2014
Somethin' Bad started to play and an eye got open. Big sigh and a hand who grabbed the phone off the nightstand.
"Whoaa someone's dead." Karen whispered on the rythm of her new ringtone. Who dares to call her at- she took a look at the digital clock on Jimi's side of the bed, 9:34 am. Oops.
"What?"
"Is Cassadee with you?!" Panic.
"Nah." She turned around, no one between her and Jimi. Sometimes Cassadee laid between them but there was no one, not even Elijah.
"Oh God, oh, God, oh God,"
"Kelli stop it, what's going on?"
"Cassadee is gone!" Her sister screamed from the other side of the line. "Bailey and Brooke both texted me to ask if Cass is sick plus the school called. Cassadee never showed up BUT I saw her leaving the house this morning!" On the other side, Kelli started to cry even harder.
Oh, dear God.
"Did you call the police?"
"Yes, but they say we have to wait twenty-four hours."
"We're coming to Georgia!"
"Georgia what?" Next to her, Jimi woke up.
"We have to go to Georgia, Cassadee is missing!" Karen bursted out in tears.
"We can't go to Georgia, we're leaving tomorrow. Washington remember? The state."
"Fuck the state!" She screamed.
"Give me the phone, honey." Karen didn't listened, so Jimi had to grab it out of her hands. He got out of the bed and walked out of the room.
"It's your niece!" Karen yelled after him.
Pretty soon, the door got open again. It was Elijah, not Jimi. He crawled under the blankets, to Jimi's side. His favorite side.
After five, or maybe ten minutes, Jimi walked in again and threw the phone on the bed.
"And?" Karen asked hopefully.
"Since we can't do anything, we're continuing with our schedule."
"What?!"
"We can't do anything Karen, but wait."
"We can go and look for her!" Karen's scream made Elijah uncomfertable and he ran away. Jimi grabbed Karen's hand and took a seat on her side of the bed.
"We can't do that, honey, you know that too. The only thing we can do is stay here and wait if she maybe shows up at our house. Honestly, I think she is looking for you."
"How long is it from Georgia to Nash by bus? Or... walking?"
Minutes looked like hours. Tears streamed down and ringing phones and iPads every ten minutes but by 4 pm there was still no news. While Jimi sat on the couch being quiet, Karen sat against him on her chair and was talking nonsense non stop since Kelli called her. There was more difference between the two partners being nervous: Jimi was eating all the time and Karen didn't ate a thing at all.
At 5 pm the doorbell rang. Karen almost flew to the front door and when she opened the door there was no sixteen year old girl with brown hair and dark eyes standing for her but a sixteen year old boy with brown hair and dark eyes. And a helmet in his hand.
"Aha, my pizza!" Jimi pushed Karen away and gave the pizza guy ten dollars. "Keep the change." He said and closed the door.
"Oh my goodness!" Karen screamed when Jimi walked back to the living room. He knew what was coming and started to giggle.
"You ordered pizza and let me open the door in this," she pointed to her outfit. "How dare you! You knew it was the pizza guy, you could at least warn me!"
Karen's biggest secret: her sweatpants-look. Pink sweatpants with sparkles and a sweater with a unicorn on it. It was cheap and for teens but fluffy.
"Karen, stop. You look cute."
"Oh my gosh, what if he recognized me?" She sat down and started to cry. "He looked so much like Cassadee. The same eyes. Jimi, help me."
The fun was over.
"I'm not doing the meet and greet. I'm sorry guys, I just can't." Karen walked out the bus to tell the others, who sat outside.
"Maybe that's better." Schlap said.
"I'm sorry for the fans, it's just... Cassadee..." She bursted out in tears. "I'll do the show, no worries but the meet and greet..." She started to cry even harder and walked back into the bus.
Seattle, Washtington. 5:01 pm.
"It's the best for her."
"Yeah, I do think so. Poor Karen." Kimberly sighed. She was very worried about Cassadee too. They all were.
"I wish we could cancel it all." Jimi said. "I'm going to take a look at the wife."
When Jimi dissapeared into the bus, Phillip asked the question everybody was too scared to ask: "Do you think she's dead?"
"Phillip!" Rebecca screamed and threw a bottle to him. "How dare you!"
