disclaimer: I own nothing, who would have ever guessed?
Chapter 2: Actions Speak Louder than Words
This the way we love,
Like it's forever,
Then live the rest of our lives,
But not together.
No one said anything for what seemed like forever, which really was only a couple seconds. Casey stared at Derek, not believing that he was actually there. The last time he was in London was about a month after it happened. He left not only her hanging but their family also. She didn't know what to say. What should she say to the stepbrother that wouldn't even want to talk to her on the phone.
"So Derek, are you going to introduce me or to you intend to just stare at her?" the girl asked.
"Faith this is my-"
"What are you doing here Derek?" Casey asked, not caring that she interrupted him. He always interrupted her when they were teenagers.
"I'm on a business trip that is being held here, I'm going to be here for a week and I invited my girlfriend to come along," he explained. Casey nodded; mentally kicking herself that she thought for a second that he would actually be here to see his family.
"Well I gotta go; Zachie tends to get nervous if someone is not back when they say they are going to be, as you would know. Oh wait, I forgot, you wouldn't know," Casey said, feeling like she won something in her life. She then turned to Faith. "It was nice to meet you Faith, I'm hope that we can get together and talk instead of colliding into each other," she said friendly, to her, then walked away.
She knew thought that this was the probably the last time that she would see Faith because she didn't expect to see Derek again. As she walked away, she heard Derek say 'stepsister' and knew that he was explaining it to Faith. Of course, she didn't expect him to tell her the full story. What girl would want to go out with a scumbag like him and that was what she thought of him. A scumbag because of his actions, but she still felt sorry for him. She knew that he was probably blaming himself as she blamed herself but at least she took that guilt and decided to help her family instead of abandoning them.
Casey drove home as fast as she could without going too much over the speed limit. She knew that she lost her moment of silence that she was looking forward to. When she turned into the driveway, she saw Zachie at the window, instantly relaxing once he saw her. She got out of the car, grabbed her bags and quickly went inside. Once she opened the door, Zachie ran and hugged her legs. She hugged him back as she saw his tears.
"Hey, hey don't cry I'm here. I just lost track of time, that's all." Casey said, pulling Zachie away from her body to look into his eyes. He nodded and sat back down on the couch, in the same spot that he always sat at.
"He was crying since it was a minute pass the time you said you would be home. Thank goodness you're home now, it was driving me crazy," Lizzie said, coming out of the kitchen. She was holding a pen, clearly trying to do homework and watch Zachie at the same time.
"Hey, be nice, he was just scared," Casey said, closing the front door and taking off her winter jacket.
"He's always scared. He has serious abandonment issues," Lizzie replied.
"Where's Edwin?" Casey asked, changing the subject, everyone knew why he had abandonment issues. "He was suppose to spend the day with Zachie."
"He got an extra shift at work and decided to take it. Oh and I found the bill. Turns out Zachie wanted to collect the envelope to go with his envelope collection. Luckily, I found it before he decided to cut it up and flush it down the toilet," Lizzie said, handing Casey the bill, then going back to the kitchen to grab her stuff to do the rest of her homework in her room.
Casey looked at Zachie, who clearly did not notice what was happening around him. She walked over to him and bent down in front of him. "Zachie, next time you want to take an envelope, please ask me first, alright?" Casey said.
"Alright," Zachie said without taking his eyes off the t.v. Casey smiled, stood up, kissing him on the top of his head.
She then grabbed the other bills that she left on George's desk and moved them to the dinning room table. She sat in the chair that she always sat at since she moved in this house. She opened all the bills, she liked to do them all at the same time, it gave her an estimate on how much money she spent in the past month. She looked at the electricity bill, water bill, credit card bill, hospital bills and the rehab bill and sighed. With her working two jobs, and Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti's part-time jobs, they were barely surviving. She thanked her lucky stars that the city was paying for life support. If the city wasn't, they would be in a one-bedroom apartment, instead of the house that she has lived in since she was fifteen.
