For Her Protection

STEFENO-5

Chapter Ten

She pushed past me and walks into the living room. Elijah comes down the stairs while she makes herself comfortable. She covers herself with a blanket as if to protect herself from this conversation. "Alright, cut the s**t Elijah, why are ya'll here?" She spits out. Hmm. This peaks my interest. I've never heard such a pure, little girl say such vulgar words. I'm leaning back in the chair, that in all honestly is small for me, waiting for the s**t show to start. If I was a normal person, I would be nervous right about now, but me being me, I'm not. She doesn't realize it, yet, but she will be coming back to New York, whether she likes it or not. And she will be by my side, wether I like it or not. Secondly, I'm ecstatic to have her by my side, but she can never know that.

Elijah takes a deep breath and begins his speech on why Cassie should come home without revealing the truth and the circumstances surrounding the truth. I keep quiet, just taking it all in and watching Cassie. I'm trying to get a read on how she takes things to better gage where she is with her emotions. She doens't know it yet, but I can read everything about her. From the lust in here eyes when she first saw me, to the anger in them when I said she looked like a w***e. I can see the hurt in her eyes when she sees her brother sitting there and the turmoil she is in when he asks to come home. I can see how right this moment, she isn't far from knocking her brother out. I see the way she is breathing, hard and fast. I can see the thump of her pulse on the side of her neck. She's easier than a book. That's the thing about Cassie, she has always worn her feelings on her sleeve. THAT is the reason why we did what we had to do. She was not meant to be in this life. She is way to good for people like us.

I'm watching and waiting for my time to speak, when in a slit second everything changes. Before I could even get a handle on the situation, Cassie has thrown her blanket off and is standing as if she is ready for battle. Then s**t completely hits the fan. ""LOVE ME?? LOVE ME?? YOU ASSHOLES ABANDONED ME!! OUR FATHER ACTED AS IF I DIDN'T EXSIST. HE NEVER CAME HOME, NEVER ANSWERED PHONE CALLS OR TEXT MESSAGES. I WAS LEFT COMPLETELY ALONE!! AND YOU!! YOU f*****g LEFT THE GOD DAMN COUNTRY. YOU BOTH WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT ME AND YOU BOTH LEFT ME. I WAS ALONE!!......." Cassie is screaming. Even a raging bull wouldn't compare to the look on her face. Her face is read as red as a tomato in the Spring. If this were a cartoon, you would see steam coming from her hair. Each word she spews is laced with more venom than a rattlesnake in Georgia. And the pain behind her words tug at my heart. She is pouring every ounce of pain and torture she has felt over the last eight years into this one speech. She is doing a good job too. I can see each word stab Elijah worse than the previous word.

"I'M NEVER GOING BACK!! DO YOU HEAR ME?? YOU BOTH CAN ROT IN HELL FOR ALL I CARE!! NOW, GET THE f**k OUT OF MY HOUSE!! AND DON'T NEVER COME BACK!! STAY THE f**k AWAY FROM ME!! YOU PIECE OF s**t!! GET OUT!!!! LEAVE!!!" The last words Cassie throws at Elijah before she storms out of the living room and races up the stairs. The last thing I hear is a door slamming, which even makes me jump. "UGHH" Elijah screams as he falls to the couch, head in his hands. "Well, that went well." My voice is raked with sarcasm. "SHUT THE f**k UP, STEFENO!" Elijah screams at me, then jumps up and heads outside. My guess is he needs a breather and a cigarette. Because if he doesn't calm down, I'll put a bullet in his brain. Best friend be damned. That is one thing I do not tolerate. Disrespect, a word not in my vocabulary. I've slaughtered people for less.

Finishing up an email and hitting send, I decided to check up on Elijah. I stand up and stretch, well the best I can in this tiny ass house. While I'm alone, I decide to take a look around. I see man pitcures hanging on the wall and scan over them. In every picture, Cassie is smiling. She looks so happy. It stings a little, thinking we are ruining yet another part of her life. Sighing, I turn around and make my way outside where I see Elijah puffing away. I take my place leaning against the car while he hands me a cigarette and a lighter. Lighting it and taking the first puff allows some stress to releave itself. "I'm sorry, man." Elijah finally speaks. I nod, so he continues. "I really don't want to do this. Did you hear what she said? She clearly hates me and dad for what we did. I don't blame her though. We deserve it all after walking away from her. I can't do this to her, man. God, this is so f****d up!" I shruh my shoulders and say, "No choice."

I'm not one for many words. I don't see the point of having "filler" words. My theory, just get straight to the point. Who gives a f**k about people's feelings? Feelings get you killed. Plus, I've noticed people tend to be more afraid of me when I barely speak. Its when I add extra words, that people do a double take. Usually their faces pale and they start shaking. The chattering of their teeth is like music to my ears. And then when they scream is when the entire band joins in on the music. But that is neither here nor there. That is simply apart of my life. Albeit its one of my favorite parts.