Kimberly sighed. "I'm going to take a walk guys, can you call me an half an hour before the meet and greets? They start late today, right?"
"Around nine we're about to hit the stage."
"See ya then." And the others watched Kimberly walking away.
They had told the fans that Karen was sick. They felt horrible to lie to them, but what else could they have said? Beside that, Karen was really sick. Sick of sadness.
Kimberly tried to count the people in line. Still seven to go.
She laid her head on Phillip's shoulder and closed her eyes for some seconds. When she opened her eyes again there was a young girl standing for her. Long brown hair with blonde highlights in the tops. Dark eyes, big nose and a small mouth.
"Cassadee?" Kimberly whispered.
"Cassadee? I'm Rae!" The girl shouted. "I'm so excited to meet y'all! I've been waiting for ages!"
The sparkles in her eyes, the excitement in her voice. It hit Kimberly like a truck.
They took a picture and listened to Rae telling her story in less than two minutes and then she handed a letter ("to give to Karen, because she is sick. Tell her I love her.") she smiled one more time and then walked away.
"Break for five minutes guys, I can't." As soon as Kimberly had turn around she started to cry. The girl reminded her of Cassadee.
"Five minute break!" Phillip shouted to the waiting fans. "Kim is not feeling right." He and Jimi walked to Kimberly who sat on the floor, in the next room with her chin on her knees and hands wrapped about her legs.
Phillip nodded to Jimi, who kneeled down and wrapped his arm around Kimberly.
"Hey Kimmy." He didn't know what to say. He is horrible in trying to calm people down.
At the meet and greet place Becka, the photographer, raised her hand with three fingers. Phillip nodded.
"Still three to go, some are in groups. It won't take really long I think." He also kneeled down next to Kimberly. "Do you think you can do that?"
"Sure. I can. I guess." Kimberly wipped out her tears and without even asking, Phillip handed her his iPhone on selfie modus. "I still look like the Kimberly from TV right?" She asked.
"You do. You still have the glitters around your eyes."
Kimberly is the only person he knows who doesn't get red eyes after crying.
The boys helped their curly blonde friend to get up and walked back to the fans.
"What happens to the microphones?" Karen asked. The clock had passed twelve and with a beer in her hand, Karen was helping the crew to pack all their stuff off the stage. The others had already returned to the bus but Karen felt like she had to do something. She had walk over to Jack, the crew-member who looked the most like Jimi, and asked if he could show her how they cleaned up their mess. She was more asking questions and looking at the whole thing than actually helping.
"In this box." Jack pushed a box on wheels into her direction. "I'll help you with that." He looked into Karen's eyes. "Your eyes are red and aren't you supossed to lay in bed?"
"Too much beer." Karen raised her glass. She had been receiving some beers from the audience as well and she drank them all.
"Whatever you want." She wanted to walk toward him and fell... in his arms! "Oh my, I'm sorry!" She giggled. That's awkward. "I think it's better for me to go to bed, right?"
Jack nodded. "Do you need an escort?"
"Nah, I'll be fine." Karen tried to take three steps back without tripping over her own feet. "See ya later, alligator."
Jack watched her walking out of the arena. On her way to the door, she grabbed a beer out of the crew-members hand. Yep, she was drunk.
It was a good night. Not too hot nor too cold. The fresh air did good to Karen. She came a bit back to herself and remembered all the awkward things she had said.
She was about to walk under a bright spot which lights up the venue for less then twenty feet and she would walk in the dark again but suddenly she heard a scream. Out of reflection, she hid behind a box.
"Hey young lady, you're not allowed to be here!" The loud voice of a man.
Karen saw a shadow running toward the fence which seperated the venue from the streets. The fence that gives the artists privacy. The fence that somebody's trying to climb over right now! It is a dumb fence though, everybody could climb over it. Even a drunk Karen.
The shadow on the fence said something but Karen couldn't hear it. She became very curious and tip toed closer to the two shadows.
"I need to see Little Big Town!" The voice said.
"Oh, who not? But you can't really come here."
"We're family!"
"Do you have a pass or something?"
"I need to see my aunt."
"Girl, are you alright? What's your name? Let me help you to get off of there, so we can call your parents." Karen assummed that it was a guard as she saw him helping the shadow to get off the vence. Then the shadow jumped off and started to run. Well, that was the plan, but the guard got the shadow before it could run.