Casey grabbed her checkbook and started paying the bills. She planed to mail them tomorrow, on their way to church. Casey sighed and looked at Zachie. He was laughing at Sylvester falling in paint because he was trying to catch Tweedy bird. Casey slightly smiled. She sometimes wished that she could trade places with Zachie. He didn't have this huge responsibility on his shoulders that Casey had. Everyday she wished that the world would just turn back in time to that day so that she could stop it. She hated having this much responsibility at the age of twenty-four. No other twenty-four year old had this much responsibility. She wished that she could just be normal for once. She wished that she could go to work, then go to a bar with her friends, or go on a date. She missed out on all those things because of what happened that day. Casey sighed again. She knew that she shouldn't be complaining. She didn't have to go through all those things that the rest of her family had to. She just wished that she could be normal but she knew she would never get that wish; she wouldn't get a happy ending.
---
"Casey, phone's ringing," Derek said to her, pointing his thumb behind him, towards the kitchen. He was sitting in his recliner and Casey was sitting on the couch, beside him, both watching t.v.
"So why can't you get it?" Casey asked, not making a move to get up.
"Because it might be one of our parents and I'm suppose to be sick," he said, fake coughing in his hand to prove a point.
"Fine, I'll get it you lazy bum," Casey said getting up and playfully hitting him in the shoulder.
"Hey! Be nice to the sick person!" he called, getting up to follow her, just for fun.
"Hello?" Casey said into the phone.
"Hey honey, how's everything?" Nora asked to her.
"Fine, how's the family reunion?" Casey replied, trying to push Derek away because he was breathing down her neck.
"Oh, well, Uncle Larry drank too much again and started singing 'my girl', or should I say slurring. Your grandmother's hearing has gotten worse, as well as her memory. Poor cousin Drew has been called Dean the whole weekend by her even though everyone tells her it's Drew. George has been so nervous to impress everyone that he ended up spilling red wine all over himself. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti seem to be having a good time with all the cousins. Anyways, I just called to ask for your advice. Should I tell George that we can leave today or insist that we stay until tomorrow?" Nora said. Casey smiled and covered the talk part on the phone.
"My mom is asking me if they should come home today or wait till tomorrow, what do you think?" Casey asked him. Derek smirked and put his arms around her waist. "I think you should wait till tomorrow. I mean when will there be another Macdonald family reunion for George to feel nervous at," Casey said into the phone.
"That's what I was thinking. See you tomorrow."
"Bye mom," Casey said quickly and hanged up the phone. She turned around in Derek's arms and put her hands around his neck.
"Looks like we have the house to ourselves for another day," Derek said while his smirk grew.
"I guess so," Casey said, matching Derek's smirk.
"I have something for you," Derek said, releasing Casey and pulling out a velvet ring box from his back pocket. He knelt down and opened the box, revealing a ring. "Casey Macdonald, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?" Derek asked.
Casey stared at him with a blank face. "Derek, we're 18, barely adults. We only graduated from high school a month ago. We haven't even told our parents about us. Don't you think we are moving a little bit fast," Casey said. Derek stood up and shook his head.
"There is no time like the present, besides; this can be an engaged to be engaged deal. I mean I paid 25 cents to get this ring," Derek said, hoping that Casey would say yes. Casey looked at the ring and nodded slowly.
"I say yes. We are engaged to be engaged," she said. Derek smiled and picked up Casey and spun her around. He put her down and placed the ring on her finger.
"I promise you I will get you a better ring someday, my Great-Aunt Ellen can't live forever."
"Derek that's horrible!" Casey said, smacking him and he laughed.
"I'm only kidding, but I will get you a better ring someday."
"I don't know, I think I'm getting attached to this one," Casey said, looking at the ring on her finger.
"I'm glad you like it," Derek said, pulling her into him so that he could kiss her.
Casey jolted up in her bed. She hadn't had a dream like that in a long time. She hated those dreams. They just reminded her of all the hopes that she use to have. She looked at her alarm clock; it was set to go off in five minutes. She got out of her bed and as if someone else was controlling her body, she went to her desk and opened the first drawer. She rummaged through it until she found the box. She opened it and took out the ring. She remembered wearing this ring, even months after he left, hoping that he would come back.
She slipped the ring onto her ring finger; it still fit perfectly, even after all these years. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Hello, my name is Casey Venturi. Derek and I are so please for you to join us on our wedding day," Casey whispered. She saw a tear roll down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She pulled up her body and stared at herself in the mirror. Who cared if she didn't have the only man that she ever loved. Who cared if he had moved on and decided to date? She didn't. She was completely over him. She only thought about him because of her stupid dream. She took off the ring and placed it back into the ring box. She put the box in the drawer just when her alarm clock beeped. She turned it off and grabbed her clothes to bring to the washroom to take a shower, to get ready for church.
