The Girl She Could Have Been

The early night breeze awakens the skin, forming little bumps down the length of her arms as if she had been nipped by dozens of miniature mosquitos. Cassie's daily debt to society as a waitress has been fulfilled and her never ending occupation as a single mother has once again resumed. Her soft footsteps shuffle across the floor of her run down apartment building, that holds the bodies of her sleeping mother and child.  Quietly she makes her way to her daughters room to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead in a silent attempt to remind her that she's here. After closing the door to Alyssa's bedroom, Cassie removes a bottle of cheap wine from the fridge and sits on the barely stable balcony to watch the little lights twinkle from the good side of town.
"Get off of me" a young girl's voice interrupts Cassie's trance and her gaze falls to an older man with a black jacket and hands on the wrists of a blond.
" Help, please help me" she cries. A recollection of distant memories from her childhood flood her mind like an ocean that take her back. It was just before midnight on a hot summer's day when 16 year old Cassie dashed home concerned about putting her mother in a state of distress. She had stayed out past curfew again, the last time she dared to do such a thing she was grounded for weeks. Whistles in sensual rhythms were heard from all directions, her mother called this the hunting hour. Cassie was aware of the dangers. She had spent all her time on the bad side of town, except for that one occasion when she went to the art gallery on the good side for a field trip with school. Her pace quickened as she drew closer to her home, in hopes her mother wouldn't notice her 15 minute set back.
"Excuse me little miss, do you know where someone could get a drink around here?" a man asks, halting her every movement.
Shakily she responds "2 blocks down that way".His eyes trace her up and down.

"Mind joining me for a drink?" he snickers and steps closer, the stench of rum and coke already wafting off of him as if it were his favourite cologne.
"Sorry i'm late, I need to get home" Cassie claims as an attempt to politely excuse herself from the situation.  As she progresses on the pavement the man grabs her wrists and wraps his hands around the waist of her pants.
"Stop please, I just want to go home!" the voice from the street fills her ears pulling her back into the present. Her body erects itself. with little time to think she runs down to the main level of the rickety complex, throwing open the door running barefoot on the crackled concrete of Cal street. The sound of breaking glass can be heard by the whole block, her weapon of choice had just been crafted out of a half empty bottle of wine and the iron railing barely clinging to its roots.
"Get the hell away from her" she screams at the man only resulting in a cold, raspy chuckle. The deep rooted anger she felt from her past inspires her mind, body and soul to do everything in her power to prevent such a thing from happening to another.
"What are you going to do, cut me? You're just a girl" he mocks her, adding fuel to her fire. Cassie rests the bottle to his stomach, the sharp edges beginning to pierce his fragile skin.
"B*tch" he mutters under his breath before disappearing from the scene. Cassie gently rests her sweaty palm on the back of the girl in an effort of comforting the child.
"Why don't you come in, my home is a safe place while we contact your mother." she suggests, her voice soft and quiet a contrast of what came prior. The girl simply nods and follows anxiously like a child behind their mother on the first day of school; unaware of what lies ahead. Once the two reach the dim lit living space, cassie retrieves the landline with her cold fingertips ready to dial.
"I'm sorry I never got your name?" she whispers, the young girls eyes meeting up with her own.
"My names Meghan" the reply filled with tiny voice cracks as if she was about to cry.
"What's your moms phone number meghan?"
"I don't have one"
"You don't have a phone number?" Cassie asks, curiosity clouds her mind.
"No , I don't have a mother" meghan replies abruptly.
"Father?" Cassie's concern grows as Meghan swings her head from side to side and whispers.
"No one".
"Thank you for letting me stay here I promise i'll be out in the morning" Meghan exclaims as she cuddles into the blanket that was just retrieved for her.
"Meghan you're only a child, you can stay here as long as you'd like" Cassie speaks strictly.
"Goodnight" Meghan cracks a smile before resting her head on the relatively flat pillow.
"Night" Cassie replies and then walks down the hall to flop in her bed, drifting off to sleep.
The next morning as the family awoke to discover the stranger, Cassie introduced the three; setting ease to the subtle discomfort.
"Make yourself at home while i'm at work, if you decide to watch the television make sure you hit the power button three times, its like making a wish, only the wish is to watch poorly made foreign films". Cassie giggles on her way out hand in hand with alyssa, locking the door behind her. They patiently wait on the corner of Cal street, wait for the scraped up, yellow tin can to wisp away her daughter for the afternoon. Cassie has now returned to her daily routine, boring life, even with her new addition. She returns home with a gleaming smile.
"How was everyone's day?" she questions, unable to keep herself silent from her overwhelming joy of sorts.
"It went very well thank you, I am now hooked on this spanish soap opera called Corazón Salvaje" Meghan perks up and is soon interrupted by a small voiced Alyssa.
"I made this for you at school today" she states with a gigantic grin plastered on her face, handing Meghan a mess of scribbles labeled to be a family portrait with Meghan as a feature. After a quick embrace Cassie's mother, Ellen, speaks.
"So what's got you in here giggling like a school girl Cassie?"

