She was frying some pancakes when her mom walked groggily into the kitchen and took a glass of water. She moved to the dining table to arrange it for breakfast before turning to her now awake mother.

" Good morning" she greeted cheerfully" how was your night?"

" Morning Honey, gosh I slept like a log last night"

" Yeah, me too. I was exhausted" she said as she carried the pancakes toward the dining room. " Can you please bring the maple syrup as you are coming, Mom?" She asked

Sophie opened the refrigerator and brought out the maple syrup before walking to the dining room and sitting in front of Cassie. She puts some pancakes on her plate and pours a generous amount of maple syrup before picking up her fork and eating a mouthful. Looking across at Cassie, she asked

" How was your date with Mr.womanizer?"

" Gosh, mom. Can you please stop calling him that? I'm telling you that it was all rumors" she answered

"Okay...okay, I'm sorry. How was your date with Devin?"

" It went fine," Sarah said as she continued eating. She glanced up and saw her mother staring at her, her large eyes widening with curiosity and she smiled.

" Oh don't be a spoilsport and tell me how it went," Sophie said, unable to control her curiosity.

Cassie smiled, she loves teasing her mother. She was curious, she had always been curious and she couldn't help herself whenever she wanted to know something.

" The tabloids didn't lie about him being a billionaire though," She said stalling " His mansion was very beautiful"

" Mansion?" Her mother asked, her fork hanging midair.

" Yes mom, a mansion" she was enjoying herself

" Now I've got to hear about this," her mother said, leaning forward.

"Like I said mom, the date went well"

" Cassandra Sophia Donovan! Quit stalling and tell me exactly what happened before my poor heart breaks" her mother said, frustrated.

" okay..okay" she laughed " Well turns out he has a twin brother who looks exactly like him but with a different character"

" a twin brother? Did he tell you that over coffee?" Her mother demanded.

"No, he didn't. I saw the guy, Dustin is his name, by the way, and I mistook him for Devin. We were having a nice conversation and I was wondering how he changed to a friendlier guy when Devin appeared and ruined the moment" she said that last statement with a slight frown

" Ruined the moment?" Her mother asked taking another bite of her pancakes.

" Yeah, he was boring compared to his brother and a complete asshole. Every time his brother tries to make a conversation with me, he cuts in rudely" she said, still pissed off " He didn't initiate any conversation with me but kept cutting his brother whenever he tried to make me feel comfortable".

" So I take it you are no longer interested in the Devin fellow?" Her mother asked with a raised brow

" Tch...who would want a boring person to keep company?" She replied " besides, I had so much fun with Dustin last night"

" Dustin? The lively and friendly twin brother?" Her mother asked dumbfounded

" Yes. He is so romantic and fun to be with. He took me to a fancy restaurant last night and kept flattering me" She said, smiling as she remembered how last night went.

" Cassie honey, you shouldn't be taken by a guy's romantic gestures. How can you just fall immediately for a guy you met yesterday?" Her mother asked softly, dropping her fork on the plate.

" Mom, you need to see Dustin, he's so much fun and...and" she trailed, thinking of when he kissed her

" Do you know him well? What if what the papers said about Devin was about him? After all, you said Devin is too laidback"

" Oh gosh mom...please stop," she said getting angry " stop trying to question everything I do"

" I'm not, honey. I'm only looking out for you" her mother said running her hands through her hair," Your father was also charming and very romantic when I first met him and what happened? After marriage, he turned out to be a monster".

" Stop it, mom, don't mention Dad here. You know your poor judgment of dad has nothing to do with my relationship with Dustin" she shouted, banging her fork on the table angrily.

" Honey, I didn't see that coming, no one did. He was all charming like your Dustin before he started beating me up. I'm only concerned about you as your mother and it is my responsibility to take care of you " Sophie said angrily, feeling herself losing control.

" My mother? Your responsibility to take care of me?" She shouted, standing up from her seat. " where was the so-called concern and responsibility as a mother when I went to college? , where was the mother when I stayed with grandma for ten good years? Quit pretending that you care about me when all you are afraid of is people finding out about your horrible past" she yelled

"Cassandra!" Sophie yelled in shock at her daughter's behavior and she stood up on trembling feet " It doesn't matter if people find out about my past or not. I will always care about you. And you know that I kept sending cards and gifts to you even when I wasn't there" she said, still trembling.

" Mom, you had no idea what I went through when you were in prison right? For ten years, I was branded the daughter of a murderer and had no friends. If you had cared for me, you wouldn't have done that" she cried and started walking out.

