this wasn't the first but the second pregnancy scare? She'd been a teenager once and knew she couldn't have stopped Cassie from having sex but how was she going to explain to Eddie that she hadn't condoned Cassie's behavior but had simply provided the necessary contraceptive protection and sexual education for their daughter? How could she possibly reason with him, make him understand that while she couldn't force Charles and Cassie to not have sex, she had at least wanted Cassie to be safe and protected? Though, a lot of good her precautions had done. Cassie was pregnant and Eddie would never understand. How in the world were they going to get through this?
Eddie noticed Jenn's hands clenching the counter, her gaze set on the kitchen window, staring outside. Her thoughts seemed to be a million miles away. "You sure you're okay?" he prompted, giving her an opening to discuss whatever was on her mind.
Jenn turned to him and patted his cheek with her sudsy hands. "I'm sorry honey. My mind was wandering. You worry to much. Cassie and I were just having a little talk."
Eddie leaned his head to the side, thinking. "Cassie's crying so that automatically tells me it must have something to do with Charles." he theorized, his eyes growing hard. He held one hand up in warning. "Charles better watch it. Jenn, if he's done something to hurt her feelings, make her cry, I swear I'm not going to stand for it and I...___"
Jenn planted a quick kiss on Eddie's lips, ending his tirade about Charles, dodging the issue as best she could. "Well don't. Don't swear."she scolded. "Speaking of Charles, Cassie invited him to dinner this evening." Now was as a good a time as any to set things up. At least Eddie would be expecting Charles and wouldn't be surprised when he showed up for a family dinner. "We can all have dinner together before you leave."
"Great. Dinner with Charles." Eddie sneered sarcastically, taking his seat at the table.
Scene 4
Claire knocked lightly on Cassie's door, cracked open the door slightly and peered in.
Cassie was on the phone. She smiled at Claire and silently motioned with her hand for her to come in. She had called Claire this morning and given her the bad news. She spoke into her cell phone. "Charles I have to go. I'll be fine. Claire is here. Make sure you're on time for dinner. I just want to get this over with. Bye. See you soon. Love you." she said, ending her call. "Claire I didn't know you were coming over. I'm sorry I bothered you with my problem. I know you've got your own issues with David."
Claire gave Cassie a warm hug. "Are you kidding me? Of course I came over. You sounded strange on the phone. I was worried."
Cassie took a tissue from her Kleenex box and blew her nose. "It just feels weird and I still don't want to believe it. I can't believe I'm really pregnant."
Claire studied Cassie and noticed her puffy eyes. She reached for the tissue box and shook it. It was almost empty. "How many boxes of tissue have you gone through? I can tell you've been crying because your eyes are all red and swollen."
Cassie slumped down onto her bed. "I cry every time I think about it. I'm worried about myself but even more worried about Charles. We're going to tell my dad tonight during dinner."
Claire sat down on the bed next to Cassie. "Everything's going to be okay Cassie. Look at it this way, you're dad's going to be upset but regardless of how angry he gets, one way or another, he'll have to accept your pregnancy and the important thing is he knows that Charles really loves you. It's not like your pregnant and having a baby for some no good, irresponsible guy. Everyone, including your dad, should know that Charles will do the right thing. He's madly in love with you and he's always been overly protective of you. Now that your pregnant, I imagine his feelings will only grow stronger and I know he'll do whatever he has to in order to provide for you and take care of you. No matter how angry or disappointed your dad gets, at least he knows Charles is a good guy who's not going to walk out on your or leave you. Cassie, your dad knows that you two really love each other and that has to count for something."
"Claire you don't understand. My dad has a temper." Cassie explained.
Claire grunted humorously. "uh...hello..," she said, grinning, "I know all about dad's with tempers. My dad has the biggest one of all remember?"
"Yes but your not pregnant." Cassie said, grabbing her pillow, curling up in the bed covers. Her eyelids fluttered close. Dinner wasn't for a few hours yet. All she wanted to do until that time was lie in bed and try not to think about the horrible things her dad would surely say to Charles.
Claire snatched the pillow from beneath Cassie's head, hiding it behind her back when Cassie reached out for it. "Oh no you don't. If you think I'm going to stand here and watch you sulk, be depressed and lie around in your pajamas all day, you've got another thing coming." She took hold of Cassie's hand and tugged her back up into a sitting position. "Come on." she urged, playfully thumping Cassie on her legs with the pillow. "You may be pregnant but that's not an excuse to lie around being lazy all day." she teased, trying to make Cassie smile. "Come on." she repeated. "It's nice outside. Let's go out and grab lunch or something. You need to get out of this room. It might help take your mind off of things. Come on...what do you say?"
Cassie tugged her arm back, pulling away from Claire. She knew Claire was only trying to help, trying to take her mind of tonight's family meeting but she was too upset to think of anything else. "Claire, I'm glad you came over and I know what you're trying to do but I'm just not in a good mood okay?
Claire shook her head. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I came over to cheer you up and I'm not leaving until I do. Come on..., get up. I have an idea." Claire said, circling Cassie's wrist with her hand, forcefully pulling her to her feet.
Cassie stood up, frowning. "Claire what are you doing?"
"You're worried about what your dad is going to say right?" Claire questioned.
Cassie nodded with agreement. "Of course I am.. Charles and I both are. How do you tell your dad your pregnant?"
Claire took Cassie by the shoulders and positioned her to stand directly in front of her. "Okay so let's play a game."
Cassie was confused. Claire had totally lost her. "What?" she asked, becoming annoyed.
"A game." Claire explained. "Trust me. It will help you decide what you want to say tonight." She pointed at her chest. "I'll be Charles and you be Mr. Sutton. Come on. Let's practice."
Cassie looked at Claire for a long moment, stared at her as if she'd gone completely crazy. "Wait..., so, you want to impersonate my dad and Charles?
Claire grimaced. Somehow Cassie wasn't understanding her idea. "Don't think of it as impersonating. Just think of it as role playing." she explained, feeling foolish with Cassie standing there staring at her like she was crazy. "Will you please just trust me? It works. My mom and dad use to do this when they went through marriage counseling. They would switch roles so they could see and hear what the other was feeling."
"Claire, evidently it doesn't work. Your parents ended up getting a divorce. I've got a better idea." she mentioned sarcastically. "Why don't you and David play this little game? Maybe it will help you two get back together."
Claire glared at Cassie. "Stop trying to change the subject. This isn't about me. David and I have nothing to do with this. This is about you, Charles and your dad. Will you just give it a chance? It won't hurt you to at least try it."
Cassie sighed, relenting. "Okay." she agreed, her voice less than enthusiastic. This whole idea sounded ridiculous and she was sure it was going to be a complete waste of time.
"Okay I'll go first. I'll start." Claire volunteered. She cleared her throat "Ahem." She adjusted her stance, trying her best to capture Charles's essence, his stance and body movements. Then, she licked her lips. Everyone knew Charles always licked his lips before he said something important.
Cassie laughed softly. Claire was so silly but she had to admit, she was doing a good job impersonating Charles. Charles had a habit of licking his lips when he was nervous or concerned about something. Up until now, she'd thought she was the only one who noticed but apparently Claire was very perceptive.
Claire nudged Cassie playfully on the shoulder. "Stop making me laughing." she grinned, trying to hold back her own laughter. "I'm trying to impersonate Charles."
"Okay." Cassie responded, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
Claire continued with her impersonation. Charles had the most beautiful big grey eyes she'd ever seen on a guy so she intentionally stretched her eyes, trying to make them look big and dreamy, just like Charles's. Her head tilted to the side ever so slightly. She took a deep breath and was sure to deepen her voice, making it sound deep, masculine and husky. "Mr. Sutton," she paused, deepening her voice even further, "you know I love your daughter and I promi__...."
Cassie burst out laughing before Claire could get any further. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt. Claire's impersonation of Charles was one of the funniest things she'd ever seen.
"You didn't let me finish." Claire laughed out loud, unable to hold it in any longer.
Cassie laughed so hard tears sprang in her eyes. Claire's portrayal of Charles was spot on and exact but she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of admitting it. "Claire..., Charles doesn't talk like that."
Claire disagreed and laughed wildly. "Oh yes he does. You know he does. Just admit it Cassie."
Cassie was beside herself with laughter. "Your right. You sound just like him."
Claire threw her head back and laughed hard. Overcome with laughter, she and Cassie stood holding each other to keep from falling over with laughter.
Claire pulled back to look at Cassie. "At least I made you laugh." she said, her laughter finally subsiding.
Cassie reached and gave Claire a big friendly hug. "Thanks for cheering me up Claire."
"What are best friends for?" Claire replied.
Cassie looked at Claire and the thought of her leaving. Losing Claire was going to be very hard and it made her feel sad. In the next two weeks her best friend would be gone. Claire was her go to person when she needed someone to talk to, someone to listen to her. She was her confidant. "What am I going to do without you Claire? Who's going to make me laugh when I'm all sad and depressed?"
"Cassie we'll still talk on the phone everyday and I'll be back for college. We'll see each other this fall and hopefully we can room together."
"Who's going to babysit for me?" Cassie teased.
Claire smiled. "I'll be back by the time you have the baby but you have to promise me one thing."
"What?" Cassie asked.
"Promise me you'll let me help you choose a name for the baby." Claire spoke softly, her face growing soft.
Cassie's heart dropped. "Aww....of course I will." she promised, giving Claire another hug, squeezing her tight. "I'm gonna miss you so much Claire."
Claire pulled away and touched the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. "We'd better stop talking about babies and all this mushy stuff or else you're gonna make me cry." she said sadly, her eyes tearing up.
"I wish you weren't leaving so soon." Cassie said, her voice filled with regret. "Charles and I are going to get married soon and I was hoping you'd be my maid of honor."
Claire sat on the edge of the bed. She folded her arms, the way she did when she was in deep thought. Wow..., she was going to miss her best friend's wedding, miss out on all the fun she knew they would have during summer break. "So I guess that means David's going to be Charles's best man right?"
Cassie nodded. "Well, Charles and I haven't really planned anything yet and he hasn't officially asked David but but I'm sure he'll say yes."
Cassie sat down next to Claire and touched her arm with her hand. "Claire, we don't have to talk about David if you don't want to but do you miss him at all?"
Claire's eyes softened at the mention of David's name. She missed David so much it hurt but right now, Cassie's problems seemed so much bigger and more important. "Of course I miss him Cassie but what can I do? He won't even look at me let alone talk to me. Last week at school, we were so close in the hallway, we could have reached out and touched each other but he just looked right through me like I didn't even exist. He hates me Cassie." she said sadly.
Cassie swept a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She knew Claire was upset. "Claire that's not true. David loves you and I know you love him. I wish you two could work something out."
Claire shook her head slowly. There was no chance of her and David working anything out. "No Cassie he hates me. You didn't hear the way he yelled at me when we broke up. He called me a liar and told me to leave."
"Are you saying you don't love him?" Cassie asked, putting Claire on the spot.
Claire was irritated. "Cassie what does it matter what I feel!?" she asked angrily. "It's over. David and I are threw. Someone told me he's dating Brittany Williams." she revealed shockingly. "I mean, can you believe that!?"
"Who would tell you that?" Cassie questioned curiously. She didn't want to say anything to hurt Claire's feelings but she had seen David and Brittany walking together in the hallway a couple days ago.
"Claire crossed her legs and shot Cassie with an insightful look. "Who else?"
Cassie didn't have to think long. She knew exactly who had told Claire. "Sage." She called out.
"Of course it was Sage and she was delighted to share the news with me." Claire stated, folding her arms. "I don't know. Maybe she's lying. I mean really...of all people..., Brittany Williams?" she said through her teeth. She'd have to see it for herself to believe it. What could David possibly see in Brittany? Her temper seethed every time she thought about David being with her. "People always say we look alike but personally I don't think she looks anything like me. What do you think?" she asked, turning her head from side to side, letting Cassie examine her profile.
Cassie bit her nails. She didn't want to answer that question. "She's okay I guess." she answered vaguely. Claire and Brittany didn't look exactly alike exactly but they had similar characteristics. They were both really tall..., leggy and both sported natural hairstyles. Brittany was a pretty girl but her beauty couldn't be compare to Claire's striking features.
Claire scoffed. "Okay? Are you serious Cassie? Is that all you can say?"
"I mean...you're much prettier." Cassie added quickly.
Claire rubbed her palms against her jean clad legs. "What if Sage is right? What if he's dating her? She and David weren't together anymore but she wasn't ready to see him with anyone else.
Cassie pushed herself up onto the bed and sat in Indian style. "Um...Claire, I have to tell you something but please don't be mad at me for not telling you sooner okay?"
"Oooookay." Claire said, dragging out her voice. The guilty expression on Cassie's face made her wary. She could tell she was about to hear some bad news.
"I saw David and Brittany together this week but it looked totally innocent. They weren't holding hands or anything and who knows what they could have been talking about. It doesn't necessarily mean they're together." Cassie admitted.
Claire's mouth fell open. "You knew about this and didn't say anything?! Oh my God! Cassie how could you?! Wow..., thanks a lot."
Cassie leaned forward on the bed, trying to look into Claire's face. "Claire please don't be mad. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I didn't want to upset you."
Claire became defensive. "You don't think I had a right to know?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was one thing to hear it from a liar like Sage but to have it confirmed by your best friend was a whole other matter.
Cassie was ashamed of herself. She felt guilty but answered as honestly as she could. "Well..., not really Claire."
"How can you say that Cassie?!" Claire asked sharply. This conversation was growing more irritating by the minute. Her best friend was keeping things from her. "You're suppose to be my friend. My best friend." she added.
"Claire your not his girlfriend anymore. You broke up with him remember?" Cassie said, stating the facts. She felt sorry for Claire but David was also her friend and she didn't want to choose sides. David was a handsome guy and she wasn't surprised the girls were interested in him now that he was single.
Claire covered her face with her hands. "Ugh." she choked out, frustrated. "I know. You're right. Why do things have to be so difficult? I know I have no claims on him anymore but I don't know if I'm ready to watch him move on. Wow, he sure didn't waste any time did he?"
Cassie scooted closer to Claire and put her arm around her shoulder. "I think David's hurting just as much as you are Claire."
"You really think so?" Claire asked. She hoped that maybe....just maybe, David was missing her as much as she missed him.
Cassie was sure of it. "He does. Trust me." She and Charles hadn't seen much of David since he and Claire had broken up. He didn't eat lunch with them or hang out with them anymore because he and Claire were avoiding each other like the plague. The few times she had seen and spoken with him, he hadn't seemed very happy. She had tried to bring up Claire's name a few times but he had immediately changed the subject.
"I guess I didn't think he'd be so quick to date someone else. It hurts." Claire confessed sadly.
Cassie wished there was something she could do. She wished there was some way Claire could stay in the Heights and for everything between her and David to be alright. "I'm sorry Claire."
Claire sucked in a huge breath. There was no use crying over spilled milk. She had broken up with David for a reason and he had obviously moved on. She only had a couple weeks left in the Heights and she wanted to enjoy that time with her dad and Cassie. "Let's talk about something okay? David and I are history. There's no use talking about it and you and I have more important things to do." She smiled happily. "We've got a wedding to plan."
Scene 5
Charles drove around town checking for David at all of his usual hang out spots. He'd been trying to call and contact him all day and had already stopped by his house twice. Where in the world was he? He needed to talk to him, to someone. It wasn't everyday a young man like himself found out he was going to be a father. Though he had put up a brave front for Cassie last night, the thought of being someone's dad scared the hell out of him. In total, he had exactly nine months to pull himself together, come up with a plan and enter the real world of an adult man. So many emotions ran through his head and he hadn't slept a wink last night. He was scared, shocked, happy and a little anxious and uneasy all at the same time.
He finally found David in the middle of a basketball game at the local recreation center. He stood on the side line and waved his right arm at David, trying to get his attention.
David leaped up into the air and slam dunked the basketball into the net, hanging onto the rim. He spotted Charles from the corner of his eye and dropped back down to his feet, calling out the other players. "Hey guys..., I'm out." he yelled out, sprinting over to the bleachers in Charles's direction.
"Oh you want to quit when I'm just about to whip your tail! Man I was about to put money on this game!" one of the other players shouted.
David turned on his heels, walking backwards. "Yeah right!" he yelled back. "Put your money where your mouth is! he said, laughing out loud.
Charles walked over to David, meeting him half way. "Dude where the hell have you been?!" he barked out impatiently. "I've been calling you all day."
David was hot, tired and needed a drink. Out of breath from playing so hard, he breathed in deeply to catch his breath and took a few quick swallows from the sports drink he'd left on the bleachers before responding to Charles. It wasn't like his boy to be so bossy and irritated. "Oh my bad man. I'm sorry. I left my cell phone at the house." he apologized. "Did we have a hot date I forgot about?"he jived playfully.
Charles rubbed his forehead with his hand. He wasn't in a joking mood. "Come on dude. This isn't funny. "
David paused with the sports drink bottle half way to his lips, about to take another swallow. "What isn't funny?"
Charles rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh..., Cassie ___..." Charles started but didn't finish as David rudely interrupted him mid-sentence.
David held his hand up in a warning but pleading gesture. He knew what this was about and he really didn't want to talk about it. "Look Charles, Cassie's my girl and I appreciate what she's trying to do but it's over. You might as well save your breath. If she sent you here to talk about me and Claire, I don't want to hear it." Cassie had already waylaid him in the school hallway a few times, trying to get him to talk about Claire but he had skillfully avoided her questions. "I know she's just looking out for her best friend but there's nothing to be done. Claire broke up with me. It wasn't the other way around."
Charles waived his hands back and forth in front of him, signaling no. "This isn't about Claire." he said abruptly, ending David's runaway thoughts. "This is about me and Cassie. She's pregnant."
"Whoa." David muttered, slowly screwing the cap on his drink. Charles's declaration rendered him speechless and he wasn't sure how to respond to such a delicate situation but he had to say something. "Uh....are you sure? Last time we talked you hadn't even taken the test yet. Man, just be sure before you start worrying."
Charles confirmed the results. "We're sure. We took the test last night. We're going to have a baby." David's awestruck expression made him feel even worse. He expected they would get the same reaction from everyone as they found out and he couldn't blame them. He himself had slept on the information all night and had still woken with the same heightened feeling of surprise and shock. He turned, giving David his back to stare at and ran his hands through his hair. With each passing hour, all he could focus on was dinner with the Suttons. Even on his goods days, Mr. Sutton was an overly intense kind of man. Cassie's pregnancy would surely send him over the edge.
A noisy basketball court was not the ideal place to discuss something so important. David took his drink and towel and headed for the locker room, motioning with his head for Charles to follow. Inside, he straddled the locker room bench and watched Charles pace back and forth in front of him. "Man what are you gonna do?"
Charles leaned against one of the lockers and held his head back, staring at the ceiling. What was he going to do? That was the question of the day. "I don't know." he answered honestly.
David stood up, pulled his things from the locker and threw them into his gym bag. He slammed the locker door shut and turned to Charles. "I hate to break it to you Charles but you better know." His voice came off harsh but this was a serious matter and Charles seemed too distraught and frustrated to deal with the issue at hand.
Charles found David's tone offensive. "Dude don't judge me! You have no idea what I'm feeling and going through right now!
"Dude!" David parodied, doing some yelling of his own. "I don't have any call to judge you but did you or did you not just tell me Cassie's pregnant and you don't know what you're going to do? Man..., this is Cassie we're talking about, your girl and my friend."
"What are trying to say David!?" Charles shouted, growing angrier by the minute. "Huh? What are you trying so say!?" he repeated, his voice rising even louder. "I love Cassie and we're going to be together. I'm going to marry her. I'm not going to leave her or walk out on her if that's what your thinking."
David was taken aback but didn't take Charles's words to heart. Charles was upset and simply speaking out of turn, venting his frustrations. "Come on man don't put words in my mouth. That's not what I said."
It was wrong to take his frustrations out on David but his back was against the wall and within a few hours, he had a meeting with the man himself..., Mr. Sutton. Pain flashed in his eyes but he turned away before David could see it. Leaning against the wall of lockers before him, he rested forehead against the cold metal, stood with his arms outstretched, feet a shoulder width apart and palms flattened. His hand curled up into a fist and slammed against the locker door as his frustrations erupted and got the best of him. He pounded his fist against the locker another few times before yelling out angrily. "This is not what Cassie and I planned for ourselves!" he bit off.
David stood back and let Charles have his way with the locker. If this violent fist pounding helped him to vent his frustrations in any way, shape or form, he wasn't going to stop him. "Dawg if it makes you feel any better have at it. Knock yourself out man but know that you can't change what has already happened and don't think for one minute that I'm standing here judging you because I'm not. All I'm saying is instead of being angry and upset, you need to come up with a plan. You may be in shock but you're gonna have to snap out of it really quick and in a hurry. It's time to man up. If you love Cassie and know you want to be with her, you better make the best of the situation."
Charles turned and looked toward David. "Our lives were suppose to be so different." he whispered, shaking his head softly, wondering how he had let things go so wrong. "We had it all planned out."
David shook his head. Charles's comment made him think of him and Claire's situation. "Charles sometimes things don't work out like we want, like we planned but you've been lucky enough to find someone who wants to spend the rest of their life with you. Yeah I get it and I understand why you're upset but Cassie's not just some random girl you just met. She's your fiancee and her parents already know that you two planned on getting married. Granted, it may be a little sooner than they expected because Cassie's pregnant but they knew all the same. What did they have to say about all this anyway?"
"I'm telling them tonight. How in the world am I going to explain this?" Charles quickly uttered.
Now David was worried. "You haven't told them?!" he asked, astonished. He'd assumed Cassie's parents would have been the first to learn the news.
Charles was a little embarrassed and ashamed of not having told Mr. Sutton yet but he'd promised Cassie they'd wait and tell him during dinner. "Cassie told her mom and we agreed to tell her father together. I'm going to talk to him tonight during dinner but how do I tell a guy, an officer, I got his daughter pregnant?"
David zipped his gym bag and hoisted the strap onto his shoulder, adjusting the heavy weight. "Can I give you some advice?"
"I need all the advice I can get right now." Charles responded.
David talked as he and Charles walked toward the door, heading out to their cars. "When I first met Officer Watkins he couldn't stand me. The guy hated me with a passion. In fact, he did everything in his power to make me feel uncomfortable and wary but then I figured him out and that all changed."
"So what did you do?" Charles asked.
"I stood up to him." David informed Charles. "I stood up to him and eventually he accepted me because he knew I wasn't going away and I wanted to be with his daughter." he explained. "He couldn't intimidate me anymore."
Charles was not optimistic. "You obviously don't know Mr. Sutton very well. There's no talking to him once he gets upset and when it comes to Cassie, he's got a one track mind."
David opened his car trunk and tossed his bag inside. He stood with one hand on the upraised trunk and the other on his waist. "I'm not telling you to start a confrontation with him and end up getting your butt whipped but I am saying you should stand up to him, talk to him one on one, man to man, because if you don't he's going to run roughshod all over you. I've only met Mr. Sutton a few times but from what I've seen, if you don't handle this right, he's going to get in your face, step on your toes and walk all over you." he said, slamming his car trunk closed.
Charles knew David was right. Over the last few years, he'd worked hard at getting Mr. Sutton to finally accept him. Now, all of his hard won efforts were being threatened. ""What if he won't let me explain? What if he's to upset to hear anything I have to say?"
"Yeah, I'll admit he has right to be upset. You got his daughter pregnant. He's going to be angry and pissed off with you. Hell, he'll probably want to kill you but no matter how much he yells and screams, you have to explain what your intentions are." David informed Charles, being brutally honest, letting him know what he would be up against this evening.
Charles released a heated breath. Everything David was saying he'd already thought of and went over in his head. He'd gone over every possible scenario in his mind and no matter how he looked at it, some kind of altercation was sure to take place.
"And don't worry he'll listen." David replied firmly. "He may not like or want to hear what you have to say but he'll listen. From what I've seen, Officer Sutton and Officer Watkins are a lot alike. They have a lot in common especially when it comes to their daughters. Trust me. Stand your ground and speak your peace. He'll respect you more if you do. Honestly, ask yourself, what's the worst he could do to you?"
Charles's face grew hard and grim. David asked what's the worst that could happen. He didn't want to think about what could happen, in particularly, things like bodily harm and injury came to mind.
David read Charles's expression. "On second thought, don't answer that." he chuckled lightly, unlocking his car door. "Not trying to bail on you man but I promised my mom I'd be home early. She's hounding me about finishing my valediction speech but think about what I said. Everything's gonna work out. Give it some time and you'll see."
Charles clasped David's hand and leaned in to bump shoulders. "I appreciate the advice man. Thanks. Wish me luck." he said, turning to leave for his own car.
David grabbed Charles by the shoulder. "Hey hold on. Let me get a good look at you." he stated, his eyes thoroughly scanning Charles's body from head to toe and then back up again.
Charles jerked away from him. "Dude what the hell are you doing?" his voice grated, feeling embarrassed and conspicuous with David's appraisal, not to mention the awkward glances they were receiving from curious onlookers.
David adjusted Charles's shirt collar with his fingers and laughed out loud. "I just want to remember you as you are..., trying to envision how you're gonna look in your black funeral suit because Officer Sutton is gonna kill you." he teased purposefully, patting Charles on his shoulder.
Charles flattened his hands against David's chest and shoved him away, smiling and laughing all the while. "Shut up man. Go home. Get out of here." he grinned. "The only suit I plan on wearing any time soon is my wedding tuxedo and I'm counting on you to be my best man."
"You know it man." David responded, gladly accepting his role as best man. He got into his car, started the engine and backed out but rolled the window down for one final say, one final piece of advice. He leaned out of the window with one hand on the steering wheel and his free arm resting on the window edge. "I meant what I said man and you know I'm right. If Mr. Sutton doesn't respect you and can't see you as a young man, he'll never accept you being with his daughter, whether she's pregnant or not."