---
Mass was fine as usual, Casey thought as she drove back to the house. Zachie was sitting in the back of the car, playing with an action figure. They were the only ones in the car because Edwin needed to go to the store because they had run out of blank paper. Lizzie went to go on a lunch date with her boyfriend and Marti went to a friend's house. They usually went their separate ways after church and met up at the hospital in the afternoon.
"So what do you want for lunch?" Casey asked Zachie, looking at him in her rear-view mirror for a second.
"Ice cream!" he said, smiling his baby teeth and Casey laughed.
"Maybe for dessert," Casey replied as she turned into the driveway. She stopped talking when she saw Derek sitting on the porch steps. He stood up as Casey and Zachie stepped out of the car. Zachie immediately went to her side, holding her hand as if he was afraid of Derek.
"Who's that?" he whispered to her.
"That's your Uncle Derek," Casey said as they walked up the steps, both staring at Derek. Casey walked to the door and unlocked it, sending Zachie inside. "What are you doing here?" she asked Derek.
Derek held up something. Casey looked down and realized that it was the pair of dress pants that she lost the day before because of the fall. "Faith realized these weren't hers but yours and I offered to return them to you," Derek said, handing them to her. "So where do you go on a Sunday morning?" Derek asked.
"We were at church," Casey said.
"Church? Since when do you go to church?"
"Well, I thought we needed all the help that we could get so we go to church and pray," Casey said, then turning to the front door. Derek nodded and started to walk away. "Derek," Casey called after him. He turned around, looking at a very nervous Casey, as if she wasn't sure if she should say what she wanted to say. "Would you like to come in?" she finally asked.
She had no idea why she just said that, the words just kind of came out. He nodded and started walking up the porch steps. Once Derek came in, he saw that the house was no different from the day he left; the only difference was a small boy watching cartoons. Casey took off her coat and so did Derek. "Would you like something to drink or eat?" Casey asked while walking towards the kitchen.
"No thanks, I'm good," he said, following her. Casey nodded and went to the fridge and started pulling out food to make sandwiches.
"So why didn't Faith come with you?" Casey asked, breaking the awkward silence that they were stuck in.
"She had some work to do," Derek said, sitting on one of the stools that was around the island.
"Work? I thought you said that you invited her to come along to your business trip," Casey said, not looking up from the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she was making.
"I did, but she is my girlfriend and also my assistant."
Casey started laughing. "No girl is forbidden for you is she?" she asked.
Derek smiled, relaxing a bit. "What can I say, I love a challenge." Casey stopped laughing once he said that and Derek immediately wished he could take it back. He told her once that the thing he loved most about her was that with her, everything was a challenge and he loved challenges. The awkward silence came back, both of them clueless at what to say next. Then the kid came skipping into the kitchen.
"Is the food ready?" he asked Casey.
"Yup, one PB&J sandwich to go. Why don't you eat it in the dinning room today," Casey said, handing Zachie the sandwich and a glass of milk. "Just be careful."
"I know, I know," he said, carrying it off into the dinning room.
Derek thought about what he was going to say next. He wasn't sure how he wanted to phrase it. "Is that… I mean, is he-"
"Yours and mine?" Casey finished for him and he nodded. "No Derek he isn't our love child, he's Edwin's." Derek looked at her in complete shocked, he had no idea. "About a month after you left, Edwin started dating this girl named Isabella. Three months after they have been dating, they told me that she was pregnant and that Isabella's parents kicked her out. So Isabella moved in with us. I wanted them to finish high school and go to a university. Everything was fine until one day, about six months after Zachie was born, Isabella's parents told her that she could go back and live with them, but only her. I guess she thought of that as a way out because she jumped at the chance and they moved to Europe somewhere, only leaving Edwin a note, telling him that she left. We haven't heard from her ever since," Casey explained to Derek.
"How come no one ever told me?" he asked.
"I told Lizzie and Marti that it was Edwin's decision to tell you. He never told me if he did or not," Casey said, continuing to make herself a sandwich.
"So how is everyone? Lizzie hasn't-"
"No it hasn't come back. I thank God everyday that it hasn't. I'm glad that it doesn't interfere with her life anymore. She's in third year university, the same as Edwin."
"What about everyone else?"
"Marti is in grade ten in school, she works at the library part-time but she is planning to be a lifeguard when she turns sixteen. Zachie here is eight and a half, as he says."
