Stuck In The Past | Five Hargreeves

Chapter 4: Complicated Friendships

Months went by and it was now late August of 1963. Cassie had been living with the Lauder's for almost 3 months and there wasn't a day where the girl didn't think about Five but unfortunately she was unable to find him or anyone else from the Academy. At first, Cassie and Nathan went near the alleyway almost every day to see if they found someone but as the days and weeks went by the girl began to lose hope, almost giving up on the idea that Five would eventually come for her.

The Lauder's had taken the girl in as if she was their own to a point where Cassie was starting to see them almost like a second family. The only difference was instead of being completely dysfunctional, this time it was very stable and everything that a normal family should be.

Over time the girl had gotten to know everyone in the house a lot better which made her stay a lot more pleasant. Nathan's mom had become the closest thing Cassie ever had to a real motherly figure and for Nathan's mom, the girl was like the daughter she never had.

On the other Nathan's dad was a very busy man, he spent most of his day working but whenever he got home he would dedicate his time to his family the best he could. This was something that really surprised Cassie because she never had a good example of what an actual good father was like. And even though the girl didn't spend that much time with Nathan's dad whenever she did it he would always be very nice and ask her if she was doing well in a very genuine manner.

Cassie learned from Nathan's mom that she and Nathan's dad always dreamed of having a big family but her pregnancy with Nathan was almost a miracle and after she gave birth she was told she wouldn't be able to have any more children. This completely broke both of Nathan's parents' hearts but they were glad that they at least had a son who meant the whole world to them.

Because of this Cassie was able to understand why Nathan's parents were very fond of the idea of having her in the house. They saw her as a part of the big family they never got to have.

While spending time in the house Cassie also got to meet Ruth, the housekeeper, and Victor who was the house cook and they absolutely adored her. The two had been working for the Lauder family for many years and we're very happy with their jobs. After all, from what the girl had seen too far the Lauder's overall were very respectful and also very grateful for everything they did for them. They basically kept the house going.

Lastly, there was Nathan who had become the closest thing the girl had to a friend and also the other way around. The more time Cassie was around him the more she learned about the boy who had been nothing but kind to her for the past 3 months.

Cassie could tell that before Nathan met her he was a very lonely boy. He rarely talked about any friends and when he did he mostly referred to them as his friends from school but nothing else. This was very confusing for Cassie because she thought that anyone with Nathan's charming personality would have a lot of friends he would hang out with but it seemed like it wasn't the case.

Instead, Nathan was the type of boy who liked spending time with people he truly cared about like his family and recently Cassie. In fact, when Nathan found Cassie in the streets on his way home from school months ago he never expected that he would become attached to her so quickly. At first, he just wanted to help her find the person she was looking for but as time went by and no one ever came for her he had become protective over the girl. The truth was that he couldn't understand why anyone would want to leave her side. And even though he knew very little about the girl's past there was something about her that really mesmerized him.

Cassie was very grateful towards the Lauder's in general, but the more time she spent in their house the guiltier she felt for not being able to tell them the truth about where she came from. She knew that she couldn't lie to them forever and that just made her feel terrible but she didn't know what else to do.