Scene 6
Jenn scrambled around the kitchen, rushing to set and prepare the table. She'd made sure to prepare some of Eddie and Charles's favorites. She suspected dinner was going to be quite an ordeal and wanted everything to be perfect. At the very least, she wanted everyone to enjoy some good comfort food. With both hands full, occupied with two casserole dishes, she stopped on her way to the dinning room, asking the kids for help. "Lizzie, Cassie, can you girls please grab the dinner ware and help me out please. Tay, get some extra napkins."
"Sure mom." Lizzie said, turning and quickly searching through the cabinets.
Cassie saw the everyday dinnerware Lizzie was using and went into the lower cabinets to get their special occasion China. "Lizzie, tonight's dinner is special. We're using the good china."
Lizzie set the plates down she was carrying and rushed over to Cassie, pulling the dishes from her hands. "I got it Cassie. You shouldn't be carrying these. Here, let me take them."
Cassie held onto the stack of plates tightly but Lizzie tugged even harder, physically forcing her to let go. "Stop it Lizzie."
"What?" Lizzie asked, perplexed. She wasn't doing anything.
"You know what I'm talking about Lizzie." Cassie whispered, looking around to make sure no one heard their conversation. "You've been acting strange, treating me like I'm helpless ever since I told you I was pregnant."
Lizzie gawked at Cassie. She denied the accusation but knew it was true. "I have not and you just told me last night. I'm sorry. I guess you weren't too helpless when you slept in my room last night." she countered, whispering back. She was a little ashamed of having been caught being so considerate and thoughtful to her sister but now that Cassie was pregnant, she shouldn't be doing any strenuous work of any kind. She'd heard stories and seen television shows about women losing their babies because they didn't take care of themselves and over worked themselves. She didn't want that to happen to Cassie. The idea of Cassie having a baby was fascinating and made her smile. She thought it was great and couldn't wait to have an addition to their family.
"Yes you have." Cassie whispered sharply, annoyed at the way Lizzie kept looking at her, staring at her stomach. Feeling as if she were on display, she covered her mid section with her hands. "And why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?!" Lizzie said through the side of her mouth, looking down, stealing a quick glance at Cassie's belly.
Cassie cast her head to one side. Lizzie knew exactly what she was doing but was pretending to be confused. "That! You're doing it right now. Stop it. Stop staring at me. You've been staring at me all day and you won't let me do anything. You did all my chores today. I'm pregnant Lizzie. I'm not sick. I can still do all the things I used to do."
"Okay I'm sorry." Lizzie finally admitted. "I was just trying to help. You don't have to be so mean about it. I don't want anything to happen to you Cassie."
Lizzie's warm admission made Cassie feel ashamed. She felt horrible. Lizzie was trying to be helpful and she'd yelled at her. "I'm sorry Lizze but don't worry about me okay? Nothing's going to happen to me. I'm going to be fine."
Lizzie ogled Cassie with her eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked softly.
"Yeah." Cassie assured her, reaching out to hug her. "I can take care of myself."
Tay came up behind Lizzie and Cassie. Something was going on and apparently everyone had forgotten to let him in on it. Lizzie and Cassie had been acting weird all day long, whispering and talking to each other. Since when had they gotten so close? "Hey, what are you two whispering about and what's going on? Why are we having a special family dinner, using the good china and stuff like that?" He didn't understand what was so special about tonight. For him, special dinners only meant more dishes to wash and more clean up time.
"Charles is having dinner with us Tay." Cassie revealed.
Tay shrugged his skinny shoulders. "So, Charles ain't nobody."
The doorbell rang and Cassie excused herself. "That's probably Charles. I'll get it."
Tay turned his attention to Lizzie. "So what's up? What's going on? You can tell me. I promise I won't say anything."
Lizzie knew Tay would find out soon enough but she didn't want to be the one to tell him. Cassie hadn't said as much but she imagined this family dinner was called to discuss Cassie's pregnancy. "You're imagining things Tay. Nothing's going on."
Tay wasn't buying Lizzie's story. "Stop lying. You've been being all sweet to Cassie, doing all her work and staring at her all goofy like. I don't see you bending over backwards to do my work."
Lizzie dodged Tay's questions. "Forget you Tay. Let's go eat. It's time for dinner."
Scene 7
Dinner was a forced, tense, horrible experience. Jenn tried to maintain light dinner conversation but even that didn't lighten the mood. Eddie did all the talking while Charles and Cassie sat on pins and needles, barely touching their plates.
Lizzie was a little annoyed because she couldn't invite Andrew to dinner. "I don't understand why I couldn't invite Andrew if this is suppose to be a family dinner."
Jenn scowled. Lizzie had asked about inviting Andrew to dinner and she'd told her tonight wasn't a good time. "Lizzie we discussed this earlier. I promise you we'll have special family dinners more often and you can invite Andrew."
"Why are we having a special dinner anyway? What's the occasion?" Tay blurted out.
"Tay..., honey eat your dinner before it gets cold." Jenn answered.
Charles was uncomfortable and felt as if Eddie was staring straight through him the whole night but he knew he was being paranoid because Mr. Sutton had barely spared him a second's glance. Not to mention, Lizzie was making him feel extremely self conscious. Sitting directly across the table from him, she'd smiled dreamily at him throughout the entire dinner. It was a good thing Cassie sat close to him, holding his hand under the table for much of the night because he wasn't sure he could take much more of this so called family dinner. So much for being made to feel like a part of the Sutton family. He'd never felt more like an outsider in his life.
Cassie squeezed Charles's hand, felt his cold, clammy skin. She leaned into him. "Are you okay?" she whispered into his ear.
Charles forced a quick smile. "I'm fine."
"Charles we should get this over with. My dad's going to be leaving any minute now." Cassie spoke quietly.
"I know. I know. Just give a minute okay." Charles replied, when in fact, he needed more than a few minutes to build up his courage, his will to talk with Mr. Sutton. He'd need hours, maybe even days to explain what he and Cassie had done, what they'd gotten themselves into it.
Eddie sat back from the table, rubbing his stomach. "Jenn that was the best fried chicken and cobb salad I've eaten in a long time. If this is what it takes to get a special dinner I should go away more often."
Jenn smiled through her worries. She'd sat watching the clock, watching the minutes tick by. They were running out of time. Eddie would be leaving for his trip soon and neither Cassie nor Charles had yet to mention anything. "Eddie's going on a weekend fishing trip Charles. Do you do any fishing?" she asked him, hoping to somehow prompt or maybe coerce him into at least talking with Eddie. Maybe she could help him broach the subject. She didn't want Eddie to leave without knowing what was going on.
Charles was so deep in thought, his mind so far away, he didn't hear a word Jenn said.
Cassie elbowed him lightly in his side. She repeated her mom's question. "Charles, my mom asked if you've ever done any fishing?"
An embarrassed Charles answered quickly. "No. No mam." he said, toying with his fork. "Well, maybe a few times as a kid but I don't know much about it."
Eddie joined the conversation. "Sorry to hear that Charles. You don't know what you're missing. Maybe next time you can join us or maybe you, Tay and Nate and I can plan our own fishing trip. It could be just us men folk, no women allowed."
"Sure Mr. Sutton. That's a great idea. It sounds like fun." Charles replied.
"Hey. That's not fair. How come you guys get to do all the fun outdoors stuff?" Lizzie complained.
Tay held his arm up and pulled back his shirt sleeve, exposing and flexing his bicep. "Because we're men." he taunted.
Lizzie stared at his puny, undeveloped muscles. "Oh please Tay. I'm a girl and I'm still stronger than you."
"Says who?" Tay retaliated. "You wish Lizzie. In your dreams."
"Says me." Lizzie responded. "Remember the last time we arm wrestled? I seem to recall whipping your butt."
"That's because I let you win." Tay remarked, ashamed to admit he'd been beaten by a girl.
"Tay you are a such a liar." Lizzie ranted, turning in her chair to face him.
"What?!" Tay said loudly. "Who are you calling a liar?"
"You are you big dummy and I've been meaning to ask, why is your head so small?" Lizzie ridiculed Tay, rolling her eyes.
"No you are stupid and my head is not small!" Tay countered, tossing his soiled napkin at Lizzie. "You need to shut up. I'd rather have a small head than a long neck. You look like a big rooster. You with your cock-a-doodle lookin self!"
Jenn broke into the conversation. She could plainly see a foolish argument was about to ensue over the dinner table. "That's quite enough. If you two are done eating you can excuse yourselves and go on upstairs." It would be better if Tay and Lizzie weren't around to hear Charles and Cassie's conversation. She'd explain to them soon enough.
Lizzie pushed back from the table but Tay remained seated. He looked around the dinner table then up at the clock. "Upstairs....why? It's early yet and besides, it's my night to do dishes."
Jenn placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. "Don't worry about the dishes Tay. I'll take care of it. Now please, honey don't argue with me. Just do as your told."
Tay got up from the table, joining Lizzie. "Yes mam." he said, minding his manners.
Tay turned to Lizzie half way up the stairs. "Sorry I called you stupid." he apologized.
Lizzie smiled. "It's okay. Sorry I called you a dummy."
"Something's going on. Mom's sending us upstairs to get rid of us. I'm sure of it." Tay speculated.
"I guess I might as well tell you. You're gonna find out anyway." Lizzie said.
"Tell me what?" Tay asked, curious to hear the news.
"Cassie's pregnant Tay. She's gonna have a baby. She and Charles are going to tell dad. That's why we had this special dinner." Lizzie whispered softly.
Tay stopped in his tracks going up the stairs. "Say what?!" he shouted, eyes bulging out of their sockets. "You go ahead."he said, pushing Lizzie up the stairs. "I ain't going nowhere. I got to see this." It wasn't everyday he got to see his dad come unglued, blow his stack but this was sure to be one of those times and he wanted a ring side seat. Personally, he thought Charles must be nine kinds of crazy for even attempting to tell his dad something so horrible. He made a u-turn on the staircase, heading back down, making a b-line for the dinning room.
Lizzie reacted quickly, catching him by the back of his shirt collar. "No Tay. No your not. Stay out of it Tay." she demanded. "Come on. Let's go upstairs and give them some privacy." she whispered through her teeth, struggling to pulling him the rest of the way upstairs.
Tay agreed but under one condition. "Okay but you have to tell me everything you know."
"Alright." Lizzie promised. "Now will you please come upstairs with me?"
Tay pulled free of Lizzie's hold and ran pass her to her room, not wasting any time. This was some crucial information he couldn't wait to hear about.
Scene 8
Eddie glanced at Charles's uneaten dinner. "Charles you haven't touched your plate. You're gonna make Jenn think you don't enjoy her cooking."
Charles glanced from his plate to Jenn. "Oh no....it's not that's Mrs. Sutton. Everything's delicious but I'm sorry I'm just not very hungry." he reasoned. He hadn't eaten a thing all day and normally he'd be starving by now but with so much on his mind he couldn't think about food.
"Cassie you haven't eaten much either. I hope your not on some crazy diet." Eddie warned.
"No dad. It's nothing like that. I had a big breakfast." Cassie said, eyeing Charles all the while.
Eddie's glance darted between the two of them. "You two sure are quiet this evening. Anything going on..., something wrong?" he questioned. It wasn't like Cassie to be so silent with Charles around. Usually, when Charles joined them for dinner, she'd be happy and all talkative, jumping from one conversation to the next but tonight he could barely get two words out of her. He was sure her and Charles were going through some kind of argument or disagreement.
Cassie and Charles both turned to Jenn, silently looking to her for confirmation that it was okay to speak, okay to tell Eddie what was going on. Jenn nodded her head ever so slightly without Eddie noticing.
Charles spoke up. He pushed his plate a little away from him and fingered the table cloth nervously with his fingers. His eyes absentmindedly studied the floral pattern stitched into the cloth. Cassie squeezed his forearm with her hand, offering him her moral support. Charles swallowed hard and spoke slowly and confidently. "Actually sir..., I mean..., Mr. Sutton," he said, correcting himself, "I was hoping I could maybe talk...___"
The doorbell rang at that precise moment, interrupting him and Charles could have screamed. He sat back in his chair, threw his hands up in the air and back down into his lap. Just when he'd gotten up the nerve and fortitude to spill his guts he was interrupted. It wasn't enough that he had to bite the bullet and explain how he'd gotten Cassie pregnant but now he had to be tortured by an untimely interruption.
Eddie held his finger up. "Hold that thought Charles." he said, leaving the table to answer the door. "I'll be right back. That must be Watkins."
Charles put his arms on the edge of the table and covered his face with his hands. This was seriously one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.
Cassie rested her head on his shoulder. "It's okay Charles. We can do this."
Charles lifted his face and glared down at her. "No it's not okay Cassie. I haven't seen your dad this happy in a long time. He's all excited and happy about his trip and I'm about to tell him the worst news of his life."
Cassie looked over at Jenn. Maybe Charles was right. Maybe this wasn't the right time to tell her dad she was pregnant. "Mom, maybe we should wait until dad gets back from his trip."
Jenn left her seat to stand between Charles and Cassie's seats. She leaned down and stretched her arms wide, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders, comforting them. "Listen to me." she urged, glancing from side to side, talking to them both. "It's not fair to anyone, including the two of you, to wait any longer. The longer you two put if off, the harder it will become. I know Eddie's an intense man but he's also a fair man and he has a right to know. Let him hear you out and let him voice his opinions and concerns. We can't hide this any longer. It pains me to have hidden it this long. Do you all understand what I'm saying?"
Cassie and Charles both nodded, agreeing.
"I understand Mrs. Sutton but I can't help but feel like I'm letting him down." Charles confessed.
Cassie felt the same. "I know and I don't want to see the disappoint on his face mom."
Jenn understood their concerns but she couldn't shelter them from Eddie's wrath. She rubbed their shoulders with her hands. "Unfortunately that's a chance the two of you are going to have to face but I promise I'll be right there with you the whole time."
Eddie and Watkins entered the room and everyone grew quiet again.
Jenn walked over and greeted Watkins with a hug. "Adam..., good seeing you."
Watkins greeted everyone. "Nice seeing you to Jenn. He nodded his head at Charles and Cassie. "Charles..., Cassie."
Cassie smiled cheerfully. "Hi officer Watkins."
"Good evening sir." Charles responded.
Eddie pulled out a chair for Watkins to sit and join them for dinner but he refused. "Have some dinner with us? Jenn made plenty."
"No thanks Sutton. I figured I'd scoop you up and we'd be well on our way." Watkins replied.
Jenn tried to be polite. "Are you sure? It won't take but a minute to make an extra plate."
"I'm sure Jenn." Watkins insisted. "Claire made me a huge dinner and I couldn't eat another bite."
"Well I can't begin to explain how excited Eddie is about this trip." she told Watkins. "He's been talking about it all day."
"Is that so?" Watkins muttered sarcastically, leaning in close to Jenn, eyeing Eddie with a sly grin. He spoke about Eddie as if he weren't in the room. "Now that husband of yours tells me he's a skilled fisherman so I figured I'd take him out and put him to the test."
Jenn laughed. "Well I wouldn't call his experience skilled because that fishing rod of his hasn't seen or felt water in years."
Watkins fell out laughing and slapped Eddie on the back. "Your wife just told on you Sutton."
"Just make sure he doesn't come back telling any of those insane, exaggerated fishing stories you fishermen are known to tell. You know, the ones where you lie about how big of a fish you caught." she teased, stretching her arms wide, pushing Eddie out of the way to make room for her outstretched hands.
"Did you hear that Sutton?" Watkins taunted, chuckling softly.
"Uh-huh... very funny." Eddie said, his tone flat but humorous. "Why don't you make yourself useful and help me get my gear out of the family room and loaded onto the truck." he suggested, heading into the family room with Watkins close on his heels.
Charles stared after him. It looked like he'd never get a chance, a private moment to talk with Mr. Sutton. Was he going to be forced to march into the family room, demand Mr. Sutton's attention and blurt out that Cassie was pregnant?
Jenn pushed her chair in and stood with her arms folded across her chest. She could hear Eddie's voice echoing in from the family room. "I think now is as good a time as any." She suggested to Charles and Cassie, looking back at the family room entrance.
Scene 9
Cassie and Charles walked hand and hand into the family room with Jenn close by their side for moral support. The distance between the dinning room to the family room felt like a long mile though just a few feet away and Charles felt like he was taking the longest walk of his life.
Cassie hesitated at the wide opening to the family room but Charles tightened his grip on her hand, encouraging her to walk in with him. She didn't have a good feeling about this. She didn't have a good feeling at all. "Charles I'm scared."
"I know." Charles whispered knowingly. They were both scared..., scared and fearful of what Mr. Sutton might say or do, afraid of what recourse he might take and upon entering the room, that fear immediately escalated into sheer terror. Cassie gasped out loud and Charles stopped short, planting his big feet firmly into the plush carpet, rooting them to their spots. Mr. Sutton sat holding one of the largest rifles he'd ever seen in his life and from the angle which he and Cassie had entered the room, the gun seemed to be pointing straight at him. He and Cassie stared across the room at Eddie, afraid to go any further but Jenn propelled them both inside with her hands on the small of their backs.
Eddie squinted, peered through the rifle scope and scanned the room, checking his range. With his eyes closed, squinting through the scope's small view finder, he hadn't seen Charles and Cassie come in. The look on Charles's scared, sheet white face as it popped up in the rifle's scope was priceless. Eddie immediately put the gun down. "Charles," he paused..., laughing, "don't be scared." he said. "I was just showing off my old rifle to Watkins. Come on over here and take a look at this."
Cassie didn't want Charles to go any closer and wouldn't let go of his hand. Moreover, Charles didn't want to go any further. He could see just fine from where he was standing and what he saw frightened him. Mr. Sutton sat behind a small, folding tv table. The top of the table was covered with boxes of bullets, razor sharp fishing wire, hooks and an assortment of fishing baits and lures. On the floor next to him, lay what had to be at least an eight inch long wicked looking fishing fillet knife, a pair of fishing rods and an extra large tackle box. Charles swallowed the growing lump deep within his throat. They were about to have a very serious, important discussion and he'd sure feel a hell of a lot better if Mr. Sutton wasn't holding that gun. All hopes of resolving the issue non-violently vanished. So many sharp, dangerous objects in one place could not be a good sign. He had always viewed Mr. Sutton as a physically strong, larger than life type figure. If asked, he'd characterize him as strong willed and intimidating but now with the seemingly violent appearance of him holding the rifle, he became an even more imposing force to be reckoned with.
Eddie held the gun up high for Charles and Watkins to admire. It was sort of a show piece and he treated it as such. He always kept it clean and well oiled even though he hadn't used it in years.
Watkins stood next to Eddie and whistled. "Whew," he said appreciably, running his finger along the rifle's wood grain, "that is one sweet looking rifle you got that there Sutton. Is that the original model?"
"You bet is it." Eddie verified, running his finger along the gun's trigger, smoothing his hand over the casing. "I bought this beauty from a classic fire arms dealer years ago. It's an original Ruger Model 77." he bragged, handing the rifle over to Watkins so he could feel the weight.
Watkins was impressed. He bounced his hands up and down, physically measuring the substantial weight of the rifle. "Nice piece Eddie and everything on it looks original." he said, carefully passing the rifle back to Eddie.
"Yeah she's in mint condition." Eddie said pridefully, going on to list the rifle's features. "She's got the original hinged floor plate, three position bolt mounted safety, adjustable trigger and classic bolt action. It doesn't get any better than this." he remarked, his face beaming with masculine pride. "What do you think Charles?" he prompted, urging him closer. "Nice looking rifle isn't it?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Sutton but I don't know anything about guns. My skills as a mechanic doesn't leave much time for anything else." Charles returned.
Eddie looked at Charles and thought it odd that he refused to come closer. "Here check this out." he suggested, holding the rifle out for Charles to take. "Granted, it's a little advanced for you but you can still get a feel for it."
Charles declined. "No thanks Mr. Sutton but I'm sure it's a fine rifle."
"Come on Charles. It won't bite. I promise. It's not loaded." Eddie chided.
Cassie glanced sideways, making sure her mom was still there. Together, she and Charles took a few cautious steps forward, stopping before they got too close. Charles took the the gun from Eddie's hands and marveled at it's weight and detail. Again, he didn't know anything about firearms but he knew good craftsmanship when he saw it. "It's a fine weapon Mr. Sutton. Looks like you've taken good care of it."he said, passing the gun back to Eddie.
"I prefer to think of it as a work of art." Eddie said proudly. "I don't know how you feel about firearms Charles but your at the perfect age to start thinking about a good starter rifle. You could get something lite weight, easy for you to handle."
"Yeah there are a couple of rifle ranges right here in the Heights. I've seen a lot a young men out there practicing." Watkins added.
"That's right." Eddie commented. "If you want I'll be more than happy to help you find the right rifle, take you out to the range for a few lessons, make sure you learn the proper procedures and safety points. There's more to firearms then applying for a license and purchasing a gun. A lot of guys out there have high powered rifles and for the life of them, they can't even hit a man size target six feet in front of them." he joked, jerking his head towards Watkins's direction.
Watkins adjusted his stance and stuck his chest out. Sutton could go choke on his jokes. He knew he was a damn good shot and was proud of it. "Don't let him fool you Charles. Trust me. He's my partner. I work with him everyday. He's not that great of a shot."
"We get out there in the middle of bear country tomorrow and get ourselves into trouble and we'll just see who's the better shot." Eddie said coolly.
Charles declined Eddie's offer. "No thanks sir. I appreciate your offer but not right now. Maybe I can take you up on it later on in the summer."
"Okay suit yourself but if you change your mind I'm always available." Eddie said, still offering his services. "Oh, by the way, what were you saying earlier? Did you want to talk to me about something?" he asked.
Charles turned to Cassie and pulled his hand away from her. He held both hands out in front of him in a placating manner. "Uh...I was hoping we could talk to you in private sir." Charles answered.
"We?" Eddie echoed keenly, his senses rising on immediate alert. Whatever Charles had to say or wanted to talk about involved Cassie.
Watkins took his cue to leave. He didn't want to be in the middle of any family issues. "I'll get started loading your supplies Sutton." he offered, picking up the tackle box and fishing rods, carrying as many items as his arms could hold. "I'll wait outside. Don't be long. We got a two and a half hour drive ahead of us."
"This won't take long." Eddie promised.
Jenn stepped close to Eddie, standing close with her arms out in front of her and her hands locked together. She may not be able to stop him if he became violent but at least she could try and talk to him and calm him down if needed.
Charles reached for Cassie's hand again and waited until Watkins left the room before speaking. He and Cassie stood extra close, shoulders touching, presenting a united front. He licked his lips, looked Eddie directly in the eyes and spoke in a low key confident manner. "Mr. Sutton, I need to talk to you. I uh...I have something I want to say. Well, Cassie and I both do." he mentioned, glancing down briefly at Cassie. "This isn't going to be easy but we ask that you at least hear us out before you say anything. Please."
Eddie sat at the table, his head bent, focusing on cleaning and oiling his rifle as Charles spoke. "I'm listening." he said, speaking to Charles without looking up.
Charles continued. "I love your daughter Mr. Sutton. We've been together for four years now and from the beginning we planned on making a life together."
Eddie held up his hand, interrupting Charles as he spoke. He sat up in his chair and dropped the grease stained cleaning cloth he'd been using on the table. He knew where the discussion was headed and saw no need to hear any more. The conversation had wedding bell warnings written all over it and as far as he was concerned, there was no need for Charles's long winded speech. This constant talk of marriage was beginning to be a nuisance at best. The sooner Charles stopped beating around the bush and admitted what he really wanted, which he assumed was to ask to marry Cassie again, the sooner he could say no and put him out of his misery. "Stop right there Charles. I know you didn't come over here this evening to waste my time and tell me how much you love my daughter."
"Dad, what Charles is trying to say is...___" Cassie tried to explain but Charles cut her off. He wanted to tell Mr. Sutton the news himself.
"No Cassie. Let me talk to your dad. I need to do this. Let me finish. Let me explain okay?" he insisted, shuffling his feet nervously. "Mr. Sutton, before I go any further, I just want you to know that I care about Cassie and I'd never do anything to hurt her. I hope you know that. I want you to know that I have the best intentions."
"Intentions." Eddie repeated out loud, slightly amused at Charles's choice of words. He sat back and threw one arm over the back of his chair. Remarkably, Charles's talk of marriage didn't upset him as much as he thought it would and he remained uncommonly relaxed and carefree. If Charles and Cassie expected him to react with surprise at their so called "Intentions," he'd have to disappoint them. He stretched his legs out under the table, scratched his head with his free hand and chuckled softly. Obviously, Charles never grew tired of hearing the word no because there was no way in hell he was letting Cassie get married right now. "Young love." he said under his breath, smiling to himself, his eyes moving casually back and forth between Charles and Cassie. He'd never witnessed a more determined couple who wouldn't take no for an answer and found their determination cute but slightly annoying. "You two don't give up do you? You just don't know when to quit." he said, casually staring them down, looking them over as he shook his head. "Look, I get it. You all are in love and want to be together but I believe we've already had this discussion." he reminded them. "Charles, I'll give you an A+ for being so persistent," he praised grudgingly, "but as I told you before, your best intentions won't be good until four years from now." he explained. "I don't care how much you love Cassie and I don't care how long you've been together. It wouldn't make a difference to me if you'd been together for six or seven years because you're still not marrying her until she finishes college." he said indifferently. "The answer was, still is and will always be no until she graduates from college." he said curtly. "I don't plan on giving my daughter away for another four years now. Does that answer your question and did I make myself clear?" he asked with finality. Hopefully Charles understood he wasn't going to give in and this conversation wouldn't happen for a third time.
"Mr. Sutton you've got it all wrong." Charles mouthed. "If you'd just let me explain."
Eddie took offense at Charles telling him he didn't understand. "No Charles." he said, refusing to listen to another word. "There's nothing to explain." he said irritably, his calm exterior quickly fading. "I don't think you're hearing me. Now I meant what I said. No. You are not marrying Cassie."
