Previously:

"I was sort of listening to their conversation up there…." Nora waived her hands aimlessly. Derek stopped cold. Derek waited for Nora to continue. "Casey basically asked her Lizzie what was wrong. Turns out Lizzie was a bit jealous and thought you were trying to take her sister away."

Derek could see where Lizzie was coming from but he thought she was old enough to realize that they would never leave her behind. Derek knew he should not have assumed that Lizzie would understand. Jealousy could do crazy things to people.

DASEY

Emily thought she was going crazy. Not only were she and Derek not getting back together, but he was dating Casey… He wanted to marry Casey… Wanted to have kids with Casey…

Emily couldn't even count on both hands how many times she dreamed about having kids with Derek. She fantasized about their kids playing on the playground near her house… watched them enter the elementary school she and Derek attended.

But he wanted Casey… he was dating Casey.

After her conversation with Derek Emily went home and Googled if step siblings could even get married. Turns out they can.

Emily felt such betrayal. For years Casey had complained about all the things Derek did to her. Derek did this and Derek did that.

And that's when it struck Emily. Maybe this entire time Casey had been obsessed with Derek. They couldn't have one conversation without bringing up Derek. She's probably the one who sabotaged their relationship in the first place. She never approved of them dating. Casey had always managed to ruin their dates. She either called during them or just showed up with her current boy toy of the week.

Casey was the reason why she and Derek weren't together.

DASEY

Derek couldn't get up from the table fast enough. He had felt her eyes on him the entire time. He refused to look at her. Not because he was angry, but because he didn't want her to see how hurt he really was. Derek was sure that if he looked he would've gotten angry and ask her why she was pulling away from him. Even though he knew exactly why… but he was going crazy. Crazy with angry for Emily and still somewhat at Lizzie. He was crazy like a drug addict without his fix. He had only just gotten Casey, yet he didn't like what he felt like without her.

Derek shoveled down his hot chili, ignoring his burning tongue and quickly offered to do the dishes. George jumped up to help his son. He could tell by the look in his son's eyes he was close to giving up hope. The dinner table had been quiet all evening and the thick tense was enough to strangle everyone. George began to dry as Derek washed. George was a little unsure of how to start this conversation.

So he went with something stupid. "How's it going?"

Derek stopped washing and just gave his dad a slow blink.

Yep. Stupid.

"I meant," George cleared his throat. "How are you holding up?"

Derek chuckled darkly. "I'm tired, dad. I barely slept last night because I had nightmares about Casey leaving me. I haven't spoken to her because my touch is repulsive so I don't wanna get too close." Derek was huffing as he stressed about his situation.

George sighed. His son was hurting and there was nothing he could do to help. He knew his son would give Casey the space she wanted but it was hurting Derek more and more as she pulled away. George tried to bring in a brighter note.

"At least she worked things out with Lizzie. Now she only has to work things out with Emily." Derek stopped washing dishes altogether. George was surprised by his abrupt behavior.

"I'm not entire sure I want her to see Casey," Derek said as he braced himself against the counter.

Now George was confused. He had thought Derek wanted Emily and Casey to makeup— it was the fastest way for them two to make up. "Why is that?"

Derek launched into his account for his meeting and phone call with Emily. George was shocked to say the least. He had known Emily was interested in his son but he didn't realize how much.

"… And there I am telling her that we will never be a couple! I told her flat out that I was going to marry Casey one day and she had a choice to either be in our lives or not." George snapped back into reality when he heard the word "marry."

"Marry?" George barely uttered. He thought he might be having a stroke.

Derek looked at his dad's pale face and was confused. "Dad… it's going to happen but not for a long time. You know Casey won't agree to anything until she's good and settled on her career."

George could still only hear the word marry. "Marry…" George whispered once again.

"Dad!" Derek shouted as he shook his dad's shoulders. George finally snapped out of it and focused on Derek.

"You want to marry Casey?" George looked his son square in the eyes. He knew he was serious about Casey but didn't realize he was already thinking that seriously.

Derek didn't hesitate, "Yes." Derek knew it was a big step to tell his dad this but he wanted him to know how serious he was. His dad and Nora had supported them this far, Derek was hopeful that they could support them in this too.

George took a deep breath. He knew Casey wouldn't even consider marrying Derek until they were both out of college and had stable careers. George took relief in that… a small relief… but relief nonetheless. "Well, I guess that makes this whole situation a bit harder for you." Derek nodded. George finally had a real idea of what his son was feeling.

