06-11-2021, 11:51 PM
What is horror?
For many people, it’s the idea of poltergeist or demons. They go to the movies, looking to be terrified by the newest cinematic representation of their darkest nightmares given a face and a voice by people who were paid millions of dollars. “Based on a true story” is the constant tagline, tacked to these repetitively redundant and pedantic pieces of cheap cinema, meant to scare where everything else may have fallen flat by convincing the weak minded that there is a possibility it could happen to them. It was the adult equivalent of the playground tales that started with “I know a guy who…” or “My cousin’s friend knew someone who…” These faceless, nameless people who existed only as a plot point to make recycled legends feel modern. The 16th century machinations of protestant writers attempting to smear the reign of Queen Mary I now live as that story about the neighbor of a friend of a cousin who stood in a darkened bathroom, reciting the forbidden name multiple times, only for Bloody Mary herself to apparate from the ominous darkness of the mirror and slice their neck. As kids, we ignored the fact that such an occurrence would have been national, if not international news, and we ALL would have heard it. The raconteur would always swear that every word of their story was the genuine truth with such conviction, that we all ignored the lack of credible proof, or anyone able to corroborate their story. We were amused by the idea, terrified that it could happen to us, but endlessly intrigued by the stories, and always hungry for more. We wouldn’t dare to even step before a darkened mirror in the bathroom which became a chamber of horror when the lights were off, but we listened with breathless excitement every time the stories were told. It was the stories that gave life to that unexplainable feeling that something was lurking in the darkest corners of the shadows, waiting for you to close your eyes so it could consume you. We loved to be terrified, loved the exhilaration of fear, and thrived on the feeling of terror we felt when the lights went out. It wasn’t hard to be terrified, and we actively sought it out, only to pretend we regretted it.
Adulthood was realizing that the real terror existed inside of us all along. History classes and the dawn of accessible internet taught us that urban legends were just that. We may still be leery of repeating Mary’s name into a shadowy mirror, as the last remnants of our childhood selves beg us not to tempt fate, but we also know that if we were to do these things, the result would more than likely be disappointment. No, real life terror exists as the mistakes that we make, the history we run from, and the feelings we cannot put words to, lest we trigger something that will lead us down the darkest timeline. Theoretical terrors gave way to existential ones, and the monster that lived in our closet was overshadowed by the one that lived inside our minds. We found out that we were the things we should have been afraid of all along, as we learned the realities of adulthood, and our waning innocence and childish wonder gave way to waxing inner crises.
For Cassidy, the fear had always been domestic “bliss.” The thought of tying herself to a single person, and living this domesticated life of cooking, cleaning, and waiting for her big strong husband to come home and save her from the awful notion of having to go out into the world and make her own money...it made her sick. Her parents seemed to love it. Carlysle and Cassandra Carter had spent decades together in wedded bliss. They were the couple you would expect to live in a Thomas Kinkade painting, the perfect American family. Two attractive people with three blonde daughters, all dressed in their Sunday finest, with bows in their hair. They were the kind of parents many kids only believed existed in the movie. Her father was that cartoony dad from a feel good family film, who was more prone to laughing when his daughters made a mistake than to punish them. His parenting style was the Andy Griffith method of long talks with the offending child sitting on his knee. There were no spankings, and his “discipline” sessions were more prone to end with a lollipop than a punishment. It was the perfect example of an idealistic life. The only problem is, Thomas Kinkade’s works, showing a frozen moment in an idealized version of what America once was is not everyone’s idea of art. Some people are drawn to the passionate dissonance and passionate emotion of a Picasso, or the dystopian surrealism of a Dhali. Some people thrived on conflict and drama, and to those people...living in a Kinkade would have been hell. The perfect harmony and idealistic naivety of a world where there were no problems, no negative emotion, no sadness...it disgusts them
Cassidy was one of those people who thrived on disorder. She tried to rebel against the idealistic upbringing she had been given, only for her parents to support her even more. When she decided to trade in her Sunday dresses for torn shirt and fishnet stockings, they tried to find clothes that helped her reflect her “inner darkness.” When they couldn’t find the clothes that she was looking for, Cassandra would take to altering Cassidy’s clothes for her. When Cassidy tried to “run away,” her mother helped her pack up all the necessities while her father tried to map the best route to take to where she wanted to go. He would suggest places he thought she would like and be disgustingly helpful until she caved in and realized that perhaps home wasn’t the worst of places. It wasn’t all bad. That kind of constant positive reinforcement had a way of boosting one’s self-esteem. She was never short on confidence because her parents’ unending support was contagious, whether he liked it or not. She dated boys she thought her parents would absolutely hate, only to have them welcomed into the house with open arms. Her mother would cook them a 4 course meal while her father helped them figure out where they would go to college, and what they would do with their lives. He was good at it too. He had probably helped the majority of her high school flings figure out the direction they wanted for their life more than the assigned guidance counselors. Hell, one of her former high school “boyfriends” still wrote to her father to this day to update him on what he was doing, and how his life was going, and they took occasional hunting trips together. When she dated girls, because she thought it would shock her traditionalist parents, they showered her with love and support. They had long talks with Cass about the fact that love was love, and they supported her and who she wanted to be with. Their only concern was that whoever she was with made her happy. For two people who lived lives straight out of black and white family sitcoms, thy were surprisingly progressive. Their childrens’ happiness came before anything, and they were into whatever could facilitate that. Cassidy used to start fights around the house, terrorizing everyone as she caused as much chaos in the meticulous order that she could, only to have it end in a family trip to the ice cream shop. Cassidy’s biggest fear was becoming like her parents, so lost in each other that they lost their individual identities, or at least her mother did. Her mother was never spoken of on her own, and never for her own merits. She was the wife of Carlysle, mother of three little girls. His achievements were hers, her life became just an extension of his. Now, while this seemed to be absolutely fine for her, a life that she not only tolerated, but seemed to cherish, Cassidy was afraid of it. It was that melding, that loss of personal identity that she feared the most. She swore as a teenager that she would NEVER get married, and she would NEVER let herself be defined by a man.
So...why did she marry Austin?
Yes, alcohol had a fair bit to do with it, but the truth is…
...she would have married him dead sober.
