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"Fuck me…" Ashley mumbled flipping open her cell phone. "Shh…I told you later, Ash!" Spencer whispered, smirking. The three had turned out the lights in the family room and had put in ‘Garden State’. "Mom? Please. Tell me you’re kidding. Wait? What? Okay. Yes, whatever. I’m coming. I’ll see you in twenty." Ashley sighed clearly annoyed. "What is it?" Spencer asked. "My mom’s at the train station for some reason and needs me to pick her up. I swear, sometimes that woman plots the perfect moments to screw up." Spencer shrugged, "I’ll be awake when you get back. Then we can go to bed." Ashley smiled, "Okay. Casey, if you’re asleep when I get back I’ll see you in the morning for your first day at King! Pictures are such a must." "Ha-ha-ha" Casey mocked laughing sarcastically. "See ya!" She called out, taking the movie off pause. The girls sat in silence for the rest of the movie which was a grand total of seven minutes. When the screen went blank and after all the credits had rolled, Casey broke the silence. "So, only child?"  "Huh? No, I have two brothers. Both Juniors."  "That’s cool" Casey muttered into the dark. "You?" Spencer asked, deciding that this was better than retreating to their rooms. "Yeah, a sister. Well, had a sister. She’s off somewhere in Eastern Europe by now, I think. With her boyfriend." "Oh, that’s cool. How long have they been together?" "Two years." Casey answered indifferently. "Wow, when’s the wedding?" Spencer joked. "Hopefully, not for awhile. He’s an asshole." Casey could sense Spencer’s questioning gaze boring into her back so she continued, "He rapes her." It was silent for a moment thought it felt longer since the quiet was enhanced by the darkness around them. "And she’s still with him?" Spencer asked incredulously. "Yeah. She says she loves him and that sometimes it’s not so bad." Spencer didn’t say anything so Casey kept talking. "That’s sick, isn’t it? I mean, in a bad way. I approached him about it once. I was so tired of it. Her room was next to mine and I’d hear him pounding on her every night. My parents were never home so they never knew. The first few times she’d scream a lot. The regular stuff, y’know? Like ‘Stop!’ ‘Please, Please, Stop’. I could hear her sobbing through the walls, it killed me. So, one night after he finished with her I followed him out of the house. I followed him all the way to his place. It was ratty, full of torn up couches and beer bottles. I called his name into the dark just as he was fumbling with his keys trying to open the front door. He looked at me for a second like he didn’t know who I was, like he had never seen me in his entire life. I looked him in the eye though and I said, ‘I want you to stop.’ He just looked back at me, he never even broke eye contact. The bastard just kept fucking staring at me. Then he got tears in his eyes. They were such bitch tears too. Right then, I got so pissed, I don’t know what came over me, so I socked him in the stomach. I might look small but I’m strong. He fell hard. He didn’t even fight me back. He just lay there on the fucking dirt. Every night he fucking raped her, every night she screamed ‘Stop, Jason, stop!’ he never stopped. He always fought back, he always fucking fought back. And now, here he was, lying on the floor whimpering like the pathetic piece of shit he was. I kicked him. I kicked him for at least an hour. I couldn’t even see, there was a cloud of dust so big around me. I just kept kicking though, kicking until I couldn’t feel my leg anymore, kicking until I fucking collapsed. I didn’t get home till four o’clock the next day. I just walked around the city in fucking circles. By the time I did get home she was gone.”  It was silent for another minute before Casey felt arms close in around her, pulling her small body into a tight embrace. At first Casey wanted to push her away, shake off the act of affection, but before she could she was distracted by another sensation. She reached up, touching the pads of her fingers to her eyes, nervous to find tears there. Her body was shaking as she became overcome by the emotions she had harbored for years. As Casey lay in bed that night after Ashley had called and told them her car was broken down and she wouldn’t be home until five that morning, but before she had fallen asleep, Casey couldn’t help but want waffles the next morning and every morning after that.

I know I said that the background would be done in this chapter but I reached a point where I knew I had to stop and that it would be pushing to continue. Therefore ‘Waffles’ will have three parts to it instead of two. Once again, I apologize but I hope that, regardless, you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you!