The past

Standing outside the room Mr. and Mrs. Sarah had no other option but lean very near to the door only to hear muffled words and a rather dramatic conversation going on and about between the Petersons. Almost after 15 minuts the door slightly opened and after a moment Cassy rushed out of the room. Sarah could see that Cassy's face was red. She could not believe her eyes. Cassy had never in her life infront of any man in this world. Not even her bother's had managed to see a tear drop roll from Cassy's eyes. But here she was the same person Sarah had known but a totally different shade that she had never witnessed before, the emotional side of Cassy. Her heart melted.

Cassy was breathing heavily. She could not handle the stress anymore. Her entire world had gone blank all of a sudden. She found herself near the elevator and when the door opened, seeing a group of people stare at her she retreated and went to find the staircase along the long hallway that opened to various other virtually real sporting areas. As she saw a fire exit at the end of the hallway. Opened the door and found the backside staircase. She tried to run down them but as she was breathing heavily and her legs had gaven away any amount of strength it had from the medicine she took the morning, she could move no further. She sat on the top of the stairs and let the air crease her cheeks as the air was cold and her cheeks were wet. The cold November nights of London were harsh. She remembered how she would wait for her brothers to comeback from school to play in the snow. She had more fun with her brothers than with any of her other friends. The sun went down early in winter. She saw the sun go down. From behind Sarah put a quilted jacket on her and passed to her a tissue. Cassy looked at Sarah. Her eyes were wet too. After a moment, Sarah sat down beside Cassy and held her palm.

'Sarah should I tell you a secret?'

Sarah looked at Cassy and noticed that she was not crying anymore.

'I was in love with a person before I met Justin.'

Sarah's eyes widened. But then before she could open her mouth to say another word Cassy shook her head.

'No, it was not love. Love is when it is mutual. I think they call it crush. It was a little intense. This crush of mine.'

She looked into the open but was lost in thoughts.

'I liked him soo much that I thought he was the one.'

'Then was is after this that you started hating men? I thought you despised them from the very young age.'

'True. I did hate men from the beginning. I thought I would never be able to trust one, ever in my life. But I guess life had other plans. I unintentionally fell in love with him. Of all the men that had come in my life otherthan my family, he was the first person I thought I could trust. Maybe because of that I wanted to make him my family. Mind works in weird ways. I thought he liked me too. I wanted him to stay with me forever. How foolish I was. I was selfish. He was a nice person. So I did not mind being his and his alone, for the first time in my life. I trusted a guy. It was my first love.'

Sarah listened in full attention. This was a little difficult for her to digest. Cassy having a love interest was new. Sarah understood when that the whole story was in past tense, that this first love interest of hers had ended.

Sarah did not press any questions on Cassy. She held her pam firmly and pulled her up. Cassy resisted at first, but then gradually stood up and looked at Sarah. Sarah smiled at her, a warm and a comforting smile and led her inside the building. They headed towards the elevator. She looked back at the room where she had the intense conversation with Justin. The door was wide open and the room was dark. 'Sure, why would he still be there?' she thought.

When the elevator doors were about to close she would have sworn to have seen a dark figure in the room. But before she could focus they were already on the way to the ground floor.

Her brain could not process anymore. She closed her eyes. Reaching the ground floor she headed to the car which as though instructed prior spead directly to Justin's house. Sarah was still holding her hand. 'Sarah is soo reliable.' Cassy thought. Sarah was always there when she had her life messed up. She felt strong because she had this friend of hers always by her side. As they reached the back gate of her apartment she heard loud chatter from a little far away. Understanding that the press never left and were still hungry for more news, Cassy put her jacket upon her head and hid her face. As they hurried to the stairs they had climbed down before in hope to thrash Justin who had made ironic comments that became headlines. She had no more energy left in her body to carry out any action for the day. She hung up the jacket in the rack as she entered the house and went straight to bed. Noticing some suppliments lying on the side table along with a note she swallowed them in one go, drank some water and before she knew it she had smoothly drifted into deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes, it was midnight. It was quiet, but suddenly she heard footsteps faintly on the other room. At first she thought it was Sarah, but as she crept quitely near the door she noticed voice that of a guy's who was on his phone. The realization dawned on her. She was alone with Justin in his apartment.