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Chapter Sixteen: Fists of fury

Forty-five minutes later, Derek was still waiting for Casey to reappear from the school. He was not patient by nature, and he could feel himself start to fidget. Not wanting to use all his gas, he'd shut off the engine, only to start it again minutes later when the cold became too much. He swore to himself as it began to snow again. God, what he wouldn't give to be on a beach somewhere, tropical drink in hand and watching beautiful women stroll by wearing bathing suits that looked more like dental floss than anything else.

That led him to a vision of Casey in a string bikini which suddenly made his pants feel too tight. Derek shifted in the seat and sighed, leaning his head back against the head rest. He was glad that he had built up some personal time at his job…

His thoughts were interrupted when he spied Casey coming out of the school, followed closely by Lizzie, who looked thoroughly chastened and pissed off all at the same time. Casey had a thunderous look on her face and Derek took a deep breath as they neared the car. He had no idea how to handle a pissed off Casey, so he decided to do what made the most sense: Keep his mouth shut.

Which is what led to an awkward car ride, as Casey and Lizzie were silent the whole way back to their apartment. Casey in front, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, face toward the window, Lizzie pouting in back, her eyes moving restlessly back and forth. When Derek pulled up in front of their building, he left the car running, not sure if Casey wanted him to stay. He didn't have to wonder long, though, because she got out and walked around to his window. Derek rolled it down and leaned out, snow blowing back into his face. The weather had continued to deteriorate during the drive and it looked like it wasn't letting up anytime soon.

Casey waited until Lizzie entered the building then turned back to Derek. "Hey," she said, her breath coming out in big puffs, "I really, really appreciate you doing this for me."

Derek shook his head. "As I said before, it was no problem." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Do you want me…"

Casey cut him off, already shaking her head. "No, that's OK. You need to get back to work and I need to deal with this myself. I'll call you later, alright?"

Derek nodded, trying not to let his disappointment show. Although he knew it had taken a lot for Casey to call him for help, he also knew that she considered this "personal family business" and would not welcome Derek being there. He wasn't even sure what he would do if she did want him there, he just wanted to be invited.

"Hey," Casey's voice startled Derek out of his thoughts. "Everything OK?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

Derek smiled his trademark grin. "I'm always OK," he said before putting his car in gear.

Casey smiled hesitantly and stepped back. She was still standing there when Derek turned the corner and drove out of sight.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Casey yelled as she slammed the door behind her and dropped her purse to the floor. Not bothering to wait for an answer, she headed to the kitchen and turned on the burner to boil some water for hot tea. This weather was really getting to her.

When she didn't hear anything behind her, Casey whirled around and came face to face with an empty room. "Elizabeth! Get out here, I'm talking to you!"

Nothing.

Casey sighed loudly and stomped down the hallway to the bedroom. She found Lizzie sitting on her bed listening to her iPod. "Damn it, Liz, take those things out of your ears and listen to me!"

Still nothing.

Casey felt her blood pressure rise steadily as she towered over her sister, who was still studiously ignoring her. She had a sudden impulse to tear those damn earbuds out of her sister's ears and slap her across the face, but at the last second, she got a handle on herself and decided to cool down a bit before continuing the conversation. She knew that Lizzie had had a few problems at school, but nothing like this before.

"Fine, we'll talk about this later. You're confined to your room until dinner. I'll come get you when it's ready," Casey said, not knowing if Lizzie actually heard her or not. Grumbling under her breath, she headed back into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Quite out of the blue Casey felt a huge weight on her chest, causing her to gasp aloud. All the challenges of the last few years flashed through her mind, and just like that, she was weeping uncontrollably.

"Everything OK, Derek?" his boss asked him when he got back to the office.

Derek nodded. "Yeah, Craig, thanks for asking," he replied before heading to his desk.

As the day wore on, Derek had a hard time concentrating on what he was supposed to be doing. He loved having Casey in his life and getting to know her, but she sure didn't help him with his work! More often than not, she was the source of his mind wandering, and he wondered if it would always be that way.

They ate in silence for awhile until Casey couldn't take it anymore. "So, care to explain why you punched Melanie out?"

Lizzie picked at her food. "Not really."

