Broken Strings

C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

And school was really boring. So Andrew decided to take the toy car to school and show all his friends. He hid the toy car in his Spider-Man backpack and during reading time, he took the toy car out of his backpack and started playing with it. 

He kept getting confused between the two buttons on the controller and before he knew it, the toy car was zooming towards his teacher's desk.

The teacher had been very mad. His mom had been very mad. And she had taken the toy car away.

And last night, she had given it back to him but made him promise to behave at his aunt's wedding.

"This is so boring. I hate weddings." He complained and poked his sister.

"Stop it Drew. Otherwise, I'm going to tell Mom you won't behave." Cassie continued looking at her aunt. Her wedding dress was so pretty. And Cassie loved dressing up for weddings.

There was just something special about finding someone to spend the rest of your life with. And wedding were so happy. And they promised a happily-ever-after.

"I like weddings because you can dress up. And getting married seems like so much fun."

"I like weddings because you can dress up." Andrew mimicked, repeating everything his sister had just said in a girly voice. He gave her a smile as she glared at him.

"Getting married is stupid. I'm never going to get married." He poked his sister again. He was really bored. And all he could think about was going home and playing with his toy car.

"But you will. You'll find a girl who you will want to marry and be with forever." She playfully poked her brother back.

"No. Never. Girls are stupid. All they care about are dolls and sparkly pens." He shook his head and gave his sister a dazzling smile, trying to remind her of the times he had hidden her dolls because all she did was play with the stupid dolls.

"But you will. You will find a girl one day who will make you fall in love. And you'll want to spend the rest of your life with her." Because already at the age of twelve, Cassie was enthralled by the idea of love. And perfect endings.

It was expected, considering she had just had her first kiss a few weeks ago.

She smiled as her brother as he shook his head and poked her again.

"Whatever. I want more cake. That's why I like weddings. Because of the cake." He looked around to see if his mom was looking.

Because Andrew wanted more cake but he had already taken two slices. And his mom would get mad if he took another slice.

"Hey Cassie Bear. You know you're the best sister in the whole wide world." He poked his sister again.

"What do you want Andrew."

He grinned at his sister. "I want cake."

Twenty-four Years Ago

Fifteen year old Andrew leaned against the wall as he watched his sister finish up last minute packing.

"It looks so empty." His eyes glanced across the room. There were only a few things left. "How the hell are you going to fit everything in that small-ass dorm room?"

"It'll fit." She rolled her eyes as she taped the last box shut. She wasn't really sure how she was going to make everything fit in the small dorm room, especially since she was going to have two other roommates. But the last thing she was going to do was admit that to her smart-assed brother.

"I'm gonna miss you Cassie Bear. I'm gonna miss having you as my personal chauffeur. Especially since I don't get my license for another seven months and moms gonna have to drive me everywhere."