"You don't get it!" The voice screamed. "Aunt Karen! Aunt Karen!"
Cassadee? Cassadee!
"Hey!" Karen appeared out of dark. "It's fine." She yelled to the guard and ran toward her niece. When the two hugged, they both started to cry.
"Oh my God, baby, what the Hell are you doing here? Do you have any idea how worried we all were?"
"I'm sorry, aunt Karen, I'm so sorry."
Cassadee laid curled up on the couch with her head in Karen's lap, who was going through her hair with her hand. Kimberly had kneeled down before the couch and held Cassadee's hand. Serious girl talk time.
As soon as Karen and Cassadee had arrived at the busses, Karen had been screaming so the others would come out. She had never seen so many faces going from shocked to happy and then all bursting out in tears at the same time.
This season, they had decide to get two busses to get some privacy. Every week, one little big family had a bus for their own. This week it was the Schlapmans turn so the three were actually sitting in Kimberly's bus. The two had asked Cassadee some questions but she didn't answered any of them. She actually didn't said a thing at all. Yet.
"We called your parents."
"Fuck." Cassadee whispered. "How mad are they?"
"Not mad, worried."
"But I know Kelli and after the drama and tears you'll probably be grounded for the rest of your life."
"Karen." Kimberly sighed. "Oh gussie, but they're coming to here. They arrive tomorrow."
"Can I get protection or something?"
"Silly, they're not going to kill you."
"Then you don't know my mom."
Karen agreed. "Okay, honey you can choose: biting dogs or the kids."
Cassadee started to cry and soon as her father stepped out of the cab. When he saw his daughter, he started to cry too and ran toward her. Her mom was hysterical. She was already screaming Cassadee's name when she didn't even got out of the cab. She joined the hug of her husband and daughter and the others watched them cry together. They sat on the ground by the busses. Phillip was crying too.
"What are you doing here, honey?" Kelli asked. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"
'Aunt Karen' was the only thing Cassadee said.
"We know that you love her and miss her but you could have said that you wanted to see her."
"You never let me go to them, so why would you this time?"
"Cassadee Rose, watch your words."
"Sorry dad."
"It's fine girl."
"So you're not going to kill me?" Cassadee asked her mom.
"No, I promise." she smiled.
"Those three were already in their position to protect me." Cassadee nodded to Penelopi, Daisy and Elijah who waved all three as soon as Kelli and George looking at their way.
"We may be less important but we still skipped school just to see you."
Cassadee looked up. "Matthew!" She screamed and jumped in her brothers arms.
"And Bailey."
"Bae? Oh my God!" Cassadee let Matthew go and hugged her best friend. She started to cry again.
"I hate you so much for leaving me behind! Your mom might not kill you but I sure will."
Cassadee had to laugh.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Bailey started to cry too. "I thought you were dead."
"Oh Bae, I'm so sorry."
"F is for friends who leave you behind, U is for ur alone, N is for never having any plans at all because the 'best friend' is on tour with the band." Forteen seconds of full sarcasm.
"Cassadee, your mom and I decided that you stay here with Karen and the others for a week. Just a week." George had said to Cassadee two days ago. They had talked to Jimi and Karen. The four figured out that Cassadee planned her runaway trip just to see the band. The calculated that with taking trains and busses it'll take two and a half day to travel from Georgia to Washington. But why Cassadee actually wanted to see the band so badly was still unknown. George and Kelli decided not to talk about that and Jimi promised them to try and figure out why Cassadee did it.
Now Cassadee was Skyping with Bailey, who just sang her sarcastic song for her. The school had let her skip a week but with one condition: she has to do her homework.
"Math sucks, man."
"Step one: go to Phillip. Step two: ask him to do it."
"Why?"
"He's the Math master."
"Okay, but if I'm going to make a fool of myself, you're screwed."
"Okay, Cassadee Rose. Call ya back in an hour so I can get the answers." Bailey put up an evil smile and disconected the line.
''Why is everybody calling me Cassadee Rose lately?'' She asked herself and got out of the bus and walked to the other bus. They all decided that the Westbrooks could get the single bus for their own as long as Cassadee was with them.
