chapter sixty nine

family line.a series of flashbacks.

. He actually prided himself on his ability to tell the truth, even when it was hard, and when it made him look like a total asshole. Sure, he cheated on a few tests in undergrad, and , it was only yesterday that he lied to his professor about being able to list the steps to an atherectomy, but still. Derek told the truth, at least, when he thought it mattered.

Which, although an admirable trait, led him to the predicament he was currently in; sitting next to his crying eight-year-old pseudo-sister, who may or may not have been crying because of .

(In his defense, all he did was tell the truth.)

"Cass, I didn't mean that it was ," Derek halfheartedly corrected himself, a hand on the young girl's weeping shoulder. "I just meant that maybe you could get it tailored, or something, just so it fits better, you know?"

Cassie sat on her bed with her legs crossed, elbows on her knees as she cried into her hands. Deep down, she knew she was being dramatic, but when you're a kid, seems like the end of the goddamn world.

"I-I don't have any ," she stuttered out between sobs, the crack of her voice making Derek regret saying anything at all. "I only had ten dollars! Now I-I'm gonna look at Nancy's wedding."

It was the cheapest dress in stock at Goodwill, so despite it being about three sizes too big, it was pretty much Cassie's only option. It was knee-length and firetruck red, puffed out in all the wrong places, and practically swallowed her whole, but still, it was . Cassie didn't own very many nice things, and she excited to show it to Derek, until he mentioned the obvious; .

She knew he was just being honest, but she sorta wished that he wouldn't be.

," Derek scolded halfheartedly, knowing that with a mother like Bonnie Harper, there was only so much he could do to steer her away from the f-bombs. "And why didn't you just say so? I would have bought you a nicer one if you'd asked me—"

Cassie shook her head, dropping her hands into her lap as she looked up at him. "I'm not allowed to ask you for stuff anymore."

"What?" Derek's brows caved inwards, frowning at the way she avoided his eye. "Why not?"

"Mommy says that she's tired of you treating us like a charity case. She thinks it's ."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "How do you even that word?"

Cassie shrugged offhandedly, speaking through the rubber bands on her braces. "I don't know, I'm a genius."

Derek rolled his eyes, sighing heavily at the fact he knew all too well. Sometimes, he forgot how intelligent she was; other times, though, he really had to work to remind himself that she was just a child. For a moment, he glanced between her and the monstrosity of a dress she wore, before getting to his feet and gesturing for her to go with him. Cassie didn't move, wiping the tears from her cheeks as she looked at him with confusion.

"Look, Cass, you know I love your mom, but she can be a little... , sometimes," he started, walking over to her and grabbing her hand so she'd stand up. "Besides, what she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?"

Cassie stared at him with vague suspicion as she toyed with the foot-long chiffon ribbon sticking out from her side. "So... you'll fix it?"

"What?" Derek shook his head, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "Oh, god, no. No, we're raiding Amy's closet instead."

Slowly, Cassie let a smile slip over her features. Despite the fact that the youngest Shepherd sister may have not been her biggestfan, Cassie had always looked up to her nonetheless. Besides, not only was Amelia but she could also afford to buy more dresses if Cassie just so happened to 'misplace' one. "Really?"

Derek mimicked her grin. "Really. She probably won't even notice. Just don't tell your mom you got it from me, otherwise she'lltry to pay me back for it. Deal?"

Despite the fact that she wished she could argue, Cassie knew that Derek was right. Bonnie prideful, almost to a fault, refusing to accept help from anyone (even if she needed it). While Carol Shepherd, one of her closest friends, lived comfortably in a five bedroom household, Bonnie and Cassie bounced from apartment to apartment, leaving to find a new one each time the rent was raised by greedy landlords. Her best friend since childhood, Denny Duquette, resided in an Upper East Side penthouse; and yet, Bonnie refused to take the spare guest room for longer than a few nights, opting to live in rat infested studio apartments instead.

But Cassie never complained, not once. Not when she was left alone for two days straight while her mom worked a triple shift at the 24 hour diner down the road, nor when her mom couldn't make take her to the C, so she had to walk the four miles, instead. Cassie never complained, because if it weren't for her, Bonnie wouldn't have to work so hard in the first place. It was Cassie who racked up her mother's debt at such a young age, and it was Cassie who needed money for frivolous and unnecessary things like .

(And sometimes, that made her feel like a mistake.)

Derek was different than her mom, or Denny, or Carol, though. Derek didn't about money, or at least, not when it came to her. He was a full-time student, and yet he still took a chunk out of his savings each month to take Cassie shopping, and out to eat, and to play laser tag, and everything else that she enjoyed but didn't have access to without him. Carol said it wasn't smart to disregard his savings, but honestly, Derek could care less, as long as he was there to see the way Cassie's face lit up when he spent time with her where her mother couldn't. He made her feel , and to him, that's all that mattered.

Blinking out of her thoughts, Cassie squeezed the hand that was still in her own. The thought of finally owning something made her practically shake with excitement, a grin pulling at the corners of her lips when she gazed up at Derek with gratitude.