Derek took a seat at the table and rubbed his face with frustration. "I get why she's so upset. I really do. I just wish she didn't care so much. And yet, that's why I freaking love that crazy ass girl."

George laughed, "Spoken like a true man in love."

Derek barely smiled up at his father. Truthfully he was barely keeping himself together. He and Casey had only been together for about month and yet these two past days were ridiculous. He was almost disgusted with himself because of how weak this made him feel. He didn't want to stand on the sidelines anymore. He'd give her the rest of the night… but in the morning they would sit down and talk this out.

DASEY

Casey was almost floating as she went down to dinner. Her and her sister talked things through and life was almost perfect again. Almost. She couldn't help but notice Derek not even glancing her way all during dinner. Instead, it was she who had practically stared at him all throughout. Her floating diminished and the heaviness was back in full force. She wanted so badly to have Derek hold her and say fuck all these people who didn't approve of their relationship.

On one hand she did want to do just that. However, she couldn't do that with her sister. Yet, she was kind of debating if she wanted to keep Emily's relationship. Emily was her oldest friend that she kept in touch with but she was willing to lose her friendship with her faster than she was willing to lose Derek.

As Casey left the table she glanced once more at Derek. Maybe she needed to talk this out. It was time to call Kennedy.

Kennedy had been waiting for a phone call from someone. Derek had texted her hours ago that Lizzie and Casey's talk went over well. However, the more time went on and the more time she didn't hear from Casey- Kennedy grew restless and began to pace in her bedroom. She sent a text to Derek asking him if he was dead from all the teenage angst. She still hadn't gotten a response. She decided to go downstairs and ask her mother if she wanted ice cream (she was getting stressed). Half way down the stairs she heard _, which was Casey's ringtone. Kennedy turned, ran, and tripped up the stairs. She busted her door open and drove for her bed, where she had left her phone.

"Hello?" She tried to conceal her heavy breathing.

"How've you been?" Casey asked.

Kennedy's heart took a nosedive. Casey's voice did not sound like a girl who was in love nor who had just made up with her sister. She sounded lost and tired.

"I'm basically a couch potato," Kennedy tried to cheer her friend up. "I've watched all three Lord of the Rings movies… not watching the Hobbit, duh. I've also splurged on Stranger Things and the second season and The Matrix films. I'm honestly surprised I don't have a bed sore."

"Eww," Casey wrinkled her nose with disgust.

Kennedy pumped a fist in the air for making her friend laugh. "So how's it going with you guys?" Casey heart did a flutter. "How did telling the parents go?" Kennedy waited in anticipation.

"It was rough," Casey finally answered.

"What?!" Kennedy tried to act surprised. "What happened? I thought your parents were on your side?"

Casey closed her eyes and tried to forget about what happened that night. But Casey took a deep breath and explained to Kennedy all that happened in the last three days. Had it really only been three days, thought Casey.

Kennedy sat through the retelling of the story again. She didn't feel a sense of heaviness like she did when Derek told her. Casey's words were light yet still heavy. She felt better now that she and Lizzie had talked but Casey still felt iffy about Emily. Hearing what Emily had said to Casey was a letdown. Kennedy was sure that Emily's friendship was over but the words still held to Casey.

Kennedy quietly listened to Casey's doubts and her fears about Derek not being a one woman guy. She knew that Casey was still having a hard time with Derek's past. She witnessed single handedly how Derek treated other girls. It was hard to combat firsthand experience.

"... Am I being stupid? Am I setting myself up for failure with this relationship?" Casey was tired of asking herself this question over and over and not coming up with an answer.

Kennedy knew Casey was looking for a yes or no but she couldn't give one. As much as she liked Derek as a friend Kennedy couldn't speak for him like that.

"Casey… Re-think that question. Maybe instead of asking yourself if this is even worth it. Maybe you should ask if you're willing to do without it. Are you willing to give Derek up and watching him date someone else? Watch him marry someone else?" Casey had never thought of it that way. The thought of Derek being with another girl made her sick. "Is he worth it?"

Casey snapped back from her space moment. "I don't want to see him with another girl. It's making me sick."

"Well, then there is your answer." Kennedy said. However, Kennedy wanted to push Casey further. "Have you talked to him?"

The sickness in Casey stomach only intensified. The guilt and the shame weighed heavy. "No," she whispered.

Kennedy knew all this before but she wanted Casey and Derek at peace again- so she pushed. "When was the last time you two spoke?"

Casey began to feel a headache coming on. "The first day we arrived… that afternoon."

