Ashling

Chapter 31

"Tyler.." Cassandra starts but I signal her to stop. I know she's gonna ask me to not talk about my father like this.

"Let me finish. You don't know about my father to stop me from talking about him like this." I firmly tell her. She nods her head, letting me know she won't interrupt again.

"There was this case, in which the wife accused her husband of cheating on her and then beating her. Dad was obviously fighting for the woman. It was a very simple case, but intricate in its own way. It made him so frustrated, that he used to stay drunk all the time and every now and then I'd hear something crash in his working room. Mum would ask him to talk, to let it out, but he would lash at her. He would scream and curse, and I would go hide in the store room. There would be high pitch squeals and low wailing as my parents fought each other."

Cassandra's grip on my hand tightens, so I interlace my fingers through hers and hold her tight.

"Around that time, Mum found out that she was pregnant. That news was like sunshine after days of terrorizing darkness. We were all ecstatic; even Dad was coming back to his normal self. I was starting to see the fire in their love rekindle. It made me hopeful..."

I take a ragged breath as I reach the most heartbreaking part of the story. The moment when I knew nothing would ever be the same.

"Then one day, the door bell rang.. It was that woman, the one my Dad was fighting the case for. She looked distressed, so we ushered her in and let her see Dad, thinking it might be something regarding the case. Then we got to know that the woman was pregnant. She was pregnant. But the baby she was carrying wasn't her husband's, it was my father's."

I let out a maniacal laughter as a tear rolls down my cheek. "She was pregnant with my father's child! Every time he went out saying he's going to the court to work on the case, he was actually going over to meet her. Every time he went out to get some air, he was actually having sex with her. They were having a full fletched affair during the course of that case."

My body is raging with anger as I recount the betrayal my mother felt, the despair she felt as her soul shattered to pieces.

"My mother was up for so many nights, worrying where he might be and that bastard was busy fucking another woman! And that bitch, she lied about her husband! She trapped him in her cunning web so that she could get away from him because apparently he was getting too clingy. What kind of a fucking lame reason is that?! She beat herself up and blamed him. She accused he cheated on her when actually she was cheating on him."

I'm crying now. My voice is rough from the dryness in my throat and my heart feels like it's been pierced with a thousand spears.

"Mum lost her baby.." I whisper softly. "She was so miserable, she completely gave up on everything. One night she woke up with severe pain. She switched the light on to examine and saw herself lying in a pool of blood. She quickly got up and ran to the washroom, leaving a trail of crimson all the way on the floor. She screamed. She screamed so loudly that I came rushing to her room, with Dad following shortly. She was crouched on the washroom floor with her hands clutching her stomach. There was blood all around her; I didn't know a person could have that much blood to lose and still survive.. Her face was distorted by the sheer sadness, she was whimpering and shrieking. Dad quickly picked her up and we all went to the hospital. We all knew what had happened; she had a miscarriage."

I look at Cassandra and see pure pain on her face which mirrored mine.
"I.. I never even.." My breath hitches. "I never knew if I'd have a brother or a sister."

I break into loud sobs, and Cassandra moves to hold me. I bury my face in her neck and cry my heart out, while she holds me tight, trying to suppress my uncontrollable shaking.

"Sshhhhh.. It's okay.. It's okay.." She comforts me.

It feels like some dam has been broken, because my tears are pooling out like they were stored in some reservoir and now they're finally free. My body feels like it has been crushed, and all the pieces have been scattered.

She holds me with all the strength she has; her arms strong around me. She keeps whispering soothing words in my ear. I know she's crying too, I can feel her breath hitch every now and then. But she's being brave for me, she's letting me know that she's my back up, that she's here for me as long as I want her to be. So I bury my face deeper in her neck, breathing her in and letting her comfort me.

Comment as much as you want guys, comment all your thoughts regarding Tyler, his past, Cassandra, anything you want. I love it when I see your reactions reflected in your comments.
- H <3