Cassie face hardened. They hadn't even mention the pregnancy yet and her dad was already being difficult and demanding. He assumed this meeting was about her and Charles getting married. Yes, marriage was a big part of their plans but he wasn't giving them a chance to fully explain themselves. "Dad will you please listen? You promised you'd hear us out."
Charles walked a few steps closer to the table, looking down at Eddie. "Mr. Sutton I don't want you to misunderstand me."
The conversation was going nowhere fast and Eddie grew angry. "Oh I understand alright." he said, his voice raising slightly. "I understand that you think eventually I'll grow soft, change my mind and let you marry Cassie. Now, I've made my decision and the subject is closed." he concluded. He didn't want Cassie getting married right now and he didn't owe Charles or anyone else for that matter any explanations.
Charles made a frustrated sound deep in his throat. What could he possibly say to get through to him? He hated the way Mr. Sutton sat there being all judgemental, bossy and tyrannical like, lording over him and Cassie, planning their lives for them. He didn't want Mr. Sutton to have the final say this time. He didn't want him getting the best of the him. Not this time. Cassie was pregnant and their was too much at stake, too many important decisions to be made. David was right. Mr. Sutton knew he was intimidated by him and refused to listen and hear anything he and Cassie had to say. As usual, it was a one sided conversation with him. "Mr. Sutton you don't understand. There's more to this than getting married!" he said angrily and in a tone he'd never used with Eddie before.
Taken aback and caught off guard, Eddie frowned, pressed back into his chair and hastily raised one eyebrow. He didn't appreciate Charles's arrogance. Furthermore, where in the hell did Charles get off raising his voice at him? The day that he'd sit back in his own home and be insulted by an eighteen year old kid hadn't come yet. "Charles I know your angry and upset because I'm not telling you what you want to hear but you better watch your tone and take that base out of your voice when you speak to me."he threatened menacingly. "I've said all I have to say on the matter. I'm late for my trip and have to finish loading my gear. Now, if you'll excuse me and if you don't mind, I think we're done here. Have a good night." he said, rudely dismissing Charles, ending the conversation.
Jenn broke into the conversation. "Eddie honey....please. Give them a chance to explain themselves. It won't hurt to listen. They have something very important they'd like to say, share with you."
Eddie shot Jenn an impatient look. He was agitated. He braced his hands on the table to stand up. "I don't have time for this Jenn." he said, getting to his feet. He wasn't going to sit there all night while Charles talked in riddles and circles, making no sense whatsoever.
Jenn came to Cassie and Charles's defense. "Eddie as Cassie's father, I'm begging you to listen. Will you do that? Please."
Eddie glowered at Jenn. Apparently he'd been left out of the information loop because behaving as she was, Jenn obviously knew something. Something she wasn't telling him. "You want to tell me what going on here?"
"Charles will explain everything if you'll just give him a chance." Jenn replied.
Eddie sat back down and glanced at his watch. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Okay." he agreed, his impatience with Charles showing on his face. He had better things to do than sit and listen to Charles's declarations of love for Cassie but if it would appease and make Jenn feel better, he'd do it. "Alright Charles. You have my undivided attention. Now out with it." he demanded, his expression cold. "What's so important you're keeping me from my trip? You two didn't run off and get married behind my back did you?" he asked suspiciously.
Charles spoke clearly, his voice flat and sharp. "No sir. That's not it at all." he answered. "This isn't easy for me to say Mr. Sutton. Cassie and I...we..., we've tried to be responsible and do the right things but we're not perfect and we've made some mistakes."
Eddie's thick eyebrows drew together in confusion. He looked over at Cassie and she tore her gaze away but not before he saw the first signs of tears forming in her eyes and that's when he knew something was horribly wrong. "What are you talking about Charles?" he asked harshly, feeling the annoying tingling sensation of the hairs rising on the back of his neck.
"Things have happened sir." Charles answered, his voice growing heavy. "Things that Cassie and I didn't plan. Things we're not proud of. We made a mistake."
Eddie scrutinized Charles's every move, his every gesture, hung onto his every word, trying to figure out what was going on. As confident as Charles appeared to be, he still heard the unmistakeable sound of worry and guilt in his voice. Cassie was crying, unable to look him in the eye and Charles sounded scared out of his mind. He scanned the room, his eyes traveling from Jenn, to Cassie and finally ending with Charles. "Someone better tell me what's going on. Right now!" he growled, slamming his fist down on the table, causing the supplies on top to vibrate.
Cassie jumped at the impact of Eddie's fist against the table. The viciousness of his voice quickly brought her to tears and she burst out crying. "I'm sorry dad. I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen." she exclaimed, tears overflowing.
Eddie glared at Cassie, unsure and confused about the reason behind her tears tears but knew Charles was somehow involved. Leaning in close, he pressed his chest up against the table edge and pointed an accusing index finger at Charles. He spoke slowly and methodically. "Charles, I don't know what the hell is going on here or what you've been trying to say but if you know what's good for you, you'd better start talking fast." he threatened, speaking through his teeth, his lips barely moving.
A chilling pang of fear ran up Charles's spine and his heart thumped violently in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed and finally confessed. "Cassie's pregnant Mr. Sutton." he announced suddenly, his breath hitching. "She's pregnant."he said again, holding his breath for Eddie's reaction and judging by the stormy look on his face, he was about to snap.
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Menacing silence fell over the room. Eddie held his arms out wide, gesturing for everyone to be perfectly quiet and still. "What? What did you just say?" he whispered sinisterly, eyeing Charles and Cassie carefully, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
"Cassie's pregnant Mr. Sutton." Charles repeated shamefully.
Eddie's eyes darkened, darted from Charles to Cassie, the anger within him quickly building up inside, seeming to turn his eyes black with rage. The tiny muscle on the side of his jaw pulsed and his jaw went rigid. "Pregnant?" he questioned ominously, his voice heavy and raw, sounding more like a tortured whisper. "Pregnant?!" he yelled furiously, his fist clenching on the table as anger and rage built up within him, threatening to boil over and erupt. "You got Cassie pregnant?!" he repeated, screaming ferociously, his voice growing louder and louder with each question. "My baby!" he shouted in pure disbelief, pointing at his chest, his voice cracking through the air like a bull whip. "You got my baby pregnant?!" he roared viciously, his nostrils flaring.
"Eddie please..." Jenn called out uncertainly, sensing a violent outburst.
Eddie held his hand up, waving her away. "Stay out of this Jenn." he warned. "This is between me and Charles."
Charles stood perfectly still, rooted to his spot, afraid to move. "Yes sir." he answered respectfully. "I didn't mean for this to happen Mr. Sutton. I never meant to hurt anyone. I'm sorry..." His voice trailed off and the color drained from his face, leaving his features pale.
That one word set Eddie off. He'd just been told his daughter was pregnant and all Charles could say was he's sorry. Sorry wasn't good enough, not nearly good enough. Black-hearted fury rose from deep within him, came bursting through and he snapped. Both fists slammed down hard on the table. "You son of a bitch! You damn right your sorry! Boy I will kill you!" he screamed violently, jumping up from behind the table, overturning it, sending fishing supplies and gun ammunition flying everywhere. He lunged at Charles, his hands already open and spread wide, reaching for his neck.
Jenn tried to intervene, tried to stop him but it was to late. "Eddie no!" she screamed helplessly, reaching for him.
Cassie stepped between Eddie and Charles but her slight frame was no match for Eddie. He simply pushed her aside, going after Charles with a vicious look in his eyes. "Dad no please!." she begged him.
Charles took a hesitant step back but quietly held his ground. He didn't back away or run but he knew better than to confront a man like Eddie. He'd suspected this conversation might have ended badly, violently. Mr. Sutton was a huge, dominating, physically fit man with a commanding presence. The sight of him in all his foreboding rage, the massive bulk of two hundred and twenty pounds of pure muscle, charging towards him like a raging bull was fearfully intimidating.
All of a sudden, the evening exploded into a violent scene. Eddie was on Charles in an instant, drawing his fist back, connecting with the side of Charles's face, drawing blood. He grabbed him by the neck, scuffled and dragged him to the floor. Jenn and Cassie both screamed and yelled with fear, struggled to pull him away from Charles but there was no use. Their strength was no match for his power.
"Eddie no! Stop it!" Jenn yelled, tugging hopelessly at Eddie's arm, crying.
"Dad no! You can't hurt him. Let go. You're gonna kill him! Dad you have to stop!" Cassie sobbed helplessly, trying desperately in vain to pull Eddie's hand from Charles's neck.
Eddie lay hunched over, straddling Charles, his big hand wrapped tightly around his neck in a choking vice grip, choking him hard and fast. His face mere inches from Charles's, he glowered down at him with the purest kind of anger and hate in his eyes. All rational thought left his body. His violent behavior was fueled by pure adrenaline, leaving him with little to no sense of reasoning. His lips curled back from his gums, revealing his tightly clenched teeth. His arm shook and trembled from the sheer force of his grip. The more Cassie and Jenn screamed, the tighter his hand clenched around Charles's neck, effectively cutting off his air supply. He wasn't going to kill him, just choke the hell out of him, beat him like a one-legged stepchild. "You're sorry?! Huh?!" he shouted down into Charles's face. "Why don't you tell me how sorry you are Charles?!" he growled, flexing and stretching his fingers, increasing his hold around Charles's neck.
Charles lay flat on his back with Eddie hovering directly over him, chocking the life out of him. He stared up into Eddie's torturous face and felt the full strength of his steely grip. His chest heaved and burned from lack of air. A desperate sound escaped his lips as he fought to suck air into his oxygen deprived lungs. He fought with Eddie, wrapped his hands around his thick wrist and pulled with all his might, struggled to break free but Eddie's adrenaline spiked strength was firm and unyielding. The grip around his neck was iron clad and he couldn't pull free.
Lizzie and Tay heard the commotion and came rushing downstairs.
Lizzie stopped at the base of the stairs, frightened out of her mind. "Oh my God!" she screamed, covering her mouth with her hand. She'd never witnessed anything so violent in her life. "Why are they fighting?" she cried.
Tay paused on the steps. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His dad was attacking Charles and his mom and Cassie struggled hysterically to pull him away.
Jenn called out to him. "Tay help me!" she pleaded. "Please!"
Tay ran into the room. He pulled and tugged at his dad's shoulder with all his strength, trying desperately to get him away from Charles. "Dad stop! Please!" he yelled, scared to death. If they didn't get his dad away from Charles soon he'd surely kill him but there was no use. His dad was in a blind rage, oblivious to their futile attempts at stopping him.
The sound of the commotion traveled outside, alerting Watkins. He rushed back inside..., charged into the room. He was met with a maelstrom of chaos. Eddie had Charles in a death grip, his hands locked around his neck, squeezing with all his might. Reacting quickly, Watkins went down on his knees and tried to pry Eddie's hand from Charles's neck as Jenn and the kids struggled and strained helplessly to drag Eddie off of Charles. "Let go Sutton!" he demanded. "Let him go got dammit!" he shouted, trying to get through to Eddie but there was no use. He was caught up in a blind rage and he wasn't letting up.
Watkins got to his feet. He watched Charles gasp for air and was afraid he'd soon pass out if they couldn't manage to get Eddie away from him. Jenn and the children stood back as he stood over Eddie, straddled his back and wrapped his arms around his neck, putting him in a deadly choke hold, a strong headlock. "I don't want to hurt you Sutton but I will if I have to. Don't make me hurt you!" he growled forcibly into Eddie's ear, fighting with him, holding his head down and immobile in his grip. "Let him go! Let him go!" he shouted repeatedly.
Eddie withstood Watkins's assault. He picked one leg up and kneed Charles in the chest, the weight and pressure of his leg threatening to crush Charles's rib cage. "I'll kill him!" Eddie rang out. "I'll kill for what he has done to my daughter!"
Watkins fought with Eddie. He pinned him down with his own body weight, crossed his arms under his chin, putting pressure on his windpipe. He finally managed to drag Eddie back, pulling him up from the floor, away from Charles.
Eddie struggled against Watkins, fought to get away. He stared down at Charles still lying on the floor. "Let go of me Watkins!" he shouted, pulling away, trying to get at Charles. He wasn't through with him yet.
Watkins stood behind Eddie, his arms locked around his elbows, effectively subduing him. "Ease up Sutton!" he said loudly, tightening his hold when Eddie struggled to break free. "Ease up. I don't know what's going on here but you don't want to do this man. Come on ease up. He's just a kid. Calm down!..., Calm down!" he shouted.
Jenn stood in the middle of the floor crying miserably. Her whole world, their family had just been shattered. Everything had gone horribly wrong and she wasn't sure what she should do.
Cassie and Tay knelt next to Charles and helped him up from the floor. "Charles are you okay?" Cassie cried. "Are you hurt?" she questioned softly, touching her fingertip to the corner of his busted bloody lip.
Charles knelt forward with his hands on his knees, unable to speak, weak and doubled over in pain. He coughed and gasped, sucked huge gulps of air into his exploding lungs. It hurt to breath in deeply but he couldn't help it. His throat felt raw, as if it were on fire. He covered his sore neck with his hands, wincing at the pain.
Cassie brushed his hands aside. "Let me see." she said, concerned, gasping at what she uncovered. Charles's whole neck was one big bruise and was already turning a nasty bruised shade of black and blue. It looked awful and extremely painful.
"I'm okay." Charles managed to say, his voice hoarse, stiff and unrecognizable.
"You're lucky that's all I did." Eddie breathed angrily, still struggling against Watkins's hold.
Charles rubbed his neck and turned to face him. "I know your upset Mr. Sutton and you have every right to be." he acknowledged.
"You had it all figured out didn't you?" Eddie asked angrily. "You figured you'd waltz up in here with your declarations of love and respect, butter me up before you told me the bad news..., before you told me all about your so called mistake?" he yelled.
"I feel horrible about everything that's happened." Charles said. "Cassie and I didn't plan any of this but I take full responsibility. It's not Cassie's fault and I don't want you to blame her." he said, taking full responsibility for his actions.
"I don't give a damn about your feelings and I don't want you anywhere near my daughter!" Eddie shouted with breathless rage.
Charles shouted back just as angrily, defending himself, defending his love for Cassie. "I love your daughter Mr. Sutton! I love her and your hating me won't change that!" he argued. "I love her and I want her to be my wife." he spoke loudly.
Eddie's chest rose up and down, heaved with rage. Danger signs flashed in his eyes, silently warning Charles to tread lightly. He pulled forward, trying to break free of Watkins's firm hold. "Fool you must be crazy! he shouted, the sound of his voice cutting through the air like a sharp knife. "You got a lot of nerve coming into my house, standing there, telling me what you're going to do with my daughter!"
Charles fired back fiercely. "Cassie and I want to start a life together, a real family Mr. Sutton! I was hoping it wouldn't come to this but we're going to get married with or without your approval." he said defiantly, holding his own, refusing to back down. He and Cassie's secret was now out in the open and there was nothing left to hide. He had nothing to lose. Mr. Sutton had already attacked him once tonight, nearly killing him. He might as well have another go at him because there was no way he was going to stop seeing Cassie.
An enraged Eddie charged forward, somehow managing to pull away from Watkins. Watkins reached out and grabbed for him but he snatched away, quickly closing the gap between him and Charles. His eyes flashed pure fire. He thrust his face close to Charles and stood face to face with him. "A family?!" Eddie chuckled loudly. "What do you know about family Charles!?" he said loudly, smiling wickedly, openly taunting Charles. "You've got a father who didn't claim you and a part time mother." he spat out with blatant disregard for Charles's feeling, his words meant to intentionally hurt and embarrass.
Charles's eyes cast downward. Eddie's words hurt. He nodded his head slowly. "This is what you've wanted all along Mr. Sutton. An excuse, a reason to hate me and get me out of Cassie's life. I'm sorry to disappoint you but she's having my baby and I'm not going anywhere. The three of us are going to be a family. We can...___"
"Hell no!" Eddie cut him off. "I got news for you Charles! Ain't gone be no shot gun weddings around here!" he screamed in his face, at the top of his lungs, shouting so loudly spots of saliva sprayed from his mouth. "If you're holding out for my blessings you got a long ass wait! Hell will freeze over before I let you marry my daughter!" he grated through his teeth.
Charles knew it was hopeless to continue arguing. Eddie would never understand and accept Cassie's pregnancy and he blamed him for everything that had happened. He turned away and walked over to Cassie, holding his hand out for her to take. He silently willed her to take his hand, stand by him and show her father that he was the man she loved, the man she chose and wanted to be with. Of all the times she'd stood by him, fought to be with him, this was the most important of all.
Cassie hesitated but soon walked over, placing her small hand into Charles's, standing by his side. "I'm sorry dad but I love him." she said quietly.
Charles caught her hand and drew her to him. He held her against his side with his hand on her waist, holding her close. He and Cassie stood silently that way, together as one, facing Eddie.
Eddie studied Cassie with a painful expression on his face. He stood defeated, his spirit broken, the fight gone out of him. He shook his head slowly. "You don't know what you're saying Cassie and you're too young to know what you want out of life." he said sadly, his voice growing heavy with emotion, tears forming in his eyes. All of the hardness and authority was gone from his voice. After everything that had happened tonight, it pained him to see Cassie with Charles, standing together as they were. In some ways, he felt as if Charles was challenging him, forcing Cassie to choose between the two men in her life. It broke his heart seeing her standing there with him, knowing she was pregnant with his child. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined she was pregnant. She herself was still a baby in his eyes and this certainly wasn't the life he and Jenn would have chosen for her. She deserved a good life, a cultured life filled with happiness, without poverty or struggles. What kind of future could Charles possibly provide her? What kind of life would she have, struggling to raise a child at such a young age? His head shook and dropped low with disappointment. The two of them stood before him, headstrong and defiant but they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
Cassie shied away from the the disappointment and sadness on her father's face. Her whole body tightened with shame and guilt. She dropped her eyes and flushed right up to her hairline.
Tay and Lizzie stood aside, open mouthed and still in shock, watching the whole scene transpire. Jenn directed them both upstairs to their rooms. They had both been exposed to quite a violent scene and she didn't want them to see any more drama unfold this evening. "Tay...Lizzie, go on upstairs. Go on up to bed."she suggested. "It's okay. Go on." she said, guiding them with her hands on their shoulders when they hesitated, still a little scared and uneasy about everything they had seen.
Watkins heard the emotion in Eddie's voice, saw the tears in his eyes and decided to quietly dismiss himself. He knew his partner was a strong, proud man and wouldn't want anyone to see him in such an emotional state. This was a delicate family matter and needed to be discussed in private. He touched Eddie on the shoulder. "I'll be at the house waiting for your call." he said, turning to leave.
Jenn approached Eddie from behind. She stood next to him, leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. The sadness she heard in his voice was overwhelming. He had such high hopes for Cassie and couldn't hide his disappointment. The tears she saw in his eyes made her heart ache. Eddie was fiercely possessive of all of his kids but in particularly Cassie. She was his baby, his first born. His violent attack on Charles tonight and all of the vengeful, spiteful things he'd said were all out of loving and caring for Cassie. It took a lot to make a man like Eddie cry, openly reveal his emotions, show his caring, softer side. The news of Cassie's pregnancy had taken the spark right out of him, devastated him.
Charles knew Eddie was worried about Cassie, worried about her future. "I'm going to take care of Cassie Mr. Sutton. I promise you I will. You don't have to worry." he promised.
Eddie shot him a look of disgust. His eyes narrowed angrily. He felt betrayed. "I am done with all your lies and false promises." he replied sharply, tears clouding his vision. "I let you into my home, accepted you into my daughter's life and this is how you repay me?"he questioned sorrowfully. "This is how you show me how much you love and respect Cassie..., by getting her pregnant and ruining her life!?" He pointed down at the floor. "You stood right here, in this very same spot when you got engaged and promised to love and protect my daughter. You promised to always do what was best for her."he reminded Charles, his voice guttural, full of pain. "Charles Antoni, you get the hell out of my damn house and don't you ever come back!" he commanded maliciously, daring Charles to protest.
Charles didn't argue. There was no need. Mr. Sutton had spoken his final words, had the last say. If he stayed things would only escalate into another argument, another fight. He swung on his heels and stormed out of the room, slamming the front door behind him.
Cassie chased after him and yanked open the front door, calling out to him. "Charles wait! I'm coming with you!"
Eddie refused to let Cassie go chasing after Charles. He followed her to the door. "Cassandra Sutton don't you dare walk out that door!" he shouted.
Cassie turned, gaping at him. "You can't do this to us dad. I love him and we want to be together."
Eddie shook his head, talking over her. "You're just as much to blame for this as he is!" he shouted loudly. "I want you to stay the hell away from him. From this point on, there is no you and Charles. It's over!" he yelled.
Cassie's hands knotted at her sides. Her dad was being completely unreasonable. "You can't do this dad! You can't run my life, make my decisions!"she rounded angrily.
"It's done!" Eddie corrected her. "Your joyful days, running and sneaking around with Charles, doing God knows what are over!"he said harshly. "As long as you are living in my house, under my roof, you'll do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?! he yelled bitterly. "Do I make myself clear?!"
Cassie's temper flared. She wanted to throw something, hit something, anything to release the anger she was feeling. "We should have never told you!" she shouted at him. "We should have just run off and gotten married. I knew you wouldn't understand!"
Eddie pointed up the stairs with his finger, ordering Cassie to her room, too upset and disappointed to look at her. "Upstairs." he grumbled impatiently.
Cassie glanced at Jenn, pleading with her to say something. She felt like a small child with her dad ordering her to her room. "Mom this isn't fair. I'm not a child." she cried. "This is wrong."
Eddie couldn't take anymore. He was beyond annoyed and irritated, too upset and disappointed with Cassie to even look at her. "Cassie, when you learn to behave like the adult you think you are, I'll treat you as such." he growled, emphasizing the word think. "We'll discuss you and this baby of yours later." he said disgracefully.
Cassie didn't like the way he said it. He spoke of her baby as if it were something so appalling, so terrible, not worthy of mentioning. "What do you mean dad? What?" she asked nervously. "There's nothing to discuss. I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby." she said, growing scared when he didn't answer her right away.
"Cassie you're in no position to raise a child." Eddie answered, letting his position on the subject be known.
"Dad what are you saying?" Cassie asked apprehensively, afraid of what he was thinking, what he'd say. It was obvious he didn't want her to keep her baby.
Eddie didn't respond. His blank stare shot right through Cassie and he knew his silence was the only answer she needed. She already knew exactly what he was thinking. There was no way he could let her have this child.
Cassie regarded him cautiously, her eyes boring into him. "No! Dad please." she cried unhappily. "Charles and I want our baby!" she cried loudly
Eddie held his hand up, ending Cassie's outburst. "Cassie I've done enough talking this evening. We will discuss this later. Upstairs." he repeated, gesturing with his head toward the stairway. "Now!" he bit off when she took too long to move.
Cassie stormed off upstairs, crying, with Jenn fast on her heels, calling out to her. "Cassie!...., honey...."
Eddie let them go, watched them storm away. He stood in the foyer with his hands on his hips, thinking to himself. He breathed in deeply. As he'd suspected, all was not right in the Sutton household. All was not right.
Scene 10
Cassie rushed up to her room with Jenn close on her heels, calling out to her, urging her to calm down, telling her everything was going to be okay.
"Cassie....honey wait! It's okay!" Jenn called after Cassie.
"No mom!" Cassie shouted back, hurrying off to her room. Her mom was wrong. Everything was far from okay. This evening's gentle conversation had quickly escalated into a horrible disaster. Yes, she had expected an argument but nothing like what had transpired between Charles and her dad. Neither she nor Charles had prepared themselves for such a brutal scene, for her dad's violent explosion, his violent assault. He had nearly killed Charles and had forbid her to see him.
Jenn stood outside Cassie's bedroom, her expression uneasy as she watched Cassie scurry frantically around the room, ignoring her, quickly pulling out suitcases and garment bags. "Honey what are you doing?" she questioned quickly, afraid Cassie may be trying to leave.
Cassie's head whipped around and she all but growled. "I want to be with Charles. Don't try and stop me mom! I'm leaving!"
Jenn walked into the room..., closed the door behind her. Cassie was distraught and she had to talk her out of doing something completely irrational, something she'd surely regret later on. "Cassie..., honey I know your upset but I can't let you do this. You can't leave. We need to talk about this as a family but first I need you to calm down and think rationally."
Cassie disregarded her mom, continued packing as if she wasn't there in the room, working around her. As far as she was concerned, the time for family discussions was over. They had already had one family meeting tonight and that so called family discussion had turned into a nasty fight with her dad showing Charles just how little he thought of him. "You heard what dad said mom." she said angrily, yanking clothes from their hangers, not bothering or wasting time to fold them neatly, shoving them into her suitcases. All of her suitcases were nearly full but she struggled to stuff more clothing into them, struggled to close the zipper. As quickly as one suitcase was filled, she piled clothes into another. "He hates Charles and he wants me to have nothing else to do with him!"she said viciously.
Tonight's events had certainly been unrestrained and brutal. Jenn couldn't deny that and though she understood Cassie's dilemma, her need to leave..., she couldn't bring herself to stand idly by and willingly let her go. Right now, everything was chaotic and tumultuous but hopefully as a strong, close knit family, things would eventually calm and the arguing would cease. This was a matter of them sitting down and figuring things out as a family unit. It was a serious situation which involved and effected their entire family and she intended to handle the matter delicately. "Honey, where are you going?" she shrugged. "Where will you go? Your family is here Cassie. Your father and I want what's best for you and this is where you belong. Let us help you..., please." Jenn begged.
