Forbidden Love

Chapter Four

I couldn't tell if Mrs. May was pregnant or not. It bothered me not knowing if my eyes were playing tricks on me. My phone vibrated. I looked down to see Jake had texted me, asking me what we should do for Halloween that was a week away. I tapped my pencil against my blue English notebook. I wondered, What if...our gym is big enough to fit the whole school. I unlocked my phone, Why don't we have a big monster bash?
My phone vibrated. Jake texted back, Why didn't I think of that?
Great, I thought, I have no money to buy a costume.
I looked around the room as Mrs. May began reading names for group work. I saw a white printed paper in bold, blue ink, Sewing Club With Mrs. May. I hope I'm not to late. If I make my own costume then I don't have to worry about money.
The bell soon rang. I went up to Mrs. May and asked, "It's not to late to join your sewing club is it?"
"Of course not," Mrs. May smiled. "I will be expecting you at the end of the day."
I nodded with a smile.
Excited to try something new, I heard Jake make an announcement about the monster bash. "Its only three dollars to enter. Grab a date, grab a friend and let's boogie in our costumes. A reward will be given for the best costume."
I smiled as Chris leaned over and whispered as our math teacher went over the homework from the previous night, "He sounds so weird over the intercom."
I laughed, "Well Jake is a weird guy."
Chris looked at me as the period ended and fourth period would be beginning in a few minutes, "So who are you going to bring to the dance?"
I shrugged, "I haven't really thought about it. I was just going to go myself and watch my idea blossom into success."
Chris and I met Jake in Peter's classroom, "Sure that's fine and all, but that's no fun to go by yourself."
"She isn't going by herself completely," Jake told Chris and looked at me, "we will be there with her."
I smiled and took my seat. I looked at Peter. Man do I miss him. His touch, everything. I shook my head changing the topic on myself. What should I be? A cop? A pirate? Princess? A pirate princess? Yes that's it. I'll be a pirate princess.
Toward the end if the class, a teacher came in. She had big brown eyes and blond hair with a horrible fake tan. She smiled showing Peter hear perfect white teeth and held out a piece of paper. "From the office."
"Thank you."
The woman moved closer to Peter and whispered quietly to him. It kind of made my skin crawl. While I finished taking the notes, I noticed Peter look at me and then he took a step back away from the woman as he shook his head. "No," I heard Peter say.
The woman looked at him. "No?" She echoed as the bell rang.
I put my notebook slowly in my binder as I was curious to see what Peter was going to say next. I put my binder in my arms and stood up as I heard Peter say, "Yes Jess no. I had fun grabbing a bite with you and what not, but I'm not into it. I'm in the middle of chasing a girl I can't have."
"Then what's the point?" Jess asked angrily.
"She's hard to get, I like that and she is considerate about my feelings and what I want," I heard Peter answer as I had forced myself to walk out of the room. I placed my morning books in my locker and traded them for my afternoon books. I smiled, Could he have been talking about me?
I walked into Mrs. May's class at the end of the day. There were a few faces that I knew and some that I did not. A girl I knew named Tracy Smith. She looked at me and smiled. We were close in middle school, but we had drifted away during our freshmen year. I walked up to Mrs. May with my phone and showed her a picture I saved during lunch of a woman in a pirate costume. The woman was wearing a loose beige, baggy shirt that showed off the shoulders underneath a light brown corset that had pushed the woman's breasts up a tiny bit with a red velvet shirt. "Do you think this is possible?" I asked.
Mrs. May smiled at the picture, "Definitely. Get a sewing machine from the closet and I will help you get started."
Mrs. May got some thread out of her bag. "What you are going to want to do is put the thread in the thread spindle and place a strand in the small metal thing on the side."
"Like this?" I answered doing exactly what Mrs. May had instructed me to do as I has no clue to what in was doing.
Mrs. May nodded and gave me more instructions as she took a piece of red velvet fabric, "Let's start at the bottom," Mrs. May suggested taking a long, loose, yellow measuring tape. "May I?"
I nodded and allowed Mrs. May to measure my waist. She smiled and gave me my waist measurements. Mrs. May told me how to start the skirt. I then put pins to make a start point and an end point and sewed the fabric together. "Like this?" I asked.
Mrs. May nodded with her kind smile, "You are perfectly fine Cassie. Don't second guess yourself. If you make a mistake, we can always fix it."
I nodded and took the elastic band Mrs. May handed to me and had the elastic poking out each end of the waist of the skirt. Mrs. May told me to sew the pieces together on top of each other. "Watch out for your fingers," Mrs. May told me.