Phillip laid on the front of a pick up truck which was parked next to their bus. It probably belongs to a crew member.
Phillip noticed Cassadee first and greeted her.
"Oh hey." She smiled. "Eh, it might sound weird but Bailey and I have Math-horrors to solve and she..."
"Asked if I could do it?" He finished.
"I actually wanted to keep it nice by asking to help me but if you want to do it all it's okay too."
In her head, she was hoping that Phillip would do it all. Cassadee plus Maths is nah.
"Of course. Come sit next to me."
"On the truck?"
Phillip nodded.
Cassadee lifted her shoulders and climbed on it. She gave her laptop to Phillip and waited until he was finished.
"Friday is the last show and it's in a real cool place. Cassadee might appreciate it." Kimberly giggled during dinner. "Los Angeles."
"That's so cool!" Cassadee shouted.
"So what do y'all think?" Kimberly asked her band mates. "Spending out whole Saturday in LA and flying back to Nashville Sunday?"
"It's a yes for me." Rebecca said.
"You're not in the band."
"Phillip!" Rebecca pushed her giggeling husband off the bench.
"But I agree. It's cool."
"Yay! So Cassadee, ready to hit the road with Little Big Town?"
"Oh hell yes."
"Is it possible that I just liked my own face on Instagram?"
"'lbtkaren liked your photo' yep that's right." Cassadee read from her iPhone. "It was a group selfie from yesterday, is that bad?"
"No. You haven't post on Instagram in a while."
"I know. Do you read the comment section?"
"No, did someone said something special?"
"Nah, just wondering because you get so many replies. But how are you doing today?"
"I'm fine, thanks."
It was pretty clear that Cassadee didn't want to talk about it.
'Jimi, stop snorring', 'Elijah, stop kicking', 'Cassadee, stop sniffing', Karen had said that a lot in the past hour. When she climbed out of her bunk for her 2 am-toilet visit, the other three screamed that she had to stop going to the toilet.
"Do you want me to piss in bed?" She screamed. She didn't find it funny. "It'll stream in your bunk, James."
"Chillax man, it was just a joke. And why are you only mad at me? The kids said the same."
"Oh yeah, I share a bus with three kids. I almost forgot that." When she came back from the toilet, she rolled into Cassadee'a bunk.
"Wrong one." She whispered but Karen didn't moved.
"What's wrong with aunt Kiki?" Cassadee asked the next morning. She joined Jimi and Elijah who laid in the middle of the bus playing a game. She had just woke up and left her aunt sleeping alone in the bunk.
"Girls time. Ew." Elijah said and moved his pawn.
"He means period." Jimi corrected. "Then everything is extreme. Extremely happy, extremely mad, extremely sexy." He smirked.
"I heard that!" Karen's voice.
"Do you wanna play with us, Cass?" Elijah asked.
"Sure, why not?"
"If there is anything special you want to see or do, just tell us. We have plenty of time." Kimberly said to Cassadee. They were at Wal-Mart buying groceries.
"Sure, but I don't want to do something special. I only want to see the Santa Monica pier when we're in LA. I've always dreamed of that!"
"It's really pretty.'' Kimberly clapped two times. ''Alrighty girl, the vegetables! What do you want? Paprika?"
"I don't really like paprika."
"It's fine, nobody does. I'm the only one." She giggled and the two moved on. "Pickles?"
"Ew."
"Onions?"
"No!"
"Tomatoes?"
"Oh yes, I eat those like it's candy."
"You're like your aunt. She loves and hates the same things are you."
"Well yeah, I'm basically raised by her so."
"Is that why you miss her so much?"
Cassadee nodded.
"And is that why you ran away?" It was a very risky question and Cassadee didn't answered it.
Thank God, Kimberly thought. She wouldn't know how to handle a mad teenager.
"But I'm happy to be here. School sucks so."
"Not a big fan of school?"
"Nah, only art and music class. Not the people but just the class..."
"Jimi told me that you're a very good singer!"
"Oh my gosh, really?" Cassadee started to blush. "Sometimes we jam."
"You need to sing for me once!"
Soundcheck time. The kids where sitting on the front row while their parents where up on stage. The music stopped, Karen had to go to the toilet.
