Divided Home; Divided Family

Chapter Twenty-One: Back to School

          The sound of something caused me to come out of my slumber. I opened my eyes groggily and sat up, the blanket falling around my waist as I did so. I noticed my phone was vibrating on the carpet. I realized that I had forgotten to set my alarm earlier. I looked at the time, ignoring the icon displaying the new text message I had and was suddenly wide awake. It was 5:30! I planned on getting up at least an hour earlier than this so Chase and I could formulate a plan on how to get to school. There was absolutely no way we were riding with Francis.

          I crawled over to where Chase was sleeping on the futon curled in a ball. I shook him slightly; he uttered something incoherent and brushed my hand away.

          “Oh, no. We have to get up, we’re already late. You go ahead and take your shower while I think of a plan.” I nudged him some more before he finally quit protesting. While he got up and staggered to the bathroom, I checked my messages.

          I was surprised when the word ‘Brandon’ showed on the screen. I opened the message and read its contents:

          ‘Good morning, Cassie. I know this is short notice, but do you and Chase want a ride to school?’

          Before I was able to hit ‘Reply’, another message popped up on the screen.

          ‘And sorry if I woke you up. I can’t help being an early riser.’

          I laughed and started typing my response:

          ‘It’s alright; I needed to be up now anyway. I forgot to set my alarm. And yeah, that’d be great! How, though??”

          About a minute later, my phone vibrated again.

          ‘Just be ready by 7:30; that’s when I’ll pick you two up. :)’

          I responded with a ‘Will do!’ and lay back down on the futon with my arms stretched out. I regretted that afterwards though, because I hurt my arm. I sat up and saw that I indeed had a bruise, obviously from when I hit the banister last night. A little lower, near my elbow, there was a bigger bruise. Most likely from when I hit the ground. I lay down again, this time more gently. I could probably get another hour sleep in before actually having to get ready, but Chase wouldn’t ever let me hear the end of it, I’m sure.

          Before I could get comfortable again, there was a knock on the door. I sat upright and watched as my mother opened the door slightly. She still had on her glasses.

          “Cassie, honey, are you awake?” She peeked in but still kept her body behind the door. I nodded and she proceeded into the room. She came and sat beside me on the floor. I looked at her eyes and almost gasped. She looked like she hadn’t slept a wink last night and without her make-up she looked older. Like the last night’s events had taken a major toll on her.

          “Is everything OK?” Despite her tired appearance, this was the closest I had seen her to being the way she used to be.

          She took a deep breath before looking me in the eyes and placed a hand on my cheek. “No, everything’s not OK. Cassie, I had no right to treat you and Chase the way I have been. Nor should I have blamed him for what happened to your father. I know it wasn’t either of your faults, but I feel guilty myself.”

          I was shocked. “Why do you feel guilty?”

          She sighed again; I could visually see just how tired she really was. “Because, I feel like I could have prevented it from happening. Did I ever tell you that your father and I had a fight that morning?”