Chapter 1: The first flier

"So, are we going to the spot today?" Stephanie asked me as I walked beside her; I was, for some reason, very quiet today. I could not place why, but I guess it could be because my mom and I got into a fight again and she slapped my face. However, that was not it; I was used to her slapping me around by now.

"No, I have to go home" I said sounding off and distant as I usually did after a fight with my mother.

"You have a fight with your mom again?" Steph asked me, she was watching me, and I could feel her eyes on my face that hidden behind my long black curly hair that I used as a curtain to hid my facial expressions.

I looked at her and raised my face to her to smile, "You know me well," I said as I saw her eyes widen, i knew she saw the mark on my face. I had hidden it so well, now the truth revealed to the one person that I hated burdening with my problems, I hid my face again and looked down at the sidewalk.

"Cassandra! Your face is bruised!" Steph shouted with tears building in her eyes, I had to look when she shouted at me, it was a fear reflex I have had since I was 8 years old. My dad was verbally abusive to my mother and she physically abusive to me, she always took her anger from my father out on me, I do not understand why though. I know she does not hate me, or does she?

"It's no big deal" I said with a light nervous laugh, "I'm used to it by now, you know how my mom gets after a fight with my dad" I said laughing now, but tears where falling as I laughed through my pain.

Steph stood there watching me with a horror stricken face, she had only seen me like this once and even then it scared her. "Stop it! How can you laugh at your pain like that!" she shouted. "Come to my house tonight, I can help you Cassy" she said pleading to me.

"I have to go home, my dad will worry and my mother will…worry," I said wiping away my tears, "I have to go, see you later Steph" I said hurrying down the street to me house. I quickly went inside and right to my room, I heard my dad in the living room, he did not sound happy and neither did my mom. I listened to the loud conversation that was taking place, "please don't leave daddy, don't leave me" I whispered as I heard him pacing the floor near the front door. I heard it open and he walk out, "No…" I heard myself say in a whisper. The sound of her footsteps could be heard coming from below and the sound of them getting closer filled me with fear, "no…!" I said weakly as I curled up on my bed.

My mother walked in caring nothing but her fists and tears on her face and in her eyes " good your home, get over here" she said hatefully, when i didn't move she walked over to me and begin beating me. "You are a bad girl for not listening to me!" she screamed at me.

'why?...why does she beats me?...is it because she is afraid to lay hands on daddy because she knows he will hit her back?...I'm being beat because I'm the weaker one and i don't fight back. i don't want to fight back...i don't wanna hurt mommy, but she is hurting me...mommy stop, someone help...' these thoughts ran through my head as she punched, slapped, and scratched me in every part of my body that I did not cover. I had to protect my stomach, I could care less about my face. That's when I heard a shout and something make contact with something else, I couldn't tell what was going on, my eyes where to swollen to tell.

"Cassy? Can you hear me?" a worried voice asked me, it was my father.

"Daddy, I can't move," I said in a voice as it cracked, I felt him lift me with the softest of touches I could tell he was trying not to scar my body into shock. I felt the rush of a warm breeze, with that I knew he had carried me outside and he tried his best to open the car door. I could tell he didn't want to put me down, so I found the car door handle and opened the door to the best of my ability, I could hear my father crying as he watch me try so hard to help.

"Don't Cassy! Let me do it" I heard him say, my arm fell limply to my side and I watched as he opened the door and he placed me into the passenger side seat.

"Ah!" I could not help but shout in pain, I heard my father sob just after my cry of pain, I could tell he felt guilty about what happened, he didn't know, so it was not his fault. "Dad, don't cry," I said as he looked at me from the drivers seat, I was lying back in the seat buckled up; I knew where he was taken me, the hospital in town.

"Dad, they will…blame you for this…you know they will" I said watching as he looked back at the road.

"I know that Cassy, but…it is my fault, I should have known that your mother was hurting you, the way she talked about you and said thinks about you in such hatred. I didn't want to believe…Cassy I'm so sorry" my father sobbed. I could not help but cry too, it stung but I did not care, my father was hurting, the only person that cared about me…other than Steph. He was hurting because I didn't have the courage to tell him, and did the cowardly thing and took the beatings from my mother, because I was weak.

