The Spirit Guardians Book 3: Fated

Chapter 30

Cassie grinned and shoved her head into Lillian's shoulder. The two had been through a lot the past few weeks, but she was glad to finally have her own sister loving and supporting her again. Their relationship was growing stronger each day.

"Darn. I wanted to give you your gift now," Conny complained as Cassie pulled away from Lillian.

Cassie chuckled and walked over to Conny to give him a hug.

"That's all right. I'm okay waiting," Cassie told him.

"What are your birthday plans?" Mitsuki wondered.

Cassie shrugged. "I guess just relaxing before my family arrives. Training was cancelled today so..." As her thoughts drifted away, a tiny hand tugged on the bottom of her dress.

"Come play with me, Mommy," he begged.

"It's her birthday, bud, let her—"

Cassie cut Marc off. "It's all right," she said, making eye contact with him. She glanced back down at Elijah and gave him a large smile. "Sure. Let's go play. Want to go outside? It's a nice day out today."

"Yeah!" he exclaimed.

"I'll come with you," Marc offered, following her out onto the porch and onto the lawn.

Cassie chased Elijah around on the grass, watching him let out shrill giggles each time she got close enough to poke him. Perhaps babysitting didn't seem like the best birthday activity, but she only got so many hours a day with him and was thankful for the hours they got to share together. She knew there was one day when Elijah wouldn't care much for these moments anymore.

What will he be like when he's ten, fifteen years old? she thought. There was a part of her deep down that wanted him to remain with her, but what if they did run into Irene and Miguel again? He was technically their son, after all.

As she watched Elijah scurry barefoot across the grass, she wondered if he would ever get to know his true parents. She hoped not. He barely knew anything about them, and she wasn't looking forward to the day that she'd have to tell him why he wasn't with them. But if Irene and Miguel did return, she could only imagine the heartbreak that must occur if Elijah were to be separated from her and everyone else. He'd lived with Cassie and the others longer than his own parents.

"I'm going to get some water," Cassie told Elijah, grabbing her water bottle and sitting on the porch steps next to Marc.

"You're going to have to take another shower," Marc teased, noticing the sweat on her arms and chest.

"It's fine. As long as I don't get this dress too dirty. You can go inside and help decorate if you want."

Marc frowned. "But I want to be outside with you."

Cassie grinned. "Thanks," she said, feeling her cheeks redden. She turned suddenly and poked him. "Hey, remember my seventeenth birthday when we sat outside and watched the stars and said all that cheesy stuff to each other?" she asked, giggling as she did so.

"Don't poke fun at me," Marc said, tickling her side. He slowly stopped his movements, allowing Cassie to catch her breath.

"Did you love me then?" he wondered.

Cassie slowly nodded. "I wanted to kiss you."

"Then why didn't you?" he asked.

"I don't know. I remember being really confused, and we were still trying to find my parents, and well, I didn't want to confront my own feelings. But I still remember that night."

"We should do that again tonight. Stargaze," Marc suggested. "Except this time we can kiss."

Cassie chuckled. "All right. That's a deal. Once the fun is over, we can sit out here and watch the stars."