Cassandra's age:15
As Cassandra dragged her feet home from school, the lump in her throat grew bigger.
Jay had texted her that he wouldn't be able to pick her up and to take the train home, but there was no way that she was taking the train home.
It was rush hour so the train would be packed. The claustrophobic train wouldn't benefit her poor mood in any way so she decided to walk home.
A couple of months ago Jay had noticed how Cassandra had been more distant and had gently asked her about it.
Cassandra had reluctantly confessed to Jay about her poor mental health and he had taken her to a doctor.
The doctor had diagnosed her with depression and described her antidepressants as well as he recommended her to get therapy.
It got her feeling a little better, but she still had really bad days where she felt that everything was worthless and awful, just like today.
x
As she got home and opened the door to the apartment, she was met with silence.
Both Jay and Hailey were at work and Cassandra was left alone once again.
She knew that they didn't have a choice especially with all the ongoing cases they had, but sometimes she just felt so alone.
She sank down on the couch as soon as she got in through the door and stared at the wall.
x
It was an hour later when she couldn't take it anymore.
It all got too much.
With tears running down her cheeks she walked over to Jay and Hailey's room.
She opened the door to their wardrobe and picked out one of Jays jumpers.
It had a hood that was big enough to cover all of Cassandra's face so people couldn't see the tears that kept rolling.
Then she grabbed her bag from the table before walking out the door.
x
When Cassandra got off the L-train, she walked like she was on autopilot.
Right now, all she wanted was a big hug and someone telling her that everything would be okay.
Because right now it surely didn't feel that way.
x
She continued the short walk over to Chicago Med before walking through the doors to the ED.
She was just about to look for Will when Natalie appeared in front of her.
"Cassie? What are you doing here?" Natalie smiled, hugging Cassandra sideways as she guided her from the waiting room.
"Is Will here?" Cassandra asked quietly, her voice breaking slightly. Natalie frowned.
"He's upstairs with a patient right now but I'll tell Maggie to page him" said Natalie, knowing that Cassandra wouldn't come here if it wasn't important.
Cassandra smiled half heartedly at Natalie as she followed Cassandra over to the doctor's lounge.
x
Not even five minutes after Natalie left, the door to the doctor's lounge flew open again.
As Cassandra looked up, she saw Will enter with a worried expression on his face.
She stood up and watched him as he dropped his stethoscope and notepad on the table.
Then he walked over to Cassandra and closed the distance between him and his sister.
He gently engulfed Cassandra in a hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
Cassandra held onto him tightly, afraid that she'd break if she let him go.
x
Not once did Will loosen his grip on her, even as her tears soaked his scrubs.
Instead he just held her as she cried, whispering sweet nothings in her hair.
x
After the tears slowed down, Will gently guided Cassandra back over to the couch where they sat down.
Cassandra put her head on his lap before taking a deep breath.
It was silent for a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.
x
"How're you feeling?" asked Will, his voice gentle.
Cassandra didn't answer but instead shrugged her shoulders.
"Bad day?" Will continued asking referring to her past struggles with depression. His voice was as gentle as ever.
"I guess and it felt empty at the apartment" explained Cassandra in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry about that. Are Jay and Hailey still crazy busy at work?" Will asked, his hand playing with the hair in front of Cassandra's eyes.
"Yeah, they're swamped. Haven't been home before 10 in weeks" she answered as she looked down at her hands.
"I'm sorry that you're having a bad day" Will told his sister before bending down to kiss her on the forehead.
"I don't know why I still feel this way. I take my medication everyday and I go to therapy but why am I still depressed?" exclaimed Cassandra desperately.
Will looked at her with a sad expression.
"Sadly,there's no magic cure for depression and it takes time to move forward. But remember that Hailey, Jay and I will be with you every step of the way and that you can't give up" Will told Cassandra in a calming voice, his hand squeezing her shoulder.
"I'm sorry that I interrupted you at work, I just needed a hug" Cassandra apologised as she smiled up at him shyly.
"You can never interrupt me and you never have to apologise about needing a hug. I'm glad you chose to come here instead of doing something stupid" Will said before bringing Cassandra in for a hug.
"You going back to work?" asked Cassandra.
"Nah, I'm almost off anyways. Have you eaten today?" Will asked and Cassandra shook her head in embarrassment.
"Cassie, we've talked about this. You need to take care of yourself" Will scolded Cassandra as he got up from the couch and started gathering things from his locker.
Cassandra had a bad habit of forgetting to eat on bad days and it stressed her brothers and Hailey out.
"Yeah I know, I just haven't been in the mood today" Cassandra told him as she followed her brother's actions and got up from the couch.
"That's not an excuse Cassandra, we'll get you something on the way home. You okay with sleeping at my place tonight?" Will told her as he slung his arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, but only if we get burgers from that diner near your apartment and watch the Taylor Swift documentary" Cassandra smiled, finally feeling the lump in her stomach get less intense.
"Sure, but I'd like you to get a salad on the side for some vitamins and no Taylor Swift in the car" Will negotiated and Cassandra laughed.
She was so thankful for her brothers and Hailey, especially on days like this.