We made it to the hospital and he pulled right up to the emergency room front doors, he got out of the car and came to my side, he picked me up gentle and shouted for help repeatedly. Nurses came running and Doctors rushed over, some gave looks as if he was a murderer and some looked sympathetic. Nevertheless, it was all a lie, my mother lied about my father it was never him, it was she. Doctors asked what happened as they looked me over, my bruises where changing colors from minor to sever, my face looked like hell, "We need to check her for internal bleeding and any damage to the organs" said one doctor to a nurse. "Quickly bring me a stretcher!" the doctor shouted over his shoulder to two paramedics', I watched the men rush away and come back less than a minute with my stretcher.

My father explained that my mother was the one that hurt me, he never said anything about himself, and he never even tried to defend himself. "Dad-dy!" I said in a gruff voice, I felt myself begin to lose my consciousness, 'this is not good I cannot tell them it was not his fault, dad, tell them! Tell them you didn't do it!' my mind screamed at him as things began to go dark.

"Cassy it will be alright! I promise!" my father shouted after me as he stood in the lobby being held back by nurses to keep him from coming back to me, 'no it wasn't his fault, let him come back with me' I though.

"Daddy!" I shouted that was the last thing I remember as I passed out from exhaustion.

I awoke to the sound of light chatter, I looked over to see two nurses and when they noticed I was, awake they stopped talking and came to my bedside with tears in their eyes. "Thank goodness you woke up, we where so scared" said the first nurse, her name tag said Betty, the second nurse agreed with her with a nod, her name tag said Rachel.

"My dad?" I said looking at them, the nurse name Rachel rushed out the room with tears streaming down her face, now I was worried. "My dad?" I said again, Nurse Betty gave me a sad look but answered me.

"Your father had been arrested" she said her face was grave.

"But why! He was not the one that beat me and made me like this! It was my mom" I said in hysteria, my heartbeat was racing and the monitor was going crazy. The nurse looked frightened as she put her hands gentle on my shoulders.

"Lay down now, you're not well to be up and about yet, and we know it was your mother that did this to you, the tests proved that. But…that's not what your father was arrested for…he was arrested for-for the murder of Angila Shan, your mother" Betty said as a fresh set of tears fell down her face. My mother was very popular and well known around the hospital, she had many friends and people that she talked too and poisoned with her words. I know I should not have been happy but I was happy that she was gone and also shocked; my father had killed my mother, his wife, for the sake of me. The shock that my mother was gone and now my father was too much, my body slumped back into the bed and I was drowning in darkness yet again, and this one I was sure that I would not awake from…or so I thought.

I awoke again that night and sat in the bed thinking, 'Why? Why did this all have to happen to me? Did fate like to play with my life and emotions? Did it like to be cruel to me?' as I was lying in my bed I pushed myself deeper into the pillow and that is when I heard the strange noise. The sound of crinkling paper, "what would paper be doing be hind my pillow?" I thought aloud. I put my hand under my pillow and pulled out a medium size flier, poorly lit light in my room as it was I could still read fine, and my father must have told them how I still feared the dark. I would have to thank them all for that, I read the flier and it said "Cirque Du Freak", as I unfolded it even more a note fell out. I opened it and read it:

"Cassy,

I'm so sorry, I never knew things where that bad, your dad said not to worry he will be fine and that you get to come live with me, once we (my mom and me) come get you tomorrow. I am so sorry Cassy, your mother has every right to die and I know you will agree with me, but your father did nothing wrong. But enough about that, I'm sure you wondering what the flier is all about, it is a present and I know that sounds weird but you will understand tonight, Love you with all my heart,

Steph"

I was in tears, 'how could she do this for me, I do not want her too! Why Steph, why?' I thought as I held the flier close. "Of all places she would want to take me, she had to choose a freak show," I said to meself with a light laugh. "I know she cares but she sure does have a funny way of showing it," I said aloud again. "No harm I guess…but she is more into this stuff than I am, I hope I'm up to it" I talked to myself and I rolled over on to my left side to sleep, I stared at the flier until I felt myself become drowse and drifted off to asleep.