Damn Good Reasons **DISCONTINUED - SEE NEW VER!**

1 Dear Diary

Rewritten Jan 2020 - Hey everyone! So, I'm gonna try writing this as a diary/journal type thing, still feeling my way through it as it's new to me, but see what you think!  There's about 40 chapters to change so, at this stage, most of them are in the old format, so just be aware of that.

If you're new to the story, welcome!  And if you like it, please let me know by clicking the star to vote!  Renee :)

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Dear Diary,

They're gonna kill me. My final resting place will be under six feet of household trash at the Castle Rock Landfill. Shit.

Wait...

Every time a V8 drives by, I run to the window and glue my nose against it, expecting to see Ace pull up the drive. Where the hell is he? My life is in his hands. He said he'd help me earn enough to pay my way out of this godforsaken mess, and that was five days ago. I've hardly slept and my anxiousness overrides my appetite. Maybe he only promised to help because he unofficially hates me. Ugh... I get dizzy every time I let myself think that he won't turn up at all.

Be calm, Cass. Deep breaths.

Of course Ace will come through. Why wouldn't he? He knows that this is one problem I can't solve on my own and that I'll do anything to avoid facing those dark, soulless eyes again empty-handed. He knows I'm at his mercy. I wouldn't be surprised if he's away calculating a plan on how best to take advantage of me.

Calm, calm.

You see, this is the problem with me. When I panic, my pessimism explodes. Shrapnel flies in all directions. I need to take a step back and get my head straight because I'll need to be on my game if I'm gonna win it. That's why I bought a ton of paper from the Newsagent, a solid, steel case and the biggest, chunkiest lock I could find from the Emporium. It's a bronze antique that was labeled 'for decorative purposes only' because the store owner lost the keys years ago. But the lock still works - trust me, I tested it. And, now, even if someone searches the scrub behind my backfield and finds the lug of steel in the hidey-hole I've bored out - good luck getting it open.

Still... I need to be careful. These secrets won't be safe unless they're stored inside. Maybe I'm stupid for doing this, but things are getting complicated, and I think making deals with Ace will be like dealing with the devil. I need records. What was said and by who. And... having an emotional outlet wouldn't be a bad thing for me either. Ugh... feelings. What else could make my life even more complicated?

Well... here goes.

No, wait...

No, still not Ace. Bastard.

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It was a month ago today. God... what a month it's been.

The day started like any typical day, doing the morning and lunch shifts at the Blue Point Diner, and then getting away from the bustle in the late afternoon by taking a walk around the quiet streets of Castle Rock. But that day, my walk was unlike any other. As I stepped inside the high, wooden walls of the alleyway that leads back to Main Street, a cry barreled down the path towards me so loud and clear, it tickled my eardrums.

"Let me up, asshole!"

A curve in the path blinded me from what was unfolding up ahead, and so I ran to the bend and peered around it.

There were two assholes, actually, both about my age, possibly older, and they appeared to be bullying into a kid about middle school age who was struggling solo. The blonde asshole had the kid pinned up against the alley's 6ft wooden panels, while the one with a brown mop of hair stood back with his thumbs in his jeans pockets as he watched with a pitiless grin. All three were dressed in your standard-issue JD wear of jeans and T-shirts, although the older guys were clean while the kid's white shirt was dusted in dirt like they'd just rolled him in it.