Page 267 of As the Rain Falls
Her smile widens, and she dries her face with the back of her hand.
“I bought it at this… at this store near the Chinese restaurant downtown. It’s my favorite streetever. There are a lot of cool stores, and Kayla and I go there to spend time together.”
I push my hair back, the short strands slipping from my grasp. “I know about this one. It’s my favorite restaurant in town, actually.”
“Mn. I’ve never eaten there; it’s way too expensive,” she admits, wincing when her touch is too strong against her swollen eye. “Fuck, I always forget not to go at it with a heavy hand.”
“You need to put some ice on your face.” I clear my throat. “Here, let me help you.”
I push her hand aside and dry the rest of her tears myself, carefully avoiding any regions that are too hurt. A front piece of her hair falls when she tilts her head down, and I pick it up, toying with the golden charms.
“Kayla doesn’t know,” I realize. Her head snaps back up, eyes watching me closely. “She really doesn’t have a clue, does she?”
“Not really,” Cassandra denies it quickly, looking ashamed of herself.
“Her mother’s a lawyer,” I tell her. “She has good contacts.”
“I know that.”
“She could really help you,” I point out, wanting her to be smart about this. The faster she gets help, the better her chances are.
“I can’t go against my parents, Beckett. I have nowhere else to go.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Don’t you get it? They’re my family. I’m alone without them.”
“They’re not your family, not if they’re letting him hurt you like this,” I argue, understanding things a little better now that I’m feeling calmer.
If I’m assessing this situation right, Cassandra was made to believe that she needed to keep pretending her own brother isn’t hurting her. But what about her body? How can she pretend he isn’t coming close to killing her?
“Show me your ribs.”
“No.” She squeezes out, shrinking into herself. “You’ve seen enough.”
I sigh, watching her carefully.
“You’re not alone, though,” I whisper back, sitting up and reaching for her hands, intertwining our fingers together. “I’m right here with you.”
Her lips part, a hint of a grateful smile starting to form. It drops quickly when I ask her my next question.
“Did your father see him doing this to you?”
Cassandra stays quiet, and a last thread of hope fizzles out inside of me when she nods after a while.
“He… He woke up because of the noise Nathaniel was making. He came down the stairs, and I was crying. I was cryingsohard. He just… I don’t know. He kind of just looked the other way.”
I absorb every detail she gives me, trying to memorize exactly what happened to her. It’s important that I remember this, in case anyone asks me later.
“My grandpa used to beat him really hard, you know? He thinks it’s normal to do that if one of us does something wrong,” she explains, letting me into he fucked-up family dynamics for the very first time.
My thumb traces slow patterns against her skin, holding her through her confession, keeping her here even as her mind clearly fights her.
“Dad never had any reasons to beat me before, but this time I must’ve messed up too badly, because he seems to be so angry at me. I think that’s why he didn’t say anything at all.”
“Because of what happened with Laura the other day?” I ask, and her eyes shine with the deepest regret. Cassandra nods, and my heart shatters. What happened wasn’t even her fault. “Did they even try to listen to your side of the story?”
“It’s not about that,” she tells me, shifting to get herself in a more comfortable position. When I don’t seem convinced, she deadpans. “It’s a Catholic school, Beckett. How do you think my father looks now that there are pictures of me half-naked everywhere?”
“Fuck, yeah. Okay.” I make a funny face, considering her explanation. “Point taken?”
She cracks a smile, then, almost amused. Then, her hand rises, fingers softly brushing against my face.
