𝗦𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR!

〔 Season Two, episode eight 〕

𝑪𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑹𝑨 𝑳𝑨𝑰𝑫 𝑨𝑺𝑳𝑬𝑬𝑷 𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑭𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑹, the only shelter they had found since leaving their family the night before, a half built house.

Nick had woken only moments before, watching Cassandra sleep, brushing a Strand of her long black hair out of her face. He smiled at how beautiful she looked but it dropped as he thought about the decision he made for both of them — he would be fine out here, but he risked her life to knowing she wasn't and probably never will be as comfortable in this world as himself, did he make a mistake?

His mother's words from the night before echoing in his mind, she knew what buttons to push, everyone did. Cassandra was the most important person to him, he never wanted to hurt her or put her in danger.

But he promised her he wouldn't leave again.

He caused her enough pain with his drugs but he kept coming back to her...always to her, he only ever tried for her. Which is why even as selfish as it was he needed her to come with him now

But could he be putting her in danger?

If something where to happen to her because of his decision, he wouldn't be able to live with himself

Like Cassandra he wouldn't live without her, losing her would mean losing himself.
Nick would want her to live even if she he died but he wouldn't live if she died, if not for her he would have been gone a long time ago

But Cassandra felt the same, if Nick died, she would go with him.

Cassandra's eyes fluttered open Feeling a soft kiss on her forehead, rubbing her eyes she looked up letting her eyes adjust to the light, letting out a small smile as she stared into Nick's dark orbs

"Morning, pretty girl" Nick smiled softly at the brunette as she woke

"Morning Nick" as she spoke all the events from the night before entered her mind and one thought lingered, they left Alicia, she felt guilty for leaving her, Cass and Alicia always had each other. When Madison was focused on Nick, Cass was the mother figure and sister figure and everything for Alicia and now she left her to — but she knew Alicia was strong — Nick needed her and she needed Nick

"Do you regret coming with me?" Nick questioned seeing the look on her face, reaching out to play with her hair, a worried look on his face

"Nick i chose to come with you because i wanted to that was my choice. I dont regret it. I will never regret any time with you" Cassandra smiled sitting up to face him, his shirt Stained in dried up blood yet for some reason it didn't seem as disgusting to her anymore maybe because if she looked down she knew her clothes would be the same, it was just the world they lived in now

Cassandra looked down guilty "it's just that I feel bad for leaving Alicia"

Nick sighed placing his forehead against hers

"I'm sorry I made you chose" Nick whispered

"It's not a choice Nick" Cassandra shook her head "I would follow you anywhere, I made that clear a very long time ago"

Nick smiled, she had. In everything she had chose him and he couldn't understand how he had been so lucky to have her, he had to do right by her, as much as this world would allow him to and that starts with protecting her and showing her he was staying

"And I have no idea how I can tell you how much that means to me, I love you Cass more then I could ever tell you"

"I know"

♱

Cassandra stood at the doorway of the rundown House. Nick and Cass shared the house last night with one of Celia's maids and the little boy from the compound,

Cassandra smiled as she watched Nick play football with the boy

"He's good with him" Sofia spoke startling Cass

"Yeah" Cassandra whispered, glancing towards the women "He's always been good with kids"

"You two ever think about.." The women trailed off noticing a look in Cassandra's eyes, subconsciously the Parker girl rested her hand on her stomach - that same image playing in her head, a boy identical to Nick in everyway and a little girl with dark hair

Making Sofia stare in surprise gesturing to her action "-unless you already are"

"No" Cassandra spoke quickly with a sharp tone, she let out a soft laugh "at least I don't think so" she glanced back out towards Nick dropping her hand

"Would you not like to be a mother one day?"

