Father's Combat Boots

A/N: Chapters are not edited... if anyone would like to fix errors or point them out feel free to.

Cassandra you have to wake up!

Whelp... see you at the bottom!

............................

Cassandra's POV

The scene in front of me, I can't seem to pry my eyes from the couple.

'Couple.' The thought echoes throughout my mind.

I can't help but notice the jade half-moons of the succubus that clung to My Kol.

'My Kol?' My thoughts seem foreign to me.

The beads of sweat that start to pool above my brows at the intense pain that racks my body.

My head starts to pound and my heart beats dangerously erratic under my clutched hand over my chest. A white film overtakes my vision, and my head starts to feel like its splitting in two, as my shaky legs grow weak and before I feel them give out under my weight, I can't help the ear-splitting scream that tears through my throat.

As my thoughts fall into the dark oblivion that is my mind, I couldn't help but feel a slight electric current of tingles that caressed my skin.

'Mate?' My mind questions.

Darkness.

'All around me is a cold, suffocating darkness.'

Until I am sucked deeper into the recesses on my own head through my past memories.

Swirling patterns of light and color swish past me. Making my head feel heavy and the queezy feeling in my stomach making me nauseous.

Fragments of memories rush past… I attempt to grab a hold of at least one.

....................................................

A fragment that I settle on is of the pitying look that is plastered on everyone's faces as I walk around town.

'I'm used to this. Their stares do not bother me anymore….. I know I'm a waste of space.' My internal thoughts.

What makes my eyes water is when I receive that same look from Him… Kol.

"Cassandra we can't be friends anymore." His words are like ice to my already damaged heart.

"Why?" I try to plead with him.

"I Can't be friends with someone like you." the same icy stare but beads of sweat begin to pool on his brow as if he is suffering with each word.

'Why?'

'Why would you do this to me? Do you not realize that you mean more than a friend to me? ' The thoughts shock me I had never thought about how much my "friend" meant to me. Until it was too late.

He had always been there for me.

Since the very beginning.

Before my stupid condition fucked up my life.

The memories race past hurling my consciousness further into the recesses of my life and I am flung into a younger version of myself.

...….................................................

6 years old

"Quit it you jerk!" the sensation of fresh tears slipping down my cheeks.

An older boy with crimson eyes and fresh burn marks on his arms, holds my brown and black teddy bear just out of my grasp.

"Give Mr. Snuggles back!"

"What if I don't want to?" The elder boy with crimson eyes teases. My chest starts to pulsate and my cheeks grow hot.

'He's got a pretty smile.' My thoughts can't help themselves.

"Then I will have to step in," an older teenager towers over the other boy.

'Brother?'

The teenager has a pair of our father's combat boots on, there is still plenty of room to grow.

As my eyes travel up the teenager, I notice that I can't make out his facial features anymore.

As if his face is blurred out.

.........

7 years old

A group of older boys chase me till I'm breathless down to the sandy, pristine beach. The sand reflects the afternoon sun and burns to the touch. They chase me down a path to where the tide pools are just barely visible as the tide recedes. As I'm running from them, I feel my legs give out from under me as my sandals find a rock that seemed to be deliberately in my path, and the clumsy fool that I was trips and falls, face first into the rocky tide pools slicing my hands and my forehead open, and I can feel the ooze of the sticky red substance run down my face. I try to catch my breath, when a familiar boy with crimson eyes scares them away with a glance.

"Thank you," I manage to get out between sobs. I take in the fresh bruises upon his flesh, the shallow cuts that seem to already be healing, the cigarette burns upon his sun kissed skin of his forearms.

"I'm the only one that can tease you, you got that?" His crimson eyes fixate on my violet ones, and I can see the shadow of a smile on his face for the first time since I've seen him around our small village. "Here let me help you get cleaned up."

I wipe my misty eyes with the back of my hand, feeling the mixture of moisture and mucus slide across my face. My forehead stung slightly from my fresh cut.

'Great! I'm so gross. No wonder I get picked on and teased.'

But to my relief I feel the boy shake with laughter, music to my ears.

"The names, Kol by the way." He offers for me to take his outstretched hand, not caring that it was covered in my mucus and tears, and pulled me to my feet.

He's just two inches taller than I am. He takes out a piece of cloth and wipes away the dried blood.

A quizzical look displayed on his face.

"Cassandra," I say timidly.

.........

10 years old

The sun was slowly sinking in the sky. Orange, pink and purple streak the horizon in front of me as I stare out towards the ocean. The temperature suddenly plummets, and I start to shake uncontrollably. I wrap my arms around my body, when I feel a strong arm wrap around my shoulders and pull me close.

The warmth seeping off his body surrounds me and warms me to the core.

My cheeks are emblazoned in scarlet, and grow hotter to the touch, my pulse races at his touch. The pounding in my chest, as I drown in Kol's crimson gaze, literally taking my breath away.

'He will always be someone special to me.'

"Hey….. Kol?" I cast my sights out towards the forbidden island in the distance.

"Yeah?" He answers.

"This rock will forever be our spot," I state, as if it was obvious.

"Oh Yeah? Why do you say that?" he lifts my chin up as I turn back to answer, the words I was going to say stuck on my tongue, as we stare into each other's eyes.

I finally manage to find my voice again as my cheeks deepen in color, "this is where we first became friends." I can't seem to tear my eyes from his smoldering crimson gaze.

'Like a live fire that is warm, yet uncontrollable.'

My heart pounding faster as I can feel his breath on my face. "I suppose that's true,"

Kol's face inches closer to mine. I can feel the blush spread like wildfire across my entire face, the heat radiating off my cheeks as if caught on fire.

The only sound I could hear was Kol's ragged breaths and the deafening roar of my erratic heartbeat. Kol's lips crash onto mine, the searing heat of my first kiss sends my mind into overdrive. My eyes close voluntarily, until I try to catch a breath; and realize my throat and lungs burned without the sweet oxygen my body craved.

Kol pulls away as to my horror my gasping ruins the perfect moment. My vision fills with black.

The rhythmic pounding on my chest brings me back to my senses. The blinding light from the setting sun seems brighter until a pair of scorching red eyes fill my vision.

"You take my breath away," I manage to choke out before collapsing my head in his lap.