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

Chapter 6 - Essential Sentimentals

"Mom, I'm home," I called from the living room.

"How was school, Cassie?" she called back in her frail voice which sounded twenty years too old for her.

She'd withdrawn to her bedroom three days earlier, only ever coming out to use the bathroom. That routine was nothing abnormal for her; she did it a lot, although some weeks were better than others. On occasion, I'd come home to see her out of bed and doing things around the house, and maybe even listening to music on the radio as she cleaned or cooked. But as the months and the years wore on, her good weeks became less frequent.

That week had been the worst. Every night, I was woken by her crying, and a couple of times I heard her howling out my father's name.

I cooked a meal of chicken soup for us both and took hers into her bedroom.

"Make sure you eat this," I told her as I set her bowl down on her bedside table. "It's good for you."

"Thank you, darling," she smiled at me from under the covers. "It smells delicious."

I gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before heading into the living room to eat my bowlful. After finishing my meal, I did the washing up and then sat down to do my homework. That was my life during the week – looking after my mom and keeping up with school. But that night was a Friday, and I was keen to head down to Oscar's Sports Bar to shoot some pool, but mostly I was looking forward to seeing James.

"I'm going out," I said softly from her doorway.

"OK dear."

I noticed that her bowl of chicken soup hadn't been touched, and she was now sitting up in bed, holding her favorite photo of her and my father on their wedding day. She was stroking his face with her finger and muttering something that was too quiet for me to hear.

"Don't forget to take your meds, OK?"

"I won't," she replied, still stroking the photo.

"I'll be back in a few hours."

"Cassie, come here."

I entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed at her side. She clasped one of my hands with a bony one of hers and placed her other hand on my cheek. "You're a good girl, and your father would've been proud of you," she smiled.

"Thanks..."

"I know things haven't been easy on you. I know I've been a burden-"

"Mom, don't say that. Everything's fine. We cope, right?"

"No, you've looked after me for far too long now, and it shouldn't be this way. It's not fair on you. But things will get better soon. I promise." She pulled me closer to gently kiss me on the forehead. "Your father and I love you, Cassandra. Never forget that."

Three hours later, I came home from Oscar's. As soon as I walked through the front door a cold, eerie feeling crawled over me that made my skin break out into goosebumps. It was a feeling of being completely alone. I crept down the hallway and into my mother's room. She was out of bed and sitting in her rocking chair. The bedside lamp shone just enough light onto her face for me to see that her eyes were closed and her lips were pale blue. Both of her hands were loosely laying in her lap; one was still holding her wedding photo and the other held an empty medication bottle.

——

I was sitting up in bed, hugging my knees and staring at the sheets that were damp with sweat and tears. It was the same position I'd been in for the past few hours. The dream was so vivid; I had remembered every detail - every little object in her room, her voice, the perfume my father gave her that she always wore - it was like reliving what had happened.