Their relationship didn’t function like anyone else’s. They were not the couple who would retire to a tiny piece of Americana with the white picket fence and the 2.5 kids. They were an odd form of functional dysfunction that she absolutely loved. She was his Marla Singer, the Nancy to his Sid, a dynamic she had come to romanticize since watching Sid and Nancy with Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. Yes, it was a love story doomed to end in tragedy, but so was Romeo and Juliet, and yet it is considered one of the world’s greatest romances. Yes, Sid would kill Nancy in the end, but she always saw it as a loving act, as he thought about her until the very end. The story of Misfits bassist Jerry Only spreading SId’s ashes over Nancy’s grave, despite her mother forbidding it, so they could be together for eternity...THAT was love. She knew that there was a chance he would kill her some day, and she was more than okay with that, she welcomed it. She often fantasized about a day where he grabbed her by the neck and choked the life out of her, staring into her eyes until they glossed over and the lights in them went out. She had one particularly vivid recurring dream where they were both naked, in the throes of passion, and as she came, he slashed her throat, and she died on top of him. To Cassidy, Sid and Nancy were not a cautionary tale, they were the goal. Fight Club only helped to strengthen that resolve. While most people said that the teachings of Tyler Durden resonated with them, and they saw his words as the new commandments, Cassidy saw herself in Marla Singer. She was a damsel in distress, but she wasn’t looking for a white knight to save her. No, she was looking for someone to fall down the well with her, someone who would embrace the darkness with her as they rode a one way train to hell. She didn’t like the Snow White narrative of waiting for a prince to wake her from her slumber with a kiss, and usher her on to Happily Ever After...she wanted someone who would find her lying in that bed in the forest, and bang her head against the headboard repeatedly.
For all intents and purposes, Austin was NOT that person when they first met. Honestly, at that time, nothing short of a reincarnated Sid Vicious himself would have fit the bill, or possibly Gary Oldman, but he would have been forced to stay in character to the very end. No, he was just a way to pass the time, to fight the boredom of normal life. They were both petulantly mischievous children who were just looking to keep themselves amused. It wasn’t love at first sight, but she also believed that such a thing didn’t exist. Oh she was physically attracted to him...more of a LUST at first sight kind of thing, but she never foresaw herself ever being serious with him. He seemed like the kind of guy who you went out with for drinks, the night got a little out of hand, and he fucked your brains out in a strip club bathroom while a bouncer banged on the door telling you he would kick you both out. It never came to that, at first. They were partners in crime more than anything, and, for his part, he was as much of a gentleman as he was capable of being. Despite the front he puts on, he never made me feel uncomfortable, or tried to take advantage of me. He was a good friend...and I was crushing on him like a high school freshman crushing on a senior boy.
It was destined to happen eventually...even Kennedy couldn’t come between them.
The funny thing is, in her twisted mind, she believes that Cassidy stole Austin from her. The truth is, they were on the verge of romance when Kennedy forced her way between them. Austin was a shooting star, no longer a prospect, he was poised to be the face of the company, and she wanted to ride his coattails. It always amused Cassidy when Kennedy accused her of stealing Austin away because she wanted to fuck her way to the top. Cassidy didn’t care about his career...she never had. Oh sure, she liked walking around the house naked, clothed only in whatever belt they had brought home recently. To be fair, he had the same quirk. It made it really fun when she and he were the GCW and SCW Television champions respectively.
Technically, she pinned him to become the first, and ONLY, Unified SCW/GCW Television Champion, though neither company has acknowledged this monumental feat. Something about it not being sanctioned by either company, and there being no working relationship between the two companies....and the X-rated nature of the “match.”
Probably for the best that GCW retired that belt.
The funny thing is that Cassidy could honestly have cared less about his accomplishments. Austin was just fun to hang out with. Meanwhile, Kennedy had hatched some plan where Austin was just going to GIVE her the SCW Championship. What’s the old Alinsky adage (or possibly Marx...it has been attributed to so many people throughout history) “Accuse your enemy of what you are doing to sow confusion…” Kennedy tried to paint Cass as a fame hopper...AFTER she had started dating James Evans, who had just won the championship from Austin. Probably part of the reason that she never regretted her first time with Austin occurring DURING his relationship with Kennedy. When she wasn’t around, she and Austin continued as if she didn’t exist. She was a minor roadblock, nothing else.
If you had told her then that she would compromise her one sacred rule and MARRY Austin...she would have laughed in your face.
He was good...but no one was THAT good.
Their relationship after the wedding was...interesting to say the least. The two of them doing everything they could to avoid falling into the trap of marital monotony. They partied like college freshmen, tore up Vegas like a pair of rowdy tourists just there for the weekend, and they fucked like desperate teenagers, climbing on top of each other whenever they could.
The drugs had been their downfall…
The more they ran from domesticity...the harder they ran head first into the trappings of addiction. LIke all addicts, they didn’t see themselves being corrupted...contaminated...at a certain point, it wasn’t cute anymore. They weren’t junkies...rich people COULDN’T be junkies. It was how they justified it. It’s not like they were offering dry handjobs for pittances...or double ending a dildo for their next fix…for as many times as Cassidy had watched Requiem for a Dream….you’d think she would have seen the signs. Over time, their antics stopped being annoying hijinks, and began being destructive and highly illegal. They had both spent plenty of nights in jail, while still on the run from responsibility...fugitives from adulthood. The thing is, Cassidy could pinpoint the moment that things turned for her. It was right after…
...the abortion.
She tried to play it off like she didn’t care, cracking jokes all the way to the clinic, the two of them treating it as if it was just one of many errands they had to run that day. The truth was...it tore her up. She knew they were unfit to be parents, there was no one on the planet who would have refuted that notion. She knew that this was probably the best choice. The alternatives were that the two of them did such a bad job as parents that the state of Nevada took it away, or she committed to raising the child right, but lost Austin along the way. She couldn’t lose him!!
She knew it was the responsible decision, but it wasn't the easy one. She spent the night before crying and having a panic attack, and afterwards...It was the moment the drugs stopped being fun, and started being a coping mechanism.
It was all a haze, as life spiraled out of control. There were brief periods of lucidity between the hazy bits where she tried to get pregnant again. She thought maybe having his child would eliminate the guilt, never thinking what would happen beyond that. But...a torrent of negative tests always sent her spiraling again. Then, there was the miscarriage. She had been so elated when the test came back positive. She didn’t want to tell him, it would be a surprise...a bundle of joy that she would give him. A chance for him to atone for the mistakes he had made with previous progeny. But, a few days before she planned to tell him, the bleeding started...that was when she seemed to give up.
But the further things collapsed around them, the more the two of them seemed to move toward their inevitable end. He would kill her in a drug-fueled haze, and she could go out like Nancy. Eventually, his ashes would be spread on top of her, and they would be together forever on the other side. It was the only way that this could end...right?
But then one day, the fog cleared just long enough for her to realize he was gone.
