We are leaving tomorrow

.

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Chapter 2: We are leaving tomorrow

The cold evening air stung Cassandra’s face as she sat on the small bench at the corner park.

Her arms were folded tightly across her chest as she stared down at the pavement. The argument replayed in her head over and over again.

"He doesn’t deserve it."

Raymond’s words echoed painfully in her mind.

Cass kicked a small pebble across the ground.

“They’re wrong,” she muttered under her breath.

Her dad wasn’t a bad person.

Yes, things had been messy lately.

Yes, he had been drinking more.

But people didn’t understand how hard he worked… how much pressure he was under.

He loved them.

Cass knew he did.

Footsteps approached from behind.

“Cass.”

She didn’t turn around.

“Go away, Raymond.”

Her brother sighed as he stopped beside the bench.

“You can sit out here all night if you want,” he said calmly. “It won’t change anything.”

Cass clenched her jaw but remained silent.

“The moving trucks are coming tomorrow morning,” Raymond continued. “Mom already signed the papers. Everything is ready.”

That made Cass finally look up.

“What?”

“The flight is tomorrow by 8."

Cass stared at him in disbelief.

“So you guys just decided everything without me?”

Raymond’s expression softened slightly.

“We tried to talk to you,” he said. “You just refused to listen.”

Cass looked away again.

The truth hurt more than she wanted to admit.

Raymond rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Look,” he said quietly, “Mom’s exhausted. She needs this. We all do.”

Cass didn’t respond.

After a long moment, she stood up.

“Fine,” she muttered.

Raymond blinked.

“Fine?”

“I’m going home,” she said coldly. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Raymond exhaled quietly, relieved.

“Yeah.”

They walked back home together in silence.

---

Cass went straight to her room the moment they got back.

The familiar smell of her room made her chest tighten.

Her posters.

Her messy desk.

The fairy lights hanging above her bed.

Everything would be gone tomorrow.

She slowly sat down on the edge of her bed.

Then her eyes landed on the guitar resting against the wall.

Cass picked it up automatically.

The smooth wood felt comforting in her hands.

She rested the guitar on her knee and began playing softly.

The melody was slow and emotional.

Each chord echoed quietly through the room.

Music had always been her escape.

Whenever things felt too heavy… the guitar made everything easier to breathe through.

She closed her eyes as her fingers moved across the strings.

The room was peaceful for some minutes before the sound of phone ringing tore through the silence. She opened her hazel colored eyes that were slightly red at the corners and glanced at her phone.

She immediately sat up straight as she urgently picked up the call.

" Hey Baby", the rough mature soothing voice rang in her ears and crashed down her defense as she broke down in tears.

"Dad.. Dad...Dad"

Harold felt his heart ache as he listened to his daughter's broken sobs.

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