Heartbroken by thepurplebutterfly (best book club books for discussion txt) 📖

Cassie

"Okay, calm down. Its just a day. One day you can handle that." I said to myself as I stood in front of the mirror, styling my hair.

Today is the day my boyfriend, Rhys, is going to come over to my house for the first time to meet my family. Rhys and I have been going out for four months now. Ever since Dad found out he has been hounding me to invite him over. I had just bunched the last of my loose hair into a hair band when Mum called me from the kitchen.
"CASS!" She yelled.
"What is it, mum?" I asked walking out of the bathroom and towards her voice.
"What do you think Rhys will want for lunch?" She asked.
"The easiest thing for you to make, nothing." I said.
"So its either quiche or chicken caeser salad." She said ignoring my first reply.
"Quiche." I pulled a glass out of the cupboard and placed it on the bench.
"Okay," she said flipping to that page of her cookbook.

I poured myself a glass of mum's homemade lemonade. I went to pick it up when my brother, Blaine, snatched it up right out of my grasp.
"Give it to me." I growled, glaring at him.
"I don't think so..." He said pulling a sarcastic sad face. He took a big gulp of it.
"Butt muncher..." I said loud enough for only to him to hear.
"I'm sure that'd be tasty.." He said grinning smugly.
"Ugh, your a festy child." I muttered stealing the glass from him.
"KRISTEN!" My step sister Tani came into the kitchen, pushing Blaine into the bench behind him. "When is daddy getting home?" She asked shoving her latest phone in her vintage Louis Vutton hand bag.
"He should be home any minute now, Tani. Be patient." Mum answered, mixing the kiesh batter. Tani just rolled her eyes and flipped her salon straightened hair into my drink.
"Thanks Tani, now all the chemicals in your hair are in my drink." I said placing my glass in the sink.
"Forget about your drink! MY HAIR HAS LEMONADE ON IT!" She cried storming back to her room.
"Blaine turned to mum. "Remind me again why we don't make her stay with Carmen?" He said.
Blaine, we have been through this before..." Mum said pulling the quiche dish out of the cupboard.
"Oh yes, I remember now. Carmen is an abusive drunk and can't hold onto a man. She flits from home to home, man to man and abusing every good marriage and child in a good home and tearing it down to her level of life expectations so she always can say 'I'm where I want and need to be.' I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forgotten that...My mistake..oops." Blaine said.
As soon as he said that my mind flitted to Rhys. About his family and broken home. Oh how I wished he would tell me whats wrong, why he has all those bruises, and why on occasion he has been in the emergency room.
"Blaine, watch your mouth." Mum warned, looking him straight in the eyes.
"What? That's what you told us." He replied acting all innocent and skulling down the apple juice.
"Use a glass." She said. I could see in her eyes she was ashamed of telling us the truth about Tani's mum. But she was also disappointed and sorry for her. You could see was having a battle of emotions going on inside her everyday, even when she puts on her brightest smile and talks the day away. Its there, deep in her eyes. The worry, the pain, the regret. I hope one day mum will see it in her to forgive and let go. To be completely happy.
"KRISTEN! WHERE IS MY EMERGENCY HAIR PRODUCT BAG!?" Tani shouted from her room.
"IN THE BATHROOM!" She yelled back.
Tani came storming back down the hall and disappeared into the bathroom.
"I don't know if its best for her to stay here with us." Blaine continued once he was sure she wouldn't be able to hear us.
The feelings were in Mum's eyes again. "That's enough now, Blaine."
"Come on." I said heading for the door. Relief washed over Mum's face and she went back to making the quiche.
"Why?" He asked.
"Just come on!" I said pulling him out of the kitchen behind me.