Casey took another bite and chewed for a bit while thinking what to say next. She wasn't in the mood for an all-out war at the dinner table. "Liz, we're gonna have to talk about it sooner or later. Please, just tell me. I want to know so I can help you."

Lizzie snorted and kept her eyes on her plate. "Help me with what? Not being seen as the skank of the school? How are you going to do that, Casey?" she asked, her voice rising steadily.

Casey's mouth fell open. "Skank? What are you talking about, Liz?"

Lizzie dropped her fork and shoved back her plate before slouching down in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. She gave Casey a flat stare. "Exactly what I said. Everybody calls me a slut. Doesn't matter if it's true or not, once rumors get started, it's impossible to stop them." Lizzie blew out a breath and her eyes filled with tears. "I can't take it anymore, Casey! I hate that school! They're all dicks and the teachers are stupid and I don't want to go there anymore! Can't we move somewhere else? I mean, I know you don't like living here either! Can't we move far away from this place and start over? Can't we?" she asked desperately, tears openly on her cheeks now.

Casey felt her stomach clench and she swallowed back a sob. She needed to be strong for her little sister, not cry like a baby. Besides, she had already done that earlier and she was all cried out. Instead, she rose from her chair and went around the table before going to her knees beside Lizzie's chair. Putting her hands on Lizzie's thighs, she gripped them tightly and looked up into her face. "God, Liz, you know I would do anything for you, you know I would. If I had the means, I'd pick up right now and move us somewhere else," she paused to keep her voice steady. "But it's not something we can do right now."

At the sight of Lizzie's face falling, Casey rushed to go on, "Liz, please don't cry. I'm doing the best I can. I've been looking everywhere for a job and nothing's panned out yet, but I'm not giving up. I'll find something and hopefully we can move then, OK?"

Casey reached up and cupped her hand around Lizzie's face, her thumb brushing away the tears. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier, I know school sucks and I wish there was something I could do to make it all go away, but you do need to handle your temper better. You can't just go around punching people out all the time."

Lizzie smiled slightly through her tears. "But what if they really, really deserve it?"

Casey smiled back. "Well, then, you'll just have to punch them out when you're both not on school grounds."

They both laughed at that.

"She punched the chick out?" Derek's voice said into Casey's ear later that night.

Casey spoke softly into the phone, not wanting Lizzie to hear her from the bedroom. "I know, right?" Casey sighed as she absently picked at the fraying fibers of the couch. An unbidden image of Steph having sex on the couch with one of her "clients" came into her head and she jerked her hand away from the material, instead settling it in her lap. "I'm at my wit's end, Derek. Lizzie's miserable, and I have no idea what to do. Short of picking up and moving her out of here and into a different school, which is soooo not happening right now."

There was silence on the line as Derek sympathized. He knew what it was like to deal with unruly younger siblings. His wayward brother Edwin coming to mind. Wanting to come to Casey's aid, Derek wracked his brain for ideas. Short of offering to let Casey and Lizzie move in with him (yeah, his dad would love that!), he had no immediate solution.

"Well, all you can do is be there for her, Case," Derek said, feeling helpless that he couldn't do more.

"I know," Casey sighed, "I just wish things were different. I wish things weren't so…"

"So…?" Derek added when she didn't continue.

"Nothing," Casey said shortly, causing Derek to furrow his brows. He felt a flare of frustration. She always did this when things seemed to be opening up between them. Just when Derek thought they were getting closer, Casey would throw a wall up and back away.

"OK," Derek said uncertainly, "Well, I guess I should let you go, but before I do, I was wondering if you and Lizzie would like to come to dinner at my place tomorrow night."

Casey groaned inwardly. She so wasn't in the mood to socialize and make nice with Derek's family but she knew that she told him she would and she didn't want to go back on her word.

"Um, sure, we can do that. You'd have to pick us up though, unless you live near the bus line."

Derek laughed. "I'm not letting you and Lizzie take the bus to my house, Case. How about I pick you two up at 7:00?"

Casey smiled at Derek's laugh. "Sounds good, we'll see you then."

Derek smiled widely into the phone. "Excellent! I'll see you then."

They ended the call and Casey sat back on the couch, wondering what the next night would bring.

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