My Sister's Keeper

8

Life is going to throw crap at you. It's an inevitable part of living, of being human. Half of the time it leaves you bawling on the bathroom floor wondering what you did wrong, and the other half leaves you rolling your eyes and walking away. The drama, the pain, the heartache, it exists for everyone. Everyone has something, someone that they never thought they would lose. When we lose them, we don't think we are ever going to survive. Somehow, we do, and we come out stronger than we came in. The truth is, the friendships we create, the bonds we form, the times we laugh, they can all diminish with one shout and one glare. We can try to rekindle these relationships, but sometimes it might be better to take the loss. Time goes on. People move on. Life continues. That's just the way it is.

"Cass..." Meredith coaxed.

The younger Grey didn't know how long the two of them sat on the swing. Cassie was so relaxed that she had just closed her eyes and let Meredith rock the swing while in her own thoughts.

"Let's migrate to the couch..." Meredith declared, slowly getting up from the swing and offering assistance to the girl with the crutches. Cassie slowly made her way inside and collapsed onto the couch again. Her aunt wandered away into the kitchen, bringing back two hot chocolates with whipped cream. At the look on her niece's face, she looked down in slight shame.

"Sorry. Amelia and Alex keep telling me that putting whipped cream on top is gross, but I do it anyway. It's like frosties with french fries. It's a thing only certain people understand."

"You eat your french fries with frosty?" Cassie asked, actually surprised by the idea that her and her aunt could have something in common.

Meredith nodded as if it were obvious. "Of course."

Cassie took the GSMH mug from her aunt with a  thank you, taking the extra second to stare at her name, that was her mother in which they were remembering, on the mug.  "So now what?" She asked her aunt. "I really don't know anything about you. We've been hugging like we've known each other for my whole life, which to the best of my recollection, we did not."

Meredith leaned back. She loved the kid, that much she knew, but she didn't know if she could take her asking questions. She looked up at her niece with a now cold stare.

Cassie read this immediately, having learned how to read expressions and movements at a young age. She had made Meredith angry. She thought it was possible. Meredith was going to force her to go back into foster care in Seattle because she reminded her of her dead sister. Screw belonging. There was no such thing.

"Meredith." She started. "Can I take my mother's stuff when I go?"

Meredith's expression changed into one of confusion. "Where are you going?"

Cassie let out a laugh. "Isn't this the part where you say it's too hard for you, that I remind you too much of her, and that its better if I go?"

Meredith's eyes softened. "Cassie, this isn't some temporary solution. This isn't me seeing if you fit. You fit the minute you walked in the door. You're not leaving unless you want to leave. Do you want that?"

"Of course not." Cassie immediately responded. "I just... always assume the worse. That's what my life is. I know I haven't been a foster kid in five years, but I was still a foster kid for the first ten years of my life. I bounced, I almost got adopted. I almost..." she stopped short. "I still have that mindset. It lives within me."

Meredith nodded. "You have to understand then, that I have a mindset too. It's not like yours exactly. I always think bad things are going to the people around me because they did. I don't like to talk about it."