She didn’t know where he had gone, all that was left in his wake were a sporadic series of texts, even fewer phone calls, and...a large gaping emptiness in her chest. She vaguely remembered hitting him with a...pan? She remembered going through a wall? THAT could have been fighting OR kink. They had put more than a couple sex related holes in their bedroom wall, but this memory...it felt...painful? They were terrible for each other, but she NEEDED him. She had tried so long to pretend that she didn’t need him, but the moment he was gone, she didn’t know how to function. Again, cocaine was a temporary solution, letting her forget for brief moments. Then Ally moved in. Cassidy’s relationship with Ally was the only one more confusing than her relationship with Austin. They were best friends, and lovers...or ex-lovers? She was a massive Cassidy superfan turned lapdog. She came running anytime Cassidy called, and if she was being honest, she DID love Ally, she was just blind to the corrupting influence she had on Ally. Honestly, it probably would have been better if she had never met Cassidy...her life would have been a lot cleaner.
The two of them started an OnlyFans together, as a way to pay the bills, or so Cassidy told herself With no wrestling income, it was easy to justify it that way, and the money they made from the venture definitely kept them living comfortably. It was easy to ignore the fact that sex and drugs were temporary substitutes for Austin’s love when they made that much money. Eventually, they started incorporating random women they met at the bar into the act...then…
Cassidy didn’t remember his name anymore, though she doubted she EVER actually bothered to catch it. He was...tanned and toned...some Chad from southern Florida on vacation with his frat brothers when he came across the two women in a local bar. He hadn’t recognized her, which was great. She knew the ones who DID recognize here were probably on Instagram before they had even gotten their pants on, bragging about how they had “totally fucked a celebrity!!” or how they had “rocked her fucking WORLD!!!” Cassidy’s acting skills had ALWAYS been one of her most underrated qualities. The truth was, most of them were too small, too fast...too inexperienced. They pumped on top of her like a dying fish flopping for water, cumming in a few minutes at best. Sometimes it was on her, sometimes it was in her with a feeble “you’re on the pill, right?” mumbled afterwards. Did it matter? She had no intention of calling them if she got pregnant. She would raise it alone if it ever happened. A few times, she found a unicorn, a guy with a big cock who knew how to use it, but even then, she still fantasized that it was Austin on top of her. A lot of the time, she actually moaned his name. Some tried to correct her, most didn’t care. She was just a fuck puppet to them, and they were just a surrogate.
This time, it was some...emo kid? He had that “my parents didn’t love me enough” kind of black hair, and a handful of piercings. Scene kids didn’t usually watch wrestling, so she knew he was a safe bet. He approached her, they always did, and had tried to make small talk. Cassidu ignored him, pounding two double whiskeys before grabbing him by the collar mid-sentence and dragging him to the bathroom. She didn’t know his name, and she couldn’t remember the name she had given him. She had shoved him into a stall, and began making out with him when he reached under her skirt. His hands were clumsy, as he fumbled nervously. He didn’t know what he was doing, shoving two fingers into her and fumbling like someone fumbling for the last piece of candy in a box. Austin worked her body like a violin. She sighed, and directed his fingers out and to her clitoris, directing him on what to do, but becoming more and more annoyed with him by the moment. She sighed for a moment, reaching her hand down his pants. Might as well see what she would be missing before leaving him with a major case of blue balls.
Fuck!
He had a massive piece of pipe. She sighed again, as she hesitated. Maybe he was better with his tool than he was with his hands. It was at least worth a try. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of the stall again, leading him out of the bathroom and to her car, parked outside the bar.
“Oh my god this is so…”
“Just shut the fuck up!!” Cass said, trying unsuccessfully to mask her annoyance, “Don’t ruin this with talking!”
She took him to the house. I mean, it wasn’t like he was going to be there. He had abandoned her. She took some ecstasy she had gotten from Ally, then made him take some as well. Might as well try to get SOME pleasure out of this. It was finally kicking in as she reached the front door of the house, struggling with the lock until Ally opened it from the other side. She looked at the fresh meat, then back to Cass, rolling her eyes but still grinning.
“Another one?” She grabbed the front of his pants, sliding her hand into them before her eyes widened and she quickly added “Can I join?”
Cassidy shrugged, taking her clothes off as she dragged herself up the stairs and threw herself onto the bed, feeling like she was melting into the mattress. Ally and the random emo hero were making out as they crashed into the room.
“Who the hell is THAT?” random emo kids said
Cass had no idea what they were talking about.
“That’s just her husband.” Ally answered.
“HUSBAND?!”
“Meh, don’t worry...I’m pretty sure he’s dead now.”
Their voices became unintelligible as they fell onto the bed, pawing at each other furiously. Cass suddenly hoped they would forget she was there, that she would melt into the bed and she could finally cease to exist. That hope was shattered as she felt his hand caressing her left breast. She wanted to push him off, to run from the room, to make it stop. But she was frozen as his fingers pinched her nipple, and she felt it get stiff. What followed was a mess of bodies and hands, and naughty bits. Eventually, Ally left the room, and emo kid was left to focus all his attention on Cass. She made an effort to push him off of her, but her body didn't move as he pinned her down, kissing her neck as he moved between her legs and slid into her.
“Yeah, you like that, don’t you? You little slut!!”
Well fuck...if this is going to happen…
She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths as...he started to appear. His face, his hair, his smell. Suddenly, Austin was on top of her, his beautiful eyes looking deep into hers as he thrust into her, leaning in as he did to kiss her. She smiles up at him, looking back into his eyes.
“I missed you.”
He doesn’t answer, he just keeps thrusting into her.
“I love you Austin!”
She can feel herself moaning, and before she knows it, she’s cumming. She cums hard, a smile curling her lips until she opens her eyes, and the illusion is ruined. She lets him finish, cumming in her and mumbling about her being on the pill as he fumbles around for his pants.
“That was fucking amazing babe!!!”
Cass doesn’t answer, just sort of shrugging as she stares up at the ceiling. She hears his footsteps as he moves down the stairs...then she hears something that makes her blood run cold. His voice is soft, but she hears every single word.
“Hey man! Thank you for letting me eat your food and fuck your hot as wife! You’re great!”
Wife?
Oh fuck!!! This can’t be happening. Why today? WHY NOW?!?! I roll out of bed and move quickly towards the stairs, but catch myself. No emotion...don’t let him see you cry...DON’T LET HIM SEE YOU HURT!!!! She took a deep breath. DOn’t let him know you need him. She moves down the stairs and she feels herself seething with anger. Austin is sitting on the couch, the first time he’s been back to the house in MONTHS. This alone would be enough to break her, but the sight of a naked Ally riding his cock shatters her. She wants to lunge across the room and kill them both. She’d slash his throat before strangling her to death.
But…she couldn’t let him know she cared. She looked at him, then to Ally.