"Like dad helped us tonight!?" Cassie barked sarcastically, looking back angrily at her mom as she rummaged through her dresser drawers, gathering all her toiletries and accessories, carelessly tossing them into a carry all bag. Her dad hadn't helped in the least. Instead, he'd clamored out an angry list of ultimatums and rules, making his position quite clear and expected her and Charles to quietly obey with no questions asked. He hadn't even allowed them to explain themselves. Tempers had flared and within an instant his rage had taken over and he'd assaulted Charles. Unimaginable feelings of helplessness and fear had washed over her as he'd charged after Charles like a raging maniac..., attacked him. She'd stood powerlessly aside as the two men she loved most in the world had fought and traded degrading insults with each other. It pained her to think about and remember the terrified look that had been on Charles's face.
Cassie was right and Jenn struggled to reply to her cynical remark. Eddie's reaction to the news of Cassie's pregnancy hadn't been exactly helpful or understanding. "Cassie everything your father did and said tonight was out of concern and care for you. While his behavior may have been violent, everything he said was out of love for you. I know you probably don't believe that right now but he's hurting just as much as you are. He loves you and wants what's best for you."
"Mom I love dad but he's forcing me to choose between him and Charles and it's wrong." Cassie responded.
Unable to get through to Cassie, Jenn threw her hands up and back down discouragingly. "Cassie your talking about choices yet here you are steadily packing, hellbent on leaving and trying to run away from your problems."she argued, motioning towards the suitcases on the floor. She shook her head in despair. "It looks to me that your minds already made up and you've made your decision."
Cassie stood with a load of t-shirts in her arms, staring into Jenn's eyes. "I'm sorry mom but Charles and I need to be together now more than ever. We have a baby to think about."
Jenn stared into Cassie's nearly empty closet. Frustrated with Cassie's refusal to listen, she grew impatient and snatched handfuls of clothing from Cassie's hands, trying desperately to stop her from packing. The more she tried to interfere, intervene, the more determined and hell bent Cassie became on leaving. She pulled clothing out of the suitcases just as fast as Cassie put them in. She and Cassie went on that way for a few minutes..., both frustrated, emotionally battling one another, silently at war with each other with Cassie on one hand steadily piling armfuls of clothing into her cases, while she on the other hand hastily tossed them out. An angry game of tug of war evolved with both she and Cassie tugging on a mohair sweater, both refusing to give in, refusing to let go.
"Honey, stop it." Jenn said. "I am not going to let you run away like this. Leaving won't solve anything." she reasoned, pulling extra hard, finally freeing the sweater from Cassie's grasp. "Cassie please don't leave like this."
The force of the sweater stretching, pulling free from her hands caused Cassie to stagger back a step but she remained as defiant as ever, her voice echoing throughout the room. "I'm not going to let dad keep me away from Charles mom! I won't and I'm keeping my baby!"
"Honey no one's going to make you do anything you don't want to do." Jenn spoke quickly, assuring Cassie.
"Dad looked at me like he hates me mom. He's so disappointed in me." Cassie said shamefully, her face full of sadness.
Jenn rubbed Cassie's shoulder, offering some small comfort. "Cassie your father's upset but rightfully so. I honestly didn't expect him to be anything else but angry and furious but as disappointed and angry as he may be, he could never hate you. He loves you and he's afraid your making some horrible decisions."
"If he loves me how can he expect me to walk away from Charles, forbid me to see my baby's father?" Cassie rounded, her voice growing soft as she finally began to calm down. "Mom, Charles and I love each other and we're going to have a family of our own. I thought dad respected our relationship and had finally accepted Charles as the man I love and want to be with. I thought he respected and cared about Charles as a person."
"Oh baby of course your father cares about Charles. Of course he does." Jenn assured softly. "Your dad is a strong-willed, stubborn, headstrong man but he's also kind, caring and fair. I'm sure there's a place in his heart for Charles and I don't doubt for one second he cares about him but I know he cares about you more. Your his daughter..., his flesh and blood and regardless of how much he cares and respects Charles, all he can think about right now is Charles is the man who got his little girl pregnant." she said bluntly.
"But I'm not a little girl." Cassie attested harshly, defending herself.
"I know your not honey but in your father's eyes you are." Jenn responded calmly. "When he looks at you, he stills sees a little girl needing her daddy's protection." she added.
"But mom I'm....___" Cassie started.
"You are Cassie." Jenn insisted, cutting her off. "Even as a grown adult woman, you'll always be his little girl." she concluded.
A confused crease formed between Cassie's brows. "I don't understand. Mom, I'm young woman, practically an adult. I'm going to college in the fall."
Jenn realized Cassie didn't understand and tried her best to explain. "Cassie, when your twenty one, twenty five or thirty years old, your father will still care for you and want to protect you just as much if not more so as when you were a little girl. Honey, your pregnant and about to have a child of your own and when you do, you'll understand everything I'm saying to you right now. A parent's love and concern doesn't go away, doesn't dwindle with a child's age. While we have to respect and accept that are children are grown and mature, while we're forced to give you your space and have a hands off approach, it doesn't take away the profound feeling of love and the ever present need to nurture and ensure that are children..., our babies stay on the right path. No matter how old you are, we'll still worry about you. We'll still argue and complain when we feel you aren't making the right decisions, making mistakes. When your sick or in trouble, we'll still sit up at night and worry about you. We'll still want to provide for you and ensure that you have a better life than we had. So..., yes, you'll always be Eddie's little girl but not in the way your thinking. It's not in the way he views you as a woman. It's in the way his love hasn't changed as you grew into a woman. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I think I do." Cassie answered solemnly, staring down at the floor in deep thought. She imagined her dad was only trying to protect and shield her just as she was now trying to protect her own unborn child. She was only a few weeks into her pregnancy and already felt a surprisingly strong emotional bond, a feeling of undeniable care and concern for her unborn baby. The need to protect he or she at all costs was undeniably strong. Her mom had called this feeling a parent's love and said it would never go away. As afraid and scared as she was of being pregnant, she knew she'd care for and love her child with every fiber of her being, with every part of her. She knew she'd love her baby to the fullest. These feelings she was sure of if she was sure of nothing else. Her mom was right about a parent's love never fading because she knew her love for her baby would only grow and strengthen with time. It was already happening. The bond between mother and child was growing stronger with each passing day. If she felt this way about her child within a few short weeks, she could only imagine how deeply her dad's feelings must truly be and if she was honest with herself, his anger and disappointment in her was warranted. "Mom...., do you think dad will ever understand? Do you think he'll forgive me and Charles?"
Jenn pushed the suitcase to one side of the bed and motioned for Cassie to sit beside her. "I can't speak for him Cassie but as I said, your father's a fair man." she answered honestly. "I think we should give him some time. You..., Charles and Eddie and I..., we all have a lot to discuss." she added. "Honey...," she paused, choosing her words carefully, "you and Charles are facing some life altering decisions and regardless of how angry your father may be, I need you to try and look pass his violent actions tonight and believe he genuinely wanted and expected you and Charles to have a bright future together."
"But he doesn't anymore." Cassie concluded, disheartened by her mom's use of the past tense as if she and Charles had no hopes of ever having a bright future again. "Dad's idea of a bright future is a future without my baby..., without Charles." Cassie stated sourly..., reluctantly. Forbidding her to see Charles was one thing but expecting her to not have her baby was completely out of line and something she'd never consider. Terminating her pregnancy or giving her baby away was not up for discussion.
"Your father didn't say anything of the sort." Jenn interjected. "He simply said your not ready and in no position to raise a child.
"He might not have said it but he was thinking it." Cassie mumbled under her breath, her voice barely audible.
Jenn didn't agree with Eddie's behavior but he was her husband and Cassie's father. She felt the need to defend him. "Cassie, your dad knows what it's like, how hard it is to start a family and raise a child as a young man, a young couple. Trust me. Your father and I have been there. We've lived through the hard, struggling times. I'm sorry Cassie but we're worried about you and a little afraid of what this pregnancy means for you. Having a baby is more than diaper changes and doctor visits. This is going to be a lifestyle change for you and Charles. A lifestyle neither one of you is prepared for. The two of you are being forced into the responsibilities of adulthood..., parenthood and it's not a part-time job either of you can walk away from whenever you get discouraged."
Cassie eyed Jenn with a keen expression. "You agree with dad don't you? You think he's right don't you?" she asked quietly, dropping her gaze when her mom didn't answer right away. She didn't have to say anything. The worried expression on her face was answer enough. Her mom obviously didn't think she and Charles were ready to start a family.
"Your father and I both have some legitimate concerns and reservations but let's not worry about who is right or wrong." Jenn answered, skillfully avoiding the question as best she could. Honestly, Eddie was right and he hadn't said anything to Cassie tonight that she hadn't already said or thought of herself. He had simply been more forthcoming with his emotions and thoughts. Charles and Cassie were completely out of their comfort zone, shamefully unprepared and in no position to start a family. However, Cassie was pregnant and her number one priority right now was helping her daughter and providing moral support. She covered Cassie's hand with her own. "The important thing is you and Charles did the responsible thing by going to your father and telling him the truth. We'll work everything out but for now I want you to promise me you won't leave." she said, bending her head to peer into Cassie's face, looking for confirmation. "Promise me you won't leave until we've all had a chance to discuss things."
Cassie reluctantly agreed. She loved her dad so much..., had so much respect for him. She'd stay and hopefully tensions between she, Charles and her dad would subside. "Okay but I hope your right mom. Maybe dad will find it in his heart to somehow forgive Charles."
Relief came at winning this small battle with Cassie, convincing her to stay but Jenn knew the real raging battle lie waiting for her in her bedroom and she wasn't looking forward to it. She had to talk to Eddie. There was so much explaining to do and he'd undoubtedly have many questions. She stood up to leave. "I need to talk to your father but in the meantime, I want you to get some sleep. We've all had a rough night."
"I've never seen dad so angry. It was scary." Cassie mentioned.
"Give your father some time okay? Jenn said. "This was a lot for him to take in tonight. We'll figure this out honey. I promise. Goodnight."
"Goodnight mom." Cassie said.
Scene 11
Charles tried to sneak into the house. He hadn't expected his mom home until the end of the week for graduation but her car was in the garage. Hopefully she'd be asleep, tired from her flight and he wouldn't have to explain the bruises on his neck and face until morning. Tip toeing in the dark hallway, he crept past her bedroom door as quietly as possible but she heard him and swung the door open.
"Honey you're home. I tried to stay awake and wait up for you." Marla explained hugging him.
Grateful for the dimness of the hallway, Charles stood in the shadows away from the light of his mom's television shinning down the hallway. He couldn't let her see the condition he was in and tried to end the greeting as quickly as possible. "I'm glad your home mom but let's talk in the morning okay? I know you're tired."
"Don't be ridiculous honey." Marla laughed. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I miss you." Marla smiled, reaching over to turn on the hallway overhead light. A loud gasp escaped her lips. "Oh honey!" she called out, reaching out to lightly touch Charles's bruised neck. "What in the world happened to you?!" she asked, scanning him from head to toe. "You look horrible!
Charles jerked away, pushed his mom's hand away from him. "Mom I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about."
Marla frowned. "Don't give me that. You look like you've been hit by a truck. What's going on?!" she demanded to know.
"It's nothing. I got into a little scuffle. I'll explain later but right now I'm really tired and I just want to go to bed. Goodnight." Charles excused himself, walked away to his bedroom."
Marla called out to him, stopping him. "Charles Antoni you come back here. Now!" she added when Charles took one more hesitant step away from her. "What are you trying to hide? Spill it! What happened to you?! I want you to tell me who did this to you."
Charles turned slowly. "Mr. Sutton and I had a little disagreement but don't worry it's over."
Marla walked up close to him, taking in the damage and assault done to her son. "Eddie?! Eddie did this to you?! Why?!" she asked in disbelief, tracing the bruises with her fingertips, wincing at the pain she knew her son must be in.
Charles caught her wrist, stopped her gentle touch. "We were both upset and said things we shouldn't have. It's over mom. I handled it. I'll be okay. Trust me it looks worst than it is. It's nothing a little ice won't take care of." he lied. In truth, his neck felt like Mr. Sutton was still there choking him. It burned like hell and every time he talked or swallowed it ached even more but he didn't want his mom involved in this. She had a way of speaking out of turn, was known for her hotheaded nature and would surely only make matters worst.
"Ice?! Are you kidding me?!" Marla said loudly, her wide eyes traveling over Charles's face. "Have you seen yourself? Look at you. You look like death warmed over. You don't need ice. You need a doctor and a hospital!" she suggested.
"Mom no. I don't need a doctor. I just need to get some rest. Can we please talk about this in the morning?" Charles pleaded.
"Charles you're not fooling me." Marla answered, frowning at the ugly blue and black marks on his neck. "I can clearly see you're in pain. I'm going to go have a little talk with Officer Sutton." she said, her voice sneering on the word officer. "He aught to be ashamed of himself. What kind of cop goes around beating up on a kid?! Who the hell does he think he is?!" she stated aggressively.
Charles blocked the entrance to his mom's bedroom with his body, held his arms across the door jamb, stopping her from getting her purse and car keys. "Mom no. Listen. Will you please listen?" he begged. "I haven't told you everything." he replied shyly, nervously licking his lips.
Marla searched Charles's worried face, looked into his eyes and cupped his shoulders in her hands. She knew her son and though he would never admit it, knew when he was scared. "Honey what's going on? Are you in some kind of legal trouble? Why would Eddie do this to you? What happened between the two of you?" she interrogated Charles. "I know there's something bothering you. Whatever it is I want you to tell me and I promise I won't get upset."
"Cassie's pregnant mom. We told Mr. Sutton and he got really upset. He and I got into a horrible fight and he forbid Cassie to see me. He doesn't want her to have anything to do with me." Charles revealed, visibly upset.
Charles had forewarned Marla about a possible pregnancy weeks ago but hearing it now, knowing for sure was a difficult pill to swallow and she held her breath upon hearing the news, found it difficult to breath. Feelings of excitement, happiness and sadness overwhelmed her at once. She was happy her son was sharing such a joyous occasion with Cassie but deeply saddened at Eddie's inability to see Charles's potential. Why couldn't he see how much Charles loved Cassie? Why couldn't he see Charles would always put his daughter first?
"I'm sorry mom." Charles said sadly. Try as he might, he couldn't help but feel a little down, his optimistic spirit broken. He'd really felt he and Cassie had a fighting chance at making a solid life together, a good family, had wholeheartedly believed they could be great parents but after listening to Mr. Sutton's harsh words tonight, he wasn't so sure anymore. Once again Mr. Sutton had gotten the best of him and planted the seeds of insecure doubt in his head. Eddie had sure put him in his place and hadn't held back one bit. He'd told him exactly what he really thought of him. In Mr. Sutton's eyes he was nothing but a poor mechanic who'd come from a dysfunctional family and had nothing to offer his daughter.
Marla hugged him and forced his head back down onto her shoulder when he threatened to pull away, comforting him the only way she knew how. "You don't have anything to be sorry for son. Don't apologize for loving Cassie and creating what I know will be a beautiful baby." she praised. "I promised you I'd be there for you, helping the two of you every step of the way and I meant it." she promised, pulling away to smile up at him. "I'm so happy for you baby. I really am. Things are going to be okay. You just wait and see. Eddie may not be able to see it but I know you're destined to do great things. You have so much talent and I'm not just saying this because you're my son. You're going to finish high school and go on to college just as we planned. We'll have to work hard to make things work but I want you and Cassie to prove her father wrong."
Having his mom near at such a difficult, trying time was comforting to Charles and though he found it hard to admit, he really needed her right now. He closed his eyes, squeezed her tight and breathed in the familiar scent of her hair, took solace in the gentle way she stroked the back of his head with her palm. It was good having her home.
Scene 12
Jenn stood in the doorway with her mouth open staring at Eddie as he unpacked his suitcase, neatly hanging his things onto hangers and folding his clothes away. She stood there for a moment, arms behind her back, hands resting on the doorknob staring at him. The rigid stance of his body movements and the stern set of his jaw told her he was still extremely upset. "Honey..., what are you doing?"
Eddie's eyebrows lifted. He'd thought it obvious what he was doing. "Unpacking." he answered, sparing Jenn a cold, disapproving glance from the corner of his eye.
Jenn walked into the room and stood next to him, her eyes darting from his face to his suitcase lying on the bed. "Unpacking...., why? What about your trip? What about Watkins?"
Eddie snorted. A fishing trip was the last thing on his mind. His trip could wait. Right now he and his family had more urgent matters to tend to and discuss. It wasn't everyday a man found out his teenage daughter was pregnant. It wasn't exactly the kind of news a father could hear and simply walk away from while he enjoyed a casual fishing trip with the guys. "I phoned Watkins. We're going to do it another time. Trips been canceled and it's a good thing. It seems I'm needed around here." he grunted sarcastically, his eyes silently boring into Jenn, full of unspoken accusation. It had become painfully obvious to him tonight that he needed to take a more hands on fatherly approach into his daughters' lives and take on the role of sole disciplinarian
because Jenn obviously couldn't handle it. She'd been keeping secrets from him about his children and that was unacceptable. Were there other things he should know, things she wasn't telling him and did he dare ask for fear of what she might say, might tell him?
"Honey you were so excited about this trip. I'd hate to see you put it off." Jenn replied.
Eddie sucked in his breath, threw the shirt down he'd been folding and glared angrily at Jenn. "Are we going to talk about this now or later?" he spat out. Here they stood talking about his fishing trip instead of discussing the real issue at hand..., Cassie's pregnancy. They'd been dancing and tip toeing around the subject for the past few minutes and he couldn't take it anymore. He had questions and expected some answers.
Jenn didn't like Eddie's tone, the the doubt and mistrust she saw in his eyes as they traveled over her. "Eddie I know you're upset but please...___" she began.
"Upset?!" Eddie said loudly, stopping Jenn mid sentence, his voice turning rough. "Jenn upset doesn't begin to explain how I feel!" he shouted.
"Are we going to talk or argue Eddie!?" Jenn asked, raising her voice. "If your looking for an argument I'm happy to disappoint you because I've heard more than enough arguing for one night. The kids and I all have."
Eddie whirled on Jenn, and a heated argument ensued with each of them shouting at one another, their voices echoing throughout the room, traveling through the door and beyond the hallway. "I can't believe you kept this from me Jenn!" he yelled violently, his temper and aggravation growing with each angry word he shouted. How could Jenn have lied to him about something so important? Since when had they resorted to lies and deceit in their marriage? "She is my daughter!" he shouted, his voice cracking through the quiet silence of the night.
Jenn was stunned at Eddie's degrading tone, his malicious manner. He had good reason to be angry and upset but she wasn't going to let him back her into a corner..., railroad her and blame her for Cassie's pregnancy. "Your daughter?!" she shot back angrily, meeting his anger with some fury of her own. "Your daughter?!" she repeated shockingly. "She's our daughter!" She clarified, her tone sharp, emphasizing the word our.
"Hmph!..." Eddie puffed and waved his hand in the air, rudely dismissing Jenn's explanation. His dismissal was followed by a long pause as he quietly stared her down. He was no fool. Jenn had known Cassie was pregnant and instead of telling him right away, she'd foolishly waited, staged a beautiful grand dinner, only to have it ruined and upstaged by Charles's startling news. She had known Cassie was pregnant and he was willing to bet money there were other things she was keeping from him, hadn't told him. Right now, there was but one question on his mind. The one question that had been racing through his head and gnawing at him from the moment Charles had told him the upsetting news. "How long has this been going on!?" he lashed out abruptly.
Jenn held her hands out in front of her at chest level and steepled her fingertips together while she carefully thought of a response. How did one answer such a question? Eddie hadn't been completely clear on his meaning but she knew exactly what he meant. Unfortunately, there was no favorable way of telling him Charles and Cassie had been sexually active for quite some time now. Furthermore, not only had she herself been well aware their activities but she had also made a conscious decision to allow contraception, thereby enabling them to have safe sex. A decision that was now coming back to haunt her.
"How long?!" Eddie repeated louder, waiting for Jenn's answer. He stood silently. "I'm waiting." he said harshly. "When were you going to tell me? How long have you been lying to me?!" he charged.
"I haven't lied about anything." Jenn responded.
"No you didn't lie. You just conveniently forgot to tell me the truth." Eddie returned.
Jenn dropped her head low. As Cassie's father Eddie would never understand and as her mother there were some things she couldn't discuss with him. "Eddie...," she paused, gathering her thoughts, "Cassie is your daughter but she's also a young lady..., a young woman and there are certain things about her, private..., intimate things I can't share and discuss with you. I understand that she's still under your roof and living under your rules and guidance but as a female, a young girl, she deserves some small measure of privacy.
"Jenn you're not making any sense." Eddie disputed. "She is my daughter!" he spat out, frustrated with Jenn's refusal to answer his question. He touched his index finger to his chest. "I am her father, the man of this house and I have a right to know what's going on in my own home!" he screamed. "What does this say about us, our marriage and communication when I can't depend on you to tell me what's going on with our children?!"
"This isn't a question of our marital commitments Eddie. This is about Cassie." Jenn reasoned.
"You know this wouldn't have happened if you'd taken a firmer hold of Cassie to begin with." Eddie accused, his words rendering Jenn speechless.
With her mouth wide open, Jenn stared at him, shocked and surprised at his blatant accusation. "Are you blaming me for this?!" she asked, flattening her palm against her chest, outraged. "You think I'm responsible for Cassie getting pregnant?!" she questioned when he refused to answer, turning his back to her. She walked around in front of him, forced him to face her. "Are you blaming me?" She asked for the third time.
"We have a responsibility to protect our kids and I've made no secret of the fact that I think you're to lenient with Cassie." Eddie stated. "These are the consequences of allowing her to stay out all night, letting her to spend every spare minute with Charles."
Jenn pressed her fingers against her temples, struggled to mentally compose and defend herself against Eddie's verbal attack. "Eddie Sutton how dare you! This is absurd and you're being completely unreasonable. How dare you stand here and cast blame. I am just as upset and worried about Cassie as you are but arguing about it won't change the fact that she's pregnant." she argued. "Maybe if you were here more often and managed to cut back on your late hours to spend more time with me and the kids, these "consequences" you're referring to wouldn't happen." she argued on, curling her fingers in the air to form quotations around the word consequences. "Unlike you, I have two jobs. I'm a nurse during the day and in the evenings I'm busy cooking, cleaning and caring for the kids.
"What's that suppose to mean?!" Eddie grumbled. "Are you saying I don't do my job as a father?! Just how reasonable do you expect me to be?" Eddie questioned. "Are you prepared to help Cassie raise a child?" he countered.
Jenn held her ground. "I'm prepared to do what ever is necessary to help our daughter. She needs me. She needs my help..., our help. As upset as I am I can't turn away from her. Do you realize she's in her room right now crying her eyes out because she knows she's let you down..., she's disappointed you?" she asked, not giving him a chance to answer before continuing. "She's afraid you won't see her the same any more. She's scared Eddie and poor Charles was terrified. We thought you were going to kill hi...___"
Eddie cut her off, interrupting her. "Poor Charles!" he exclaimed unbelievably, his eyes stretching wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cassie was pregnant and Jenn was defending the man responsible. He didn't think it was possible to become any angrier than he already was but Jenn's defense of Charles infuriated him. "Jenn do you not understand the enormity of this situation?! I can't believe you're defending Charles!" he snapped.
"And I can't believe you attacked him!" Jenn retaliated, her voice growing tense. "Charles has been in Cassie's life for a long time and you'd think you would have grown to fully accept him and come to terms with the fact that Cassie loves him. I thought you two were finally at peace with one another. You were there for Charles when he had problems with his step dad. You tried to talk him out of going into the military. What happened to the connection you two once shared?"
Eddie nodded his head begrudgingly. "You're right. I tried to be a friend to Charles, a mentor, did my duty as a cop to try and protect him from his crazy step dad but any connection I shared with him was lost the moment I found out he'd gotten Cassie pregnant." he stated brazenly, completely unashamed of his hateful feelings toward Charles. "I can be a friend, a mentor and a cop but I'm a father first Jenn. My love for Cassie will always overshadow and take priority over anything I feel for Charles. I shouldn't have to defend myself for being a man, a concerned father and I won't apologize for loving and wanting to protect my daughter!"
Jenn swallowed hard and closed her eyes to Eddie's cruelty. He was being deliberately cruel and callous, acting completely out of character. She loved him but his physical attack of Charles had scared her..., terrified her and the children. Tonight, he'd revealed a violent side of himself that she never wanted to witness again. "No one's asking you to apologize but don't expect me to condone your behavior tonight because I found it completely uncalled for and shameful! And if you weren't so full of rage and anger right now you'd admit it."
"What do you want from me?" he asked, his shoulders lifting and falling back down in defeat. "What do you expect of me?!" he rang out.
"I expect you to have a little compassion, a little heart and understanding!" Jenn called out wildly, quickly taking over the conversation. "I expect you to remember what it was like to be young, eighteen and in love."
Eddie nodded his head slowly. "Oh I see. I get it. You want me to praise Charles...tell him everything is going to be okay." he commented sarcastically, shaking his head at Jenn's nonchalant attitude over the entire situation. "You expect me to chock this off as a simple mistake and shake hands with him." He raised one finger warningly in the air and spoke so slowly Jenn hung onto his every word. "Don't expect me to apologize to him Jenn. Don't! I'm not sorry and don't feel any remorse for what happened here tonight. In fact, I don't feel guilty at all. If I had it to do all over again, had a chance to handle tonight differently..., I wouldn't change a thing." he whispered roughly through his teeth, refusing to give in. This was one argument he intended to win. Jenn was wrong on all counts.
Scene 13
Unbeknown to Eddie or Jenn, Cassie stood right outside their bedroom door, listening and had overheard every word of their conversation. She rested her head against the door with tears in her eyes, taking in every hurtful word her dad muttered. Her parents were arguing about her, screaming at each other and it made her feel horrible, she felt responsible. Maybe if she left there would be no more arguing, no more screaming. Like other parents, her mom and dad had argued many times before but not like this. This was different, intense. This was an emotionally charged, heated argument with yelling and shouting and neither her dad nor her mom seemed to have any intention of giving in.