"Well, today at work a very handsome man offered to take me to dinner tonight at 7" her smile grows impossibly large.
"You best be getting ready than, you have less than an hour to do so" Ellen warns her, knowing how important this was for Cassie. She hadn't been on many dates since she got pregnant with Alyssa, before than 16 was still too young.

Cassie dug around her jewellery box looking for her favourite earrings, the ones she had obtained from her grandmother on her 12th birthday.
"Hey mom have you seen my earrings?" she shouted from across the apartment.

"I put them in your jewellery box this morning as I was cleaning up" Ellen replied. A now confused Cassie figures her daughter used them for dress up earlier that afternoon and throws on a regular pair of dark blue studs. After completing her look She bids her goodbyes and leaves the apartment for her few hours of bliss.

Many months pass, and slowly, many items collect themselves on a list, glued to the back of Cassie's brain like a missing child ad on the back of a milk carton. She's aware of its existence but accepts there isn't much to do about it.

As life progresses forward, day by day. Meghan and Alyssa form a greater bond. For Alyssa this was important; she was a shy, innocent child forever longing for a sibling. Although Cassie loved her child with all her heart having another was not a gift she could provide her with.

The front door creaks as it opens. A light set of footsteps tiptoe to the bedroom. The family sits quietly in the kitchen watching the intriguing affair play out.
"Where were you?" Cassie calls out to the subpar ninja in the other room, knowing it was Meghan. She comes trotting to the doorway fists filled with bags from big name brands.
"I just took a trip to the mall, no big deal" she says. Cassie is taken back by Meghan's ill-mannered  speech.

"Where did you get the money?" Cassie begins to gain suspicion.

"Incase you have forgotten you aren't my mom!". The chrisp plastic bags fall to the floor with the echo of a loud thud. The front door slams and Alyssa begins to wail. Cassie picks up the bags and begins to pack up her not-so new additions belongings. The nike duffle bag screams as the zippers fly open, revealing an ugly reality. With the sight of her grandmothers earrings, her daughters piggy bank and the other fellow M.I.A devices. Cassie was now fully awoken to her cryptic suspicions.

A quiet eerie silence captivates the darkness as Cassie sits patiently, awaiting Meghan's return. Her once un-vacant womb turns the ignition, ringing sensations once more. She begins to worry for the one who has made the incisions into her helping hands. Hours past. The sun peaks the horizon making full circle around our planet. The rattle of the door echos through the wall as the door is flung open.  Her womb rests once more. The pungent stench of cannabis and vodka fills the air like a bottle of cheap perfume after a night of regret.  The red eyed girl moves quickly to the kitchen. Cassie stays put. The sound of shattering glass like the night they first met rings through the floorboards, causing a startle. Meghan continues to poor the cheap wine into a new glass and pours it down like that of a waterfall. After carelessly tossing the glass into the sink; Meghan avoids the shards and makes her way to the couch where she lay her head and sleep. Cassie plants a gentle kiss on her forehead and shuffles towards the phone. The number of those can help her more, written on her hand with blue ink. She places her cold finger on the dial.
——————————————————-

Hey everyone so if you really enjoyed this story make sure to fave it and comment if you want more, if this story gets a really positive response I can work my way around extending it just for you guys!