CASEY'S POV:
Denny and I sat together in the canteen at lunchtime the following day when I saw Ben make his way in and over to me…
"Don't mind if I join you, do you?" he asked as he sat next to Denny
"Actually, yeah." Denny replied, rolling her eyes as she turned back to me
"Now, now, Denise, that's no way to treat your boyfriend's friend, is it?" he questioned
"We're not together." I informed him, smiling weakly at Denny as I spoke
"Okay," he replied "let's talk, over there…"
Standing up from the table we'd acquired, I followed Ben over to the corner…
"What are your plans for this weekend?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me
"It's my little sister's birthday party." I informed him
"How sweet!" he proclaimed "but there's someone you forgot to invite…"
"Who?" I asked
"Me." he replied
"It's not a friends thing," I admitted "it's close family, that's it."
"I'm sure you could score me an invite, couldn't you?" he inquired "as I'm sure Denise is going, and she's your friend, isn't she?"
I nodded my head, signalling yes… "I'll see what I can do."
"Good boy!" he stated, slapping his hand against my arm "I'll see you later."
Nodding my head in agreement, he turned and made his way to the lunch queue, a breath escaping my lips as I composed myself and made my way back to Denny…
"So, what did he want?" she asked as I sat back down
"Nothing important". I informed her as I went back to eating my lunch
"Seemed pretty intense. What was it, Case?" she questioned
"He might be coming to Caitilyn's birthday party…" I admitted
"What?!" she inquired "Casey, Brax said you could have one friend, and that friend is me."
"What else am I supposed to do? Say no point blank to him and risk a beating?" I asked
She sighed heavily… "Does anyone know about what he's doing to you?"
"No, and no one can know either." I informed her
"If you told someone, it'd all stop." she sighed
"Can we just drop it please?" I questioned
"Casey…" she proclaimed
"Just drop it, Denny, please." I begged
Watching her as she stood up from the table and collected her things, she shook her head at me and walked away. Throwing my fork down onto my now almost empty plate, I sighed heavily and ran my hands over my face…
RICKY'S POV:
"Hello, gorgeous…" Brax greeted me as he walked into the kitchen
"Hi," I mirrored, the smile on my face widening as I saw he had a bouquet of flowers in his hand "are they for me?"
"No, they're for my other woman," he informed me, smirking at me playfully "of course they're for you, you idiot. How was your day?"
"Good," I replied as I took the flowers from him and set them in the sink, bending down so I could grab a vase from under the sink "has anything else arrived for Katie's party yet?"
He nodded his head, signalling yes… "The balloons and the cake."
I smiled at him warmly and kissed him softly as I brushed past him… "Do you think we're stupid?"
"What for?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at me
"Going all out for a birthday party for a 2 year old?" I questioned
"No, I don't," he informed me "and besides, she'll have a great day with all her friends from nursery, and that's what we want for her, for all of them, to be happy, right?"
I nodded my head, signalling yes, leaning up on my tiptoes to kiss him when the door burst open, Brax and I horrified by what we saw as made our way through to the living room…
"Casey!" Brax proclaimed as he fell to the floor
Sorry for the cliffhanger. Actually, no I'm not. What's happened to Casey?