"What about my dad and Nora?" he asked.
"Mom is still the same and George is in rehab," she said quickly, she hated to talk about it, she usually cried when she did.
Derek nodded. "Well I have to go. It was nice catching up," he said quickly, getting up and leaving.
Casey sighed, staring at the front door that Derek just went through. That conversation was the most awkward thing that she had ever experienced. She shook her head, then grabbed her sandwich and brought it to the dinning room table to bring Zachie some company.
---
Marti walked into the familiar hallway of the hospital. She came here every Sunday. She would go to church as Casey requested, spend some time with her friends, and then go to the hospital. She remembered the first time Casey suggested going to church. Everyone stared at her as if she had two heads. Lizzie had asked her why she would want to turn to a god that would let this happen to our family. Casey responded back that this family was going to need all the help that it can get and if prayer helped, she was going to pray.
At first, Marti just went to church because Casey had made so many sacrifices so she decided that she could make one for her. As they came every week though, she had gotten to know some of the parish and the priest. She liked how the priest could make his sermons funny and still get his point across. She also made some friends with kids her age that were in the parish. Everyone there from old to young knew about the Macdonald/Venturi family and always kept them in their prayers. Marti was always grateful that so many people cared and the more prayers, the better. Marti once asked Casey if the prayers were working or not, she wasn't sure. Casey said that of course the prayers were working. Lizzie was still with them, George woke up, and Nora's brain activity isn't deteriorating as quickly as it was before.
Marti agreed with her when she said that. Casey always looked at the best of the day and used it to the fullest. She never let a day go by without doing something productive. 'There's no time like the present and you never know when the present will leave.' That was Casey's favourite saying. Marti didn't completely understand what she meant but she knew that the saying was very important to Casey, she could see it in her eyes. Marti looked at her watch; she knew she was a couple minutes early. She wanted it that way so that she could talk to Nora privately; maybe find some of her memory about that day. She walked into Nora's hospital room and stopped in her tracks. She couldn't believe who was in the room.
"Derek?" she questioned, walking a bit more into the room.
Derek turned around and smiled. "Smarti," he said walking closer to her to give her a hug. Marti dodged it and walked towards Nora's bed.
"What are you doing here?" she asked bitterly, looking at Nora.
"Smarti don't be like that," Derek said, feeling hurt that Marti didn't want to hug him.
"Don't call me Smarti. Smarti left the same day you did."
"It doesn't have to be like this," Derek said, walking closer. Marti crossed to the other side of the bed to have Nora's body and the bed in between herself and her former idol.
"Yes it does have to be like this. I can't just pretend that you didn't leave and stick Casey to deal with the problems. You didn't care about anyone else but yourself and your dream about running a business someday. Casey had dreams too you know. She wanted to go to York University in Toronto for dance. She wanted to travel the world but she instead switched to Western University and went to teacher's college so she could take care of us. She stayed behind while you abandoned us. You couldn't even share a sliver of the responsibility to even come at Christmas or Easter to see us. No, your flavour of the week is more important to you than your own family. So no, it is like this because of you. Please just go before Casey sees you. She's been in too much pain to see you so just go," Marti said.
Derek nodded, not knowing what else to do. "Good-bye Nora," he said. He then turned to Marti, who now was sitting at the end of Nora's bed. "Good-bye Smarti," he continued. Marti didn't respond. She just stared at Nora. Derek walked away; leaving the hospital, wishing things could be different.
Marti stared at Nora. She reached for her hand and closed her eyes. "George look out!" Nora screamed as the car swerved. Marti opened her eyes and ripped her hand out of Nora's. She realized that she was breathing heavily, almost panting. She could go on with months and not remember anything new about that day but then, unexpectedly, a memory will come back to her.
"Oh, you're already here," Lizzie said, walking in with Edwin behind her.
"Ya, I just got here a couple minutes ago," she said as Casey and Zachie came into the room. Casey took out the dead flowers in the vase that was on the nightstand, beside Nora's bed. She then replaced them with tulips. Tulips were Nora's favourite flowers so they made sure that there were always tulips in Nora's room. Edwin and Casey sat down in the chairs beside Nora's bed. Zachie climbed on Edwin's lap as Lizzie sat on the bed. They each took turns in telling Nora about the main points of their week, but both Casey and Marti didn't mention their encounters with Derek.
Reviews are always welcome!