"Cassadee?" Kimberly asked through the microphone. "What's your favorite song from us?"
"Can I say Smokin' and Drinkin' with Miranda Lambert?" Cassadee screamed to the stage.
"Can we play Smokin' and Drinkin'?" Kimberly asked the LBT band boys. They nodded all three.
"Come up on stage to do a little Smokin' and Drinkin'!" Kimberly yelled.
What?!
Cassadee started to blush but didn't moved.
"C'mon girl, we all know you can sing. Now we want to hear it too."
"Cassadee you have to go up because you're the best singer I know." Elijah pronounced Cassadee as 'Cass-dee'.
"Yes, Cassadee you have to do it!" Daisy screamed.
The three toddlers got off there seats and pushed Cassadee to the stage. Johnny pulled her up and gave her a guitar.
"How do you know that I play the guitar?"
Johnny pointed to Jimi, who made up a scary face like he always does when his niece looks at him.
"Ugh, I hate y'all." Cassadee walked to the microphone in the middle and hit one chord on the guitar. She startled because it was very loud.
"I'm back!" Karen ran back on stage. "Ah, my favorite girl. Ready to jam?" She smiled.
"No!"
From the audience, Penelopi, Daisy and Elijah where screaming for her. Some crew members had turn around to watch the whole thing that was going on on stage. The concert hall was huge. In a flyer she had read there were over ten thousand seats. She was scared.
John hit the first chord. Followed by Johnny. The intro was builded up by the five guitars.
"It was one of those times when a real good time felt like a long time ago."
On the right, Kimberly made a little jump. She was amazed by Cassadee's voice.
"It was one of those fires that burned all night and made your blue jeans smell like smoke."
On the left, Karen started to tear up.
By the chorus, Cassadee was amazed by their harmonies. She seemed to fit in perfectly.
When the song was over, everybody clapped. Karen hugged her niece as soon as she had given the guitar back and cried. "That was so good."
"High five girl!" Phillip walked to her, followed by Jimi.
"How was it to be Miranda?" Kimberly asked.
"Pretty amazing!"
"Your voice was so good." Karen said. "I thought you had a cold because you were sniffing last night."
"It's hard to breathe through my nose at night." Cassadee started to blush.
"How about doing this tonight?"
"NO! No, no! I can't. I'd love to but ten thousand people? I'll be dead before I can hit the stage. No, too many people. Sorry but..."
"Tomorrow, county fair, 'only' five hundred seats, no disscussion."
"But..."
"Ah-ah, Cassadee, don't!"
"Seriously, if Kim says 'no disscussion', you better listen." Phillip said.
"Am I supossed to be scared?"
"Yes!" They all four shouted.
With glitter around her eyes, red on her lips and clothes borrowed from Karen and Kimberly, Cassadee was ready to hit the stage. As soon as she heard her name, there was no turning back. She walked on stage and plugged in her guitar. All seats were sold out - Phillip had said - so five hundred people were clapping for her. Karen grabbed her hand and squeezed in it. Cassadee looked to her aunt, who smiled at her.
John hit the first chord and thirthy seconds later she had to start singing. She got overwhelmed at the reactions she got and felt like the happiest girl in the world.
Back in the bus, Karen had been gone for twenty minutes.
"I almost called the cops." Cassadee closed her laptop and put it away.
"Open the laptop again." Karen said and took a seat next to her niece. "It's pretty cool." She got a USB-stick out of her pocket and plugged it in the laptop. It were pictures of Cassadee's performances with the band.
"Oh my God!"
"I went to Becka, of course she took photos."
"Can I put one on Instagram?"
"You can even put 'em all on. It are your photos now. I'm so proud of you girl!"
"Cassadee? Lunch!" Karen's voice.
She couldn't hide from the band, so Cassadee decided to get out of the bunk and put the hood from her sweater over her head and half over her face, kinda like Kenny from South Park.
"Lunch, you said?" She stepped out of the bus.
"Yeah, you kinda missed breakfast." Kimberly giggled.
"Cool." The picknick table had moved to the front of the Westbrook-bus.
"So how's our superstar doing today?" Phillip asked.
"Okay."
"Something wrong, hun?"
"Head ache."