Kennedy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Casey…"

"I know!" Casey shouted. "I feel so bad. My stomach hurts; my head hurts… my heart hurts. I had to give myself a minute to figure everything out! My sister called me disgusting and my once best friend basically called me a whore."

"I want you to consider Derek's feelings for a moment. You two tell your family about your relationship and when things got rocky you jump ship!" If Casey felt bad before she felt horrible now. "How would you feel if Derek didn't speak to you for days because he had to work things out?"

"I'd kill em," Casey muttered.

"Exactly. He put your feelings first again. He let you have the space even though it was killing him to be away from you. You know he loves you Casey. If he kept pulling away from you and didn't tell you why, what would you do?"

Casey shrugged. "I guess I'd call him out. Confront him."

"Yeah, you'd be like what the fuck?"

Casey laughed but she deep down she realized just how bad the situation was. She was hurting Derek now as she spoke with Kennedy. Casey wasn't going to give Derek up. With their relationship she'd have to let her pride go and start trusting Derek. He trusted her with his heart after all. Could she make up for her mistake?

DASEY

Derek was lying on old bed. He still had the poster of some random playboy posted on the ceiling. Band posters cluttered his other four walls along with posted notes of phone numbers. He promised countless girls, countless amounts of time that he'd call them. As he looked about his room he counted twenty seven posted notes. Some of them had names and some just had descriptions.

555-2777

Blonde with blue streaks in her hair

555-2959

Blonde with a great ass and boobs for days

555-6598

Waitress at TGIFs

555-7805

BOOBS… You'll know

Derek rolled his eyes at himself. The numbers used to feed his ego. He knew he was cute and he knew he could get any girl. Maybe he was kind of an ass… and the more he looked around his room the more he hated himself. No wonder Casey couldn't get past Emily's comments. She had seen firsthand how he dated. She had seen his room and how these numbers were basically trophies.

Derek got up from his bed. It was time to grow up. He quickly went downstairs to grab a trash bag. When he came back up he began tare the posted notes and band posters off the wall. He felt kind of liberated. He was in college now and he had a great girlfriend… he didn't need the gratification of phone numbers.

Once he was finished he looked at the full trash bag and was disappointed how full it was. But he was happy to have a fresh start of sorts.

The knock on his door startled him out of his proud glory.

As he opened the door he didn't expect to find Lizzie standing there. "Can I come in?" Lizzie asked. He had barely heard her but backed away from the door to allow her to enter.

"Whoa," Lizzie was in complete awe and shock of what she saw. Derek's walls were bare. His bands, his girls, and his numbers were gone. The first thing that came to her for reasoning was Casey. Derek had never taken down any of his pictures for anyone. It was then that Lizzie realized just how much Derek loved her sister. He was willing to change himself a bit for her. He was willing to make himself a better person because of her sister.

Lizzie broke from her trance and looked long and hard at Derek. He had honestly surprised her. She then realized that she needed to apologize to Derek. If anything she had probably hurt him most of all. Not only did she hurt him directly but she also hurt him by Casey avoiding him.

"I'm sorry, Derek. I was so mad and I said something stupid and untrue. I wanted to hurt you guys even though I knew you guys would eventually get together. I was expecting it. But when Casey didn't call and then you guys show up and announce yourselves. I just… I didn't expect it to happen so soon." Lizzie tried her hardest not to cry but she couldn't help the few tears that escaped. "I thought you were taking my sister away. I know it's ridiculous but I lost Casey going to college and it seemed like I was completely losing her to you."

Lizzie wanted for Derek to say something… anything. He sat at his computer chair and weighed his options. On one hand he didn't want to forgive Lizzie. The downside to that was that Casey wouldn't forgive him for not forgiving Lizzie. If he forgave her now it wouldn't be real. He was seriously hurt by her word and the way she treated her sister. What Lizzie said was the worst case scenario in Derek head. He was prepared for a bit of resistance but nothing like what Lizzie said. Derek wasn't prepared to forgive her straight out.

Derek finally looked at Lizzie. Her eyes were red and there were tears running down her cheeks. "I think it's going to take time, Liz. I was really hurt by you words." Derek's heart broke more when he saw more tears roll down her face. "That doesn't mean I don't love you. It just going to take some time."

"Okay," Lizzie whispered. Derek sighed and held out his arms wide. Lizzie didn't hesitate. She hugged him tight and knew she'd have to seriously make this mistake up. However, she was ready to commit to it.

A/N: This chapter was kind of challenging. Tying everything back up when I destroyed all of it in the first place. Hope yall like! Side note: Obviously my foreshadowing sucks, sorry!