The Fall and Rise of Cassandra Knight

Prologue

I've always felt like my life was an endless dream, that events as tragic as the events strung together to form my life could never be real. No one should have to experience the moments that I had especially so young into their short life. I believe I have convinced myself that it truly was just a dream, for that would make it easier to cope with. 

I am continuously haunted by the images from that night,  brief moments burned into the back of my mind forever.  My mothers once white nightdress, My father's desperate cry, the kitchen knife that had been missing for weeks, the blood that would forever stain the floor,  but worst of all the look of pure detestation in his eyes, and the words he spat at me before ending it all. 

At the young age of 10, I was forced to become the witness of a horrific murder. On the night of September 7th, 2010, my family had just finished dinner and was settling in for the night. My parents and I had sat down in the living room to watch a movie before bed. Halfway through the movie, I had wandered into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. Standing beside the fridge, I remember seeing a glint of silver reflect off my cup and turned to see what it was. My older brother Nate was approaching knife in hand. As I turned he lunged for me, and I screamed throwing the glass at him. The glass shattered on the floor by his feet, but not before dousing him in water first, only proving to agitate him further  My father hearing the sudden commotion stumbled across the scene playing out. 

"Nathanial, what do you think you are doing?"My father asked completely baffled by what he saw before him.

"Father stay out of this." Nathanial hisses, continuing to glare me down, backing me farther into the corner. 

"Nathanial this isn't funny give me the damn knife," Father says reaching to take the knife from his hands.  

"I said STAY OUT OF IT!" Nathanial screams, and before anyone has the chance to do anything, Nathanial plunges the knife directly into our father's stomach. Crimson bled through my father's shirt instantly, and he made a painful grown. I begin to sob, tears flooding down my face. 

"Nathanial please..." father pleads, struggling to stay standing. Nathanial twists the knife further into his gut, before pulling it out. Nathanial looked like a mad man, holding the knife still coated in fathers blood. 

"I told you not to get involved father...it shouldn't have been this way. You didn't need to get in hurt." Tears began to weld in my father's eyes, threatening to spill over. 

"Daddy," I cried reaching out toward him. 

Nathanial turns away from our father who has now slumped to the floor, turning his attention back to me. "You.." He growled. "You monster..." I forwarded back into the corner. 

"What is going on in here..." 

"Mommy help, Nate hurt, daddy!" I scream.

Oh, Harold!" Now my mother, who had been oblivious to the entire situation, had gone looking for my father after he hadn't returned. Unfortunately, the scene before her was quite an unpleasant one, to say the least. "Nathanial what have you done!" My mother begins to sob, clutching her dying husband. My father's wound was fatal, and his blood had begun to pool beneath him. "We need to call 911," my mother sobs as she reaches for the phone.

"Put the phone down Mother," Nathanial growls point the knife at our mother." 

"Are you crazy! He needs help, your father is dying!" She pleads, clutching the phone in her hand. 

"It's the price he had to pay for interfering, now give me the f**king phone mother, I won't ask again. No one else needs to get hurt here tonight, only her." He now points the knife in my direction, hissing. I whimper, attempting to put what little space I could between him and I.