“Ally Jones, you nasty slut!!”
Cass manages a grin, though she can feel her blood boiling. I am Jack’s complete inability to emote properly.
Ally just smirks as she keeps riding Austin. Cassidy keeps fighting the urge to skin her best friend alive as Austin finally speaks.
"Hey Hun"
His words are flat and emotionless, but they cut her to the core. She wants to cry, but she can’t. She’s been trained to be stone. There is a brief awkward pause before Austin suddenly pushes Ally off of him and throws up on the floor. Cass takes a step forward, wanting desperately to take care of him, but pauses for a moment, just standing there watching it happen. When he finally finishes she finds herself holding her breath as she waits for him to speak to her. Instead, he waves to Ally.
“Nice meeting you!” He says casually before turning to Cass and adding “Good to see you well, babe. Just wanted to stop by and see you. Missed you. See ya later!"
She stands stunned as he makes his way to the door, doing up his pants as he exits the house and walks off. Casssidy is still naked, something she doesn’t seem to care about as she rushes to the door, looking out to see him just walking off down the street. She wants to run after him, to grab him, to hold him so he can’t leave her again, but she can only bring herself to yell after him.
"Did you seriously just come by to fuck my friend and puke on my floor?!" She screams to him.
“I guess!” he yells back, not turning to look back at her.
Fuck!! He was mad at her. They had just caught each other fucking someone else, but Cass felt like this was all her fault. She wanted to run after him, but her legs wouldn’t move.
“Okay, just making sure!” She yelled after him again, just standing there and watching him walk off. He stopped for a moment, turning to look back at her, those sweet puppy dog eyes a direct line to her heart, and she could feel it breaking as he turned and began walking away. She knew where he was going...he was going to see Sophie. He ALWAYS ended up at Sophie’s one way or another. It made sense, as she was much more emotionally mature than Cassidy was. She watched him until he was far enough away, when she finally collapsed, naked in the doorway, bawling her eyes out. She was losing him, and it was all her fault!!! She felt Ally’s hand on her shoulder. There was a pause, then Ally’s voice finally breaks the silence.
“Come on...a little more ecstasy will fix you RIGHT up!!”
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A black screen flashes to life, a shaky picture showing us the face of Cassidy Carter, clearly using her phone to record this. She is disheveled, her hair a bit of a mess under the hood of a black hoodie as she sits on what looks like her bed, with her knees drawn to her chest. She has clearly been crying, but she forces a smile for a moment before abandoning it. She looks into the camera as she tries to speak, her voice soft and trembling. She pauses, clearing her throat before she looks into the camera and starts again.
CASSIDY: “I have been told that I need to do one of these if I want to participate in the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal. Truth be told, I don’t, but...I have my reasons for entering this year. Will I win? Probably not, but like I said, that’s not why I’m here. That being said, if I DO emerge from this as the winner, I want you to know that it is because I have something NONE of these other people has. Is it practice? NO. Is it a detailed knowledge of my foes? Absolutely not! I’ve been away from the business long enough that I don’t know what is happening in this company anymore, and the truth is I don’t fucking care!!! You think I’m going to waste my time sitting in front of a computer studying each and every one of you to figure out your strengths and weaknesses? Hell no!! The fact of the matter is, I bet most of you are wasting all of your time doing exactly that, and yet all but one of you will still fail!! No...I have the one thing you can’t teach, the one thing you can’t train for...the one thing you can’t buy!! I have absolutely NOTHING to lose, and the entire world to gain. You all expect me to fail, you all expect me to be eliminated early, as nothing more than a novelty cameo, so the bar for me is very low. Hell, the fact of the matter is that I have no real interest in winning. If I’m being honest...I’m just here to cause some very controlled chaos, and ensure this thing ends the way I want it to. I am here to find some small amount of redemption, but...if I end up winning this thing, you had better believe that I WILL be your NEXT Supreme Championship Wrestling World Champion!!! And if I lose, well…”
She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before reopening them. Her piercing blue eyes focus hard on the camera as she speaks again, her voice trembling slightly again, quieter than it had been.
CASSIDY: “Know that I am sorry...and I tried!”
Her words seem directed at someone very specific, rather than at the crowd as a whole. Her eyes begin to water, and a single tear begins to streak her cheek as she suddenly shuts the camera off, the picture cutting to black again.
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It is 2am...Cassidy had just cried herself to sleep when she was suddenly awakened by the sound of banging. She was naked, except for a black Ace Marshall hoodie she had put on to film her promo. She should have been cautious, but instead she jumped out of bed and headed to the front door where the sound was coming from. As she moved down the stairs, she found Ally passed out naked on top of some random douche bag. She didn’t even react to it, as this sight had become commonplace. She didn’t know what it was that drew her to the banging, but usually she would have ignored it until it went away, or sent the random douchebag to check on it. He was expendable and his death would have given Cass and Ally time to escape. But this time, she didn’t even hesitate as she unlocked and opened the door. She went to make a crude comment but was caught off guard by what she found on the other side of the door. It was Austin. He was disheveled, and highly intoxicated. He kept mumbling to himself and clearly had no idea where he was. Cass’ eyes went wide. He...he came back to her. Somehow, in this delirious state, he had known to come back to her!! Sophie must not have been home. She highly doubted she was his first stop, but that didn’t matter, he was here now. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached out and took his hand, leading him into the house. She didn’t care that she hadn’t locked the door behind her as she led him up the stairs and to his bedroom. He was an absolute mess, rambling incoherently, and he smelled awful, but she didn’t care. She got him onto their bed, lying down next to him and wrapping her arms around him.
“She’s dead...she died and I can’t...I won’t...why? She’s...she’s dead!!”
Cass had no idea what he was talking about, and she knew she wouldn’t get it out of him tonight. The lack of blood on him meant he hadn’t killed someone, so she knew there would be time for all of that later. She reached down, pulling his shoes off and tossing them to the floor before wrapping herself around him again.
“She...she died...what...what do I do?”
Cassidy held his body close, pressing herself into his back as she shushed him lightly. She knew he wouldn’t remember this, and maybe that’s why she let the words escape her lips, her one hand running through his hair, caressing him comfortingly.
“No more worries Austin. I’m here, you’re safe. I love you, more than you will ever know, and I will protect you from this world. I’m sorry, and I will always love you. I will always be your Nancy until the day it kills me!!”
She leaned in, kissing his cheek before she pressed herself into him as much as she could, softly singing a lullaby her mother had sung to her on nights when the world seemed too much to handle. Slowly, the mumbling stopped as he slowly faded to sleep.
