18. Then
18
THEN
Age 18
C assie grumbled. She was tired of all of this. Tired of the games. Tired of parties with entitled rich people. Tired of pretending everything was fine when it so clearly wasn’t.
She grabbed one of the champagne flutes being passed by waiters and chugged it.
Five minutes later, she repeated her actions, and then another five passed and the cycle continued. The more alcohol she drank, the clearer things became for her. As Cassie looked around the crowded ballroom, she really saw the people in her presence in a different light.
These were a bunch of people who were miserable despite all of their blessings. They gossiped about the most inane things. Who was cheating on whom? Whose jet broke down so they had to use the backup one? Whose hedge fund crumbled? Whose trust fund was depleted due to excessive partying on exotic islands?
She shook her head in disgust at what they considered to be life-or-death problems. Could they all truly be so blind to the real world? Did they not realize there were kids who barely had enough food to eat? Kids whose parents abused them? Kids whose whole existence held little meaning?
A friend of Liz’s made eye contact with Cassie, watching her wearily.
“Do you know how many children you can feed with that clutch?” Cassie pointed, sucking on the back of her teeth. “I’m guessing a whole lot. There’s more to life than parties like this and ladies’ luncheons, you know.”
The woman sneered at Cassie before she stormed off. Cassie laughed maniacally. These people were too easy to frazzle. Just mention someone not in their social standings and they were all ready to shit themselves.
Cassie continued to antagonize the patrons, pointing out their self-centeredness, for a half an hour, creating quite the spectacle of herself, before Liz and Wyatt finally confronted her.
Wyatt stalked over to Cassie. “Young lady, what do you think you’re doing?” he scolded.
“Oh hey there, Mr. throw-money-at-the-problem. Here to offer me another bribe to disappear? Thanks, but no thanks. I’m having too much fun showing you douchecanoes how to have a good time,” Cassie vocalized, popping a pig in a blanket in her mouth.
“What's going on here?” Matthew spoke up from behind Wyatt, peering over his father’s shoulder to see Cassie smirking smugly, a glass of champagne in her hand.
“What’s going on is your girlfriend is making a mockery out of us all!” Wyatt spat the word ‘girlfriend,’ his spittle going in Matthew’s direction.
Cassie turned to her left to look at the tall leggy blonde girl beside her, who had her eyes set on Matthew. “Listen, blondie, you better put your claws away and stay the hell away from my man!” Cassie warned. “Or I might have to make you.”
The blonde girl jumped back dramatically. Cassie fake lunged at her, wanting to scare her further. She chuckled at how serious “Blondie” thought she was with her threats. Matthew grabbed Cassie around her waist, lifting her off the ground slightly, and escorted her outside. He practically dragged her through the party, much to his parents’ dismay.
“Let go of me!” she demanded, arms flailing, hitting Matthew’s chest and sides until he set her down on the concrete.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Embarrassing me like that? Embarrassing my family?” Matthew reprimanded, looking at her with a mix of disgust and pity.
“Oh yes your ‘family.’” Cassie snorted. “You know what? I can’t do this anymore. I can’t pretend this is what I want. What I want for myself. What I want for you. I’m not like those people.” She crooked her thumb back to the mansion. “Pretentious. Superficial. Fake.”
“Those people are my family and friends, Cassie. Would it kill you to act like you’re happy for me?” Matthew interjected, “You’ve hated them from the start. You never gave them a fighting chance.”
“A chance? Are you fucking kidding me? Me being here should be proof enough for how much I’ve sacrificed!” Cassie yelled, not caring who overheard. She was pissed and not holding back any longer. This was a conversation they had avoided for too long.
“Sacrificed? Come on, Cassie, give me a break! A couple of parties every now and then is hardly a sacrifice,” Matthew insisted, walking toward the valet, needing to put some distance between them.
“You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not just the parties.” She looked down at her hands, clasped in front of her, willing the tears to not surface. She steeled herself and glanced back up at him, determination in her voice. She needed him to realize what this was all doing to her. “Is that what you want from me? To be like those people in there?” She threw her hands up, making wild gestures. “They have no substance, no depth; all they have is their money. They don’t laugh or give thanks for their blessings. They all have one face. You really want that? You want me to be that? I should just pretend, right?” Cassie sputtered, walking behind Matthew, wanting to throw something at him.
“I want you to be happy for me! Ever since I was adopted, you’ve been this different person. Like you resented me for getting a chance at a better life. I didn’t ask for this!” Matthew climbed into the driver’s seat once the valet pulled the convertible up. “I want you to want to be by my side. Like I’ve been by yours.”
“Yes, Matthew, I’m thrilled to accompany you to these stupid parties. Thank you. I should be grateful you’ve decided to include me in your new shiny life, I guess!” Cassie snapped, slamming the car door.
Matthew sat back in his seat, his shoulders slumped, and sighed. “When did things become so complicated between us, Cassie? We used to be effortless.” His voice was a broken whisper, the weight of their argument starting to take its toll on him.
“You made it complicated! You say I’m different? When you got adopted, you became ... you turned into this… this high-society Matthew, who likes fancy parties and girls like Natalia Harris. Someone who acted like they never had to go hungry. Someone who never had to live in fear.” Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke, and she brushed them away with the back of her hand.
They were quiet for a solid ten minutes as they drove on the highway. The pair was scared to speak, in fear of what would come out of their mouths, if they continued this conversation.
The thoughts swirling in Cassie’s head caused her to break the silence. “You didn’t even ask me about Japan. You just agreed. Anything Daddy Dearest says goes, right?” Cassie sneered, looking out into the darkness, growing thankful when she saw their exit was approaching.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but as for asking you, would anything have been any different? You would still be pissed and hate this. I really hoped you’d be supportive, Cassie. Or at the very least pretend to be happy for me,” he pleaded, willing her to go back to her old self.
“You want me to pretend that you’re not acting like I’m disposable? Like it’s not easy for you to just leave me behind? I have been nothing but supportive. All I wanted from you was to have a little dignity. A shred of the old you. The boy who promised to sit beside me always, taking all my fears away. But you’re not that boy anymore.” She sniffled, willing her tears back. “There has to be a way out of this. Wyatt can’t control every move you make.” Cassie blew out a breath, not realizing how she had been walking on eggshells around Matthew for far too long.