I smiled and sewed the pieces of elastics on top of each other in a zigzag motion, being careful not to sew my fingers to the machine. Mrs. May smiled and taught my how ruffle the skirt up in layers. The skirt from the picture was now in my hand. It looked so beautiful, I couldn't wait to try it on. Mrs. May looked at the time, "Alright everyone," she said getting everyone's attention, "times up. Put everything back where you found then."
"Do think I could leave this here with you? I don't want anything to happen to it."
Mrs. May smiled and took the skirt gently from my hands and put it on the shelf in her closet. Putting my bag on my shoulders, I thanked Mrs. May. "Have a good rest if the day," I told her before leaving.
Before walking out of the school, I looked me as I felt someone was watching me. I shook my head and smiled foolishly at myself, I'm just scaring myself.
The walk was long and cold, but I made it. Sadly. I walked into the house to see Dad snorting his white, crushed drugs. "Dad you can't be doing this. You need to keep your nose clean in order to keep your job."
"Don't tell me what to do. I am the adult and you are the child."
"Then act like it!" I snapped.
My eyes widened as I brought my hands up to my mouth quickly. "Dad I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
Dad looked at me with his wild eyes. Dad grabbed the back of my head and smacked my back against the wall. He opened the door and tossed me outside the apartment. My heels hung off of the edge of the top of the stairs, making me tumble down the stairs as I heard the door slam shut. I landed on the landing. I slowly sat up and rubbed the back of my head. I winced and looked at my fingers, seeing them bent the way the shouldn't. I took a deep breath and snapped my middle finger back into place. My eyes water. I took a deep breath again and planned on counting to three. One...two...crack. I held my fingers closely to my body as I tired to maintain the pain they caused. I got onto my feet and sent up to the door. I juggled the door to find it locked. I banged on the door with my good hand. I sighed in defeat as I knew that there was no point. No matter how longed I banged in the door, no matter how cold or no matter how dark it was going to be in a few hours, he wasn't going to open the door.
I woke up on the hallway floor. I looked out the hallway window and guessed that if must have been going in eleven o'clock at night. My fingers hurt as they were swollen. I stood up from the cold, wooden, hallway floor and tried to get into the house again. The doorknob turned fully. I smiled and walked into the house warily. I found Dad snoring up a storm while he laid on the couch as I passed him to go into my room. I gathered clothes and went to take a shower. The water poured down on me as I leaned up against the wall tiredly. She's hard to get, I like that, Peter's voiced popped in my head. I smiled. I stepped out and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body. I poked my head out of the bathroom and heard Dad snoring. I walked into my room. Looking in the mirror, I saw a plan, bright white, creepy mask in my window. I jumped and turned around his big brown eyes stared up and down me. I backed up into the dresser behind me. The man placed his head against the window. He placed his hand on window with a piece of paper in thick, black ink. That was a nasty fall Xoxo, I read off the paper. I looked down at my hand as I got a knife from my drawer. Looking back at the masked man, I found him gone. I ran up to the window and saw that the man was no longer there. Not even a ladder that I know he used to look through my second floor window. I gulped hard appalled. I pulled down the shades and changed into my pajamas hastily. Laying down, I faced my door with the blanket over my head. I squeezed my eyes shut out of fear, terrified that if I tired around I would see the masked man.
I was more skittish than I have been this past week. Where ever I would go, I would double check my surroundings. What frightened me most is that the man in the mask horrified me more than my dad did. On the bus, Jake could sense my anxiety. He looked at me as I sat down next to him and asked, "Are you alright?"
I smiled, "Yeah. I'm alright. My body did not want to get up this morning."
"You too? I guess it's just one of those mornings," Jake said placing his head tiredly on my shoulder. "Ouch, what happened to your fingers?"
"Silly me fell down the stairs yesterday."
Jake laughed, "You are always falling down those stairs."
I forced a kind chuckle out. I felt bad for blaming the stairs everyday for my injuries. I had never once fallen down my stairs, not even when the bottom of my shoes were covered in white, slippery snow. I sighed, trying to sound tired. Should I tell someone about the masked man? Should I tell Jake? Peter?...Eric?
Walking into English class, I noticed a piece of paper on my desk. I put my books down on my desk and looked at the paper. I'm going to do it for you, Xoxo, I read. Do what? I asked myself as I looked around. I knew it was from the white, creepy masked man. It has to be. I looked at the door wondering if I should skip school today or should just stick it out. I inhaled, held my breath for a short moment and took my seat. I looked out the window to see if there was any sign of the masked creep. Maybe I'm just tired and imagining everything. If it continues, then I will say something. Its probably a troublesome person trying to scare the living daylights out of someone, I thought talking some sense into myself. I took a deep, cleansing breath to allow my mind to focus on the assignment Mrs. May told the class to do.