For many people, it’s the idea of poltergeist or demons. They go to the movies, looking to be terrified by the newest cinematic representation of their darkest nightmares given a face and a voice by people who were paid millions of dollars. “Based on a true story” is the constant tagline, tacked to these repetitively redundant and pedantic pieces of cheap cinema, meant to scare where everything else may have fallen flat by convincing the weak minded that there is a possibility it could happen to them. It was the adult equivalent of the playground tales that started with “I know a guy who…” or “My cousin’s friend knew someone who…” These faceless, nameless people who existed only as a plot point to make recycled legends feel modern. The 16th century machinations of protestant writers attempting to smear the reign of Queen Mary I now live as that story about the neighbor of a friend of a cousin who stood in a darkened bathroom, reciting the forbidden name multiple times, only for Bloody Mary herself to apparate from the ominous darkness of the mirror and slice their neck. As kids, we ignored the fact that such an occurrence would have been national, if not international news, and we ALL would have heard it. The raconteur would always swear that every word of their story was the genuine truth with such conviction, that we all ignored the lack of credible proof, or anyone able to corroborate their story. We were amused by the idea, terrified that it could happen to us, but endlessly intrigued by the stories, and always hungry for more. We wouldn’t dare to even step before a darkened mirror in the bathroom which became a chamber of horror when the lights were off, but we listened with breathless excitement every time the stories were told. It was the stories that gave life to that unexplainable feeling that something was lurking in the darkest corners of the shadows, waiting for you to close your eyes so it could consume you. We loved to be terrified, loved the exhilaration of fear, and thrived on the feeling of terror we felt when the lights went out. It wasn’t hard to be terrified, and we actively sought it out, only to pretend we regretted it.
Adulthood was realizing that the real terror existed inside of us all along. History classes and the dawn of accessible internet taught us that urban legends were just that. We may still be leery of repeating Mary’s name into a shadowy mirror, as the last remnants of our childhood selves beg us not to tempt fate, but we also know that if we were to do these things, the result would more than likely be disappointment. No, real life terror exists as the mistakes that we make, the history we run from, and the feelings we cannot put words to, lest we trigger something that will lead us down the darkest timeline. Theoretical terrors gave way to existential ones, and the monster that lived in our closet was overshadowed by the one that lived inside our minds. We found out that we were the things we should have been afraid of all along, as we learned the realities of adulthood, and our waning innocence and childish wonder gave way to waxing inner crises.
For Cassidy, the fear had always been domestic “bliss.” The thought of tying herself to a single person, and living this domesticated life of cooking, cleaning, and waiting for her big strong husband to come home and save her from the awful notion of having to go out into the world and make her own money...it made her sick. Her parents seemed to love it. Carlysle and Cassandra Carter had spent decades together in wedded bliss. They were the couple you would expect to live in a Thomas Kinkade painting, the perfect American family. Two attractive people with three blonde daughters, all dressed in their Sunday finest, with bows in their hair. They were the kind of parents many kids only believed existed in the movie. Her father was that cartoony dad from a feel good family film, who was more prone to laughing when his daughters made a mistake than to punish them. His parenting style was the Andy Griffith method of long talks with the offending child sitting on his knee. There were no spankings, and his “discipline” sessions were more prone to end with a lollipop than a punishment. It was the perfect example of an idealistic life. The only problem is, Thomas Kinkade’s works, showing a frozen moment in an idealized version of what America once was is not everyone’s idea of art. Some people are drawn to the passionate dissonance and passionate emotion of a Picasso, or the dystopian surrealism of a Dhali. Some people thrived on conflict and drama, and to those people...living in a Kinkade would have been hell. The perfect harmony and idealistic naivety of a world where there were no problems, no negative emotion, no sadness...it disgusts them
Cassidy was one of those people who thrived on disorder. She tried to rebel against the idealistic upbringing she had been given, only for her parents to support her even more. When she decided to trade in her Sunday dresses for torn shirt and fishnet stockings, they tried to find clothes that helped her reflect her “inner darkness.” When they couldn’t find the clothes that she was looking for, Cassandra would take to altering Cassidy’s clothes for her. When Cassidy tried to “run away,” her mother helped her pack up all the necessities while her father tried to map the best route to take to where she wanted to go. He would suggest places he thought she would like and be disgustingly helpful until she caved in and realized that perhaps home wasn’t the worst of places. It wasn’t all bad. That kind of constant positive reinforcement had a way of boosting one’s self-esteem. She was never short on confidence because her parents’ unending support was contagious, whether he liked it or not. She dated boys she thought her parents would absolutely hate, only to have them welcomed into the house with open arms. Her mother would cook them a 4 course meal while her father helped them figure out where they would go to college, and what they would do with their lives. He was good at it too. He had probably helped the majority of her high school flings figure out the direction they wanted for their life more than the assigned guidance counselors. Hell, one of her former high school “boyfriends” still wrote to her father to this day to update him on what he was doing, and how his life was going, and they took occasional hunting trips together. When she dated girls, because she thought it would shock her traditionalist parents, they showered her with love and support. They had long talks with Cass about the fact that love was love, and they supported her and who she wanted to be with. Their only concern was that whoever she was with made her happy. For two people who lived lives straight out of black and white family sitcoms, thy were surprisingly progressive. Their childrens’ happiness came before anything, and they were into whatever could facilitate that. Cassidy used to start fights around the house, terrorizing everyone as she caused as much chaos in the meticulous order that she could, only to have it end in a family trip to the ice cream shop. Cassidy’s biggest fear was becoming like her parents, so lost in each other that they lost their individual identities, or at least her mother did. Her mother was never spoken of on her own, and never for her own merits. She was the wife of Carlysle, mother of three little girls. His achievements were hers, her life became just an extension of his. Now, while this seemed to be absolutely fine for her, a life that she not only tolerated, but seemed to cherish, Cassidy was afraid of it. It was that melding, that loss of personal identity that she feared the most. She swore as a teenager that she would NEVER get married, and she would NEVER let herself be defined by a man.
So...why did she marry Austin?
Yes, alcohol had a fair bit to do with it, but the truth is…
...she would have married him dead sober.
