Page 13 of Finding Forgiveness
Cass was so happy to see her and they immediately burst into tears the moment they hugged. It was somewhat of a relief because I was partly responsible for their rift. My sister and Cassie have always been tight, so if anyone can get her through this dark time in her life, it’s Jacinta. I wish it could be me, I’d shower that woman with so much love she wouldn’t need it from anyone else, but I’m not who she wants.
Blowing out a long breath, I lean forward in my seat and rest my elbows on my knees. I need to remember this isn’t about me, or my deep feelings for her. It’s about getting Cassie well again and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to see that happen.
I pull out my phone to check the time, just as a message comes through from my mum.
Mum: Hey sweetie, how are things going there?
Connor: Yeah, good. The girls are together. I’m sitting outside in the corridor because they’re still only allowing one person in the room.
Mum: Do you want your dad to come get you? You can come back here and have a shower and some lunch. I’m making schnitzels.
Connor: Actually, I might take you up on that offer.
I haven’t eaten since yesterday, and I’d love a shower. I know what those girls are like when they get together, so Jacinta won’t be coming out of that room anytime soon.
I wish I was the person Cassie relied on, who made her smile … the one she can’t live without, but I’m not.
Mum: Great. Your dad is leaving now. He’ll text you when he’s downstairs.
Connor: Okay.
I stand, shooting a quick text to my sister before I leave.
Connor: I’m going to head home and have a shower and a feed. Is there anything you or Cass need before I go?
Jaz: No, we’re good. But thank you. Cass said to say thank you for being here for her too … she said you’ve been very sweet and I can tell it meant a lot to her.
I half-heartedly smile at her reply, but an unwavering sadness washes over me at the same time. I’ll always be there for Cassie if she needs me, but I also have to accept that anything more than that probably isn’t in the cards for us. I have to keep moving forward, like I’ve been doing for the past six years. I’ve been hung up on the past for way too long.
I’m already waiting by the kerb at the front of the hospital when my dad pulls up. After stowing my suitcase in the boot of his car, I slide into the passenger seat.
“You look tired,” is the first thing my father says to me.
I lift one shoulder. It’s been a long couple of days and the exhaustion is starting to set in. Even before this whole ordeal, I wasn’t sleeping well. My sister wasn’t talking to me, and I was worried about Cassandra’s mental health, with good reason considering what happened. “I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I reply. I dozed off a few times, but the chair I was in wasn’t very comfortable.
“How’s Cass today?”
“Okay, I think. She didn’t say much to me, but she perked up heaps when Jaz arrived.”
“I bet, those two have always been close.” I turn my head and gaze out the passenger side window … Cass and I were close once too. “Did her parents bother to show their faces?”
I clear my throat as the anger starts to rise within me. “Her mum did.” I’m still trying to process everything she said.
“That’s something, I guess.”
“You think?”
“You sound upset about that.”
“She came while Cassie was still out of it. I’d stepped out to take a call from Jaz and when I returned to the room, she was in there … leaning over the bed screaming at her daughter.”
“You’re joking?”
“Nope.”
I look over at my father and see him shake his head in disgust. I can only imagine his reaction if he knew the things she was saying. “I have no words for that. Poor fucking kid. No wonder she’s so messed up.”
“Thankfully she wasn’t awake to hear it, but yeah.”