Passing through the large hallway windows, I saw heavy rain coming down on the ground violently. With the corner of my eye, I saw Eric come up to me. He looked at me with a smile and opened the door in front of me so I can continue walking down the hallway to my class. "Let me get that for you."
I thanked him before passing through the door. I held my books tightly against my chest as I looked at him, "Can I ask you something?"
"I would be honored," Eric answered with a wide smile.
I don't know how to ask him, but I took a deep breath and asked anyway, hoping that Eric wouldn't get offended in anyway, "If you think someone was watching your every move and left you disturbing, nerve-racking notes, what would you do?"
Eric stopped in his tracks being careful not to be in anyone's way and looked at me with fretfulness, "Someone is trying to frighten you?"
I nodded looking to the side, "Only a little."
"What do these notes say on them?"
I took the note I found on my desk this morning out from my binder and handed it to Eric. Eric took a good look at the note and handed it back to me, "I would wait for something more threatening from whoever this is. You show someone this from the office, they are going to look at you and say 'there is nothing we can do.'"
Eric was right, not that I was going to tell him of course.
"Cassie," Eric called my name before we entered the classroom and took our seats, "you tell me if this guy goes any further than this. I still care about you and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Thank you," I sincerely replied full of heart before going into the classroom to sit in my seat.
My phone vibrated. Just as I thought it was safe, an unknown number popped up onto my screen. Keep me a secret or a special, witty teacher gets it! Xoxo.
Is this guy for real? Would he really kill anyone? I wondered as I put my hands through my hair and stared onto my lap. Oh God, he is in my head.
I walked into Mrs. May's classroom to see Peter behind a sewing machine. I smiled and took a seat next to Peter where a sewing machine was available. I put my bag and jacket behind me on the edge of the chair. I smiled as Mrs. May came closer with her yellow, loose measuring tape, "Mr. Matthews is going to assist me today since my back is hurting slightly."
"There isn't as many students as yesterday," I observed looking around the classroom, "we can always do this another day."
"Cassie you're so sweet, but I would have to refuse. You have a costume to make before Halloween and the clock is ticking."
I smiled and lifted up my sleeves to my long sleeve, purple shirt. "Well since will be moving toward the top, it might get a little personal," Mrs. May warned me.
I nodded with a smile. Mrs. May had me stand up and measure my arms, sides and bust. I noticed Peter's cheeks get red when Mrs. May did a terrible job as whispering my bust measurements to me. I giggled softly and took my seat. I set the sewing machine with white thread. Mrs. May smiled impressed, "Wow Cas, I'm impressed you remembered all of those steps. It took me a while to set it up when I was first started."
The cloth Mrs. May handed me felt light and easily breakable, but it was strong. It felt as if it would be comfortable. Mrs. May looked up at me after giving me instructions, "That's a beautiful necklace."
"Thank you. It was my mothers."
Mrs. May smiled as her face was filled with remorse, "How has everything been since her passing a few years ago?"
"Well it's hard," I answered honestly and then tried to make my father look like a man of God. "I'm sure you heard that my dad is the new town drunk, but he only drinks to ease the pain."
"It never really goes away that feeling. I lost my mom too when I was your age."
"I'm sorry," I say getting the shirt and snipping a long piece of string hanging from the shirt.
"Its alright," Mrs. May told me in a loving smile, "all you got to do is live life the way your mother would have wanted you to live and make her proud. I'm sure your doing that all ready everyday."
I smiled, "I hope so."
Peter came over and sat down beside me. His cologne hit the insides of my nose. I love that smell.
"So what are you going to be?" Peter asked.
"A pirate princess I guess you can call it."
Peter smiled as Mrs. May spoke, "So the corset is going to be more difficult because it's a rougher material."
"I'm up to it," I replied as I felt my phone vibrate.
I made my foot jiggle up and down as Mrs. May made some finishing touches on the shirt. It vibrated again. "Are you OK?" I heard Peter ask.
I looked down at my phone, How did your mother die? Was it suicide or homicide? Xoxo, I read. "Uh...I have to to go," I whispered to Peter as I felt the need to cry.
I grabbed my bag and jacket and swiftly ran out of the door.
As I started walking to my house, I saw Peter pull up next to me. I pretended not to notice as I was on a mission to search my whole room top to bottom. My hand was caught, making me turn around to look at Peter's forrest green eyes. "Cassie," Peter called my name. "You haven't been showing up to any of my classes. Every time I see you, it's like your a zombie, to tired to function, to keep your head up or even to lift up a pen, or you look like someone is out to get you. You weren't like this when we first met. What's been going on?"
