Chapter 4:

Lockdown meant absolutely nothing to Cassia. It was easier than she thought. A few days a week she'd either leave school during lunch or not go at all. As long as she was back at school in time to be picked up by Angel or Roger, she knew that she would be fine.

Cassia dashed inside the building one morning, wove her way through the students and out the back door where Zack was waiting.

"Hey sexy," he purred as she slammed her up against the cool brick wall with way more force than needed. Cassia giggled. She happily kissed him back until he tried to pull her shirt off.

"Zack, baby, not here," she insisted, but he wouldn't listen. He kept trying to pull Cassia's shirt off. Enough was enough, she pushed him away. "Zack! Not here!" In a flash, Zack brought his hand back and back-handed her. Cassia was stunned, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Let's go to my place," he said with a smile, as if nothing had happened. Nodding, she slid her arm around Zack's waist and followed him to his apartment.

Meanwhile, Maureen was home with Tiffany and Paige when the phone rang. She ruffled Tiffany's braids before getting to her feet and answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"Maureen, its Dr. Carver. I have the test results in. if you and Joanne could come down as soon as possible." Maureen closed the bedroom door for some privacy.

"Just tell me now," she said firmly.

"Maureen-"

"Just tell me now!" She didn't want to be babied anymore; she wanted everything told to her straight.

"The tumor's back. It's the size of a tennis ball and putting pressure on your brain. We'll have to shrink it through radiation treatment and operate." A sob slipped out. Maureen said goodbye to Dr. Carver and hung up the phone. She then held her head in her hands and continued to cry.

When Maureen didn't return to the family room for a while, Tiffany left Paige to play by herself and searched for her.

"Mommy?" she asked as she opened the bedroom door. Maureen was curled up in bed crying. "What's wrong, Mommy?" Tiffany climbed up on the bed and hugged her mom.

"Nothing baby," Maureen replied through tears.

"Do you want me to call Mama?" She shook her head. Tiffany kissed Maureen's cheek and climbed off the bed.

Mark was busy cutting some film together when the phone rang. He was about to let someone else get it when he remembered that he was home alone…again. He rushed across the filthy room and grabbed the phone just in time.

"Hello?"

"Uncle Mark?"

"Tiffany, what's wrong? Now Mark was worried; he couldn't figure out why in the world Tiffany would be calling the loft.

"Mommy's really upset and Mama's in a long meeting at work," Tiffany explained.

"Alright, I'm on my way." Mark said goodbye to Tiffany, grabbed his camera and rushed out the door.

When Mark arrived at Maureen and Joanne's apartment, he let himself in with the spare key kept at the loft. He found Tiffany playing with Paige as if nothing in the world was wrong.

"Tiff, where's your mom?" he asked.

"In the bedroom." The two girls looked perfectly fine at the moment, so Mark left them alone for a few more minutes. He headed straight for the master bedroom, where he found Maureen curled up in bed crying.

"Mo?" She sat straight up and did her best to wipe away her tears.

"Mark, what are you doing here?" He took a seat on the bed next to her and pulled her into a comforting hug. She felt so fragile in his arms.

"Tiffany called me." Maureen smiled slightly. Leave it to her daughter to get worried and call her Uncle Mark. "What happened, Mo?" She took several deep breaths as she prepared herself for this.

"I have a tennis ball sized tumor putting pressure on my brain," she replied as she began to cry once again. "I'll have to go through radiation and everything. Mark, I don't want to die!" Maureen clung to Marks' shirt and let all of her bottled up emotions out.

Before leaving school for the day, Cassia did her best to cover up the ugly bruise from Zack, but it wasn't happening. She'd just say that she got kicked in the face with a soccer ball, that sounded plausible. Putting on the best smile she could, she joined the throngs of students exiting the school. Her smile grew into genuine happiness when she saw Roger. The rebellious streak in the both of them united them together as uncle/niece.

"Hey Uncle Roger," she said as she approached him.

"Whoa, what the hell did you do?" Roger asked as he brushed his fingertip over the yellowish bruise. "Don't tell me you got in another fight."

"No, I got kicked in the face by a soccer ball," Cassia easily lied as they bean to walk down the street.

"a soccer ball? You really expect me to buy that?"

"No, I expect you to leave it alone," she snapped. Roger got the hint and dropped it. Joanne could badger her to her heart's content later on.

The second Cassia got home; she disappeared into her room without another word to Roger or her sisters.

"Uncle Roger!" Tiffany exclaimed as she ran into his arms. He gathered her up in his arms and then noticed Mark sitting on the couch with Paige on his lap. The thing about Tiffany was she could greet you every time she saw you like she hasn't seen you in ten years.

"Tiffany called me," Mark explained when he saw the confused look on his best friend's face. "Come get a beer with me." Roger knew what Mark meant by that; they needed to have an 'adult conversation.'

In the kitchen, Mark grabbed two bottles of beer and cracked them open. They were always free to make themselves at home at Maureen and Joanne's and vice versa.

"Mo's doctor called, and its pretty bad. She'll have to go through radiation treatment and eventually have surgery again," Mark explained in a low voice.

"Jesus Christ, does Joanne know?" Roger asked.

"I eventually got a hold of her. She had another meeting she can't cancel, but she'll be home as soon as she can." Roger nodded and took a sip of beer. "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to."

"You really think that Tiffany will let me leave? I'll stay for a while. Where's Maureen?"

"Sleeping. She took a sleeping pill and passed out an hour ago. She's really taking this hard." Roger nodded. That was completely understandable, especially for Maureen.

Cassia locked herself in her room until seven o'clock. She wasn't exactly in the mood to be alone, but she definitely didn't want to play twenty questions about her lovely new bruise. Zack was just in a bad mood today; yes, that had to be the logic behind all this. Tomorrow everything would be perfectly fine between them one again.