Hello, hello :) This is my new story. It is kind of a dark dasey. Hope you like it :)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.

There was a knock on Casey's bedroom door. She quickly pulled her shirt over her belly to cover the bruise before turning away from the mirror.

"Come in." She said quietly.

"Hey Casey" Her little sister, Lizzie, came in and sat down on her bed.

"Hi Lizzie" Casey sat down on her computer chair. "What's up?"

Lizzie sighed. "You tell me. You missed dinner. Again."

"Uhm. I told mom that I had a big lunch." Casey said quickly, not meeting her gaze.

Lizzie looked at her big sister, unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"But-" Lizzie started to protest.

"What is this? Twenty questions"? Casey asked, irritated.

Lizzie flinched. "No, I'm just worried about you." She said, getting up.

"I'm fine." Casey snapped and turned away. Lizzie sighed and walked out without saying another word.

Casey looked back at her closed door and sighed shakily. Tears started to fall down her cheeks.

###

"You're late." Casey's boyfriend, Max, growled from the driver's seat as she got into the passenger's seat. She was held up an extra minute because her mom wanted to talk to her about babysitting the coming Friday.

"I-I'm sorry." She stammered. "My mom needed to talk to me."

"I don't need to hear your excuses. Just don't let it happen again." Max snapped. "You don't want to make me mad. Do you?"

"No." Casey whispered. As they drove to school, Max was telling her about how his football practise went. Not wanting to get him angry, Casey nodded to let him know that she was listening.

When they got to school, Max walked her to her locker. He kissed her and went to his own locker. Casey sighed, relieved that the morning had gone relatively smoothly, and she was able to escape unscarred. Atleast for the next couple of hours.

"Steve is having a party on Friday." Max told Casey during lunch that afternoon. "I'll pick you up at 7?" He made it sound like a question, but Casey knew that he did not expect her to argue.

Casey looked down. "Uh, I can't go. I promised my mom that I would babysit this Friday."

Max glared at her. He didn't say anything since they were infront of their, mostly his, friends. However, Casey knew what was coming later. She picked at her salad, trying not to look at him.

"Casey!" Max grabbed her arm. She was waiting for him by his car after school. He opened the passenger door and pushed her in. He got in on the drivers seat and glared at her. She didn't look at him.

Casey felt a sharp pain on her cheek. She glanced at him, her eyes were starting to sting from the tears.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Max yelled at her. "Do you like embarassing me like that?" Before she got a chance to repond, he slapped her again. "You are going to that party." He demanded, ending the conversation.

When he drove up to her house, Max sighed and turned to her. He took her hand. "Baby. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." He said softly. "But you really gave me no choice. You completely humiliated me infront of my friends. You understand that, right?"

Casey nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry." She whispered. She gave him a small smile. This was the Max she loved, and she knew that he loved her back.

He smiled and kissed her hand. "I really would love it if you came to that party with me. I just love showing you off to everyone."

Casey looked into his eyes. "I'll be there." She promised.

###

Derek watched as Max drove away after dropping Casey off. He didn't know exectly why, but Derek hated him. Maybe it was because they were sports rivals at school, or maybe it had to do with the fact that ever since she started dating Max, Casey was not herself. And Derek did not like that. He walked into the house to find everyone but Casey, already getting ready to eat dinner. He dropped his stuff on the floor and went to join his family. As he sat down, he looked at Casey's empty chair and sighed.

"What is it this time?" He asked Nora, nodding at the unoccupied seat.

"She said that she had a test to study for." Nora told him.

"No she doesn't. We have the same classes and we don't have anything coming up this week."

"Oh, well then I must have heard wrong. Maybe she's working on some project." Nora shrugged. She turned back to George and began talking about work. Derek shook his head. Parents could be so oblivious sometimes. He looked at Lizzie who gave him a sympathetic shrug. She knew how he felt. She was worried about her sister as well.

Normally, Derek wouldn't have given Casey another thought, but she was honestly starting to worry him. She was changing way too much, and not in a good way.

After dinner, Derek decided to bring Casey her dinner. He knocked on her door quietly, trying not to disturb her too much.

"Come in"

He opened the door and saw her lying on her bed, not doing her homework at all.

"I brought you some food." He told her as he set the tray down on her desk. "Are you okay?"

Casey gave him a confused glance. "I'm fine." She said slowly. "I'm just not all that hungry." Derek raised his eyebrows. "What? Why are you giving me that look?" She asked, getting irrtated.

Derek put his hands up defensivly. "Nothing. It's just that you're never hungry these days." He told her. He opened the door and left.

Casey sighed.

Hope you liked that. This chapter doesn't really go into depth yet, but I am sure you have an idea of what is kind of going on.

R&R please :)