Betrayed By Him (Book Two in Paradise Mountains Series)

1. Red Tears

    Growing up in Paradise Mountains meant two things: Spring would always come with a picnic by the Mountain Pass near the waterfalls, and she would have more time, or at least a better weather, to wonder around town, as far from home as possible.

    For Cassie Winters, Spring meant freedom. When the Winter snow close all routes in and out of town, sometimes for more than a month, it meant that her personal hell was about to start. For one, her mother didn’t seem to see more than her next drink. Martha Winters had one her love in her life, and it come out of a bottle. When she was sobber, the few times she was truly sobber, she would indulge in the life she had before arriving with Cassie’s father to Paradise Mountains, when all seemed pearly white in her path. But Cassie’s pregnancy and her father’s leaving one day for work, never to return, had scarred her deeply. Martha had sought the comfort of the bottle, not realizing that, although she had lost a husband, her daughter had also lost a father.

    It had passed so many times since the last time Cassie had truly seen her mother present that she had lost count.

    The best way to avoid an early scene would be to leave the house even earlier. Concealed by her hoodie, she silently tiptoed around the living room until she was sure she had passed her mother’s room. She tiptoed around the clutter scattered through the ground, knowing that if her mother were to wake up, she would be in serious problems.

    Martha Winters had been a good mother, once. Now, she was a troublesome alcoholic with nothing to her name other than a leaking roof over her head.

    When the silent and still frosty morning complimented her, Cassie took a deep breath. She was out.

    She was nearing her 17th birthday, and although she wanted nothing more than a normal life, normal parents, she knew the approach of her anniversary would also make her mother cringe, cry, shout and drink into unconsciousness once more.

    The year had 365 days; her father had chosen to disappear on her seventh birthday, almost ten years ago.

    She was halfway school when she remembered she had left her backpack at home. She cringed. She had more than enough time to go back and still arrive school on time, but she was afraid she would wake her mom up. Unsure of what to do, she failed to notice the approaching person, so when a voice cheerfully said:

    “Good morning!”

    She almost jumped out of her skin.

    Summer Belmont, her English teacher, was walking beside her and had her friendly smile in place.

    Truth be told, Summer was always smiling and had a friendly face. It was one of those faces that she imagined her mother once had, but had lost along with her father.

    Summer was new in Paradise Mountains, and Cassie always thought that it was probably due to her newness that she was so friendly and smiley. She was probably trying to make some friends. She had the most open smile Cassie had ever seen; her dark blonde hair made a stark contrast with her gray eyes, and they seem as sharp at seven a.m. as they were during a written test.

    Good luck with that, Cassie thought bitterly. She had lived there all her life and for all the friendliness of the town, no one had ever reached to her.

    Not that she would allow it, anyway…

    Of course, she didn’t have her gray eyes; it was just plain boring brown eyes, that she usually covered with her long brown locks of hair…

    So, she made her usual half smile, one that was good to keep people at bay, and didn’t answer.

    “Are the mornings always so cold around here?” Summer asked, as if they were friends and engaging in a long conversation. She muttered something I the lines of “I suppose” but didn’t engage any further.

    “Why are you going so early to school, anyway?”

    Look who’s talking, Cassie thought again bitterly. Although, to be fair, Summer was a teacher. Cassie was one of the first to arrive school, and usually hid away in some corner until the bell rang.

    “Couldn’t sleep…”

    She almost asked “And you?” but she bit her tongue, holding the words in. Summer smiled again and said:

    “I’m a morning person, as you can tell. Oh, look. Do you want a coffee?”

    “I’m fine” Cassie muttered and to her great relief, the teacher went inside and left her alone.

    It was not as if she didn’t like the new teacher; she did. She was vivacious, she could bring the old dusty tomes to life. Her classes were funny and, if she was poetic, she would say that it would bring the sun into all that dust.

    But her light clashed with Cassie’s shadows. Fearing her teacher’s return, she stepped up the pace and was almost running when she reached the bathroom near the gym. She entered and closed the door silently. She than analyzed herself on the cracked mirror. Her pale face was looking gloomily back at her. Cassie pressed her hands against her head and swallowed the scream that wanted to escape. She was so fed up with everything… fed up of her life, of school, of everything.

    She took the razor from her bag pack and pushed the sleeve up. Just a scratch, to take off the edge…

    Cassie sliced her wrist and saw the blood start pouring, each drop a red tear.