"Of course I would, I've always wanted that and with him" Cassandra turned around fully facing the women now "it's just..it's always been complicated with me and Nick, even though we're young I'm sure by now we would have had at least one, and it would have been loved even though it probably would have been an accident especially on my part but it didn't work out like that there was always so much expected of me and letting a drug addict get me pregnant probably wouldn't have Been the best idea and now with the way the world is it probably won't ever happen and if it did, why would I want to bring a child into this world"

"As long as you protect the child, raise it to be strong like you and Nick. The reason will be because it will be loved and i know i have not known you both for long but a blind man could see the love you two have, that child will be the product of that love" Sofia advised the younger girl, collecting supplies to put in the bag

"Where will you go?" Cassandra asked, wanting to change the topic

"South. La Paz. Juan's father is there. I must try to find him. I owe it to him. To his mother. You and Nick should come with us"

"Nick has other plans" Cassandra shook her head "and I go where he goes"

"Your a smart girl. Yet not when it comes to him" Sofia observed "traveling across Mexico with the dead, that is suicide"

Cassandra winced at the word, she thought Celia idea would be his new drug, but Sofia was right him wondering like this was suicide, just like his drugs

This was Nick before the apocalypse just a different poison and now Cass was along for the ride this time not just a spectator

"Nick is where my brain dies and my heart takes over. A smart girl would have run the moment he started shooting needles into his arm.."

As those words left her lips Cassandra stepped outside, smiling as she saw Nick tease Juan holding the ball in the air so he couldn't get it,

Nick turned seeing Cassandra grinning he gave the ball back to Juan, pulling Cassandra towards him so her back hit his chest leaning her head on her shoulder, he held her tightly his arm wrapped around her shoulder as they listened to Sofia

"There is a mountain shaped like the ridge of a women's back. Do you see?" She pointed off into the distance, Nick smirked as he traced a finger down Cassandra's back, making her side eye him playfully

"Yeah" he spoke looking in the distance but still smirking at the effect he had on his girl

"Head for it" Sofia told them "the highway north is just beyond"

"Okay" Nick sighed, Sofia pulled her backpack off holding it out to Nick

"Should be enough to get you there."

"Thank you" Nick smiled pulling away from Cassandra swinging the bag onto his back

Cassandra smiled at Sofia taking ahold of the water bottle she held out towards them

"This will be the least of your worries" she warned them "it won't be an easy trip"

"I know'" Nick replied, glancing at Cassandra, but they would be okay.

Cassandra hugged Sofia and Juan, watching as Nick did the same, placing a kiss on Juan's head smiling,

"Good luck" Nick said through the window "i hope you find him"

"Be safe" Cassandra told them

Sofia eyes connected to the brunettes
"You to. Remember be smart" Cassandra nodded understand her meaning, don't just follow Nick blindly

Taking ahold of Nick's hand as they watched Sofia and Juan drive off, knowing they would probably never see them again dead or alive

Nick smiled down at there interlocked hands, squeezing her it

"We've got this baby" he reassured

♱

Many hours of hiking through Mexico, covered in blood — the hot sun beating down on them — there feet aching and there body exhausted. Nick and Cassandra came across a few abandoned cars

Cassandra searched through them a defeing slience between the two, both of them dehydrated and tired. Cassandra cringed at the smell of blood and sweat mixed together she still hadn't gotten use to it but it was getting easier, she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing

Cassandra sunk to the floor defeated after searching the cars and coming up empty handed, resting her head against the hot metal of the car, one thought in her mind it was a bad idea

If the dead don't kill them, dehydration, starvation will. She was smarter then this.
She just had to hope, glancing up at Nick whatever luck kept him alive was going to do the same for them now but somehow she still didn't regret leaving with him — two things were always drummed into her growing up, religion and never to give up. She gave up religion yet somehow replaced it with even more blind loyalty to Nick, because that's what it was blind loyalty it always had been even when she knew better

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘣 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬'𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴

"𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬'𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵

"𝘐 𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣 "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨"

"𝘋𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘴, 𝘋𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘴" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?"

"𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥

"𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦."

"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥"

𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘴

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭"

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨

"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰...𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨"

"𝘈𝘩, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺

"𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 "𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳...𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵"

"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶"

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴, 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶"

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴

"𝘚𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘣, 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬?𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦?"

"𝘠𝘰𝘶?" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳

"𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥" 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥?, 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 "𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘮"

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘺, 𝘮𝘰𝘮'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵"

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘭 — 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 — 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘵'𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮"

"𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵

"𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 "𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭"

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦

𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬 "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 — 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥

"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 "𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶"

"𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺?" 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 "𝘋𝘢𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶"

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦

Night had fallen, the blood had dried completely to there skin and clothes and Cassandra felt disgusting yet Nick seemed normal like it was completely normal to be covered in blood — he found peace in this world.