"Eat a sandwich and go back to bed. I'll ask Jimi if he can come and read you a bedtime story when he's back from the gym." Karen laughed.
What the others didn't knew is that Cassadee had been crying the whole time. She grabbed her phone again and went to her Instagram page. Phillip left a comment at her post but someone else did too. She started to cry harder. Why are people so mean? She went to her Twitter timeline and scrolled and read back everything she had missed while she had been sleeping. Someone retweeted a self-harm awarness post. Cassadee decided to go to the page and landed in a world where a girl of her age tries to help other teens with mental problems. She had seen some photos before of people who cut theirselves with razor blades. She find it nasty and interesting at the same time. People who cut theirselves because of self-hate, loneliness, bullying... Does it really helps to forget the pain? She had seen a little sharpener for Karen's eyeliner in her toiletry. She crawled out of the bunk to get it. Her nails were long enough to remove the little screw and the little razor blade fell on her chest. Without even thinking about it, she cut herself. And at that moment, the curtains of her bunk got open...
"Cassadee Rose Fairchild, what are you even thinking?!"
Those words... Jimi had said her full name a lot too during the time she was depressed. Cassadee's depressed? No...
"I'm sorry aunt Kiki!" Cassadee screamed. "I'm so sorry!"
Karen came back with towels and bandages. "Shhht. Let me see that." She looked at Cassadee's wrist. The cut was small. "It's not even deep, no need to go to the hospital."
"Or tell mom."
Karen looked up. Her cheeks were black of the mascara that screamed down her face together with tears. "Why?"
Cassadee kept quiet.
"You realize you have to say it now, right?" Karen sighed and rolled up her sleeve. "Look,"
Then Cassadee realized that Karen had cut herself too.
"I remember. Schlap was there."
"No, that's on my other wrist. I did this when I was around your age. I guess," she had to think. "Yeah, your age. And you know who found me that time? Your mom. She almost killed me that time."
"I told you that she's dangerous."
"People do care. Maybe you don't see it, or want to see, but people do. Talking about it really helps. And you're not bothering anyone with your problems. I got bullied in high school, you know that. They said mean things and stole my stuff and shit. I was jealous at your mom who had friends and a car and drove around the state with them just listening to the radio and all. I only had my parents and uncle Kerry of course but he had his own friends too. I read, sang and painted a lot but I still felt lonely and wanted friends. One time I accidently cut myself while turning the page of a book. It hurt, but later I realized I forgot all my shit and I grabbed my pair of siccors. Then your mom walked in. We talked for hours and it was the best decission ever. She showed me I don't have to fight all the bad things alone."
"That's my problem too. Bullies." Cassadee started to tell about everything. The art and music classes who she follows alone, without Bailey or Brooklyn. The mean people who laugh at her, who say means things to her, who send her mean emails, tweets and leave rude comments on her Instagram page. That she actually hates herself and how she is scared to tell anyone about the bullies, even Bailey. Her very own best friend. "That's why I ran away. Because when I'm with you, it feels like when I was six and basically lived with you and uncle Mark." She still called Mark 'uncle Mark'. "Can I ask you one favor? Just one."
"Go ahead."
"Not tell mom and dad about the cut? I don't want them to feel bad."
"To be honest, I think that's better too. Our little secret." Karen squeezed in Cassadee's hand and smiled to her.
"But aunt Karen?"
"What?"
"Why did people tease you?"
"They were probably jealous of all the money I would earn in the future and my bomb ass grades." Karen winked.
"That's my Kiki!" Cassadee giggled and hugged her aunt.
One week later, Cassadee had returned to school again. The last two days on the road had been amazing for her. A kick ass show in San Diego, where she met one of her favorite people ever: Blake Shelton. And the next day her other dream came true and saw to the Santa Monica Pier.
Karen had explained the whole thing to the other band mates and together with Jimi, she had told George and Kelli. It was very emotional for everyone but things were all okay. Karen and Cassadee made a deal, when she felt bad, they would Skype and just sit and talk or simply listen to sad Carrie Underwood songs which had helped Cassadee through the hard times.