This wasn't what she wanted. She and Charles's baby was unplanned but through it all, she still wanted it to be a joyous occasion. She wanted loving, doting grandparents but that all seemed so impossible right now. So far, there had been nothing but arguing and fighting. If she left, her family could go back to their normal lives, their normal routine and not worry about her. She now knew her dad had no intention of ever forgiving Charles and from what she'd overheard, he'd probably never accept her baby. Pregnant and scared, she realized she had to choose her battles and this was one battle she couldn't win. She was sure to lose. It was definitely time to go, time to leave. Thankfully, her bags were still packed and if she was careful and quiet she could sneak out without anyone noticing.
Scene 14
The arguing continued. Jenn was determined to prove her point and hoped Eddie would eventually understand why she'd withheld information from him. "You know Cassie and Charles are just like you and me. I look at them and I think back to when we were young and just starting out. We were scared and poor and my father didn't help matters. I remember him being against us from the very beginning. Don't you remember what is was like with you and me?" Jenn reminded him. "Have you forgotten the hatred and contempt my father felt for you when I got pregnant with Cassie? Do you remember how he degraded you and made a mockery of you? In his eyes you could do no right."
Shame, guilt and embarrassment suddenly clouded Eddie's mind. He chuckled softly and shook his head..., humored and angered at Jenn's audacity. "I knew you were going to bring this up!" he shouted. "I knew you were going to try and compare Charles and Cassie's situation to our own. They are nothing like us Jenn. What happened to us..., what we had and experienced was different."
"Oh don't kid yourself Eddie! Oh how quickly we forget!" Jenn grated, hoping to jog Eddie's memory. "They are exactly like us, similar in every way. Need I remind you? We were young, unmarried, with an unplanned pregnancy and it scared the hell out of us. I don't know how I would have managed if my mother hadn't been there for me."
"I haven't forgotten a thing Jenn." Eddie said, his thoughts wandering back to a hurtful time he'd sooner forget than discuss. Memories of how he and Jenn had struggled to get her father to accept him, to give him a chance and believe that he could care for his daughter came to mind. Jenn's father had an uncanny ability to make a man feel small and useless. Painful recollections of how her father had belittled him..., made him feel less than a man when he'd learned of Jenn's pregnancy came rushing back and the same hurtful feelings that had once plagued him felt all so real once again. "I never really lived up to Coleman Bradshaw's expectations." he said, but instantly corrected himself. "I'm sorry. I meant the mighty Judge Coleman Bradshaw's expectations." he seethed scornfully, intentionally changing his voice to mimic Coleman's conceited tone, mocking his uppity, egotistical nature. "To this day I still feel like I haven't completely proven myself to him and every time I see him he finds a way to subtly remind me I'll never measure up."
Jenn slumped down onto the bed and rubbed her clammy palms on her jean clad thighs. She was tired of arguing..., tired of yelling. Together, she and Eddie needed to come to some common ground, some kind of understanding on how they were going to deal with Cassie's pregnancy. They needed to come to terms with what Cassie's pregnancy meant, not only for her and Charles's sake but for the good of their whole family. "That's just my point Eddie. Men like you and my father set expectations so high no one will ever be good enough for your daughters. No one will ever measure up. If I'd listened to my father you and I wouldn't be together right now. He wanted me to have nothing to do with you but I loved you and realized he didn't understand how important you were to me. I went against my father's wishes and disobeyed him to be with the man I loved and Cassie's doing the same. Do you honestly think you can keep her away from Charles..., keep them apart?"
"Where are you going with this Jenn and why are you fighting so hard for them to be together?" Eddie asked, his arms and hands outstretched, pleading with her to understand his feelings. "Cassie's better off without him and I want her to stay away from him. Charles has proven that no good can come from Cassie being with him. Nothing but trouble has followed her since she met him. That's when all of her troubles started. He counted off the incidents on his fingertips, giving evidence, proving his point. "First she was legally implicated in Mac's death. Then she ran away with him to Santa Barbara. Now he's gotten her pregnant and to make matters worst, you've been lying to me to cover up their secrets."
"Are you telling me you won't be there for Cassie?" Jenn questioned, putting him on the spot. "You won't give her the support she needs? Is that what you're saying? What is you want Eddie? Do you want Cassie to put her baby up for adoption..., be forced to abort her baby? Is that what you want?"
"Don't put words in my mouth. No one said anything about abortion or adoption but you're asking me to forgive and forget and I'm just not ready to do that. I'm telling you I'm not ready to say goodbye to all the hopes and dreams I had for Cassie's future. I'm not ready to see my daughter struggle and have a hard life. I'm not sure what option we should take, or how we should handle this but the fact of the matter is Cassie's not ready or prepared to have a baby. She's still a child herself. Don't ask me to be the better man and come to terms with this right now Jenn because I'm telling you I can't!" Eddie replied, his tone turning sour. He grabbed his pillow and a spare blanket from the bed.
Jenn stood up quickly. "Where are you going?"
Eddie headed for the door and turned back with his hand on the door knob. "The spare bedroom." he mumbled angrily.
Jenn's eyebrows shot up in confusion. They didn't have a spare bedroom. "What?"
"The couch!" Eddie clarified, volunteering to spend the night on their lumpy, uncomfortable sofa. Surely Jenn would remember. She'd sent him there many times, forced him out of their bedroom. "Remember?!" he added, slamming the door behind him.
Scene 15
Claire turned the music up loud, loud enough to shake the pictures on her bedroom wall. She bobbed her head to the thudding base, turned backwards, held her arms out wide, and dived back on her bed. "Yes!" she said out loud, laughing to herself. Her dad had left for his fishing trip and she had the house all to herself. She and her mom could have a real girls weekend and it was going to be wonderful. A weekend full of loud music, junk food and pure lazy relaxation. Of course, her dad had laid down the law before leaving, warned off any wild ideas she might have had stirring in her head of throwing a wild, outlandish party. He'd made her promise to get an early start on her studies for next week's final exams and had even gone to the extent of giving the neighbors his cell phone number in case they noticed anything suspicious. His idea of suspicious behavior meant spotting David's car in the drive way late at night or early in the wee hours of the morning. Little did he know she and David had called it quits.
He'd given her the car keys but suggested she only go out if there was a real emergency. She'd had a couple of minor fender benders and he wasn't crazy about her driving late at night. Well, she was craving Ben and Jerry's coffee heath bar crunch ice cream and who said an ice cream craving wasn't an emergency? She could grab some dessert and maybe stop by and scoop up Cassie for a little joy riding, some quality girl time. Cassie had been really upset lately and hadn't been herself. She was worried about her and anxious to see how her dad had taken the news of her pregnancy.
In a hurry, she slipped her shoes on, threw her purse over her shoulder and grabbed the car keys. A shocking surprise met her as she flung the bedroom door open and ran straight into her dad. "Dad!" she yelled, holding her chest, startled to find him standing behind her door so unexpectedly. "Whoa. You scared me to death!" she breathed hard with her heart pounding in her chest. She spoke loudly over the blaring music. "Seriously! Give a girl a heart attack why don't ya?! Have you ever heard of knocking?!"
"I knocked but I guess you had a little trouble hearing me." Watkins shouted, motioning for Claire to turn the music down. He held his hands over his ears.
Claire turned the music completely off. "What are you doing here? Did you forget something? I thought you'd be long gone by now."
Watkins glared at Claire. "No. I didn't forget anything. Did you?" he countered, nodding towards the car keys in her hand. He'd left specific instructions for her to stay in, only go out if absolutely necessary. "Looks like you're headed out. You going somewhere?"
Claire winced and pushed the keys into her back pockets. She was so busted. "Uh....n..n..no." she stammered. "I left my cell phone in the car when we out earlier. I was just headed outside to get it." she lied.
Watkins leaned against the door jamb. "Oh really?" he questioned warily and chuckled softly to himself. Yep...he'd caught baby girl on her way out for a little joy ride. He was sure of it. Claire never went anywhere without her cell phone. Normally, it was permanently glued to her ear and unfortunately her timing couldn't have been worse as her cell phone just so happened to ring at that precise moment.
"Oh...wow," Claire said, feigning ignorance, tapping the side of her head, "silly me. I found it."
"Mm-hmm." Watkins grumbled knowingly, grinning. Claire was trying hard but wasn't fooling him in the least.
Claire took her cell phone from her purse and shook her head. This had better be good, a mighty important call from someone really special because thanks to them she'd just been caught lying. Surprisingly and to her delight, David's number appeared on the caller id screen. Her heart melted and huge smile covered her face. She and David hadn't talked and had been avoiding each other since the evening of their break up but she still thought about him everyday. Maybe he'd decided it was time to finally make peace with each other. She held the phone against her chest. "Umm, dad do you mind?" she spoke softly, requesting a little privacy. "It's David."
Watkins left the room but not before taking the car keys. "I don't mind but I guess you won't be needing these." he winked playfully, plucking the car keys from her fingers.
Anxious to hear David's voice, Claire ushered her dad out the door. She took a deep breath and answered the phone, trying her best to sound cheerful and upbeat. "David....hi." Claire greeted happily, smiling into the phones receiver. "I'm surprised to hear from you."
Unlike Claire, David didn't waste time with friendly formalities and his attitude was less than cheerful and forthcoming. He and Claire's relationship was over and he felt it best to keep all conversations neutral and light. In less than a week they'd both be graduating and had yet to tie up the loose ends from their failed relationship. He got right to the point, immediately stated his reason for calling and kept his tone cold and hard. "Look, you left some of your things over at my house on prom night and some of my basketball gear is over at your place."
Mario/Like Me Real Hard
Please stop and play the audio track below before reading any further. Listen to the track as you read the remaining story to help envision the scene. The first mp3 track is automatically set to loop and play continuously. Or if you prefer, the second mp3 track may be listened to manually, play by play.
Manual mp3 Version. Must be manually reset to replay.
likemerealhard.mp3
Claire's smile faded instantly, transforming her lips into a saddened frown. Things between her and David weren't right, hadn't been right for some time now. Weeks of dodging and avoiding each other had been horrible and she couldn't think of a way to right things. What a fool she'd been in thinking they could be friends. Better to walk away as friends instead of enemies but unfortunately nothing had changed. David was still just as angry if not more so and she felt his open hostility clear across the phone. "Fine." she said at once, holding onto her pride, irritated but not wanting him to know he had hurt her feelings. "I'll stop by your house tomorrow after church and we can exchange things." Far be it from her to force him to make nice. If this is how he wanted to end things then so be it.
"Claire I was thinking we could handle this the easy way." David suggested quickly. With the way things had ended between them, neither one of them should be making personal house calls. It was best to keep things as light and neutral as possible.
Claire pulled the phone away from her ear, stared down at it awkwardly. The voice on the other end of the line belonged to David but it was strangely unfamiliar all the same. It was weird hearing him call her by her given name. Moreover, the bizarre, abnormal way he said it was hurtful. He spoke to her, called her name as if they were casual strangers doing business on the phone. So much for "Princess," the adorable nickname he'd once given her. Now, she was back to plain old Claire. The girl who had foolishly dumped him. "The easy way?" she called out, confused on David's meaning. "How hard can it be David? I'll come over, drop your things off and pick up my things at the same time."
"Uh...no...I got a better idea that will save us both a lot of grief." David responded. "I'll make sure Cassie get's all your things and I was thinking you could...___" he began.
Claire didn't let him finish. She slapped her hand against her forehead, suddenly realizing what he was saying. "Oh I get it!" she blurted out, angrily interrupting him, her lips tightening. "You were thinking I could do the same. We could both hide behind Cassie and Charles to exchange our stuff! Is that your plan?!" she bit off. "We're hiding behind our friends now?!"
"You're something else you know that?!" David spat, raising his voice over the phone. As far as he was concerned, Claire didn't have a right to call him out on anything.
"David are you serious?!" Claire choked out, upset that he didn't want to see her. "Are we to the point where we can't even face each other, talk to one another? Do you really hate me that much?! I knew you were upset but I didn't know you couldn't stand the sight of me. I never thought you'd be so damn mean!" she yelled.
"What is your problem?! I mean seriously. Why are you trying to be so difficult?!" David asked abruptly, his patience wearing thin. Why in the world would Claire want to see him? He knew she didn't love him. She'd said so herself. They'd broken up and each gone their separate ways. He was only trying to make things easier for them. Being with each other would only rehash old feelings, feelings he was trying his hardest to get over. He'd intended to call her days ago so she could pick up her belongings but each day he'd made up a silly excuse, looked for some reason to hold on to them just a little longer. He missed her and it was his way of holding on to some small part of her, keeping something that belonged to her close to him. Hard to believe he'd found comfort in something so small, something most people would certainly call crazy but he had. The after prom dress she'd intended to wear hung neatly in his closet. Her earrings and perfume sat on his bathroom counter just as she'd left them and oddly enough, he'd opened the bottle, smelled the familiar scent of her perfume and missed her even more. He'd thought about her every single day since they'd been apart but knew seeing her, being alone with her within the confines of his house would only make things worse. He was still in love with her and still hadn't gotten over the fact that she was leaving.
"I'm not being difficult but your being a jerk." Claire accused him.
David was taken aback. "Great!" he grumbled. "Now I'm a jerk. We've only been talking for a few minutes and your already slinging insults."
"I'm not insulting you! Trust me David. You'll know when I'm insulting you." Claire raged, so angry she wanted to scream. She hadn't even begun to hand out insults but she was well on her way because David was testing her patience.
"That's it. I'm done." David insisted with finality, trying to end the conversation. "I shouldn't have called. I knew I shouldn't have called. " he scolded himself. It made no sense to sit on the phone arguing like two kids. "Look..., I've got your things all boxed up and I'll be sure Cassie gets them. It's better this way and you know it. As usual, you're just too damn stubborn to admit."
Claire's hand tightened on the phone. "Ugh!" she vented. David really made her blood boil. Damn him, damn him....damn him. How could she love someone who made her so mad sometimes? She knew she was stubborn. She didn't need to hear it from him. "Here's what I know David!" she exclaimed forcefully. "If you want your things..., your gear," she snapped, snarling the word gear between her teeth, "You're gonna have to have to man up and come get em' yourself!" she yelled into the receiver.
"Did I miss something here?!" David called out. "I'm the one who should be giving you a hard time. Don't turn this around on me and make me out to be the bad guy. You made the decision to call it quits sweetheart. Not me." he fired back, his temper rising quickly.
"Oh puh-leeze David!" Claire called out. "Don't pretend like your all sad and wearing your heart out over me. We both know you've already found my replacement!" she sounded off.
David was floored by Claire's outburst and went completely silent on the phone. It took him a few seconds to respond and Claire responded to the deafening phone silence, pouncing on him. "Wow... crickets!" she taunted. "You're speechless. What? You didn't think I'd find out?!"
"Find out What?! What the hell are you talking about Claire? David responded, clueless at to her meaning.
Claire mouthed off, told him just what she thought of his little imitation, his new girlfriend Brittany, her look alike. "They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery. Well I've got news for you David. Brittany may look like me but she'll never be me. I can't believe you're seeing her!" she ranted jealously.
David lashed out. "Don't tell me your gonna play the jealous ex-girlfriend card?!" he blasted. "I mean...., what..., all of a sudden you think I'm seeing someone and you want to get all defensive?" Claire was completely out of line and had obviously been listening to the gossip being spread around Robelson High about him. Honestly, Brittany was a pretty girl but her beauty paled in comparison to Claire's and personally, unlike everyone else, he didn't think they looked anything alike. The only things they had in common were their height and natural hair styles. Beyond that, their personalities and demeanor were completely opposite. Sure, Brittany was pretty enough but she was also an incorrigible flirt, after any available school athlete she could find. Yes, she was plainly interested in him and had made no secret of it but they were just friends, nothing more, nothing less.
"Did you expect me to congratulate you on dating Brittany?" Claire mouthed unbelievably. "Happy to disappoint you!"
David let out a rough sigh. How in the hell could she call him out on supposedly dating someone when she had dumped him? Why did she care who he was seeing if she didn't love him? It seems she didn't want him but didn't want anyone else to have him either. Just like a jealous female. Claire was jealous. It was nothing but pure jealousy. He knew her well, knew when she was jealous and she was seething with it. "Claire why are you concerned with who I'm dating. Why do you even care? What difference does it make?" he questioned her.
David's evasiveness irritated Claire. "It makes a difference because she's not good enough for you. Are you really dating her? Please David. Not Brittany..., anyone but her. " David's dating Brittany made her feel like he'd simply gone out and found some cheap imitation, a cheap copy of herself.
"Would it make you feel better if I said no?" David managed.
"You could have fooled me." David argued, his voice full of sarcasm. "You're being a little unfair don't you think? Why is it okay for you to date someone and not me? Why should you have all the fun?"
Claire frowned. Since when had she been dating someone? She had no idea what he was talking about. "What are you talking about David?
"It's all over school that you and Ryan are together." David claimed.
Claire's mouth fell open. She only knew one Ryan. "Ryan Barnwell?!" she blurted out.
"Yeah." David answered. "My bad. I thought he was just your lab partner."
"Your crazy David!" Claire scoffed, outraged by his blatant accusation. "I'm not seeing anyone. It's only been a couple weeks since you and I broke up. What kind of girl do you think I am?"
"It's all over school that you and him are dating..., a couple..., an item. " David elaborated. "Everyone's talking about how much time you two spend together outside of the lab." he charged. He'd always suspected Ryan was attracted to Claire but had kept his suspicions to himself in, secure in the fact that she was his. At first, he'd tried to ignore the rumors but Emillio told him he'd seen Claire getting out of Ryan's car in the school parking lot one morning. He didn't know much about Ryan but he did know he already had a girlfriend at a neighboring school in the area and he really hoped Claire knew what she was getting herself into.
Ridiculous gossip and rumors, Claire thought to herself. It was the one thing she wouldn't miss about Robelson high school. Each day was never a dull moment with all the rumors, lies and gossip. Someone was obviously spreading lies about her and Ryan because they were only lab partners. Sure, they spent a lot of time together working on special physics projects, extra credit papers and talked to each other in the hallways but they weren't romantically involved. "This is silly David. Look...you're angry and I don't blame you. I'm sorry for the way I broke up with you. Maybe I should have handled it better but Ryan is my lab partner. You know this. You've met him." she reminded him. "I introduced him to you myself and yeah..., I guess you could say Ryan and I are really good friends but that's it. Why are you making me explain myself when you know everything you've heard is a lie?"
"So your best friends with your lab partner huh? Great! That's just great!" David ground out feverishly under his breath. He imagined Ryan wanted a little more than friendship and he could think of a few choice words, a few names he'd like to call Ryan, the so called lab partner but he was too much of a gentleman to say them over the phone.
"You're being ridiculous David." Claire responded.
"Just as ridiculous as you questioning me about Brittany." David countered.
"Ryan's a good guy and we work really well together. He's a....___" Claire started.
"A damn clown!" David finished her sentence, cut her off abruptly. He'd seen Ryan around school, talked to him a few times when he visited Claire in the lab and he wasn't impressed, not in the least. He and Claire hadn't been separated for very long and the sneaky bastard was already trying to make a move.
"You've got some nerve!" Claire shouted, defending her friend. "Brittany's nothing but a little h...___"
David broke in quickly. "Don't say it! Don't even go there!" he yelled. "Contrary to what you may believe every girl who smiles at me is not a whore."
Claire yelled into the phone. "You started it David! Why don't you just admit you're jealous of Ryan and you've never liked him!"
"No I don't!" David admitted sharply, honestly. "Let me tell you something princess..., there's no love lost between Ryan and me. The guy is always hanging over your shoulder, finding some crazy ass reason to touch you, ogling you and if you can't tell by the way he looks at you, he wants and expects more than a little Physics tutoring you're crazy!"
"I'm not going to discuss Ryan with you and don't call me princess!" Claire seethed. She knew her behavior was juvenile but she was vibrating with anger, lashing out any way she could.
"You know what..., why are we even having this conversation?" David returned, his temper flaring. "You're being ridiculous and childish."
Claire was livid. Thank goodness they were talking on the phone because if she could see David in person she'd surely slap his silly, arrogant face. "If you think that was childish..., hang on cause you're gonna love this!" she warned him, immediately disconnecting the call, hanging up.
"Claire?!.....Claire?!!..Claire?!!!" David called out, realizing she had hung up on him.
Scene 16
Nate came home unexpectedly, a little early from his part time restaurant job to find his mom having dinner with a gentleman..., a very young gentleman. From the looks of him, the kid must have been barely out of high school yet there they sat, his mom and her young friend, drinking wine, chatting and laughing the night away.
Not wanting to jump to
conclusions, he kept quiet and waited to be formally introduced. Maybe
this whole scene wasn't what it appeared to be. Maybe they were just two
friends enjoying each others company. Maybe this young guy was one of
Jeron's friends, someone Jeron knew. He really hoped this was an
innocent, simple kind of thing because this guy was definitely too young
for his mother.
He
unbuttoned and shrugged out of his white waiter's shirt. Steadily
waiting for his mom to attempt some kind of introduction. When none
came, he stalled and hung around in the family room. To
add insult to injury, she barely acknowledged him when he walked in,
spared him a seconds glance and a careless "hey son," before returning
to her conversation. Not once did her little companion ever turn to
acknowledge him and it infuriated him to say the least. This was his
house, his apartment and he was being treated like and intruding
outcast. Well, if his mom
wasn't going to introduce him, he'd handle all introductions himself. He
marched into the kitchen and held his hand out. "Hi I'm Nathaniel and
just who might you be?" he inquired, waiting for an answer.
The kid was embarrassed and stood quickly to shake hands and immediately introduced himself. He cleared his throat. "Ahem... The names Avery. Avery Johnson. Didn't mean to be rude man. Sorry." he apologized.
"No harm done." Nate stated,
glancing down at the table filled with playing cards and wine bottles.
"Looks like you and my mom are having a nice time here."
Avery scratched his head. "Yeah well uh...we was just talkin. You know..., gettin a lil card game in. Just havin a lil fun. No harm no foul right?"
"Evidently not." Nate responded,
scrutinizing Avery, taking in every aspect of this seemingly young kid
standing before him. Never one to judge a man or in this case, a boy by
his appearance, he tried to give the guy the benefit of the doubt but
Avery wasn't giving him much reason to think very highly of him. He
was a kid, plain and simple, from his head to his toe..., from his low
riding pants to his blinding gold mouthed grill. Not once did Avery make
eye contact with him as they spoke and now that he was close up to him,
face to face, he appeared even younger than he had first assumed.
His mom was a grown woman with her own mind and responsibilities but
this was one instance where he had to step in and interfere. What in the
world was she thinking?! She'd really outdone herself this time.
"Nate you must be tired son. Why don't you go on to bed?" Dana coerced him. She and Avery had been having a perfectly smooth night until he'd come along, barging in with his questions. He wasn't due home for another couple hours. He'd surprised her coming home so early.
Nate motioned towards the deck of cards on the table. "Actually I'm not tired at all. I'm up for a quick game."
"Uh...Avery was just leaving." Dana choked out quickly, trusting Avery to take her hint and grab his things and leave. "Ain't that right Avery?" she said, influencing him to go. She
was no fool and knew this supposed card game would lead to Nate
eventually questioning and interrogating Avery for the rest of the
night. So much for a little fun time. Leave it to Nate to come home and spoil things. He sure knew how to suck the fun out of a girl's night.
On cue, Avery immediately gathered his things, carelessly turning over a glass of red wine in his haste. "Damn my bad." he said, scampering to grab napkins to clean up the spill.
Dana jumped up from the table. It was best for everyone's sake that Avery leave right away. Any second now Nate was going to say something stupid and out of the way. She just knew it. The suspicious, wary look on his face gave him away. "Avery just go." she mouthed forcefully. "I'll clean this up." she said, waving her hands over the table. "Just go. Now."
The look on Nathaniel's face was less than welcoming and Avery couldn't wait to tear out of there. Oh yeah. It was time he left before Dana's son decided to jump stupid. No need for anyone to ask twice. He knew when he wasn't welcome. "Yeah I'm out. Nice meetin' you Nate."
"Nathaniel." Nate corrected him, his tone cold and dismissive. Only his family and friends called him Nate and he didn't know this kid from Adam.
Avery nodded his head and held his
hands up with palms facing outwards, letting Nathaniel know he meant no
disrespect in using his nick name. "Oh...right...right...Nathaniel.
Slip of the tongue man. Won't happen again." he explained.
Dana stepped between Nate and Avery, halting any altercation before it started and escorted him to the door. "I'll see you out." Nate's penetrating gaze bore through them the whole time as he stood back staring but Avery didn't mind. He gave Dana the usual goodbye hug and a savory goodnight kiss. "Let's do it again lil mama." he invited. "I'll bring the wine next time."
The second the door closed and
Avery was out of sight, Dana whirled, lashing out at Nate. Apparently
her son needed to be reminded of his place. "What the hell was that?!"
she went off angrily.
Amazed at his mom's unabashed nerve, her complete lack of shame and embarrassment for having been busted with such a young guy, Nate put his hands on his waist and paced the floor. "I was hoping you would tell me. You aught to be ashamed of yourself mom." he criticized her, embarrassed and a little disgusted at the physical display he'd just seen. No man wanted to see his mom in a tight lip lock with a guy nearly half her age. "
Those were fighting words and Dana took them as such. "Ashamed of myself?!" she echoed. "Just what have I done to be ashamed of? Huh?" She shook her head, refusing to let him answer. "You better watch it Nate. I'm a grown ass woman. You don't get to dictate to me and discipline me. I swear..., the minute I try to have a little fun, relax a little bit, you start actin all crazy. You're worst than mama Taylor."
"That's right mom. You're right. You're a grown ass woman and as a woman, you should know your place. You're sitting here sipping wine with a little kid and you're out of line. He's talking about bringing wine when I doubt he's even legal or old enough to drink." Nate ranted.