Their relationship didn’t function like anyone else’s. They were not the couple who would retire to a tiny piece of Americana with the white picket fence and the 2.5 kids. They were an odd form of functional dysfunction that she absolutely loved. She was his Marla Singer, the Nancy to his Sid, a dynamic she had come to romanticize since watching Sid and Nancy with Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. Yes, it was a love story doomed to end in tragedy, but so was Romeo and Juliet, and yet it is considered one of the world’s greatest romances. Yes, Sid would kill Nancy in the end, but she always saw it as a loving act, as he thought about her until the very end. The story of Misfits bassist Jerry Only spreading SId’s ashes over Nancy’s grave, despite her mother forbidding it, so they could be together for eternity...THAT was love. She knew that there was a chance he would kill her some day, and she was more than okay with that, she welcomed it. She often fantasized about a day where he grabbed her by the neck and choked the life out of her, staring into her eyes until they glossed over and the lights in them went out. She had one particularly vivid recurring dream where they were both naked, in the throes of passion, and as she came, he slashed her throat, and she died on top of him. To Cassidy, Sid and Nancy were not a cautionary tale, they were the goal. Fight Club only helped to strengthen that resolve. While most people said that the teachings of Tyler Durden resonated with them, and they saw his words as the new commandments, Cassidy saw herself in Marla Singer. She was a damsel in distress, but she wasn’t looking for a white knight to save her. No, she was looking for someone to fall down the well with her, someone who would embrace the darkness with her as they rode a one way train to hell. She didn’t like the Snow White narrative of waiting for a prince to wake her from her slumber with a kiss, and usher her on to Happily Ever After...she wanted someone who would find her lying in that bed in the forest, and bang her head against the headboard repeatedly.
For all intents and purposes, Austin was NOT that person when they first met. Honestly, at that time, nothing short of a reincarnated Sid Vicious himself would have fit the bill, or possibly Gary Oldman, but he would have been forced to stay in character to the very end. No, he was just a way to pass the time, to fight the boredom of normal life. They were both petulantly mischievous children who were just looking to keep themselves amused. It wasn’t love at first sight, but she also believed that such a thing didn’t exist. Oh she was physically attracted to him...more of a LUST at first sight kind of thing, but she never foresaw herself ever being serious with him. He seemed like the kind of guy who you went out with for drinks, the night got a little out of hand, and he fucked your brains out in a strip club bathroom while a bouncer banged on the door telling you he would kick you both out. It never came to that, at first. They were partners in crime more than anything, and, for his part, he was as much of a gentleman as he was capable of being. Despite the front he puts on, he never made me feel uncomfortable, or tried to take advantage of me. He was a good friend...and I was crushing on him like a high school freshman crushing on a senior boy.
It was destined to happen eventually...even Kennedy couldn’t come between them.
The funny thing is, in her twisted mind, she believes that Cassidy stole Austin from her. The truth is, they were on the verge of romance when Kennedy forced her way between them. Austin was a shooting star, no longer a prospect, he was poised to be the face of the company, and she wanted to ride his coattails. It always amused Cassidy when Kennedy accused her of stealing Austin away because she wanted to fuck her way to the top. Cassidy didn’t care about his career...she never had. Oh sure, she liked walking around the house naked, clothed only in whatever belt they had brought home recently. To be fair, he had the same quirk. It made it really fun when she and he were the GCW and SCW Television champions respectively.
Technically, she pinned him to become the first, and ONLY, Unified SCW/GCW Television Champion, though neither company has acknowledged this monumental feat. Something about it not being sanctioned by either company, and there being no working relationship between the two companies....and the X-rated nature of the “match.”
Probably for the best that GCW retired that belt.
The funny thing is that Cassidy could honestly have cared less about his accomplishments. Austin was just fun to hang out with. Meanwhile, Kennedy had hatched some plan where Austin was just going to GIVE her the SCW Championship. What’s the old Alinsky adage (or possibly Marx...it has been attributed to so many people throughout history) “Accuse your enemy of what you are doing to sow confusion…” Kennedy tried to paint Cass as a fame hopper...AFTER she had started dating James Evans, who had just won the championship from Austin. Probably part of the reason that she never regretted her first time with Austin occurring DURING his relationship with Kennedy. When she wasn’t around, she and Austin continued as if she didn’t exist. She was a minor roadblock, nothing else.
If you had told her then that she would compromise her one sacred rule and MARRY Austin...she would have laughed in your face.
He was good...but no one was THAT good.
Their relationship after the wedding was...interesting to say the least. The two of them doing everything they could to avoid falling into the trap of marital monotony. They partied like college freshmen, tore up Vegas like a pair of rowdy tourists just there for the weekend, and they fucked like desperate teenagers, climbing on top of each other whenever they could.
The drugs had been their downfall…
The more they ran from domesticity...the harder they ran head first into the trappings of addiction. LIke all addicts, they didn’t see themselves being corrupted...contaminated...at a certain point, it wasn’t cute anymore. They weren’t junkies...rich people COULDN’T be junkies. It was how they justified it. It’s not like they were offering dry handjobs for pittances...or double ending a dildo for their next fix…for as many times as Cassidy had watched Requiem for a Dream….you’d think she would have seen the signs. Over time, their antics stopped being annoying hijinks, and began being destructive and highly illegal. They had both spent plenty of nights in jail, while still on the run from responsibility...fugitives from adulthood. The thing is, Cassidy could pinpoint the moment that things turned for her. It was right after…
...the abortion.
She tried to play it off like she didn’t care, cracking jokes all the way to the clinic, the two of them treating it as if it was just one of many errands they had to run that day. The truth was...it tore her up. She knew they were unfit to be parents, there was no one on the planet who would have refuted that notion. She knew that this was probably the best choice. The alternatives were that the two of them did such a bad job as parents that the state of Nevada took it away, or she committed to raising the child right, but lost Austin along the way. She couldn’t lose him!!
She knew it was the responsible decision, but it wasn't the easy one. She spent the night before crying and having a panic attack, and afterwards...It was the moment the drugs stopped being fun, and started being a coping mechanism.
It was all a haze, as life spiraled out of control. There were brief periods of lucidity between the hazy bits where she tried to get pregnant again. She thought maybe having his child would eliminate the guilt, never thinking what would happen beyond that. But...a torrent of negative tests always sent her spiraling again. Then, there was the miscarriage. She had been so elated when the test came back positive. She didn’t want to tell him, it would be a surprise...a bundle of joy that she would give him. A chance for him to atone for the mistakes he had made with previous progeny. But, a few days before she planned to tell him, the bleeding started...that was when she seemed to give up.
But the further things collapsed around them, the more the two of them seemed to move toward their inevitable end. He would kill her in a drug-fueled haze, and she could go out like Nancy. Eventually, his ashes would be spread on top of her, and they would be together forever on the other side. It was the only way that this could end...right?
But then one day, the fog cleared just long enough for her to realize he was gone.
