All I Ask Of You
"Casey! Casey come on! What's with you? You should be yelling at me about how immature my comments are and that I should learn to get a life! come on! Casey! Casey!"
Derek was cold and tired. He had been searching all over the place for his step- sister. Things at home had gotten rocky, very rocky. Nothing seemed to be going right over there. Nora and George had been fighting more frequently, Liz and Edwin had become more restless and hostile towards anything that moved, and Marti cried and hid in her room every time someone was fighting, which was almost all the time. Today had just gotten worse in the whole timeline of events.
He was tired of walking. He had gone to Emily's house, the mall, the park, school, everywhere. He hadn't been able to find Casey anywhere. It was getting dark and quick. He wouldn't be able to walk much longer and she couldn't hide much longer either. He stopped and sat on a bench for a minute. He remembered what had happened that day.
Casey walked through the door. Apparently she had a bad day at school. It was probably the fact that Paul was out of town, people wouldn't cooperate with her OCD issue, and that she wanted the day to go perfect but it didn't. She saw Derek already resting in his chair as if he were deaf to Marti's crying and their parents screaming that was issuing from the kitchen.
" What are they fighting about now?" she asked Derek.
"Whether they should try it apart for a while or not," he had responded nonchalantly.
He had regretted saying right after he did. He saw an unreadable expression cross her face. All he knew was that she was not very happy. She had walked into the kitchen and the fighting instantly stopped. His curiosity had gotten the better of him. He walked up slowly to the door of the kitchen and listen to the dialogue.
"Hi Casey," Nora had said.
"We were just-"
" Fighting again?" Casey had said sharply. Nothing could get past her.
"Now Casey,"
"Save it!" she had screamed, "you two are the reason that Lizzie and Edwin are on edge, you two are the reason Marti is always in her room crying her eyes out every night in her room, and you think we don't notice you two scream twenty-four seven?! Think again! I'm tired of this!" with that she walked through the kitchen doorway and out the front door.
At first, Derek thought she was just going for a jog to calm her nerves, that is until he found her tennis shoes by her bed. She wasn't home for dinner, and that she never missed without calling first. At that point he had realized something was wrong. he sat on the bench thinking to himself. Why did he even care? Why did he care if Casey didn't come home? He usually lived for this kind of stuff. What was stopping him from enjoying this moment? He knew the answer, he just didn't want to admit it. He cared for Casey. Damn it! How the hell could he have fallen for his step-sister? He didn't know, and even if he did, he still wouldn't be able to look it straight in the face. There was a bright side, it wasn't incest. Wait what was he saying? Had he actually just admitted that he cared for her as more than a step sister? He rested his head in his palms. He had to clear his head and focus on finding Casey. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He heard singing in the background. It was Casey's voice. He must have been imagining it. it could be possible it was her though. It was worth a try. He listened closer.
Say you love me every waking moment,
Turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you now and always;
Promise me that all you say is true,
That's all I ask of you.
He walked a ways behind the bench he had been sitting on. He couldn't help but smile. He had found her. She was sitting under the tree their parents had gotten married under. He knew there was a reason he was looking for her in this specific park. It was All I Ask Of You, the song she had sung at their parents' wedding. He knew it well. She sang it all the time. It just happened to be from her favorite operetta. He now had it memorized for she had been singing it more frequently lately. He slowly walked towards her.
Let me be your shelter,
Let me be your light;
You're safe, no one will find you,
Your fears are far behind you.
Casey turned around startled at her step- brother's voice. She never knew he could sing so softly. The last time he tried to sing it hadn't turned out so great.
"what do you want?" she sniffled.
"I just want you to come home. It's getting late." Derek said softly. He knelt down to meet her gaze. He sat next to hr, leaning against the tree.
"what are you doing here anyways?"
"To be honest, looking for you."
Casey stayed silent. She didn't want to talk to him. Who was she kidding? Of course she did. She always felt at ease when Derek was around. He was the only constant thing in her life. She looked at him as he stared up at the night sky. She felt a little better, but she couldn't help but feel restless. She started singing again.
All I want is freedom,
A world with no more night;
And you, always beside me,
To hold me and to hide me.
Derek smiled to himself. He heard the singing stop. Casey nudged him.
"it's your part," she said simply. He continued the song:
Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;
Let me lead you from your solitude.
Say you need me with you, here beside you,
Anywhere you go, let me go too,
They continued the duet:
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;
Say the word and I will follow you.
Share each day with me,
Each night, each morning.
Casey looked up at him. She spoke her part.
"Say you love me,"
Derek looked at her. Had she spoken in character or as Casey? he looked at her closely. Her face was sincere and expectant. He continued on his part.
"You know I do," he responded. They joined in singing to the end of the song.
Love me, that's all I ask of you
"Case, it's going to be alright," Derek said to her, " they'll figure it out eventually." She looked doubtful.
"Are you sure? They're always screaming. There's so much hate in their voices."
Derek chuckled.
"this coming from the girl who over thinks things? What you hear isn't hate, Casey, it's pain. You know that." They sat in silence. She nodded in agreement. She was relieved. She felt as if he had just lifted the biggest weight off of her shoulders. She couldn't hold in the overwhelming emotions any longer. She burst into tears and hid her face in his shoulder. She sat up quickly, wiping her tears from her face.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I know you don't deal with tears very well." Derek drew her into a warm hug.
"With all your meltdowns, I've learned to get used to it," he whispered in her ear. She let herself let go again. She couldn't help but let the tears run down her face.
Derek kissed the top of her head.
"are you ready to go home?" he asked her. She shook her head. He understood perfectly.
"Neither am I," he responded. He pulled her in closer. The cold night had suddenly turned warm. The stars were somehow brighter. They sat in silence.