Dana found Nate's tone offensive and she grew angrier by the minute. "Oh I know my place Nate but evidently you done bumped your head and forgotten yours. I am the mother around here. I choose my own friends and companions. I don't need you to screen my dates. Avery is not a child. He's a twenty two and old enough to make his own decisions. I like him, he's stable, got a good job and I don't intend to stop seeing him to appease you."
Hearing Avery's age was Nate's undoing. As he'd suspected, the guy was barely legal. "Come on mom." he groaned, frowning, pleading with her to think rationally. "He's too young for you. Much to young. Why can't you date a guy your own age?"
"Age shouldn't make a difference as long as he's legal Nate." Dana stated. "He's a grown man, out of school with his own responsibilities and I don't have to handle him with kid gloves. Just cause I'm your mother don't mean I don't need companionship. I may be old but I'm not dead."
"Where did you meet him?" Nate questioned, curious.
Dana refused to answer because she failed to see the importance and relevance of Nate's question. "Why?! What difference does it make?"
Nate sighed and shook his head. "Humor me mom."
"He's an orderly at the hospital." Dana answered. "I met him a couple weeks ago when I started my treatments. Avery's a good guy Nate and I don't want you makin him feel uncomfortable when he comes around here."
Everything about the situation was wrong and Nate didn't approve. "So this is what you do while I'm away at work...entertain friends...drink?" he accused bitterly. "What kind of example are you setting for Jeron and what about your health?" Nate asked, putting Dana on the spot. "You know the doctors don't want you drinking while you're receiving treatment. You're supposed to be taking care of yourself."
Dana's whole face tightened with shame and guilt. She was guilty as charged, hadn't exactly been taking good care of herself. Life wasn't anything to cheer about lately. The beginning stages of her cancer treatment had started and if that weren't stressful enough, Jeron was completely out of control. "There you go again!" she replied curtly. "My son..., the Cop," she grunted offensively, "always telling me what's good for me, what I need to do." she sneered. "Don't you stand there and judge me." she warned. "It's easy for to you talk about what's right for me, point out everything little thing I'm doing wrong. You're not the one who has to sit there and be poked and prodded with needles while they pump medicine into you all the damn time!" she flung at him. "You don't know what it's like to come home afterwards feeling sick, tired and wanting to puke your guts out. So don't you even think about telling me what's expected of me. I've got enough shit going on in my life right now without you rambling in my ear!" she barked. "Avery makes me feel good, makes me smile and laugh. When I'm with him, I feel like a beautiful young woman again. You're gonna be seeing a lot more of him so you might as well get use to the idea."
Realizing this was an argument he couldn't win, Nate gave up. He was tired, hungry and just wanted to come home to a little normalcy..., some much needed peace and quiet. "Whatever makes you happy mom." he said, storming away to his room.
Dana followed him, close on his heels, continuing to argue her point. "I don't want any trouble out of you where Avery's concerned Nate."
Nate ignored her, walked to his room and burst open the door.
"I don't want you interf...___" Dana started.
"Where's Jeron?!" Nate exclaimed wildly, his eyes scanning over Jeron's empty bed. He looked back at Dana. "Where is he mom?!" he repeated loudly, surprised to see him gone.
Dana folded her arms and fidgeted. She shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "I don't know. Out. Out somewhere."
Nate's eyes stretched, glowering at her. "You let him leave the house after everything that's happened?!" he shouted. "He's still sick..., under doctor's orders to stay in bed and you let him leave?!"
"Don't you think I know that?!" Dana responded, yelling. "I tried to talk to him but he wouldn't listen and he just..he just ....u..up and left." she explained, stammering, holding her hands out.
Unbelievable. His mom was unbelievable. Nate ran his hands over his face and shook his head in disappointment. Every time he gave his mom the benefit of the doubt she disappointed him. "You're here entertaining while Jeron is out in the streets doing God knows what?!"
Dana pointed her finger at him. "Don't yell at me! I'm doing the best I can! Why are you so angry?!"she responded, eagerly pleading her case but Nate wasn't listening.
"It's bad enough I've got to worry about Jeron, worry about what he's doing, where he goes, who he's getting involved with and now, on top of everything else, I have to worry about you!" he shouted, turned and headed for the front door. He shrugged back into his shirt and grabbed his car keys.
"Where are you going?" Dana called after him.
Nate stopped, stood with his hand on the doorknob and
his back facing her. "Out!" he answered without turning. "Out to find my
brother before he ends up behind another dumpster or someplace worse!"
he answered, slamming the door behind him as he left.
She'd hung up on him. He couldn't believe she'd hung up on him. "Damn!" David said out loud, throwing his cell phone against the wall, cracking it into pieces. How could he love someone who made him so angry sometimes?
"You may be graduating next week, becoming a man but while your in my house I expect you to watch your language." Dr. Holmes said.
David whirled at the sound of his mom's voice, jumped out of bed with lighting speed. She was standing in the doorway with her arms folded. The doorway he had mistakenly left ajar. "Mom, how long have you been standing there? You scared the shi...__, I mean crap out of me." he corrected himself, heeding his mom's warnings about his language.
Dr. Holmes walked further into the room and picked up the scattered remains of the cell phone. "Long enough to know my son seems to have an anger control problem and has no qualms destroying the expensive toys I purchase for him." she answered, tossing the cell phone shards in the trash.
"I'm sorry." David sighed, rubbed his fore head. "I didn't know you were there."
"Obviously." Dr. Holmes grunted, folding her arms. "You want to talk about it?"
"No." David answered sharply, taking a seat on the bed. He didn't want to think about it let alone talk about it. Talking about Claire would only upset him.
"Ooookay." Dr. Holmes responded, rocking back on her heels. "I haven't seen Claire around lately." she said, broaching the subject delicately. "You two have some kind of fight?"
David fell back against the bed, arms folded behind his head with his mom looking down at him, waiting for an answer. She'd obviously overheard his conversation with Claire. "You heard everything didn't you?"
"I heard enough." Dr. Holmes admitted. "At least I know why you've been in such a sour mood lately."
"I haven't been in a sour mood. You're imagining things." David grated, defending himself.
"Oh really?" Dr. Holmes asked sarcastically, chuckling at David's defensive denial. "So I guess smashing cell phones is normal for you?" she asked, her eyes stretching wide. "Your way of dealing with frustrations maybe?"
David closed his eyes and opened them slowly. "Mom..." he groaned lazily, muttering his reluctance to speak on the matter.
"Okay...okay." Dr. Holmes said, holding up her hands, letting the matter go. "I get it. You don't want to talk about it so let's talk about something else."she said awkwardly.
David shrugged. "Like what."
"Oh I don't know." Dr. Holmes said a bit too casually, rubbing her palms together. "Your father perhaps?"
David lifted his head and propped himself up on his elbows. "I don't want to talk about him either." he said indifferently.
Dr. Holmes sighed. "David..., you've barely mentioned him or talked about him since it all happened and you haven't gone to visit him once."
"Mom..., he's gone." David responded abruptly. "He's in jail and I don't want to talk about him. Why are you bringing all this up now? He was terrible to you and I almost got tied up in his crimes. I don't understand why we're talking about this."
Dr. Holmes rubbed her neck worriedly. She'd received some very disturbing news a few weeks ago but had yet to share the news with David. Now was as good a time as any. "We have to discuss it sooner or later."
David's unconcern and disinterest in his father was blatant as ever. He fluffed his pillow. "Well, I vote for later." he said nonchalantly, closing his tired eyes.
"You're father's being released from prison next week. He'll be home in time for your graduation." Dr. Holmes blurted out suddenly, bracing herself for David's reaction.
David's eyes sprang open wide. "What?!" he exclaimed.
Scene 18
Sleep evaded Charles. It was late but he couldn't sleep a wink. After tossing and turning for several minutes, he sighed heavily, ran both hands roughly through his hair and sat up in bed. How could he sleep, rest with thoughts of Cassie consuming him? He was worried about her, needed to know she was okay, needed to hear her voice but was hesitant to call her for fear of what Mr. Sutton might do or say. He'd walked out of a horribly violent situation tonight and had left her behind. He hadn't wanted to walk out, leave her but Mr. Sutton had left him no choice. It was anyone's guess as to what transpired after he left. He could only hope and pray Mr. Sutton had done as he'd asked and went easy on Cassie, letting him shoulder all the blame, take all responsibility for getting her pregnant.
He stared at his cell phone lying on the night table, silently tempting him. Unable to resist a moment longer, he snatched it up to call Cassie. While dialing her number, he was startled and interrupted by a loud noise, someone pounding on the door, ringing the doorbell repeatedly. He hurried out of bed and rushed downstairs to answer the door. Pitch black darkness prevented him from seeing through the peep hole. He clicked the side switch, turned on the outdoor security lights to brighten the night.
Cassie stood outside in the darkness with an overnight bag on her arm. She quickly shielded her eyes from the blinding lights suddenly flooding the night. "Charles it's me." she said through the door, wincing against the light.
Manual mp3 Version. Must be manually reset to replay.
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She fell into his arms the instant the door opened, grabbed onto him, sent him staggering backwards but he managed to hold onto her. "Charles!" she called out, sudden emotion overtaking her, bringing tears to her eyes. She tunneled her head into his warm chest and hugged him as tightly as she could.
"Oh my God." Charles breathed a huge sigh of relief and wrapped her in his arms, held her tightly against him. He drew her head back to look into her eyes. "You okay?" he asked, studying her from head to toe to make sure, see for himself. "Please tell me your okay."he insisted, holding his forehead against hers, cupping her face between his hands.
"I'm fine." Cassie managed, holding onto him. "Oh your neck!" she exclaimed, suddenly remembering he'd been badly bruised, touching his neck with her fingers.
More concerned about her well being, Charles brushed her hand away. "Don't worry about me. I'm gonna be fine."
Cassie swallowed hard and shook her head. "I'm okay." she sniffed, battling her tears. "I was so worried about you. I was so scared when dad attacked you."
"I'm so happy to see you." Charles said breathlessly, gathering her close, tugging her more securely into his arms. "I can't believe your here..., can't believe your dad let you of the house."
Cassie pulled away. "He didn't," she confessed, "not exactly."
"What do you mean not exactly?" Charles questioned, growing leery of Cassie's behavior.
Looking away guiltily, Cassie stared down at the floor, her eyelashes fluttering.
"Cassie?" Charles called her name when she didn't answer him, urging her to respond. "What do you mean not exactly?" he repeated, almost sure now that something was going on and she was hiding something. "What about him? What about your dad Cassie?" he asked again, more forcefully this time.
"I left." Cassie finally admitted, showing him the bag on her shoulder. "No one knows I'm gone." she added.
Charles couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?!" he gasped, flung his head back in frustration, staring up at the ceiling. He should have known Mr. Sutton would have never allowed Cassie out of the house, out of his sight after what happened tonight and he cringed at the thought of him finding out she was gone. "You ran away?!" he asked, his question sounding more like an accusation.
"Yes but don't be mad at me Charles." she pleaded, caught off guard by his sudden anger. "I thought you'd be happy to see me." she frowned.
"Come on." Charles said, taking her by the hand, pulling her along with him as he grabbed his car keys from the foyer table. There was no time to waste. He had to get her back home.
Cassie jerked away and stepped back out of reach when Charles reached for her a second time. Charles reached for her once more but she stepped back out of reach. "Charles no. Where are you taking me?"
"Home." Charles answered promptly. "Come on," he said, holding his hand out for her to take. "It's late. I'll follow you."
"I'm not going back." she replied, dropping her overnight bag onto the floor, her face full of defiance.
"This is crazy Cassie. We're in enough trouble as it is. Your dad doesn't want you anywhere near me. He told you stay away from me and ordered me to get the hell out of his house." Charles argued.
"I don't care about what dad said." Cassie replied, stepping close to him. "What about the things you said, all the things you promised? You told him you wanted to marry me. You stood up to him and said we were going to be a family." she reminded him. "I thought this is what you wanted."
"It is," Charles answered quickly, putting her mind at ease, "but not this way. Not like this."
Charles you don't understand. I had to leave." she tried to explain, standing before him, taking his hands in her own. "Charles I left so we can be together. It's what we wanted right?"
"Cassie what's going to happen when your dad finds out your gone? He's going to come looking for you." he said with regret.
"I doesn't matter." Cassie replied rebelliously, meaning every word.
"Yes it does." Charles disagreed. It would be all so easy to blame Mr. Sutton for everything he and Cassie were going through but Charles knew he couldn't. The arguing, the fighting...it was all a part of Mr. Sutton being a father, wanting to protect his daughter. He didn't want to lose Cassie but he knew her being here with him wasn't a good idea. He didn't want her getting into any more trouble with her dad than she already was. "Cassie we were all really upset tonight. I don't want you running away, making a decision like this while you're upset. We'll figure this out but let's not make any decisions right now okay? Running away isn't the answer." he said softly.
"Even if it's the only way we can be together?" Cassie responded, disheartened by his lack of enthusiasm.
"We will be together." Charles pledged encouragingly. "Regardless of what anyone says but for now, I want to take you home before we cause any more trouble, before you do something you'll regret in the morning. I saw your face tonight Cassie. You were terrified and you hated hurting your dad."
"Why aren't you fighting for us?!" Cassie shouted.
"I am!" Charles returned, squeezing her hands. "This isn't easy for me either Cassie. I don't want you to walk away from your dad, turn your back on him and alienate him because of me." he said, his voice growing soft when he saw the doubt in her eyes.
Cassie pulled away, sneered at him. "No. You're sending me away."
"What about your family? What about my mom?" Charles mentioned.
"What about us?!" she cried out, disappointed that he wanted her to return home.
The sound of approaching footsteps coming down the stairway interrupted their conversation. They both glanced up as Marla hurried into her robe and made her way downstairs towards them.
"Mom I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Charles apologized.
"I'm sorry I disturbed you Mrs. Antoni." Cassie said, embarrassed, surprised to find Mrs. antoni at home. "I didn't realize you were here."
Marla rubbed her sleep filled face and yawned. She stared at both Charles and Cassie suspiciously. Their raised voices had woken her from a peaceful sleep. "Charles....Cassie, what's going on?"
"It's nothing mom. Cassie and I were just talking. We'll keep it down so you can sleep. It's okay. Go back to sleep." Charles said.
Marla eyed them warily. "At this hour it better be something. Now what's wrong? Is this about what happened tonight..., the fighting?"
"Yes." Charles muttered.
"Charles told me what happened." Marla said to Cassie. "Cassie honey are you okay?"
"Not really." Cassie whispered honestly, her voice cracking.
Marla's heart went out to her. She took her in her arms and hugged her. "Oh honey, don't talk like that. Things will get better. Just give your dad some time. You're having a baby. We've got to find some joy in that right?" she smiled.
Cassie's face lifted into the smallest of smiles. "I guess so." she answered softly.
Marla glanced from Cassie to Charles. "Are you two going to be okay?" she asked, touching Charles on his arm. "I think we should all get together and hash this whole thing out. I think it's best if I talk to your parent's Cassie."
"Oh God mom no. Please." Charles muttered. His mom and Mr. Sutton would only end up at each others throats trying to out scream one another. "Mom I told you. We're fine. Everything's fine. Please..., just go back to bed." Charles insisted. "I know it's late but Cassie and I really need to talk."
"Okay." Marla agreed, reluctant to leave. She gave Cassie one final reassuring hug before heading to bed. "Cheer up honey. I know your father is completely against this but you have my support and you can talk to me. Okay?"
"Thanks Mrs. Antoni." Cassie replied.
Charles waited until his mom was safely out of sight before speaking again. He turned to face Cassie. "Cassie, I love you and I'm not going anywhere." he said, forcing a smile. "I want to be with you and want this to work just as much as you but I don't want to make any more crazy mistakes. I've already made a huge, irresponsible mistake by getting you pregnant. Please don't ask me to make another one. I don't want you to do this. I know you love your dad..., your family. You're just upset. Let me take you home."
A flat, one worded response was all Cassie gave before storming out the door. "No." she called out, running outside to her car with Charles charging close behind, calling out to her, trying to stop her.
Charles caught up with her at car, held his hand against the door as she tried to open it, stopping her from leaving. "Cassie wait."
"I meant it Charles! I'm not going back!"she lashed out, determined that he wasn't going to change her mind. "I came here to be with you."
"You're making it really hard for me to do the right thing." Charles exhaled roughly. "It's not like I want you to go."
"Then come with me." Cassie requested, holding her hand out to him. "Say yes and come with me Charles."she pleaded softly.
"Where?" Charles responded hesitantly.
Cassie looked around. She didn't know the answer to that question herself but right now anywhere was better than going home. "I don't know." she shrugged her shoulders. "A hotel...somewhere..anywhere. I just need to be with you."
Charles reluctantly agreed but something told him he'd live to regret his decision by morning. "Follow me." he said, helping her into her car. "There is some place we can go. Just for tonight." he said, already regretting his insane decision. He knew there would be hell to pay come morning.
Scene 19
Surrounded by the late night quietness and darkness, Lizzie held her breath, peeked out her bedroom door and checked to see if all was well. She stood, eyes closed for a few brief seconds, relishing the peaceful quietness. All of the yelling and arguing had ceased for the night and maybe..., just maybe everyone could finally get some sleep and the normal peacefulness of the Sutton household would return.
She couldn't ever remember having such a crazy, insane night. Her dad's violent behavior had really scared her and the ensuing argument between him and her mom had only managed to make her even more nervous. Thankfully, the entire house was now completely quiet and still, as quiet as a mouse..., that is except for the bellowing sound of her dad's snoring echoing up the stairwell. Apparently her parent's argument hadn't ended well because once again, her dad was downstairs asleep on the couch.
Careful not to wake anyone, she raced down the hallway to Tay's room as quickly and quietly as she could with pillow in hand and bed linens trailing behind her. She knocked on Tay's door. "Tay...Tay are you asleep?" she whispered softly through the door.
"Yeah" Tay whispered back foolishly.
"Open the freakin' door Tay." Lizzie whispered sharply, irritated with his childish antics. "You can't be asleep if your talking to me."
Tay jumped out of bed and flung the door open. He noticed the pillow and blanket under Lizzie's arm and slowly eyed her from head to toe. "Where you going? This ain't no slumber party."
Lizzie cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Come on Tay. Please. Let me sleep in your room. Just for tonight."
Tay felt sorry for her and backed away from the door to let her in. "You can't sleep either huh?"
Lizzie sat at Tay's desk and hugged her pillow. "No. How could I with mom and dad screaming like that? This has been one crazy night."
"Tell me about it." Tay agreed, holding up his studio headphones. "These walls are thin. I could hear dad yelling through my headphones."
"I know." Lizzie said. "I covered my head with my pillow and all I could hear was mom shouting. I just want everyone to stop fighting and yelling. I don't like it. I hate it. I'm really worried Tay. I'm worried and nervous about everything that happened tonight. I'm worried about Cassie, mom and dad. It was scary seeing dad like that, fighting Charles and then yelling at mom." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know about you but somehow I get the feeling there's more to come..., more arguing and I can't take anymore. Tonight was enough."
Tay sat on his bed. "Me to but I don't understand why dad's so upset. I mean, Cassie was gonna marry Charles anyway. What's the big deal?"
Things were complicated and Lizzie tried to help Tay understand. She closed her eyes then opened them slowly. "It's not that simple Tay and we shouldn't choose sides. Cassie didn't mean to get pregnant. It was an accident and dad is just worried about her. Having a baby is a big responsibility." she explained.
Tay stared off into space, taking in everything he'd heard and learned tonight. "I still can't believe Cassie's pregnant. My sister's pregnant." he said out loud to himself. "I mean..., it's weird. Man...I feel sorry for her." he said sadly, shaking his head with disapproval.
"Stop talking like having a baby is so horrible Tay!" Lizzie insisted, defending Cassie as best she could. "Cassie is our sister and she's gonna need our help. She made a mistake and she feels bad enough as it is. Don't let her hear you talking like that."
"Yeah, a big mistake." Tay agreed. "Huge." he added.
"Stop it Tay. How can you be so inconsiderate?" Lizzie persisted, hurt that Tay seemed to have little to no compassion for Cassie's situation. "Are you willing to help or not?"
Not sure what to say, what was required of him, Tay gave in. "Okay. Fine. I'll do whatever you guys want me to do. Just don't expect me to change diapers. No way." he added.
"I knew you'd understand. Thanks Tay." Lizzie smiled.
As tough as he wanted to appear, Tay's heart went out to Cassie. Lizzie was right. Cassie was his sister, his older sister and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. All he could think about was the way she had cried her eyes out earlier, how scared she'd been and he wondered if she was still sitting all alone in her room shedding tears. "Maybe we should go talk to her, make sure she's okay. Maybe she can't sleep either."
"I already tried. I knocked on her door earlier tonight but she didn't answer. She probably wants to be left alone." Lizzie said, fluffing her pillow. She struggled to find a comfortable position on the hard floor.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tay responded.
Lizzie lay on her back, squirming uncomfortably and stared up at the ceiling. "Well, thanks for letting me crash for the night."
"I already tried. I knocked on her door earlier tonight but she didn't answer. She probably wants to be left alone." Lizzie said, fluffing her pillow. She struggled to find a comfortable position on the hard floor.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tay responded.
Lizzie lay on her back, squirming uncomfortably and stared up at the ceiling. "Well, thanks for letting me crash for the night." she yawned.
Something was wrong with the picture before him. Tay looked around guiltily at Lizzie lying on the hard floor while he lay nestled in his nice soft bed. Would it be so horribly wrong of him to let her sleep on the floor while he slept soundly in his own bed? Should he be a gentleman and offer to switch places with her? He didn't want to but he knew it was the right thing to do. He crawled out of bed and stood over her.
That weird, strange feeling of someone watching her, standing over her came over Lizzie just as she was about to doze off to sleep and her eyes sprung open. Tay was standing over her, looking all weird and crazy like, watching her sleep. She pushed the covers back and sat up immediately. "Tay what are you doing?!" she said loudly, unnerved by his creepy behavior. "Okay I knew you were strange but now you're just creepy."
"Calm down. I was gonna offer you my bed. You can have it. Go on. I'll sleep on the floor." Tay offered nicely.
Such a kind offer made Lizzie smile. Tay being so sweet and nice was definitely a change from the norm. Maybe he wasn't so creepy after all. It wasn't like Tay to be so nice. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah I'm sure but on one condition." he stated.
"Okay fine. What?" Lizzie inquired anxiously.
"Try not to snore and don't you dare drool all over my bed." Tay joked.
"Whatever Tay." Lizzie smiled, swapped places with him, out the lights and settled nicely onto his pillow top mattress. Tay's bed sure felt a whole lot better than the floor. She frowned and thought to herself. In fact..., his bed was much more comfortable than her own. "Goodnight Tay."
"Goodnight." Tay responded. He out the light and settled into Lizzie's makeshift bed on the floor. "Hey Lizzie?"
"Yes Tay?" Lizzie drawled irritatingly. No one had gotten any sleep tonight and Tay was choosing now of all times to sit up and talk.
"I think I might wanna sleep with the lights on tonight." he whispered in the dark.
Lizzie laughed out loud. "Why are you afraid of the dark?"
"No but....just because." Tay answered softly.
Lizzie grew irritated. "Because what Tay? You know....you are seriously annoying."
Tay took a while to answer but eventually whispered slowly and scarily. "Because....because.....I see dead people." he said in a loud whisper.
Lizzie shuddered and threw the television remote at him. "Annoying and stupid. I forgot to mention stupid. I'm going back to my room if you're gonna talk crazy all night long."
"Hey Lizzie?" Tay called out once more.
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "I'm really tired Tay. Come on stop fooling around."
"You know what Cassie's pregnancy means don't you?" Tay questioned, laughing softly.
"It means you and I are going to be an aunt and uncle." Lizzie surmised.
"No idiot." Tay ridiculed her. "It means dad's never gonna trust either one of you again. After the whipping dad put on Charles tonight, I guess it means Cassie's gonna be a baby mama and as for you..., dad's never gonna let you go out with Andrew or any other guy for that matter ever again." He burst out laughing.
"Well what about you?" Lizzie questioned sarcastically. "Oh I forgot. You don't have a girlfriend. No girl in her right mind will date you or be seen in public with you. There's nothing for dad to worry about." she joked.
Tay had no come back and was embarrassed. "I'm tired. Would you please stop talking so I can get some sleep? Goodnight." he snapped, pulling the covers over his head.
Scene 20
His father was being released from prison. What the hell kind of nonsense was this? "What do you mean he's being released? It's only been a few months!" David gasped, holding his head in his hands, in shock.
"David I know this is a surprise and I know you and your father weren't on the best of terms when he left but I thought you'd be just a little more enthusiastic. After all..., he is your father."
"It's not the coming home that worries me mom." David told her. "It's what he's going to do once he gets here."
"I suspect your father will do as most people would. Start over, regroup and make a new a new life for himself." Dr. Holmes
Sadly, he suspected his mom's assumptions about his dad were dead wrong. His dad had a way of doing things, handling things, exacting revenge on people who he thought had done him wrong and he couldn't see where those habits had changed within a matter of a few short months. "Mom.., this is Brian where talking about. Come on..., you know him. You were married to him. We both know what's going to happen the minute he get's back. He's gonna go after anyone and everyone involved in taking him down, anyone who helped put an end to his little illegal operation and that includes Officer Sutton and Mr. Watkins. He's gonna reach out to all his old contacts and it's going to be business as usual. I'm sorry...I don't know about you.... but I like things the way they are. I don't want to get involved in all of his illegal swindlings again."
"Since when did you start calling your father by his first name? You aught to be ashamed of yourself David." she huffed.