She didn’t know where he had gone, all that was left in his wake were a sporadic series of texts, even fewer phone calls, and...a large gaping emptiness in her chest. She vaguely remembered hitting him with a...pan? She remembered going through a wall? THAT could have been fighting OR kink. They had put more than a couple sex related holes in their bedroom wall, but this memory...it felt...painful? They were terrible for each other, but she NEEDED him. She had tried so long to pretend that she didn’t need him, but the moment he was gone, she didn’t know how to function. Again, cocaine was a temporary solution, letting her forget for brief moments. Then Ally moved in. Cassidy’s relationship with Ally was the only one more confusing than her relationship with Austin. They were best friends, and lovers...or ex-lovers? She was a massive Cassidy superfan turned lapdog. She came running anytime Cassidy called, and if she was being honest, she DID love Ally, she was just blind to the corrupting influence she had on Ally. Honestly, it probably would have been better if she had never met Cassidy...her life would have been a lot cleaner.
The two of them started an OnlyFans together, as a way to pay the bills, or so Cassidy told herself With no wrestling income, it was easy to justify it that way, and the money they made from the venture definitely kept them living comfortably. It was easy to ignore the fact that sex and drugs were temporary substitutes for Austin’s love when they made that much money. Eventually, they started incorporating random women they met at the bar into the act...then…
Cassidy didn’t remember his name anymore, though she doubted she EVER actually bothered to catch it. He was...tanned and toned...some Chad from southern Florida on vacation with his frat brothers when he came across the two women in a local bar. He hadn’t recognized her, which was great. She knew the ones who DID recognize here were probably on Instagram before they had even gotten their pants on, bragging about how they had “totally fucked a celebrity!!” or how they had “rocked her fucking WORLD!!!” Cassidy’s acting skills had ALWAYS been one of her most underrated qualities. The truth was, most of them were too small, too fast...too inexperienced. They pumped on top of her like a dying fish flopping for water, cumming in a few minutes at best. Sometimes it was on her, sometimes it was in her with a feeble “you’re on the pill, right?” mumbled afterwards. Did it matter? She had no intention of calling them if she got pregnant. She would raise it alone if it ever happened. A few times, she found a unicorn, a guy with a big cock who knew how to use it, but even then, she still fantasized that it was Austin on top of her. A lot of the time, she actually moaned his name. Some tried to correct her, most didn’t care. She was just a fuck puppet to them, and they were just a surrogate.
This time, it was some...emo kid? He had that “my parents didn’t love me enough” kind of black hair, and a handful of piercings. Scene kids didn’t usually watch wrestling, so she knew he was a safe bet. He approached her, they always did, and had tried to make small talk. Cassidu ignored him, pounding two double whiskeys before grabbing him by the collar mid-sentence and dragging him to the bathroom. She didn’t know his name, and she couldn’t remember the name she had given him. She had shoved him into a stall, and began making out with him when he reached under her skirt. His hands were clumsy, as he fumbled nervously. He didn’t know what he was doing, shoving two fingers into her and fumbling like someone fumbling for the last piece of candy in a box. Austin worked her body like a violin. She sighed, and directed his fingers out and to her clitoris, directing him on what to do, but becoming more and more annoyed with him by the moment. She sighed for a moment, reaching her hand down his pants. Might as well see what she would be missing before leaving him with a major case of blue balls.
Fuck!
He had a massive piece of pipe. She sighed again, as she hesitated. Maybe he was better with his tool than he was with his hands. It was at least worth a try. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of the stall again, leading him out of the bathroom and to her car, parked outside the bar.
“Oh my god this is so…”
“Just shut the fuck up!!” Cass said, trying unsuccessfully to mask her annoyance, “Don’t ruin this with talking!”
She took him to the house. I mean, it wasn’t like he was going to be there. He had abandoned her. She took some ecstasy she had gotten from Ally, then made him take some as well. Might as well try to get SOME pleasure out of this. It was finally kicking in as she reached the front door of the house, struggling with the lock until Ally opened it from the other side. She looked at the fresh meat, then back to Cass, rolling her eyes but still grinning.
“Another one?” She grabbed the front of his pants, sliding her hand into them before her eyes widened and she quickly added “Can I join?”
Cassidy shrugged, taking her clothes off as she dragged herself up the stairs and threw herself onto the bed, feeling like she was melting into the mattress. Ally and the random emo hero were making out as they crashed into the room.
“Who the hell is THAT?” random emo kids said
Cass had no idea what they were talking about.
“That’s just her husband.” Ally answered.
“HUSBAND?!”
“Meh, don’t worry...I’m pretty sure he’s dead now.”
Their voices became unintelligible as they fell onto the bed, pawing at each other furiously. Cass suddenly hoped they would forget she was there, that she would melt into the bed and she could finally cease to exist. That hope was shattered as she felt his hand caressing her left breast. She wanted to push him off, to run from the room, to make it stop. But she was frozen as his fingers pinched her nipple, and she felt it get stiff. What followed was a mess of bodies and hands, and naughty bits. Eventually, Ally left the room, and emo kid was left to focus all his attention on Cass. She made an effort to push him off of her, but her body didn't move as he pinned her down, kissing her neck as he moved between her legs and slid into her.
“Yeah, you like that, don’t you? You little slut!!”
Well fuck...if this is going to happen…
She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths as...he started to appear. His face, his hair, his smell. Suddenly, Austin was on top of her, his beautiful eyes looking deep into hers as he thrust into her, leaning in as he did to kiss her. She smiles up at him, looking back into his eyes.
“I missed you.”
He doesn’t answer, he just keeps thrusting into her.
“I love you Austin!”
She can feel herself moaning, and before she knows it, she’s cumming. She cums hard, a smile curling her lips until she opens her eyes, and the illusion is ruined. She lets him finish, cumming in her and mumbling about her being on the pill as he fumbles around for his pants.
“That was fucking amazing babe!!!”
Cass doesn’t answer, just sort of shrugging as she stares up at the ceiling. She hears his footsteps as he moves down the stairs...then she hears something that makes her blood run cold. His voice is soft, but she hears every single word.
“Hey man! Thank you for letting me eat your food and fuck your hot as wife! You’re great!”
Wife?
Oh fuck!!! This can’t be happening. Why today? WHY NOW?!?! I roll out of bed and move quickly towards the stairs, but catch myself. No emotion...don’t let him see you cry...DON’T LET HIM SEE YOU HURT!!!! She took a deep breath. DOn’t let him know you need him. She moves down the stairs and she feels herself seething with anger. Austin is sitting on the couch, the first time he’s been back to the house in MONTHS. This alone would be enough to break her, but the sight of a naked Ally riding his cock shatters her. She wants to lunge across the room and kill them both. She’d slash his throat before strangling her to death.
But…she couldn’t let him know she cared. She looked at him, then to Ally.
“Ally Jones, you nasty slut!!”
Cass manages a grin, though she can feel her blood boiling. I am Jack’s complete inability to emote properly.