I walked out into the hall way and dragged Blaine all the way down to the den.
"Can't you see how upset mum gets when we talk about the 'T&C' issue?" I asked, closing and locking the door.
"What? Why would she be upset?" He asked, sitting down in dads huge comfy armchair.
"She feels sorry for Carmen and Tani. She's ashamed she told us about Carmen's.....issues." I said, flopping down onto the couch.
"Really?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Yes.."
"Why?"
"Because she is that kind of person.." I replied.
"CURSE HER KIND AND LOVING SOUL!" He said.
"No, because its that kind and loving soul that allows you to go to the movies every other weekend." I laughed.
"I don't want mum to feel guilty...Can we do anything to help her?" He asked.
"Um, stop talking about Carmen and Tani... The 'T&C' issue.." I said.
"I don't if any of us can do that..." He whispered.
"Try, at least? For mum's sake..." I pleaded.
"FINE!" He gave an exasperated sigh and fell back in the arm chair.
I gave him a greatful smile and walked over to the door. I unlocked it and released Blaine from the cage of the study and wandered back down to the kitchen.
"Hey mum, do you reckon the kiesh will be finished in time? It may have been easier just to make nothing." I said sitting in one of the seats surrounding the bench.
"Well, I've started now... To late to stop." Mum smiled and went back to cooking.
"Do you reckon dad'll be home soon?" I asked.
"Yeah, any minute now."

Soon enough we heard the deep distabt rumbling of dad's car pulling up out the fron of our old victorian manor house. I ran towards the door to meet dad but Tani came flying out of the bathroom, silver foil wrapped around the ends of her hair which crinkled with every step she took, and clickety-clacked in her high heels all the way out the front door.
"DADDY! Just look at what Cassandra did to my hair!" She screamed in dad's face.
"Hello darling! How are you?" He smiled and leaned in to hug Tani but she just backed away.
"HOW AM I!? I have been in the bathroom trying to get the sugar out of my hair which your mutt of a daughter put in m hair!" She screeched.
"That's over exaggerating what happened just a tad don't you think? And there is no need to call me a mutt. It wasn't me how put the sweet and sour deliciousness in your hair.. It was you own fault." I said calmly. I pushed straight past her. "Hey dad! Mum's in the kitchen cooking her homemade quiche for todays lunch with Rhys which you will be on your best behaviour for.. Correct?" I said wrapping my arms tight around him. "Oh and, how was work?"
"AH! So many questions! Hello sweetie, how was your morning? HOMEMADE QUICHE! Delish, I can't wait! and yes I'll be behaved and control myself and work was as always, a tad dreary with a hint of fantasticness!" He replied. He put his arm around my shoulders and we walked through the front door.
"My morning has been pretty good.." I smiled.
"DADDY!! Aren't you going to punish her-"
"For what? For you flicking your hair into my lemonade which I had just gotten back of Blaine who had stole it from me as soon as I poured it? I was so naughty wasn't I?" I smirked.
Tani just glared at me. "DADDY!" She whined.
"I'm sorry darlng, but as far as I'm concerned Cassie is right, she did nothing wrong." Dad replied in his deep serious voice.
Tani's face went red with rage and she stormed away from us back into the bathroom with her
crinkling noise echoing through out the spacious foyer. Dad just sighed and turned to me.
"Ready to meet the best person you'll ever meet, other than me of course." I joked.
"Sweetie, I was born ready." He grinned and hung his coat and suit jacket up in the front closet, with that we walked all the way down to the kitchen.

Rhys

"RHYS!" I heard Carmen's cries from all the way up in my tiny bathroom. As bad as it was, I liked it. It was all mine. I washed my face with the finest soap I could find, which happened to be Carmen's rose gel soap. She was so gonna kill me for using it but what can she do to me? She knows that if she does anything again I will call the police and I will press charges and she may get arrested, so basically she knows to watch her temper now. She attempts to make me call her mum even though she isn't. My real mum was beautiful and was kind and loving and was the best woman I knew until a drunk driver sent her car rolling off the high way and into a river were she drowned whilst floating down the river. She was in a word, an angel. Carmen Sketchley was no angel. My father 'died' a 5 months ago. I had nothing but this raging alcoholic as my permanent substitute mother and no fatherly figure to look up to anymore. I was alone and sad and scared for my life and to go back to the shack I have to call home. But then I met the most beautiful girl in the world, Cassie Macey Hunter. Cassie has luscious flowing chocolate browny crimsonish hair and blue eyes as light as the sky. She is the light of my life and I love her so so much.
"RHYS!" She wailed again.
"SHUT UP CARMEN!" I yelled back. She was really starting to get on my nerves.
"DO NOT TELL ME TO SHUT UP! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Oh how I loathed her incessant wailing, it is torture.