"I'm sorry mom but I'm having a hard time having any faith in him." David apologized quickly. "Mom..., this past year, living with him...you have no idea what it was like. I like things the way they are. I'm settled...you're settled. We finally have a normal life and I don't want him coming home screwing everything up. Please don't tell me you honestly believe he's a changed man because we both know underneath his business facade is a sneaky criminal." he charged, shaking his head at his mom's eagerness to be so forgiving. "I know that he's going to make life hell for us. I know it. It's just a matter of time."
Forever optimistic, Dr. Holmes hoped for the best. "David we don't know that for sure. People can change you know? Why don't you give him a chance?" she suggested.
"It's what he's always done mom and he's not gonna change. He'll just reinvent himself and pick up where he left off. I'm not gonna be fooled by his wolf in sheep's clothing appeal."
"Regardless of what he may or may not do..., I want you to respect him as your father and visit him as soon as he gets into town."
David came up with every possible excuse he could think of. "Mom I've got a busy schedule next week. I still have two more final exams and graduation is next week. I haven't even finished my valediction speech."
"David Gibbs," Dr. Holmes scalded, wagging her finger at him with disapproval, "I expect you to behave like the young man I know you are and reach out to your father. Do we understand each other?"
"Sure....great." David scoffed, mumbling under his breath. "I guess this means I'll be moving back in with him? Just like old times huh?" he grunted.
"Don't be ridiculous David. You're not going anywhere. Just because your father's coming home doesn't mean our lives are going to suddenly change. Besides, a couple months from now you'll be in college and you won't have to worry about living with either one of us. I say give your dad a chance to prove himself and more importantly prove you wrong. He might just surprise you."
David nodded his head and stared at the blank wall before him. "Yeah well I've never liked surprises." he muttered quietly, his tone heavy and defeated.
Scene 21
Charles unlocked the garage door and led Cassie inside. Castillo didn't like him being here late hours of the night by himself and had already warned him once about sleeping there but none of that mattered now. Cassie was right. They needed some time alone to sort things out. They wouldn't be very comfortable here but at least they would be together. The garage wasn't the fanciest place but was a good spot to get some sleep, have some privacy. He knew because he'd spent a few nights here himself when he'd left home. Turning to her, he held his arms wide, turned a quick circle and glanced around. "It's not the Ritz Carlton but it'll have to do."
Cassie looked around. She'd had a long stressful day and just wanted a little calmness. A little peace and quiet with Charles was all she wanted. "No. It's fine." she told him.
"Come on." Charles said, smiling sheepishly, leading her by the hand to the back office. He settled down with her on the couch. ''Are you cold?" he asked. "I think I have a blanket and pillow around here somewhere." he said, getting up from the couch.
Cassie caught his arm. "Charles no. I'm fine."she said absently, her mind a million miles away.
"You don't look fine." Charles said, taking her by the arms, turning her face to face him. Something was wrong. Something outside of what had happened tonight. There was something she wasn't telling him. "Cassie come on. What's wrong?" he asked softly, taking care to be extra sensitive, urging her to open up to him.
"It's nothing." Cassie pretended. "I'm sorry. It's just..., I've never seen dad like that..., so violent. I guess I'm still a little jumpy..., nervous."
Charles eyes her cautiously, not believing her for a second. "You sure that's all?" he asked, shooting her an inquiring look.
"Yeah." Cassie managed politely, forcing a fake smile. She even managed a credible look of happiness.
"Why are you doing this?" Charles interrogated further, staring at her with hard eyes.
"What?" Cassie asked innocently, knowing all along what he meant.
"This." he said, scooting closer to her, staring her down. "Pretending everything is okay when your obviously hiding something."
"Charles...," Cassie paused, "I told you. I'm fine. Stop worr...___".
"No your not." Charles cut in, convinced she was keeping something from him. "Your lying to me. I thought we came here to talk, sort thing out?"
Cassie got up from the couch, grabbed her purse and turned to leave. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea coming here after all." she managed, her voice shaking.
She'd rather run away than tell him the truth but he wasn't going to let her leave. He caught her by the waist and pulled her into his arms. "Don't walk away from me Cassie. After everything that's happened tonight, please don't lie to me. I know your upset about the fight but there's something else. I know it. Something happened after I left didn't it?"he asked and was convinced when he felt her whole body go tense in his arms. He held held her closer in his arms, rubbed her back comfortingly. ''It's your dad isn't it? What happened? What did he do? What did he say?"
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Conor Maynard/Crying Out For Me
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Saddened by what she had to tell Charles, Cassie shied away, cast her gaze aside. There were so many things he didn't know. He hadn't heard the awful things her dad had said after he left. He hadn't seen the strange, far away look of contempt he'd given her. He hadn't stood and listened to the awful things he'd shouted while arguing with her mom. He didn't know he was being blamed for all the problems in her life, everything bad that had happened to her since she met him. More importantly, he had no idea her dad didn't want her to have their baby. Oh he hadn't exactly said the words out loud but the angry set of his eyes had left no doubt whatsoever as to what he'd been thinking and feeling. His intentions had been very clear. He'd told her she was in no position to raise a child and had hinted at the idea of a possible abortion or adoption, neither of which she was settling for. She'd been ordered to her room like a child and told they would discuss things later. Well, her baby wasn't up for discussion if that discussion included abortion or adoption. With her head pressed into Charles's chest, Cassie muttered a muffled confession, confided shakily into his chest. "He d...d...doesn't want me to keep the baby..., our baby."she admitted, on the verge of tears.
The hand that massaged her back stopped instantly as Charles stiffened against her. A strangled breath escaped his parted lips and all color drained from his face. Slowly pulling back, he held her a little away from him and stared down at her with a stricken look on his face. "What?" he whispered apprehensively, his voice barely controlled. "What?!" he asked more strongly when she didn't reply.
Cassie searched his face, met his eyes with hesitant reluctance. "I'm sorry Charles."
Charles held her face steady in his hands, refused to let her look away as he glared down at her. "Look at me Cassie. Talk to me baby." he soothed gently. "What are you saying?" he questioned, his eyes dilating, turning nearly black. "Your dad," he paused, licking his lips, "he said that? He said those awful things to you?!" he said, his voice growing louder with each question, almost shouting. He couldn't believe Mr. Sutton would take all of his hate, all his vengeful feelings toward him and turn it against an innocent baby.
Cassie pulled away from him hesitantly, smoothed her hair behind her ear and shook her head. "No..., not exactly."
Charles licked his lips. "Then what?!" he questioned quickly, waiting for an answer. "What exactly did he say?!" he questioned anxiously.
"He didn't say much Charles but he doesn't want us together, having a baby, starting a family. He doesn't think we're capable of raising a child and he's completely against you and I..., everything we stand for." she said, looking down, flattening her palm against her stomach. "I left because I was afraid of what he might make me do." she added cautiously.
Charles's didn't need to hear anymore. He'd already heard more than enough to send his temper rising. He turned with lighting speed and headed for the door.
Cassie raced around in front of him, heading him off before he could leave. "Charles where are you going?!"
"To see your dad! Charles answered sourly, so angry he felt like punching his fist against the wall. It all made sense now..., why Cassie had showed up at his place frantic and obviously scared out of her mind, why she'd ran away in the first place.
Cassie's lips formed a silent no and she managed a slow, regretful head shake. "Charles no! After everything that's happened tonight?! Are you crazy?! You can't!" she said harshly, pleading with him. "Charles he'll kill you if he sees you again." she told him, begging him not to leave.
Taking his hand, Cassie pressed his warm palm against her cheek. "Please don't go. I don't want you to get hurt." she mouthed softly. "Promise me we'll stay here..., just for tonight. We're together now and we can figure out what we're going to do. Please Charles?" she begged him, squeezing his hand.
Silent tension filled the room. For the longest time Charles stood watching her, quietly studying her, scaring her with the most serious, intent look on his face. His entire face had gone rigid and hard with a far away look in his eyes. "Charles stop it. Don't look at me like that. You're scaring me." Cassie said softly.
"There's nothing to figure out." Charles finally said. "I know what we have to do. It's what we should have done all along." he said, coming to a startling realization that he and Cassie had to take drastic measures, think about themselves and their baby and no one else. They had tried to do things the right way..., the responsible way and it had blown up in their faces. They had tried talking with Mr. Sutton, tried to explain themselves but everything had gone horribly wrong.
"What do you mean?" Cassie asked, dumbfounded, frowning.
"Marry me."he said, cupping her shoulders in his hands, staring down at her.
It wasn't a surprising announcement. Cassie shrugged carelessly..., stood casually and unmoved by Charles's mention of marriage. They had already talked about marriage and Charles had told her dad of his intentions this evening. "Charles of course we're going to get married but right now I'm worried about the baby."
Charles shook his head, knowing Cassie had misunderstood what he was saying. "No. I mean it. Marry me Cassie. I'm not talking about weeks or months from now. I want you to marry me. Tomorrow." he declared suddenly.
Caught off guard with open-mouthed surprise, Cassie stared at him. Her breath caught in her throat. "N..n..now?! Tomorrow?" she blurted out of surprise and sheer happiness.
"Tomorrow." Charles nodded his head, confirming. "We'll skip school and get married. It's the perfect time. They'll think we're at school. We can be married before anyone knows and before they have time to try and stop us."
Cassie reminded him of their failed attempt at getting married. "We tried that before remember?"
Charles nodded. How could he forget. The entire Sutton family had stormed into the courthouse. Much to their delight, he and Cassie had guiltily backed out at the last minute in hopes of sparing their families feelings but not this time. This time things would be different. It was time he and Cassie thought about their own feelings, their own future. Their marriage wouldn't change Mr. Sutton's domineering attitude, wouldn't stop him from trying to force Cassie into doing something she didn't want to do but having a legal binding union, a binding marriage had to count for something. They could stand as man and wife and he'd have a legal leg to stand on. "Trust me. It'll be different this time. No turning back this time. This thing with your dad and what he wants you to do changes everything."
"Charles being married won't stop my dad from interfering." Cassie told him. He was fooling himself if he thought a ring and a marriage certificate was going to stop her dad from meddling in their lives.
"I know." Charles agreed. He looked straight into her eyes and spoke slowly. "Cassie..., you asked me why I wasn't fighting for us. I am. I'm fighting for us and our baby. I'm your fiancee and I'm going to be a father but I'd feel more secure and a hell of a lot better standing by your side as your husband." he explained. "Will you marry me?" he asked softly. "Please."
Who could resist such a heartfelt declaration? Cassie's lips curled, transformed into a huge beaming smile. She lunged against him, clung to him with her arms wrapped around his neck. "I love you so much Charles Antonio."
Charles held her tight, looked down at her and nuzzled her nose with his. "You haven't answered me." he teased. "Will you marry me?"he asked once more in vain, knowing her answer must be a resounding yes judging by the huge smile on her face and the light kisses she steadily rained over his face and lips.
"Of course I'll marry you Mr. Antoni. I love you." she laughed.
Charles smiled and managed to sneak a few words in between Cassie's onslaught of kisses. "I love."......(KISS)......"You to.".....(KISS)......"Mrs. Antoni."
Scene 22
Hours of searching, looking for Jeron came up empty with no signs of him. Nate gave up and drove back home. He'd look for him again in the morning but right now he was dead on his feet, tired and needed a warm bed and a long hot shower.
Waltzing into the house, he shuffled wearily, quietly to his bedroom, careful not to disturb his mom. Extremely tired and sleepy, he decided to forgo his shower until morning. All he wanted right now was a bed, a warm blanket and a soft pillow to lay his head. Not bothering to turn on the lights, he entered his dark bedroom, and kicked his boots off before diving into bed. Feeling around in the darkness, he fumbled with the police scanner he kept on his night table. He rarely turned it on but it seemed like a good idea tonight seeing as how Jeron had gone missing. Anything happening in the city, all disturbances from minor to the most catastrophic were monitored and transmitted over the scanner by the night squad. Anything ranging from high speed pursuits, neighborhood lock downs, burglaries, car accidents and homicides alike could be heard. It was probably a long shot but maybe he would hear something to alert him to Jeron's whereabouts.
He fidgeted with the dial, taking his time to tune into a loud, crisp, clear signal. The scanner buzzed to life, transmitting police communications over the airways.
Jeron bolted up from a deep sleep, the noise from Nate's scanner scaring the hell out of him. "Aye man! What the hell?! You want to turn that thing down?! A brotha's tryin to get some sleep here!" he shouted out through the darkness.
Nate jumped out of bed at the sound of Jeron's voice, tripping and nearly killing himself as he made his way to turn on the lights.
Jeron winced and covered his eyes against the blinding light.
"Jeron?!" Nate shouted, not sure if he should be elated to see his brother or beat the crap out of him for having him wandering the streets all night for nothing. "Man I've been out for hours looking for you. How long have you been here?!"
Snuggling up into his bed covers, Jeron gave a snide response. "Long enough to be sound asleep before you woke the dead with all that noise."
"Where the hell have you been? You could have told someone where you were going? The doctor told you to relax..., take it easy." Nate reprimanded him.
"He didn't say anything about exercising now did he? I went for a walk. I been cooped up in this bed so long I couldn't feel my legs. Told mama I was going out for some air. I guess she was so busy with her boy toy she didn't hear me."
Maybe he'd went out for a walk and maybe he hadn't. Nate wasn't sure what to believe from Jeron anymore but he was home now, safe and that's all that mattered. "Okay. I didn't mean to jump all over you. I'm just glad your home but next time, make sure someone knows exactly where you are." Nate insisted.
"I promise to be a good lil boy. Now can you please out that light so a brotha can get some sleep?" Jeron snarled, pulling the covers up over his head.
Nate could do nothing but smile. He turned the lights off before settling into bed for the night. "Goodnight Jeron." he said quietly, smiling.
Scene 23
Lying snuggled together on the sofa, Cassie slid closer to Charles with her face just a few scant inches away from his. She watched him sleep soundly, softly traced his masculine features with her fingertips. They had spent hours, most of the night talking about their baby, their new life together, before falling asleep in each others arms. She smiled as he came awake slowly, murmuring and shifting against her on the tight confined space of the sofa.
Charles blinked the sleep from his eyes. "Hey. Can't you sleep?" he asked groggily, smiling softly
"I did but not for very long." Cassie answered, tracing his lips with her fingers, staring at him with an awkward look on her face.
With his arm around her waist, Charles pulled her closer against his side, lifted his head from the pillow and kissed her on the fore head. "Are you okay?" he asked, stroking her tumbled hair, concerned by the way she was staring at him.
Please stop and play the audio track below before reading any further. Listen to the track as you read the remaining story to help envision the scene. The first mp3 track is automatically set to loop and play continuously. Or if you prefer, the second mp3 track may be listened to manually, play by play.
Hope/Angel
Manual mp3 Version. Must be manually reset to replay.
angel.mp3
Fighting against his desire, against his needs, Charles's body tensed. He wanted to moan just as badly as he wanted to resist. "Cassie..." he said hoarsely, warningly, not sure if this was the right time or proper place for them to make love but his harsh indrawn breath let Cassie know he wanted her. She kissed his throat, nibbled on him and laved the sensitive area, tore at his defenses and dwindling will power.
"Love me Charles. Please." she whispered softly against his skin. "I miss you." she said. They had been apart, hadn't shared the comforting warmth of each others touch in so long. Surely they deserved this one sweet night. "Don't you want me anymore?"she asked softly, her lips trembling.
"The baby...I don't want to hurt you." Charles breathed, his heart slamming deep within his chest. Of course he wanted her, thought about holding her, touching her, loving her all night long but they'd both been through a lot and didn't need any added pressure, any more trouble. They'd been ordered to stay away from each other, stay apart, yet here they were desperately wanting and needing each other.
Cassie opened her lips against the throbbing base of his throat, coaxed him into submission. "It's okay. You won't." she said convincingly.
"Cassie..." Charles breathed, still inclined to argue, resist, so Cassie did what her desires, her womanly senses and intuition told her to do. In the darkness of the night, her hand stroked and slid down his hard body to his chiseled waist and abdomen, wormed it's way under his waistband and closed around him.
The feel of her hand, her soft fingers surrounding him was nearly Charles's undoing and he throbbed at her touch. He groaned as his need finally broke through. Before Cassie knew what he was about, he flipped her onto her back, came down on top of her. He mouth fastened on hers, dragged across hers, caressing, biting, building the kiss from a slow playful caress to a mind numbing, tongue dueling measure of intent. His arm slid under her neck, bringing her closer, deepening his kiss, plundering her mouth with his and she met him, lifted up against him, clung to him, begging for more of what he was giving. She responded, answered his call and gave just as good as he offered.
Dragging his mouth away, Charles held her gaze as he reached down and slowly, blatantly tugged at the drawstring closure to her shirt. Her blouse fell open beneath his fingers. Her entire body flushed at the desire she saw in his eyes when he looked down at what he had uncovered. His eyes traveled over her like hands. "You're beautiful." he breathed, steadily undressing her, caressing her out of her skirt, underwear, glorifying in her nakedness as if it was his first time seeing her. Then he tugged at his t-shirt, drew it over his head in one clean sweep and Cassie helped him, clung to him, couldn't resist touching and kissing his smooth chest. Within seconds they were both completely naked, riveted together in a naked tangle of ecstasy.
Charles caught her around her waist, turned over, settled her on top..., astride him. Caught up in the moment, feeling the vigor of his hard, steely body, Cassie could do nothing but hold on to his strong shoulders as he sat up with her, held her against his body.
"I want you and I mean to have you." Charles whispered erotically, staring straight into her eyes as they came together, became one.
Their union was intense..., magical and Cassie went with him all the way, never holding back, lifting, surging, clinging, moving with him as their bodies collided, connected. Gone was the tempting seductress who'd coaxed him into submission. In it's place was a woman being loved to the point of distraction, her head held back, mouth wide open as he took her, her nails digging into his strong back, clawing at him.
"I'm a part of you. I can feel you all around me..., warm and soft." Charles whispered against her temple, gripping her tightly as she cried out, came apart in his arms. Cassie was right. They'd denied themselves for too long and the comforting solace of each others touch was magical..., healing. It may not have been the proper place or the perfect time but it felt perfect to them. It felt just right.
Scene 24
Breakfast was a tense, uncomfortable ordeal. Cassie had yet to come downstairs and Eddie and Jenn were barely speaking to each other with the remnants of last night's hostile argument spilling over into this morning's breakfast conversation.
Lizzie eyed the stair case. She wanted Cassie to come and have breakfast with them. She just wanted to know her sister was okay. "Should I go get Cassie mom?" she asked, worried. "I'm sure she's hungry"
Eddie started to answer yes but Jenn responded before him. "I'm sure she'll come down when she's ready honey. Let's give her some space okay?"
"Okay." Lizzie said.
Eddie put his fork down hard, sighed and forced himself to swallow his food. He had much to say but swallowed his tongue. Here Jenn was defending Cassie yet again. Giving Cassie space was what had gotten her into this predicament in the first place.
"But it's her turn to do breakfast dishes." Tay reminded everyone. Just because he felt sorry for Cassie didn't mean he wanted to take on the responsibility of her chores.
Lizzie rolled her eyes at him, aggravated. "Don't worry Tay. I'll take care of it. I wouldn't want you to put yourself out." she said spitefully. She couldn't believe Tay was being so selfish at a time like this.
"Oh yeah." Tay countered defensively, "Well I can put you out. Get out of my room." he lashed back harshly.
"Gladly." Lizzie replied, frowning at him.
"No arguing at the table please." Jenn scolded them.
"Tay can you tell your mother to pass the butter?" Eddie asked childishly. Normally, he'd be the one to swallow his pride and apologize for their arguments but not this time. No. This was one time he wanted Jenn to admit her wrong doings and accept that she was partly responsible for Cassie's situation. There was a lesson to be learned here. A lesson of strict discipline and guidance when it came to their children.
A misguided Tay was slow to catch on. He shrugged his shoulders and eyed his father with baffled, open mouthed curiosity. "Uh...why? What's wrong with you? Why can't you do it?"
Eddie frowned and cast Tay an annoying glance from the corner of his eye. He held his hand out impatiently. "Tay...boy pass the butter. Now!" he demanded.
Jenn passed the butter to Tay and shot Eddie an icy look. "Lizzie could you kindly ask your father to pass the juice?" she parlayed. It wasn't like her to stoop to such juvenile behavior but her patience was wearing thin. She shouldn't have to defend herself for caring for her daughter, having a private mother/daughter bond. Eddie believed she had lied to him but in truth she hadn't. Cassie had come to her, asked for her advice, her guidance and together they had shared things as most mothers and teenage daughters do. Granted, she had kept some matters private and personal but she hadn't lied and saw no need to apologize. If Eddie expected some kind of concession, some admittance of wrong doing, he was sadly mistaken. As far as she was concerned, he could go whistle for that apology.
Lizzie knew her mom was upset so she didn't ask any questions but simply did as she was told. It was awkward, being caught in the middle of her parents' argument. "Uh...dad...," she choked out, "mom says...___"
Eddie didn't wait for her to finish. He simply refilled his glass of juice before passing the pitcher.
Tay looked on in awe. Were mom and dad really giving each other the silent treatment? "And I thought we were the kids." he mumbled under his breath.
"I'm sorry what was that?" Eddie barked, hearing Tay's smart remark.
"I said I'm never having kids." Tay quickly concocted an answer and dug into his breakfast. His dad's horrible mood was not to be tested and it was best if he kept his head down and his mouth closed. Last thing he needed was his dad starting in on him.
"Ahem." Lizzie cleared her throat. "Uh...dad," she started, fumbling with her fork nervously, "I know this probably isn't the best time but I was wondering if I could go to the movies with Andrew tonight? We'll catch the matinee so I'll be home early."
The entire table grew quiet as Eddie took his own sweet time answering, calmly and slowly chewing his biscuit as if he would never respond. After pausing to swallow, wipe his mouth on a napkin and brush the crumbs from his shirt, he finally looked up at Lizzie. "Hell no." he finally said, his answer short and authoritative.
"Hahaha!" Tay burst out laughing. "See, I told you." he blurted out. "You and Andrew are history."
"Why?" Lizzie burst out, turning to her mom for moral support. "This is so unfair. I thought you liked Andrew? All of my homework is done and I can get my chores done early."
"Is that any way to talk to your daughter..., with such language?" Jenn intervened.
Eddie turned to face Jenn, sat back with his arm dangling over the back of the chair. "Maybe I should be more forthcoming." he commented. He was getting angry. It showed in the biting tone of his voice. "Maybe I should allow our teenage daughter to go to the movies, do whatever she wants with whomever she pleases." he ranted sarcastically, expressing his anger. He already had one daughter in trouble..., pregnant. They certainly didn't need Lizzie following in Cassie's footsteps, following her example.
Jenn pushed her chair back and threw her napkin down. Eddie's sneering comment was like gasoline to her already blazing temper and she snapped. "Don't be ridiculous Eddie!" she feuded. "That is not what I'm suggesting but you're being completely unreasonable and a little harsh. Lizzie asked a simple question and I'm sorry but I don't like your tone!"
"Someone's got to take charge of the discipline around here!" Eddie clamored, his voice biting.
Jenn nodded her head knowingly. "Oh...I see. Someone...and I guess that person..., that someone is you?!"
Eddie raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. It can't get any worse. I for one would like to see some changes made around here!"
"Oh I'm sorry. I thought these were our children!" Jenn shouted, emphasizing the word our. "I thought we made decisions together in this family!" she argued, her hypocritical comment making Eddie laugh.
"Together...?!" he questioned angrily. "Funny you should say that Jenn because I wasn't included in any decisions when it came to Cassie. You made them all on your own!"
"I've had it up to here with your accusations!" Jenn spoke loudly, holding her hand up high over her head.
"By the way," Eddie said, changing the subject, "have you given any thought to what your parents are going to think about all of this?" he grunted.
"Cassie is my priority right now. Hopefully mom and dad will be a little more understanding than Cassie's own father!" she belted out a rude and defensive reply.
Lizzie sat silently watching the violent exchange. Her head swiveled back and forth between her mom and dad as if she were watching a tennis match, watching them argue, watching them scream and yell at each other until she couldn't take it anymore. "Will everyone please stop fighting?!" she shrieked out, looking around the table, on the verge of tears. "Please!" she cried, wiping her tears on her shirt sleeve. "Cassie's having a baby and everyone's arguing and fighting like it's the worst thing in the world. Why can't we just be happy for her?!" she asked loudly. "Is this how it's going to be from now on? Is this is how it's going to be for the next nine months?!" she screamed, jumping up from the table to run upstairs.
Jenn sighed and rubbed her forehead. She closed her eyes briefly before speaking again. "Tay...__"she began.
Tay stood up and pushed his chair in. He knew what was coming. His mom wanted to have a private conversation with his dad and wanted him to go upstairs. "You don't have to say it." he said, headed for the stairway."I know...I know." he grumbled. "Don't worry. I'm leaving." he drawled.
"That went well." Jenn breathed discouragingly, glancing across the table at Eddie.
Eddie looked down at the table, ashamed of his behavior. Both he and Jenn should be ashamed of themselves for carrying on as they had in front of the kids. Their behavior had been atrocious.
"We've got to figure this out Eddie." Jenn said calmly. "Lizzie's right. We can't go on arguing like this. The kids are scared, nervous and afraid that this horrible time isn't going to end."
With his head hung low, Eddie agreed. "I know." he said, rubbing his palms together, thinking. "Usually when the kids get in trouble, I know exactly what to do, how to handle it and this time I don't." he said solemnly. It wasn't easy admitting he was lost, admitting he didn't know what to do, that he was out of his element. He was normally in complete control of everything that happened within their family but Cassie's pregnancy had definitely thrown him for a loop. This was something he couldn't fix.