Ally just smirks as she keeps riding Austin. Cassidy keeps fighting the urge to skin her best friend alive as Austin finally speaks.
"Hey Hun"
His words are flat and emotionless, but they cut her to the core. She wants to cry, but she can’t. She’s been trained to be stone. There is a brief awkward pause before Austin suddenly pushes Ally off of him and throws up on the floor. Cass takes a step forward, wanting desperately to take care of him, but pauses for a moment, just standing there watching it happen. When he finally finishes she finds herself holding her breath as she waits for him to speak to her. Instead, he waves to Ally.
“Nice meeting you!” He says casually before turning to Cass and adding “Good to see you well, babe. Just wanted to stop by and see you. Missed you. See ya later!"
She stands stunned as he makes his way to the door, doing up his pants as he exits the house and walks off. Casssidy is still naked, something she doesn’t seem to care about as she rushes to the door, looking out to see him just walking off down the street. She wants to run after him, to grab him, to hold him so he can’t leave her again, but she can only bring herself to yell after him.
"Did you seriously just come by to fuck my friend and puke on my floor?!" She screams to him.
“I guess!” he yells back, not turning to look back at her.
Fuck!! He was mad at her. They had just caught each other fucking someone else, but Cass felt like this was all her fault. She wanted to run after him, but her legs wouldn’t move.
“Okay, just making sure!” She yelled after him again, just standing there and watching him walk off. He stopped for a moment, turning to look back at her, those sweet puppy dog eyes a direct line to her heart, and she could feel it breaking as he turned and began walking away. She knew where he was going...he was going to see Sophie. He ALWAYS ended up at Sophie’s one way or another. It made sense, as she was much more emotionally mature than Cassidy was. She watched him until he was far enough away, when she finally collapsed, naked in the doorway, bawling her eyes out. She was losing him, and it was all her fault!!! She felt Ally’s hand on her shoulder. There was a pause, then Ally’s voice finally breaks the silence.
“Come on...a little more ecstasy will fix you RIGHT up!!”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A black screen flashes to life, a shaky picture showing us the face of Cassidy Carter, clearly using her phone to record this. She is disheveled, her hair a bit of a mess under the hood of a black hoodie as she sits on what looks like her bed, with her knees drawn to her chest. She has clearly been crying, but she forces a smile for a moment before abandoning it. She looks into the camera as she tries to speak, her voice soft and trembling. She pauses, clearing her throat before she looks into the camera and starts again.
CASSIDY: “I have been told that I need to do one of these if I want to participate in the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal. Truth be told, I don’t, but...I have my reasons for entering this year. Will I win? Probably not, but like I said, that’s not why I’m here. That being said, if I DO emerge from this as the winner, I want you to know that it is because I have something NONE of these other people has. Is it practice? NO. Is it a detailed knowledge of my foes? Absolutely not! I’ve been away from the business long enough that I don’t know what is happening in this company anymore, and the truth is I don’t fucking care!!! You think I’m going to waste my time sitting in front of a computer studying each and every one of you to figure out your strengths and weaknesses? Hell no!! The fact of the matter is, I bet most of you are wasting all of your time doing exactly that, and yet all but one of you will still fail!! No...I have the one thing you can’t teach, the one thing you can’t train for...the one thing you can’t buy!! I have absolutely NOTHING to lose, and the entire world to gain. You all expect me to fail, you all expect me to be eliminated early, as nothing more than a novelty cameo, so the bar for me is very low. Hell, the fact of the matter is that I have no real interest in winning. If I’m being honest...I’m just here to cause some very controlled chaos, and ensure this thing ends the way I want it to. I am here to find some small amount of redemption, but...if I end up winning this thing, you had better believe that I WILL be your NEXT Supreme Championship Wrestling World Champion!!! And if I lose, well…”
She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before reopening them. Her piercing blue eyes focus hard on the camera as she speaks again, her voice trembling slightly again, quieter than it had been.
CASSIDY: “Know that I am sorry...and I tried!”
Her words seem directed at someone very specific, rather than at the crowd as a whole. Her eyes begin to water, and a single tear begins to streak her cheek as she suddenly shuts the camera off, the picture cutting to black again.
-------------------------------------------
It is 2am...Cassidy had just cried herself to sleep when she was suddenly awakened by the sound of banging. She was naked, except for a black Ace Marshall hoodie she had put on to film her promo. She should have been cautious, but instead she jumped out of bed and headed to the front door where the sound was coming from. As she moved down the stairs, she found Ally passed out naked on top of some random douche bag. She didn’t even react to it, as this sight had become commonplace. She didn’t know what it was that drew her to the banging, but usually she would have ignored it until it went away, or sent the random douchebag to check on it. He was expendable and his death would have given Cass and Ally time to escape. But this time, she didn’t even hesitate as she unlocked and opened the door. She went to make a crude comment but was caught off guard by what she found on the other side of the door. It was Austin. He was disheveled, and highly intoxicated. He kept mumbling to himself and clearly had no idea where he was. Cass’ eyes went wide. He...he came back to her. Somehow, in this delirious state, he had known to come back to her!! Sophie must not have been home. She highly doubted she was his first stop, but that didn’t matter, he was here now. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached out and took his hand, leading him into the house. She didn’t care that she hadn’t locked the door behind her as she led him up the stairs and to his bedroom. He was an absolute mess, rambling incoherently, and he smelled awful, but she didn’t care. She got him onto their bed, lying down next to him and wrapping her arms around him.
“She’s dead...she died and I can’t...I won’t...why? She’s...she’s dead!!”
Cass had no idea what he was talking about, and she knew she wouldn’t get it out of him tonight. The lack of blood on him meant he hadn’t killed someone, so she knew there would be time for all of that later. She reached down, pulling his shoes off and tossing them to the floor before wrapping herself around him again.
“She...she died...what...what do I do?”
Cassidy held his body close, pressing herself into his back as she shushed him lightly. She knew he wouldn’t remember this, and maybe that’s why she let the words escape her lips, her one hand running through his hair, caressing him comfortingly.
“No more worries Austin. I’m here, you’re safe. I love you, more than you will ever know, and I will protect you from this world. I’m sorry, and I will always love you. I will always be your Nancy until the day it kills me!!”
She leaned in, kissing his cheek before she pressed herself into him as much as she could, softly singing a lullaby her mother had sung to her on nights when the world seemed too much to handle. Slowly, the mumbling stopped as he slowly faded to sleep.
![[Image: cassidybanner.png]](http://thatwasley.com/graphics/cassidybanner.png)
![[Image: aceandcass.png]](http://thatwasley.com/graphics/aceandcass.png)
