Author's Note-- Sorry it's been a bit. I'm working on set crew for a play at my school so it literally soaks up all of my time. I don't even have time for my flippin homework. I wrote this in like five sentence spurts so if it's choppy, boring, please let me know. I hope this chapter doesn't bore the frick out of you guys!
Definately some forshadowing, and some hidden clues. These will probably be harder to spot but trust me, your subconsious brain will pick up on it FAR sooner than your concious will. That's what I love about writing. You can throw something so subtle and their brain WILL see it and it won't even hit them unless they sit there analyzing the work. This could definatley turn into a rant so I'm just going to stop there. I get a little passionate sometimes, I'm not gonna lie. It can be overwhelming.
Disclaimer-- I dare you to make my day by lying to me and saying that I totally own LWD. I dare you.
Hours of doing nothing seemed to pass too quickly. Casey twiddled her fingers in the silence of her room. A knock on her door, and a soft murmur of Casey's name let her know that her mother was ready to leave.
Hours since not eating breakfast and she still had no desire to eat. It was the opposite of love-sickness in her mind. It was hate-sickness.
Casey dolled herself up slightly, hoping she didn't look messy and went to the car with her mom and Lizzie.
"Would you like to drive Casey?" Nora asked before they got into the car. She thought about it for a moment and held her hand out for the keys. Lizzie smiled and got eagerly in the backseat.
Music softly played in the background and Nora hummed to it lullingly.
"Mom, where should we go to eat?" Casey asked.
Lizzie stirred in the back.
"I'd say Smellie Nellie's but I think you are tired of that." Nora looked back at Lizzie.
"I don't know about Casey but I want something else. I don't go there often but it's not my favorite place." Their mom said in a very opinionated way, extinguishing any hope or desire they may have had to go to Smellie Nellie's. Casey actually didn't want to go, just in case Derek's shift started while they were out to lunch.
"Well what's your favorite place?" Lizard asked kindly.
"Unfortunately the place I'd like to eat at got torn down recently. I still don't know why they got rid of it." Nora resituated herself facing the front of the car. Casey turned the street.
"I actually heard of a place. It's called Azzonait. I've never heard of it before the other day so I think it's relatively new. Maybe we should check it out today." Casey said officially, remembering the name of the restaurant Em and her new beau went to the other day.
"Sounds great! What do you think mom?" Lizzie said eagerly.
"I'm always up for new places and I've never heard of it either." Casey smiled at Nora and reached for her cell phone. Realizing that she had abandoned the random tokens of Derek's hidden affection her heart sank. Her neck started to get hot like everyone knew her cell phone wasn't in her pocket. Like everyone knew why it wasn't in her possession anymore.
Casey pulled over to the side of the road. She needed to call Emily to find out where the restaurant was.
"Is something wrong Casey?" Nora asked, concerned. Casey wiped her forehead and turned to her mom.
"I f-forgot my cell phone at home and I need to call Emily to find out where the restaurant is." Nora bit her lip.
"I forgot mine at home too." She said to her daughter. Lizzie ruffled deep into her pocket and yanked out a small silver cell phone. Casey's mouth hung open slightly.
"Where did you get that?" Nora and Casey asked softly in unison. Lizzie blushed and looked down at the cell.
"Edwin and I share it. When you and Derek started sharing the cost of the car insurance I remembered how me and Edwin have both been itching for a cell phone. Him for his business and me for friends and team-mates/coaches…I asked him if we could get a cell to share and split the cost." Lizzie looked up. "He said it was brilliant and we went to get a cell phone." Nora furrowed her eyebrows.
"They didn't ask for parental permission? You guys are only fourteen." Lizzie let out a short breath.
"He had long since made friends with one of the tech-guys there. They were such good friends that he knew that Edwin kept to his word and never spent more money than he could afford. The tech guy, Dave, he offered to help pay but Edwin refused because he absolutely hates being in debt." Casey smiled.
"You guys are so close. You know so much more about each other than I realized." Casey said lovingly at the unity of the two younger ones' lives. Liz's eyes got wide for a second, then loosened and she handed the phone to Casey without a word. Nora turned back to the front of the car…feeling oddly defeated by the wonderful minds of her daughter and step-son.
After calling Emily on Lizard's cell and getting the directions, they headed to Azzonait.
Casey was still a little wary about the absent cell phone, though she knew that they hadn't given it a second thought. They were seated in a non-smoking section by a window. There were small chandeliers lighting the room and the curtains were drawn slightly so that the afternoon light was dimmed a little. Most of the walls and chairs were covered in a beautifully elegant red embroidery. The entire restaurant smelled of cinnamon and cocoa.
Couples were scattered at different tables.
"I feel a little out of place here. It seems more romantic then family-oriented." Nora said as she sat in the chair closest to the window. Casey eyed the room for a group of people to make her mom feel a little better. She spotted, far off, a mother, father and little daughter with curly blonde hair and a beautiful green dress.
"Look mom. That couple brought their daughter." Casey said nicely, pointing to the family. Lizzie sat next to Nora and Casey sat across from them next to the window.
"They look so nice. The daughter must only be about 6 or so. Maybe younger." Lizzie said to herself. Her inquiring nature never wavered. Sometimes, to Casey, it seemed that Lizzie wanted to know everything so she could learn something good so she could take that small amount of good, multiply it, and use it to make the world a better place.
"Okay Casey. Tell me why you were so determined to have a sit-down at a restaurant with me and Lizzie. Is there something you need to talk about?" Casey's lip twitched slightly.
Yes. There are a few things I would like to discuss. One. Derek's obsessed with me. Two. I'm not a virgin anymore. Three. The obsessed from point one took the sanctity of my womanhood. Four. It's quite possible I am pregnant. Though technically it takes a couple of days to actually become impregnated by a spermatozoa.
"Kind of. Not really. It's just complicated." Nora and Lizzie looked quizzically at her. "I needed to leave the house okay! I am sick of the people we live with now. Okay that's a lie. I love them all to death. Except Derek." She let out a visible shutter.
"What's new to that?" Lizzie asked, grabbing the menu in front of her and looking at the lunch section.
"Well, Derek's been…" Nora peered over at what Lizzie was looking at. They're not interested. Why would they be? It's me complaining about Derek.
"Derek's been what?" Her mom asked, looking at her own menu. Lizzie slid a finger down the choices of sandwiches.
"Derek's been…" You can't tell them. They won't believe you or they won't care as much as you hope they will. Or they will care too much and trauma will be created. Oh how the girls at school will hate me forever. He did to me what he would never do to them and they would of course assume I wanted it.
"Casey!" Lizzie and Nora said loudly. Casey's eyes unglazed and they came into focus.
"Jeez Case…"Liz said in astonishment, "what has he been doing?" Nora's face was that of a truly worried mother. Their menus now abandoned, their ears now open, and Casey was now more reluctant than ever to tell a soul.
"You know what. It's not even that important. I'm just glad to be out of the house and away from him. Why don't we celebrate this occasion by not talking about him." Lizzie looked at her big sister in disbelief, but brushed it off as her mother grabbed the glass of complimentary water and held it up in a toast. Casey and Lizzie did the same.
"To us girl's and the troubles that the men in our lives may bring us." Nora said with confidence. They all touched glasses and drank till their hearts filled with tears they would soon shed in a salty array of fury and sadness.