The corners of Jenn's lips curled into a small, hesitant smile. She stood and walked over to Eddie. Standing behind his chair, she rubbed his shoulders, wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and pressed her face against his. "Honey, I think Cassie's going to be okay. I do... but she's going to need a little help. I want to be there for her but I don't want to do this without you. Eddie don't ask me to do this without you. She's our daughter and she's going to have our grand baby. I know she's scared and worried and I want to let her know that it's going to be okay. What she did was wrong and she understands that but we can't sit and pretend like it didn't happen. We have come to terms with this. Can we please sit down and talk like rational adults? Can we sit and talk to our daughter..., talk to Charles and offer them our help...please?"
Breathing in deeply, Eddie's chest expanded and contracted with his heavy breath. He looked down at Jenn's hand resting on his chest and squeezed it in his own. There was but one thing for him to do..., help his daughter. "What choice do I have?" he breathed in raggedly, accepting Cassie's fate.
Jenn kissed his temple, happy that he was at least attempting to meet Cassie half way. "Thank you and I am sorry." she said, swallowing her pride and giving Eddie an apology. "Your right and there are some things I shouldn't have kept from you.
"Oh no," Eddie said warily, holding his hand up, "hold on. Don't thank me too soon." he cautioned before she got her hopes up. "I'm doing this for Cassie. Not Charles. Don't ask me to forgive him Jenn. Don't because I don't have it in me to do that. Not right now."
"The important thing is you're trying." she smiled. "Why don't we go upstairs and have that talk? I'm sure it will make Cassie feel better."
Before either one of them could move, Lizzie came storming back downstairs. "Dad you have to see this." she cried out, handing him a piece of paper, a handwritten note. "It's Cassie. I found this in her room. Most of her things are gone." she explained, breathing hard.
Eddie untwined Jenn's arm from around his neck and quickly stood. His eyes stretched in disbelief as he read the note in silence. Holding the note loosely in one hand, he turned to Jenn. "She's gone." he muttered in shock.
"What?!" Jenn exclaimed, snatching the note from his fingers, reading it aloud for herself. "Sorry I disappointed everyone. Sorry for everything that happened. I love you dad. Please forgive me but it's best that I leave. I'll stay with a friend. Don't worry about me..., I'll be okay." Jenn read, covering her mouth with her hands in despair. "Oh my God... Eddie...." she said worriedly, gripping the note tightly in her hand.
"Don't worry Jenn. Calm down. I'll find her." Eddie said, already picking up the phone, dialing Cassie's cell phone.
Afraid of what Eddie might say, Jenn tried to take the phone away from him. His idea of taking care of it might very well mean getting Cassie on the phone and yelling, demanding that she return home or suffer dire consequences. He was upset..., angry and if he said the wrong thing or spoke to harshly, Cassie might never come home. "You're not helping matters!" she seethed. "Let me talk." she insisted, reaching for the phone.
Eddie stepped back, brushed her hands aside. "I'll take care of this Jenn." he said, listening to the dial tone, waiting for Cassie to answer.
Jenn stood anxiously in front of him, on edge with her eyes darting over his face, her hands clenched into fists against her sides. Hopefully Cassie would answer and they could convince her to come home. "Just tell her to come home."she spoke softly.
Lizzie wrapped her arms around Jenn's waist, burrowed her head in her chest. What was happening to their family? Everything was going wrong. "Mom why would she leave like that?" she asked, looking up into her mom's face.
Wanting to reassure and comfort her, Jenn hugged her close, returned her embrace. "A lot happened last night Lizzie. She's probably scared but I'm sure she'll come home once she's calmed down."
"I went to check on her, make sure she was okay. She didn't answer the door but I went in anyway and I found the note." Lizzie explained. "I just want her to be okay mom." she continued warmly, concern for her sister evident in her voice. "I should have checked on her sooner." she said, blaming herself.
"Hey...hey." Jenn soothed, kissing her on the forehead. "This is not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Cassie's going to be fine."
Scene 24/Part 1 Eddie paced the floor with his cell phone to his ear, impatiently listening to the dial tone, waiting for Cassie to answer.
Scene 24/Part3
Scene 24/Part5 "Who are you calling?" Eddie asked. "Charles." Jenn mouthed.
Scene 24/Part7 Jenn held her breath, listened to the dial tone and prayed Charles would answer but unfortunately his voice mail responded instead. "Charles it's Jenn. We can't find Cassie. She's gone and we have no idea where she is." she said quickly. "If she's with you or if you know where she is please tell her it's okay, it's okay to come home. We can all sit down and talk everything out...please." she said, pleading. "Everything's going to be alright. We just need to know she's safe. We want her home."
Scene 24/Part9 "Honey is that necessary?" Jenn asked him, wary of him handling a gun. There was a good chance they'd find Cassie with Charles and she didn't want another altercation. Eddie headed out with car keys in hand, held the door open for Jenn. "Absolutely. Cassie's with Charles. It's the only place she could be." "I'm not so sure." Jenn disagreed, quickly shrugging into her jacket. "Her note said she was staying with a friend. Maybe she's with Claire." "Only one way to find out." Eddie responded, holding the door open wide, urging her to hurry. "Watkins's house is on the way. It wouldn't hurt to check there first." he replied, following her out the door. He turned back and stuck his head inside the doorway. "Lizzie, if your sister calls or if she comes home, make sure u cal....___." "Don't worry. I'll call you right away." Lizzie finished for him. |
Scene 24/Part 2 Cassie and Charles were startled awake by the blaring sound of her ringing cell phone. The eerily quiet morning silence pronounced the sound throughout the garage, making it seem even louder than it actually was. Wrapped in the warmth of Charles's arms, Cassie rubbed her sleep filled eyes, struggled to sit up and find her cell phone. Charles held her close as she struggled to move away, reluctant to let go her naked warmth. "Don't answer it. Go back to sleep." he whispered groggily, trying to pull her back against the heat of his body. "It might be important." Cassie responded, sitting on the edge of the couch, taking her cell phone from her purse. She shuddered to think of who it might be..., who could be on the other end of the line. A part of her knew before looking that it was either her mom or much worse..., her dad. The surrealism of everything that had happened last night suddenly lost some of it's wonderful appeal. The morning after came with a whole new set of fresh worries and troubles. Running away, being with Charles, lying in his arms all night as he'd made love to her had been wonderfully exhilarating but now they had to live up to every adult decision they'd made last night. Their decision to get married and stand on their own regardless of anyone's feelings or disapproval had been empowering to say the least but they couldn't stay in the garage forever and at some point she had to face her parents. Cassie stared at her ringing cell phone, gripped it tightly in her hands but couldn't bring herself to answer. The caller ID flashed DAD. She knew he'd be furious..., angry and she couldn't bring herself to talk to him. Charles sat up on his elbows. "Aren't you gonna answer it?" he asked, yawning. Cassie sat with her back facing him. She glanced back over her shoulder and shook her head nervously. "I can't. It's dad." "Let me to talk to him." Charles said, holding his hand out for the phone. Shouldering away from him, Cassie held the phone away protectively. "No!" she said quickly, letting the phone ring. That's the last thing she wanted right now. Last night she'd felt like an adult, so much like a strong, independent woman so why did her dad's call suddenly make her feel like a scared little child whose father was calling to judge and reprimand her? Scene 24/Part4 Charles rubbed his face. To be honest, he was surprised they hadn't gotten the phone call sooner. It was early and by now Mr. Sutton had obviously realized Cassie was missing. "We both know he's gonna keep calling until you answer." he said. "Let's get this over with and let me talk to him. Besides, it doesn't matter what he says. Let's stick to our plan and get married tomorrow. Tomorrow our lives changes as we know it. Tomorrow changes everything."
Scene 24/Part6 Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough for Cassie. She stared blank faced and terrified at the new message now flashing on her phone, debated on listening or simply deleting it. "I hope your right Charles." she breathed, looking back at him over her shoulder. She knew being married, being his wife would shed new light on things. Maybe it would even prove to her dad that they were committed, seriously in love and nothing, not even his fiery demands and temper could keep them apart for long. "Tomorrow," she spoke slowly without looking at him, "but what happens in the meantime?" she asked uncertainly, gazing down at the floor. Charles sat up fully and Cassie found herself sitting on the edge of the couch with him behind her, straddling her, his naked chest pressed up against her back. He wrapped one arm around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. He gathered a thick strand of her hair between his fingers and looked down into her face lovingly. "We stay together..., make plans for our new life, our baby, our family." he smiled, reassuring her. Lying awake last night, he'd given a lot of careful thought to their situation, came up with a plan. He couldn't let her leave him, let her go back home to her dad after everything she'd told him, everything he now knew. "We're going to be together. I'm not leaving you." he promised softly. "I'm taking you with me. Come home with me. Move in with me. I'll talk to my mom. She'll understand." "And what if she doesn't?" Cassie countered. "Charles I have so many questions. So many things I'm unsure of." Charles's cell phone rang before he could respond. Holding onto Cassie, he reached around her with his free arm to the the phone he'd left lying on the floor. His face hardened when he saw the caller's name. Swallowing the hard lump in her throat, Cassie swiveled in his arms to face him, read his troubled expression. "It's my dad isn't it?" she asked shakily. "Yeah" Charles sighed deeply, glaring at the phone, watching it ring repeatedly. "Don't answer it!" she said forcefully, stopping him from answering. "We'll be fine. He doesn't know where I am." Charles wanted to answer but he went against his better judgement. Hiding behind their phones was foolish and pointless. Mr. Sutton would search for Cassie until he found her. It was just a matter of time before he'd be banging on his mom's door and from there, he'd surely figure out where they were. He fully expected him to show up at the garage and knew all hell would surely break loose. "Let's not kid ourselves Cassie. How long do you think it's going to take him to figure out your with me..., figure out where we are?"
Scene 24/Part8 Charles's phone beeped a message alert. He dialed into his voice mail and listened carefully with Cassie silently watching him. "It's your mom," he spoke while listening, "she's worried about you." he said, ending the call. "She sounds really scared Cassie.""It's not my mom I'm worried about Charles. You don't know my dad. There's no talking to him about anything. He nearly killed you last night. I can't believe you want to confront him again." Cassie argued. "Cassie I'm not looking for a fight but your fooling yourself if you think they don't realize your with me. We can't hide forever. I think we should at least let your parents know where you are. Let them know your with me and your safe. Your mom says they're willing to talk this whole thing out. She didn't sound angry or upset. She just sounded worried." "No!" Cassie replied sharply. "Dad doesn't care if I'm safe Charles. He just wants to keep me away from you." "Okay fine," Charles relented, "but at least listen to your messages. It won't hurt to listen."
Scene 24/Part10 "Cassie...what is it? What's wrong?" Charles asked, his eyes scanning her face, sensing her agitation. Cassie sprang to her feet with lighting speed, threw her phone into her purse and hurried into her clothes as quickly as she could. She had to hurry. There was no time to waste. Her parents were looking for her...for them and could show up any minute now. She had to get home and get there fast. Charles was right. They were her parents and it was wrong to let them worry. They had a right to know she was okay and no harm had come to her. She would go home and let them know she was alright..., safe, , face her dad's wrath for one more day. It was a simple matter of holding out for one more day and her entire life would change. Tomorrow, within a matter of hours, she and Charles would be married, be man and wife. They were going to live together and spend each day together. Charles stepped into his jeans, not bothering with his shirt. He stood helplessly aside..., watched Cassie race frantically around the room gathering her things. Whatever she had heard on her message had seriously spooked her, sent her into a frenzied whirlwind of panic and fear. Whatever it was, she was hellbent on getting out of there, getting away from him as fast as she possibly could. "Cassie stop for a minute...please." he begged. "Tell me what's going on." he said but she went about her way, completely disregarding him, ignoring him, pausing only to say she couldn't find her keys. "My keys!" she exclaimed loudly, glancing about the room wildly. "Dammit! I can't find my keys!" she said again, her eyes wide as saucers as she searched the room. "Charles I have to find my keys." she rambled on, shaking nervously. "Forget about your keys and tell me what's going on." Charles demanded, taking her by the hand. "Look at you." he said, scanning her from head to toe. "You're scared..., shaking. What did you hear? Was it your dad?" Cassie pulled away from him easily enough, refused to let him stop her. She found her keys under the sofa cushions and made a b-line towards the exit but Charles blocked her path, refused to let her leave. "Charles please let me go." she said, trying to walk around him, her voice wobbly and unsure. Wrapping his strong arms around her from behind, Charles gently trapped her within his hold, cocooning and stopping her the only way he knew how. "Stop it. Stop it." he said forcefully, holding her within his arms when she struggled against his enveloping hold, tried to break free. "Slow down and tell me what's going on. I'm not going to let you leave me." "I have to go Charles." Cassie said, starting to cry, afraid for him and what her dad might do to him if he saw him. She'd do anything to make sure her dad didn't hurt him. "I can't let him find me here with you." Charles sighed. So it had been her dad on the phone. He turned her in his arms to face him but held her by the forearms to prevent her from leaving. "I'm not letting you go." he said, meaning every word. "Charles he knows I'm with you." Cassie confided. "I'm afraid for you. It won't take him long to find us here. You said so yourself." she reminded him. "If I don't go home he'll come looking for me." "Come home with me." Charles requested. "I'll deal with your dad. I want you with me." "It's best if I leave. You were right." Cassie told him. "I'll go home and they'll know I'm okay. They won't worry. They'll see that I'm fine." "I never said anything about you leaving, going home." he argued. He was afraid if she left, if she walked away from him now, her dad would find some way to keep her away from him for good and he'd never see her again."Charles we're going to be married tomorrow. One more day apart won't matter. We just have to make it through today." There was no way he was sending her to face her dad alone. "Fine," he said agreeably but reluctantly, "but you're not going alone. I'm coming with you." Cassie wrapped her hands around his arms as he held her in place before him. "Charles no!" she insisted quickly, glancing over her shoulder in fear her dad would appear. They were wasting time. She had to do this on her own. Something awful and horrible would happen if Charles and her dad met face to face again. She was sure of it and was so scared Charles would be hurt. "Charles we have to be smart about this. What's one more day?" she questioned softly, reasoning with him. "Just one more day apart. Tomorrow changes everything right? It's what you said. Let's not mess things up. I'm not going to let anything interfere with me becoming your wife this time." He understood her logic, motives for wanting to go home but right now all he could think about was losing her . "You're asking me to let you go alone..., let you leave me and I can't." he said, reaching out for her when she managed to pull away from him unexpectedly. "Cassie!...." he called out after her, chased her as she ran out of the garage. Cassie quickened her pace, made it to her car and locked her door before Charles could catch her. She looked straight ahead, refused to look at him, ignored him as he pulled on the door latch, yelled out to her through the window. Within seconds she had the car started and squealed out of the parking lot in a mad dash towards home. In her rear view mirror, she watched Charles race to his car, quickly following her in pursuit. |
Claire answered the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Sutton." she greeted, surprised to see them, "Hi..., I mean..., good morning." Judging from their serious expressions something was obviously wrong. Mrs. Sutton looked horribly distraught and Mr. Sutton was upset. "Come in." she offered, stepping away from the door for them to enter.
"I'll go get my dad." Claire said, walking away.
"Actually we're here to see you Claire." Eddie told her.
Claire turned, pointed her finger at her chest. "Me?" she asked..., bewildered. Why would Mr. and Mrs. Sutton want to see her?
"Claire Cassie's missing. We think she may have left home last night and we were hoping she'd be here." Jenn explained.
Claire's mouth fell open. "Oh my goodness." she breathed, her breath hitching in her throat. "Uh...no. I'm sorry but I haven't seen her. She's not here."
"When's the last time you spoke with her Claire? Did she say or give any indication she was running away?" Eddie asked.
"I haven't seen or talked with her all weekend." Claire told them, crossing her arms, rubbing them. This was horrible news. Her friend was missing and like her parents, she was beginning to worry.
"Sutton," Watkins said, smiling as he entered the room, thought I heard your voice." He nodded toward Jenn. "Morning Jenn." "What happened Sutton? Did you change your mind about that fishing trip after all? We can still go. There's still time to make a quick one day of it."
"Hate to disturb you so early but Cassie's missing." Eddie clarified. "She said she was staying with a friend so we came here."
Watkins's casual demeanor quickly changed, went into full policeman alert mode. He didn't know exactly what was going on and didn't want to pry into Sutton's personal life but knew Cassie's absence must be the result of last night's altercation between Eddie and Charles. "Missing? What do you mean missing?" he asked precisely.
"She's gone. Ran away." Eddie answered bluntly. "We found this note this morning." he said, handing the note over to Watkins to read.
Watkins read Cassie's note quickly and glared at Claire suspiciously. "Claire honey have you seen Cassie?" he questioned.
"No..., not since school. We haven't talked to each other."Claire said.
"Baby girl I know Cassie's your friend and you want to look out for her but this is no time for secrets. If she's here or if you've seen her or know where she is, I expect you to tell me." Watkins warned her.
Claire stared hard into her dad's face, outraged that he would accuse her of lying, covering up for Cassie. She held her hands up, palm side out, declaring her innocence. "I'm telling the truth dad. She's not here. You can check my room. I haven't seen her. Honest. I wouldn't lie about something as serious as this. I have no idea where she is." she maintained. "What about Charles? Maybe she's with him." she mentioned.
"I hope so." Jenn replied.
"It's okay Claire." Eddie said, carefully folding Cassie's note away, shoving it into his pocket. "Sorry to have bothered you Watkins."
"It's no bother Sutton. I'll get on patrol right away. Help you look for her." Watkins volunteered.
"Thanks partner." Eddie said, heading out the door.
"Claire if you hear from her can you notify me right away?" Jenn asked before leaving.
"Of course." Claire promised. "I'm sorry I couldn't help."
"Just contact us if you hear from her." Jenn repeated.
Scene 26
Cassie's irradic driving scared the hell out of Charles. He followed her, kept up with her as best he could but she drove like a maniac, sped well over the speed limit in her haste to rush home to her dad. He held his breath, gripped the steering wheel nervously each time she dodged in and out of traffic. His heart leaped in his throat as she narrowly escaped a few accidents with innocent drivers who quickly blew their car horns at her, yelled at her from their car windows. Approaching the busy part of town, she sped up instead of slowing down. He looked on..., cringed as she looked in one direction only, stared straight ahead and rolled through stop signs, not once coming to a complete stop.
Charles knew he had to stop her. She was completely out of control and needed to be stopped before she hurt someone or killed herself. He dialed her cell phone..., was going to demand she stop and pull over at once but she didn't answer. Dialing repeatedly, on the third try, he saw when she leaned over to the passenger seat, reached over to get the phone. With her eyes off the road she was completely unaware of the fast approaching red traffic light, completely oblivious to the the pick up truck passing through the intersection, heading straight for her.
Maxwell/This Woman's Work
Manual mp3 Version. Must be manually reset to replay.
thiswomanswork.mp3
Charles's eyes darted quickly from the open intersection to the
oncoming pickup, mentally estimating and judging the distance and he knew Cassie
would never be able to stop in time. "Cassie!" he yelled out loud as if she could hear him, his voice heavy, overcome with fear.
"Slow down!" he screamed out loud to himself, praying she would stop in
time. "Stop!....Stop!" he yelled, beating his hand on the steering
wheel but it was too late. In a whirlwind, heart stopping instant, he watched his whole world flash before him, come crashing down right before his eyes. Time stood still, seemed to lapse into a slow tortuous motion. He watched helplessly as Cassie looked up at
the very last minute, saw the undeniable fear on her face as she realized she was
in trouble, realized she was seconds away from being in a horrible accident. He heard the sound of her tires screeching against the asphalt as she tried desperately to stop, to brake. All
he could do was watch as the woman he loved barreled straight through
the intersection into the path of the oncoming truck which slammed
violently into the side of her car, t-boning it. The impact sent her car twirling in the middle of the intersection. Never did he imagine he'd witness something so horrible.
A heart stopping, body numbing feeling took over him. He couldn't breath, couldn't swallow, couldn't believe what he was seeing. Pulling over along with other motorists, he and a few bystanders raced over to Cassie's car while others helped the injured guy who had been driving the truck. "Get out of my way!" he yelled, pushing his way through the gathering crowd.
His mouth turned dry and a bead of sweat broke out across his fore head at the scene before him. The side air bag had deployed but the driver side had somehow malfunctioned, failed to deploy and protect Cassie. The car's engine was still running though sputtering badly and he found Cassie slumped over the steering wheel with her face turned away from him. "Cassie?!...Cassie?!" he called out to her but she remained silent, motionless, not responding. He reached into the driver side window which had shattered under the force of the impact to unlock the door but it wouldn't budge, was completely jammed and caved in. Racing around the front of the car to the passenger side door, he noticed fluids dripping and spraying from the car. The raw, pungent smell of burning oil and transmission fluid along with the unmistakable scent of gasoline was heavy in the air. As a mechanic, his senses went on alert because he knew just how quickly a car could catch fire. How quickly flammable fluids could ignite and burn. He had to get Cassie out of the car and he had to do it fast.
Yanking the passenger side door open, he crawled in and immediately turned off the engine but not before he heard the awful sound and smell of electrical wires singing, burning. Something was burning inside the engine compartment. He couldn't see the flame just yet but could feel the heat, smell the smoke. The car was on fire.
The rule was to never move or disturb an injured person but he had no choice, had to take the risk. Panicking, he rushed to get Cassie out of the car before the flames grew out of control. Carefully easing her head back from the steering wheel as quickly and gently as he could, he checked her pulse and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Thankfully, she was unconscious but breathing steadily and strongly. Her body was as limp as a rag doll but she was breathing. He couldn't tell if she'd suffered any internal injuries, didn't know if there baby was okay but there was blood on her face from a nose bleed and she'd sustained a huge, swelling bruise on her fore head from the impact with the steering wheel. Her arms and face were covered with small cuts, scraps and bruises from the shattered window glass. "Please baby wake up!"he pleaded urgently, his voice cracking with emotion. "Cassie ....Come on sweetheart wake up! he said loudly, tapping her on the cheek, trying desperately to rouse her but it was no use. She was out cold and he'd have to pick her up and carry her out.
He struggled to get her out of her seat belt and to his utter horror, the release latch didn't work. No matter how many times he pressed and squeezed it wouldn't release and had obviously jammed during the accident. "Help me!" he called out, screamed for help from the onlookers. He could see the fiery flames just beginning to rise over the hood and he feared the worst. "I need help!" he screamed helplessly as he pulled and tugged at the seat belt with all his strength. His voice was a hoarse cry as he tried to free her. He heard the gruffness, the guttural sound of his own scared voice. He was so afraid, so scared he wouldn't be able to get her out in time.
Several young men came to his aide. Some offered help while others insisted that he get away from the car as the flames grew larger. One guy pulled on his arm, tried to pull him away from the rising blaze but Charles wouldn't budge. "I am not leaving her!" he growled angrily through his teeth, his eyes blazing.
"What can we do?!" Another asked.
"I need something sharp. Something!....Anything! A knife..., whatever you can find!" Charles shouted out.
"Okay." the young man said. "There's got to be something around here. Someone has to have something in their car!" he said.
"Hurry!" Charles spat, his voice unsteady. "I mean it!" he yelled, peering out at the blaze. .......... (To Be Continued)
Scene 26
The scene of the accident was akin to a chaotic war zone. The noise, the smoke and the flames heightened the sense of emergency and danger. The street flooded with people drawn to the site of such an awful scene. Bystanders and onlookers rushed to call emergency services.
"Please! For God's Sake hurry!" Charles yelled, terrified at the sound of his own scared voice resonating like a primal scream. Thickened black smoke took his breath away, sent him coughing, gasping for fresh air. Fueled by the flammable fluids leaking from the engine, flames that were once small, now grew quickly and threatened to engulf the car, a car which could very easily ignite and explode within minutes. A small spark, a bit of flammable liquid and a fume pocket was all that was needed. The chances of the car igniting or worst of all exploding before he could free Cassie were very real, more real with each passing second. Shear panic and fear in his eyes revealed the icy grip of terror taking over him as he struggled with the release lever, turned a death ear to the bystanders screaming for him to get away from the burning car.
His own safety was disregarded, he refused to leave Cassie's side. How could leave her? He couldn't. His world..., everything worth living for..., Cassie and their unborn child was right here and he'd be damned if anyone or anything could pry him away. If he couldn't get her out he'd damn well die trying. Desperate, he tried pulling her free with the latch/belt in tact, hoping there would be room to somehow wiggle her free from the waist loop but the belt had retracted upon impact, tightening and cinching Cassie in tight, thereby leaving only one way to free her. He'd have to cut the belt but how?
Scrambling, he searched the car, looked for anything remotely sharp and grabbed the first thing within reach, a sharp piece of broken car glass. He tried cutting, slicing through but the glass was simply to small. A helpless sound of defeat escaped Charles's lips. He felt powerless. "No!....no!....no!" he protested, tossing the piece of glass aside. Aside from slicing his hands to shreds, the glass, while razor sharp, was simply to small to cut through the thick belt webbing .
Charles heard the distant sound of ambulance and fire truck sirens but it sounded so far away. Some people yelled while others screamed and cried, stood iy aside and watched the deadly scene unfold before their eyes. Many scattered, safely distancing themselves from the heat licking flames while others scrambled to call the paramedics and gather tools to help remove the seatbelt. A brave young woman approached the car, carefully avoiding the flames. "It's all we have." she choked, gasped for breath through the building smoke as she tossed a small pair of dull hair shears through the car window.
The dull scissor blade made cutting through the extra thick seatbelt fabric a seemingly impossible task, a task worsened by gripping the scissors with hands cut to pieces and bloody. "Come on!" Charles yelled out loud, urging himself to ignore the blistering flames and smoke.., to concentrate on pulling the fabric as taught as possible, urging the fibers to rip as he sliced harder, faster, finally slicing through.
He wasted no time freeing her, carried her, partially dragged her to a safe distance from the engulfing flames. , all while yelling for an ambulance. Why weren't the paramedics here? Not sure what to do, gently layed and there kneeled over her as she lay flat on the ground.arms. Onlookers circled around them, watched him as he held her, comforted her, tried to make sure she was okay. A few suggested
