When Scars Become Stars (on hold, sorry)

x crying in the backseat x

x crying in the backseat x

I sat awkwardly around the kitchen table with my parents and Cassie's Dad who I now know was named Ric. It was our 1st family counselling session and I was absolutley shitting myself. I fidgeted with my hands under the table and constantly looked down. I couldn't bare to look up and see my Dad's angry expression. He hated me and everyone knew it. Why else would we be here?

"I'm gonna go get some water..." Ric said as he pulled up from the table and headed over to the kitchen. I winced as he left the room, feeling open to pain as Dad's hand grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes.

"Listen," he snarled. "I don't want to be here any more than you do. So you tell this guy that everything's ok and that you like staying with us. Me and your Mom are just gonna say that we've been having some problems with our marriage and we accidentally take it out on you. But if you don't agree to everything that I say, then I will personally disown you and beat your ass so hard you'll really have something to slit your wrists about. Do you understand me?"

I couldn't find the voice in me to speak.

Dad shook me harder. "Do you understand me?!"

"Y-Yeah,"

"Good," he said quietly and then leaned back in his chair; grabbing Mom's hand. How the hell could they love each other? Well they were both bastards. That explained a hell of a lot.

Ric came back into the room with a few glasses of water and he set them down in the middle of the table. He smiled at the 3 of us, as if he thought that deep down we really were a happy family.

Fuck him if he thought that.

"So," Ric sighed. "What do you think the main source of the problem is here? Do anyone of you have any idea? Alex? What do you think?"

"Everything's ok..." I whispered. "I like living with them,"

Ric shook his head. "That's great Alex, but that's not what I asked you. I said-"

I closed my eyes, squeezing my hands tightly. "Everything's ok and I like living with them,"

"Alex why do you keep-"

"Shut up!" I cried, slamming my fist down on the table. "Everything's ok,"

*Cassie's Pov*

I was lying on my bed, trying to figure out what i had just said to Alex. I'd just told him that I liked him...and he'd said he liked me too. But what did that mean? Didn't I actually, properly, lovingly like him?

Please tell me that this was just some pathetic little crush.

I couldn't bare the thought of me actually wanting to be with Alex.

Alex was downstais with my Dad and his parents. Family counselling had begun. Woo. I'd tried to eavesdrop for a bit but my Dad had noticed when he came out to the kitchen and he'd ushered me back upstairs. Mom was out a book club with her friends, so I had absolutley no one to talk to.

I was just completely and utterly-

"ALEX?!"

I bolted up in my bed and ran downstairs at the sound of my Dad's frantic voice. My Dad was standing at the wide open front door, face palming himself as he slammed it back shut.

"Dad, what happened?" I demanded immediatley.

"Alex ran off,"

"What?! Why?!"