Missing Heartbeat

Uninvited

About two and a half weeks passed and Riley was still recovering. She came home with them two days after the surgery and Cassidy had her lay down the whole day to help her recover. Now, she still lays down most of the day and still won't eat as much as she used to. Cassidy had to force down some food to get it into her system a couple of times to maintain her weight. She also has to give her daily pills for pain and the healing process.

Ever since Michael killed himself, McKaelah has been quieter but has been hanging out with Cassidy's group. At first, Cass's group wasn't sure about the once school bully joining them, but now everyone has adjusted. All of them knew what McKaelah had been through, so they were very understanding about it. Now everyone gets along great, and McKaelah is happy with her new life with her grandparents. Everything was going good so far, but Cass needed to tell her parents something that she had decided by herself.

So when they were sitting on the couch watching Friends, she approached them to talk.

When they noticed her, they pressed pause on their show, and Cass sat down on the couch next to them.

"Mom, dad. I.. uh... have been thinking about this and I think I've made my final decision."

"Ok, go on," Dad reassured me.

"I don't want to have a birthday this year." She said quickly.

"Why not honey? It's gonna be your 16th birthday. It's a special one, and it's only about a week away now."

"Yeah, but I just don't want to. Riley is still recovering, and then there's the Michael incident..."

"Cassidy, Michael is gone, you don't have to worry about him anymore. Why are you still worrying about him?"

"I don't know, I just..." She then broke into tears.

"It's just, you know, what McKaelah has been through, and Riley. Just everything is hard right now. It's hard to see all of this happen at once. I know I shouldn't worry anymore about McKeilah and Michael, and I will try my best. I will just focus on Riley now. Cause I know she needs me, and I need her too."

"Okay, okay. It's okay. Come here." Mom motioned for her to come sit closer to her, and she continued as Cass sat closer, "Listen, you can stop worrying about Michael and McKaelah now, okay? I want you to just focus on Riley. She needs you as much as you need her. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't like to see you upset and stressed out like this."

Cassidy turned to look at her dog on her bed, watching and listening to their conversation as if she knew what they were saying. Then Cass turned away and looked at her parents, "Okay, I'll do that, for... for Riley."

Her mom smiled and wrapped her into a tight hug, and dad joined in as well.

Mom spoke again, "It's okay. You don't have to have a birthday this year. I understand completely."

"Thanks, mom," Cassidy said through tears.

They all unraveled from their hug and looked at each other. But Cassidy was surprised when she heard a familiar sound. It was Riley's collar's chains clinging together. Cass turned to face her dog and was shocked to see her up on her four legs right beside them. She laid her head on Cassidy's lap and looked up at her with her big, blue eyes. Cassidy felt a sense of happiness inside her and was glad to see Riley up and moving. She silently pet her soft head and just sat there, stroking her as she comfortably sat there next to her parents.

Later that day, her parents had to go out because they needed to go grocery shopping. They said Cassidy could stay home with Riley to keep an eye on her. When her parents left, it was just Cassidy and Riley. The house seemed vacant because it was so quiet. Nothing moved, the whole house was still. Cassidy was sitting in the living room with Riley. She was on the couch and just stared at the TV even though it wasn't on, petting Riley as she laid down next to her on the floor. Not a thing seemed to want to break the silence. But a soft knock on the door decided it wanted to barge in on the nothingness.