slapshot

i

↠ point of view; cassandra mae cole

beep, beep, beep.
i groaned and hit the snooze button on my alarm clock and looked at the time;
4:30 AM
i sit up and dangle my long legs over the side of the bed and reached my arms into the air, stretching my joints and muscles. i wipe my tired eyes and stand up, walking across my bedroom and into my bathroom. i make sure to savor every moment i spend in the warmth of the shower. i've always preferred morning showers as opposed to nightly ones, i feel as though it wakes me up. after i complete my shower, and do my skin rountine, something i've made a habit of doing ever morning, i return to my room to finish getting ready.

I stare at my reflection in the brightly lighted vanity mirror. my long wet hair framing my face and making my plush pink robe a bit damp. I began my makeup,starting with my primer than foundation, then moving on to do my eyebrows. i did just a little bit of contour and highlight. i decided to spare the eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lip makeup for today, i was just going for a natural look. i topped it off with a bit of mascara and made sure to check that everything was blended. i decided to just leave my hair down and natural for today, allowing my long brown waves to fall all the way to the small of my back. finally content with my appearance, i then moved to my dresser to find myself an outfit. knowing i would need to keep warm, i dressed myself in black leggings and grant's hoodie. this hoodie was one of my favorites, i always say navy blue is 'my color' and this proved it. of course, the words 'arabello hockey' was written across it in silver. I grabbed my northface and my cell phone, alone with the charger, and headed downstairs to greet my father.

my father is the head coach for the arabello hockey team. i like to look at the hockey boys as my brothers, and i know my father looks at them as his sons. besides the team, it's really just my father and I. my parents eloped at the age of nineteen and were both disowned by both sets of parents due to disapproval. with no where else to go, they packed their bags, hopped in my father's car and drove until they found somewhere they thought they could make home. exhausted from driving, they stopped at a little bed in breakfast and spent the night. they had all intent to continue driving come morning, but my mother fell in love with the town and refused to leave. they bought a small apartment with the money they scraped together and almost a year later, they had me. their lives were perfect, we moved into a little house where i had a bigger room and my own play room. on my fourth birthday, my mother sat me down and told me my present was not going to be ready until spring time. as a four year old, of course i had no clue what she meant. she explained to me that in her tummy were two babies, a boy and a girl, and that i would be their big sister. however on may 5th, 2004, while driving to my dance recital, a speeding work van slammed into the left side of my mother's suv causing it to fly across the intersection and flip over. my mother was than rushed into the hospital in critical condition. they knew she was a lost cause, but the babies were still alive. they put her in an emergency c-section as am attempt to save the twins. while in surgery, my father was called and rushed to the hospital. we learned later that one of the babies, the boy, was already dead when the surgery began. they believe he was hit by the airbag in the accident. at 5:56 pm, my mother died in surgery. however, someone did make it out of that o.r. , my sister. she was weak, and hurt, and her lungs were not developed. she was going to die and it was only a matter of time. my father met her, her name was charlotte faith. my father held her for 43 minutes until she stopped breathing at 7:03 pm. my father and i lost everything all in one day. due to my young age, i really don't remember what it was like when she was around, but i do know one thing. my mother was a wonderful woman, and looking at old photos, we are identical. with the same brown wavy hair and bright green eyes, we were twins.

"morning daddy!" i said happily as i entered the kitchen to see my father leaning against the counter, drinking his morning coffee.