" I did it for you, Cassie! I did it to save your life, if I hadn't done it, you would have been dead by now!" Sophie yelled at her and fell, crying.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cassie sat down in her bedroom, crying silently as she remembered the memories she tried so hard to put away.

It was 1976, and the images were as clear as if they happened yesterday.

With her left eye swollen shut and her cheek purple, her mother was loading a suitcase into the trunk of a car, trying to move quickly. The suitcase held clothes for both of them and she clutched a purse with her year's allowance. Sophie had been saving the money from the little changes she got from grocery shopping and the coins that had fallen from her husband's pocket.

She had convinced Herself that she was leaving for good this time. She wouldn't allow him to talk her into staying and she wouldn't believe him no matter how sweet he was to her or how sincere his promises seemed. She convinced herself that if she stayed, he would kill her and then kill her precious daughter. She kept repeating these things to herself like a mantra, hoping these words would give her the strength to leave.

Cassie remembered how nervous her mom had been that day, how she'd told her not to go to school because they were going on a trip. How she'd packed a jacket for her " in case the temperature dropped". She was young then and did as her mother had instructed, even when she knew that her mother was lying.

She'd heard her mother screaming the night before and crying as she lay in bed. Heard the sharp crack as her father hand connected with her cheek, heard her mother crash into the thin wall that separated her room from theirs, heard her moaning and pleading for him to stop that she was sorry, that she'd been planning to do the laundry but had to take their daughter to the doctor instead. She'd listen as Derrick called her mother names and made the same accusations he always did when he was drinking." She doesn't look like me!" her father screamed, "She is not mine!".

Lying in her bed, listening to the scream, she'd prayed that it was true. She didn't want the monster to be her father. She hated him. Hated the greasy shine in his hair when he got home from the chemical factor and hated the boozy way he smelled at night. Hated the way he beat her mom when the house wasn't clean enough or if he couldn't find something her mother had put away. Hated the way they had always kept the curtains drawn, and how no one had ever been allowed to visit.

" Hurry," her mother said, motioning with her arms" we would miss our flight".

She'd run into the house to take the car keys, her mother becoming frantic as each second passed. Her father would soon arrive from work and the very thought of not making it made her mother's hands shake as she stood by the car door waiting for her, smoking one cigarette after the other. As she rushed back, she could see that the white of her mom's eye was red with blood.

Her mother hurriedly grabbed the car keys and entered the car, smiling painfully as she tried to put the key in the ignition but her hands were shaking and she missed. She took a deep breath and tried again, this time the engine turned over. Her lips were swollen and when she tried to smile again; with her face and bloody eye, it came out crooked and she looked terrifying. She put the car into reverse and backed out of the garage driving gas until she glanced at the dashboard and gasped.

The gas gauge was nearly empty and they had no choice but to return. Again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Brought back to the present by the sound of a phone ringing downstairs, she stood up and wiped her eyes.

Looking downcast and regretting her earlier statements to her mom, she headed downstairs to see her. Her mom was still sitting on the floor but she was calmer and had just ended a phone call. She walked slowly towards her whispering softly

" Mom?"

Her mom turned to look at her, her eye still swollen from crying, and said

" That was Kelvin. He called to bug you again and I told him off. Told him you were dating a billionaire named Dustin" she said smiling

" Oh mom", she sighed and went to hug her " I'm so so sorry for the harsh words I said to you earlier and for yelling at you" She whispered as she pulled back and stared into her eye " I didn't mean any of those things"

" I know. I'm also sorry for comparing my relationship with my father to your relationship with Dustin. I should have known that you are now an adult and can make decisions by yourself" She said and smiling mischievously, she said

" So tell me more about Dustin"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that evening, as she sat down in her room, she received a call from Kelvin.

" Cassie, how are you doing?" He said, his loud voice echoing in the room.

" I'm good, Kelvin. I thought I warned you not to bug me anymore? Why are you still calling my line?"

" I heard from your mother about the asshole you are seeing now."

" Don't you dare call…."

" He is an asshole, baby. Be very careful " he warned, cutting her short.

" You won't tell me what to do with my life, Kelvin. The last time I checked, it was over between us so goodbye". She said before hanging up on him and throwing her phone.

She jumped on her bed and frowned when his wearing echoed in her ears. Shaking her head, she said dismissively before dozing off to sleep

" He is just being jealous that I am with someone better than him".