All the Wrong Reasons

Part 15

Chapter 15

Rounding the corner, Cassandra readied herself. Whatever surprises were thrown at her, she would be ready. Her eyes landed on the large man she had hit yesterday, and her nose registered the smell of alcohol. He stood over a still body. The man's chest was rising and falling rapidly as he took deep breaths.

Cassandra did not stare at Cooper lying by the man's feet. No, she focused her attention solely on the man responsible for everything that had happened. She knew it wasn't anybody's fault besides this man's. How someone could be this cruel, Cassandra didn't know.

As she walked up to the man, she was pulled back by a pair of strong arms. Looking up, she glared at Peirce. How dare he stop her from exacting justice upon this low life muck of a man?

"Cassandra, I know you want to hit him as hard as you can, but, believe me, I can hit harder," he said as he dropped his grip and stalked towards the man.

Cassandra had to admit that if the man wasn't so despicable, she would be feeling slightly sorry for him, for she would never want the look on Peirce's face to be directed towards her. That face was filled with absolute hate.

She knew that the situation was under control, so she did what she had wanted to do since she walked into the foyer. Picking up her skirts, she ran towards Cooper. As she got closer, she could see the red marks marring his face. One eye had already started to swell.

Reaching down, she scanned the boy's body with her hands. Once she realized that he had no broken bones, Cassandra picked him up and cradled him to her body. This boy would not be out of her sight for a while.

The background noises caused her to glance behind her. Peirce had the large man on the ground; his fists were moving one after the other as they smashed into the man's face. She could see blood trickling out of the man's nose. Cassandra knew she should put an end to the fight before the man died, but she couldn't make herself utter a single word. The man deserved any treatment he was receiving. If Peirce didn't kill him, she would give the man one last kick for good measure.

Feet sounded down the hall signaling Colin and Ramsey's arrival. Colin's eyes snapped towards Cassandra first, before he turned towards Peirce. She watched as Colin made his way towards the fight and began to pull the two men apart. Cassandra felt a tinge of anger flow through her body at his actions. Maybe it was a blood thirsty thought, but she really wanted Peirce to get in a couple more hits.

"Peirce, you have to stop," Colin said in a controlled voice.

Cassandra didn't know what Colin planned for Peirce to do, but she was not surprised when his eyes flickered towards Colin before resuming his justice.

"Peirce, I know why you're doing this. It's not your fault. You didn't know where the boy was. None of it was ever your fault."

She watched in surprise as the words deflated Peirce, and he rolled off the man. Cassandra wanted to give her new friend a hug, for his expression was one of complete sadness. She could tell by his face that it was a deep pain. It was not a pain brought on by his previous actions, but a pain of the past. She knew about past pains.

"Cassandra, send for a doctor," Colin called out.

She looked at him as he fussed over the unconscious coward of a man. Was Colin suggesting that she call a doctor for this man? Another question she had was if there was even a doctor in the dilapidated village. If there was, then the man needed to make an appearance more often.

"No," she whispered before speaking louder. "I will not waste a doctor's time on someone like him. Throw him out the back for the wild dogs."

His head snapped towards her. Disbelief was masking his usual expression. "Are you jesting?"