Cassadee loves and hates music class at the same time. Singing and playing the guitar is fun but the other students are mean. It seemed like they are jealous at her because they always tease her with the fact that her aunt and uncle are in a famous band and that's the only reason why her grades are good. That's the thing Cassadee didn't told Karen. That lesson, Cassadee and her teacher were talking about the latest episode of Rizzoli and Ilses. The teacher was basically her only friend in that class. There were only three minutes left of the class but teachers weren't allowed to let the students get out of class before the ring. A stupid rule.
"Mel, the new guitar just came in." Mr. Joan entered the class room.
"Aha, finally!" Ms. Scarlett walked to the door. "I'll be back in a minute, but if the bell rings you can go." She told the class.
"Hey Cassadee, so you feel like a real country star now?" Bella said as soon as Ms. Scarlett had left the class room.
Shit. Bella is the meanest of all.
"She probably feels better than all of us now." Meg.
"She already did that." Celine. The golden triange. The rudest.
"But yeah, I could just skip school for a week too if my auntie and uncle were in a band. Travelling, sound-checks, sold out shows, meeting Blake Shelton." Bella rolled her eyes.
"If you hate me, why are you even checking my Instagram?" Cassadee was surpised. Did she said that?
"Just to see your dumb live. Aunt Kiki this, Aunt Kiki that. If I had an Aunt Kiki too I would archieve all those things too. Even better, but you are just a simple ugly soul. You don't even have talent. You don't even know who you really are. When I see you I just see a younger, dumber and uglier version of your aunt. Karen Fairchild. I can see that you two are family, both ugly. The same big nose, can't she buy you a nose correction for your birthday?"
"You're just jealous." Cassadee said. "You're jealous of the things I do. That I have famous family members. That I'm on the road a lot. That I have fancy clothes, and make up. I mean come on, everybody in this room knows that my jeans are even more expensive then your whole outfit. You're jealous that I can meet famous people whenever I want. That I have performed on a real stage and not just a school stage. You're just jealous because I'm so much closer to what you want: to become a professional singer."
"You little bitch. What are you even thinking?" She wanted to hit Cassadee, but Cassadee pulled on Bella's pony tail first.
Bella screamed and what happened after that looked like it happened withtin a second. Bella grabbed a pair of sciccors and stabbed Cassadee. Her hand was the target but Bella had stabbed onto the table, between Cassadee's tumb and finger.
Oh my God.
She got her bag and ran out of the class room.
"Come back you bitch!" She heard Bella scream.
She locked herself up in the ladies room and called Karen.
"They tried to kill me!" She whispered.
It was almost unreal. Cassadee knew that the band were in Georgia but not that close. A crew member who lived in the same town as her had left the team and they were actually on their way to surprise him for a little party. As soon as Cassadee called, Jimi and Karen changed their plans and rushed to the school. It woukd take fifteen minutes.
After twelve minutes Cassadee decided to wait for them in the hall. She felt save for a second but then she saw Bella and the gang walking through another hall. She tried to hide but it was too late.
"Hey you!" She yelled and walked to Cassadee. "Do you feel cool now? Let me tell you one thing, you were totally wrong, you little bitch. How dare you to talk to me like that?" This time Bella was fast and kicked Cassadee in her stomach. She fell on the floor and tried to crawl up again but Bella's stepped on her hair. With her other foot she kicked Cassadee's back. She screamed real hard.
"Shut up, bitch."
At that moment Bella fell over her.
"Valentino boots. If the Fairchilds fight, then we do it in style."
Thank you Jesus.
Jimi kneeled down next to Cassadee.
"Cass? Can you hear me."
"Uncle Jimi?" Cassadee moaned.
"It's alright girl, everything's fine." He laid Cassadee's head in his lap. "She was unconscious." Jimi said to Karen.
"Uncon-what? My head hurts."
"Shht, close your eyes. The ambulance can come soon."
"Ambulance?"
"Shhht."
"I'm out." Bella said and wanted to walk away but Karen grabbed her by the hood of her sweater.
"You, young lady are not going anywhere."
"Oh my gosh, what's going on here?!" Ms. Scarlett and Mr. Joan ran to the whole scene.
"This girl here abused my niece." Karen said.
"Mel, go get the principal. I'll wait for you here."
Mr. Joan laid his hand on Karen's shoulder. "Mrs. Fairchild, I assume? Everything's going to be fine. I promise."