Peter was right, I wasn't like this when we first met. I want to tell him everything, but I couldn't. I let out a deep sigh, "Peter I need to go home."
"At least give me an answer," Peter begged, "and then I will drive you home."
I had to be careful of what I shared with him as I wanted to pour my heart out to him. "Things at home have been really rough," I answered him.
Peter gave me eyes telling me that he wanted to hear more, but we both knew I wouldn't sat anymore. Peter gave up after a few short moments and got into his car.
I pointed at the white three-decker in the middle of a light blue and another white three-decker. Peter pulled up next to a street light that stood tall in front of my house. Peter looked at me and said, "Cassie if you need anything and I mean anything at all, to talk, food, money, clothes, a place to stay a few hours or even for a night or a couple."
I smiled, "Thank you Peter. It means a lot."
Opening the door after telling Peter thank you for the ride home. I was stopped suddenly by Peter grabbing my hand. I slid back into my seat and looked at him and looked at him. "Cassie, I need you to know that even though we aren't together and that we don't talk everyday, you haven't left my mind, not once."
I could feel myself get teary-eyed. Now that we were sharing how we secretly felt towards each other, I took a deep breath, "Peter," I spoke. "I don't have a lot of good things that happen to me, but meeting you was and still is the best thing that has ever happened to me."
Peter's face softened as I could see that he was flattered. I wanted to kiss him so badly, but knowing that this anonymous stranger is watching my every move, I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. I silently sighed to forget about that for a moment and leaned over to Peter and placed my lips on his smooth lips gently. "I'll text you," I told him with a smile before leaving his car to disappear into my house.
Standing in the middle of my room, I tried hard to think about where my mother could have hidden a note. The memories of the cold, snowy December afternoon started flooding into my my mind. I went up the stairs and placed my school bag up against my door and opened the bathroom door to quickly use the toilet. My mouth dropped and my eyes widened with tears blurring my vision as I saw my mother in the tub with her big blue eyes wide open as her wrists were deeply slit open. "Mom!" I cried as I slide on my knees to see that the tub was full of water mixed with her blood. I pressed my fingers against her neck to feel that her neck had been slashed too. I dragged her out of the tub and onto the floor. I pulled a towel from the wooden towel rack nailed to the white walls of the bathroom and pressed it against her throat. My tears fell onto my mother's cold body as I held her tightly in my arms. I wiped the tears that started to form. My eyes widened mid way through of drying them with the back of my head as i realized, if there was a note, she wouldn't have left a note for Dad, she would have left one for me. I looked around my room one last time, what haven't touched in almost two years?
My eyes fixed itself on the big bookcase in the corner of my room filled with books from top to bottom. I walked over and took a book off of the shelf. I flipped through the pages to find no note. "What are you going to read?" I heard Dad ask me.
I looked behind to see Dad leaning against the door frame. "I'm not sure. I've read every book at least three times," I answered with a smile while putting the book back in its place. My eyes drifted to the bottom of the bookshelf. Except for those books.
The bottom shelf is where I kept the the books that bored me or I ended up not liking. Dad smile. "Make me some grilles cheese sandwiches," Dad ordered me kindly.
He's high, I observed as Dad walked out from the door frame.
The grilled cheese sandwiches were in Dad's hands as I sat on the floor staring at my least favorite books. I started searching the books one by one. I was down to the last book, the book that I absolutely hated. I begged for the note to be in there as I pulled the books from its spot. I held my breath for a moment and let it go as I started flipping through the pages. Toward the end of the book, there was a small folded up piece of lined paper sticking out of the pages. My phone vibrated. I looked down at it. Bingo! Xoxo. I couldn't help but smile a tiny bit. I unfolded the paper. I skimmed my fingers over my mother's beautiful handwriting. Cassie, I began to read the note, the beating from your father when you are not around are getting to hard to bare. No matter what it may look like when your father is finished, please know that it wasn't suicide. I would never leave my beautiful, bright, strong, wonderful, talented daughter in every single way, alone with this monster. He is coming with a knife. I love you baby girl. No drugs and no alcohol. Keep up the grades and get into a good college. Love Mom.
Tears started to uncontrollably fall into my lap. I covered my mouth to muffle my cries as I held my knees tightly against my chest. I placed the note back where I've found it for safe keeping and put the book back on the shelf. I crawled into my bed and put the blanket up to my chin as I curled up into a ball. Rereading Mom's note over and over in my head. I held onto her necklace that I where around my neck, what do I do now that I know the truth?

What a tear jerker—well for me anyway hehe
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