It was easier for him and Cassandra didn't know If she should be worried about that or wish for the same thing, for it to be easy.
Maybe it was easy for her to, maybe she just kept clinging onto the life before because that's what your supposed to do not embrace it

The two of them sat beside the fire they made in a half built house, Cass absently mindedly tracing little patterns over Nick's tracks marks, deep in thought. That memory haunting her. Why now would she think of it?

Nick watched her lost in thought a smile across his face as he admired how beautiful she was. How was he so lucky?
Feeling her fingers up and down her his arm, he handed her some food which she took with a small smile

"Your a good man Nick" Cassandra whispered, confusing Nick who also very much doubted her words. But he wondered why she was saying that. Saying that when he had brought her out here and risked her life, saying that when he had killed his friend back in Los Angeles, saying that when he would have done anything to get her back from those people —  and he would have never regretted It.

"Cass–"

"You are, a man's job it protect and love there loved ones and that's what you do. Your a good man and you never needed anyone to show you how to be" Cassandra smiled as she faced him "and your addiction, your addiction makes you want to cling onto something, it's not just drugs, it never was especially with the drug you chose"

She held her hand over one of the marks before continuing

"You let Celia get in your head. Because that was another addiction. Nick I struggled my entire life with deciding if god was real or not, I still don't know I just don't want to follow it anymore, I don't have my father's presence looming over me. I do see you have a fascination with the dead but its not what Celia was drumming in your head, do you understand how scary it was for me to see you like that, it was like you were looking for your next fix. It's like it's not just drugs with you it's anything that can give you adrenalin, anything that can give you a buzz and it is scary especially in this world"

Cassandra had realised with his drugs he was living life or death everyday, he was right when he said he had been living like this and we were all just catching up and now he was looking for something else, something to fuel him because he was numb to this world

First Celia...what's next.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Nick mumbled taking in her words maybe she was right, but Nick had noticed a change in her to, she said she given up religion it was like she had given up the hold her father had on her yet like she was clinging to it still — she was afraid to get use to world, afraid to see who she really was. He glanced into her eyes, she had been hesitant, not wanting to kill anything since she took a life but it was easy for her. Maybe she was made for this world to and she was just fighting it

"It's just this world feels so normal to me so easy it's making me look for something more"

"And once again Nick, what about me?, am I still not enough" Cassandra asked hurt evident in her voice and Nick shook his head sighing

"Of course you are" his hand found its way to her neck pulling her closer both of there eyes meeting eachothers, love filled in both of them but covered with so much hurt from the past — it was like they needed a reset button

"Your my favourite drug baby" Nick told her a gently tone to his voice but the way he meant it and the words he used probably weren't the best words to use with her

♱

Cassandra was woken with a jolt as Nick jumped up pulling her with him, shielding her with his body. She heard the metal of a bat swing down against the wall and then against Nick, yelling in Spanish it was all a haze to her

As she eventually steady herself she glanced up as she leant against the wall Nick still covering her incase they were to attack again — noticed a women and a little girl. With the panicked looks it must have been there home

The shouting continued and the little girl screamed, Cassandra stood infront of Nick, raising her arms she wondered if they felt more threatened since he was a man

"It's okay. Its okay we don't mean no home"
She told them gently

"We thought it was empty" Nick said

The women come towards them again and before Cassandra even had time to move Nick saw what was about to happen, reaching it out he wrapped his fingers around Cassandra's arm pulling her away and taking the blow himself

"Nick!" Cassandra yelled in panic, not knowing where he got hit, only hearing the sound

Nick stood up limping slightly, placing himself infront of Cassandra, who was frightened and worried,

"Okay okay. Let me just get my back, all right?" He asked but the women continued to scream as Nick tried to grab the bag the women hit him over the head with the bat making him drop to the ground, Cassandra couldn't do anything, especially not with the child in the Corner

Nick quickly scrabbled to his feet pulling Cassandra infront of him and both of them left running into the dark with nothing to help them survive the world they now lived in.