Chapter 1: He's Back.

Casey's POV:

"He's here."

I raise my eyebrow. Who is she talking about? "What?"

I hear her take a deep breath on the other side of the phone. "He's here, Case. He's back."

I bring the cordless phone in front of my astonished face, staring at it with incredulity. "WHAT?" I shriek.

"Yeah. Sheldon called. They bumped into each other on the road."

"Did they talk? Did he… did they talk?" I question.

"Nope. Sheldon was too stunned to speak. It'd been, what, four months?"

"A year and a half actually." I correct her.

"Whatever. Casey, look. A year and a half is a long time. Don't you think you should have moved on by now? I mean, he left without telling any of us. Not even Derek. I don't think he's worth it."

I roll my eyes. Of course. It makes sense. But still.

She misreads my silence. "Don't hate yourself. It isn't your fault. I'll be over in 10 minutes okay? Try not to kill yourself till then."

I laugh and hang up.

Shocked and utterly shaken, I turn to face the blank television screen.

Thoughts of him, of me, of him and me, appear in my isolated head. And before I can even attempt to erase the wretched memories, my eyes begin to well up.

I don't hear the front door open. I don't hear Derek enter. I don't hear him call out to Sally's retreating figure. I don't hear him declare his love for her. I'm too caught up in my own world to even care.

I don't bother wiping the tears streaming down my face in thin lines of shimmer. I just stare fixatedly at the blank television screen, wishing it would suck me right in.

"Hey Case. ", he greets, hanging up his jacket. "What's up?"

I don't reply. I don't even glance in his direction. I just continue to cry over that stupid fuck.

"Hel-lo?" Derek walks over to me, and waves his hand in front of my face. I don't push it away.

"Casey? Casey. What's wrong? Are you alright?" he asks, concerned.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and count. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. I release.

I quickly wipe away the salty residue and turn to face him. "Hey." I manage to croak.

He cuts to the chase. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. Why would you think something happened?"

"Casey. Seriously. Tell me. What the hell is going on?"

I sniffle. I bite my lip. I scratch my ear. "Nothing, Derek. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"You were crying. Obviously, there's something I have to worry about. "

"I wasn't… crying. There was something in my eye." I protest, indignant. I decide to change the topic. "So. How'd your date with Sally go?"

He eyes me suspiciously. "Fi-ine." He elongates the word.

I smile and nod. "Cool."

He opens his mouth, and then pauses. He looks at me, eyes narrow.

Thankfully the bell rings just at that moment. I sigh in relief. Thank you, Emily!

He looks at the door, and then back at me, his face still screwed up in suspicion. He points at the door. "I'm going to go and get that."

"Right."

He spins around and strides towards the front door. He opens it and exclaims. "Emily! Hey!"

She steps in, and hugs my step-brother. "Hey Derek."

He rubs her back, and pulls away from her. He kisses her forehead gently and ushers her in. He slams the door close and joins me on the couch.

She plops herself on the armchair beside me. "Good to see you alive. I'm proud of your resistance."

I laugh silently.

"What the hell is happening? Emily? Can you please tell me why I got home to find Casey staring at the blank television, bawling like there's no tomorrow? Please?" Derek says, exasperated.

Emily turns to get a better look at her ex crush. She snorts. "She didn't tell you?" she nods towards me.

"No, I did not." I quip, defensively.

"Tell me what?" Derek's confusion mounting.

Emily lets out a low whistle. "Oh boy."

"Tell me WHAT?". Derek demands, losing his newly discovered patience.

"Our long lost friend has finally decided to show up."

Derek frowns. "Huh?" is all he has to say.

"Sam. He's back."

"Back where?" he pauses, his eyebrows knit together in concentration. And suddenly his eyes widen, and his breath become bated. "Back, as in… here?"

Emily nods, her wild mass of curls bouncing up and down. "Yup. He came back yesterday. Sheldon saw him."

Derek stands up. His eyes narrow and his hands ball up into fists. "That little fuck.", he snarls.

And without another word to us, he grabs his leather jacket and storms out the door.

"That little fuck." Emily repeats.

I stretch my arm to her face, my palm facing her. She hi-fives me.

"Oh boy. This ought to be good, eh?