Be My Always - A Casey and Izzie Story

20. morning routine

Izzie:

Two weeks later

"Casey! Izzie! Sam! Breakfast!"

It had been almost two weeks since I moved into the Gardner's home. The past two weeks had been some of the hardest I had ever had to face yet Casey and her family had helped me through.

*One week earlier*

We had been home from the comp for almost a week. I had spent majority of my week listening to the monotone voicemail that greeted me each and every time I attempted to make contact with my mother. One time however, I got lucky enough that Mateo answered while mom was outside.

"Mom?"

"Iz! Leni, its Izzie! Izzie, when are you coming home? Mommy says you were naughty and are getting a punishment. Why were you naughty? We need you."

The tears bounced violently off my cheeks as I held my hand over my mouth to stifle to loud cries threatening to escape. "Hi, buddy. How are you?" I chuckled through the tears.

"I'm okay, but we need you, Sissy. Mommy is being mad, and Leni has to look after me but she doesn't look after me and Luci as good as you. When are you coming home?"

I closed my eyes and breathed heavily. "Sissy will see you seen, buddy. Is Leni there? Can I speak to-"

"Mateo! Who is one the phone?" I heard my mother yelling on the other side

"Uh-Uh- I got to go, Sissy. Come home, please." He pleaded as I heard the phone being pulled from his arms.

"Call back again and you'll be hearing from the police." She snapped at me; words sharper than a knife as the phone clicked indicating she had hung up.

I had locked myself away in Casey's room while the rest of her family were gathered downstairs watching some TV show that they all enjoy. The room was dark and silent beside the muffled sounds of my sobs I attempted to hide behind a pillow. She knew though.

I heard a number of soft knocks on the door before she poked her head in the door. "Iz?"

I lay on my side letting the tears fall onto the pillow covering my mouth. I got up slightly to acknowledge her as she began to make her way over to me. She slipped besides me and wrapped her arms around me and stroked my hair.

It was something that was becoming second nature to her, slipping in besides me and comforting me until I fell asleep.

*Back to present day*

I woke up to the sound of Elsa calling up the stairs and the smell of warm, freshly baked pancakes wafting up the stairs. In a way, this was everything I had ever dreamt my life would be. Only exception is, this wasn't my life. This was Casey's life and I was living it, without my alcoholic, abusive mother and without my younger, innocent siblings.

I had called my grams and explained everything to her. She was doing everything in her power to get them into her custody, my mother wasn't making it easy at all.

I heard Casey begin to stir next to me. "Morning, pretty." She spoke in that beautiful, husky voice I was beginning to get to know all too well.

Elsa was initially against the whole sharing-a-bed-thing, after endless back and forth between her and Casey, Casey arguing that we needed each other right now and the fact that neither of us could end up pregnant, Elsa gave in and here we were.

"Hey there, you." I chuckled as I straddled myself on top of her and leant down for a soft kiss.

"How did you sleep?" She asked as her hands travelled up to my hips.

I thought back to the night I had had last night in comparison to the last two nightmare and panic attack filled sleeps. "Good actually, and you?"

I studied her features closely as we spoke. My eyes eventually trailed down to where I sat on her hips and it wasn't long before I lowered my head and begin to shower her body in kisses.

After a few more moments spent like that, we were interrupted by Elsa calling us once again. I giggled as I got up from on top of her and we each pulled on some more appropriate clothing for breakfast.

I watched as she energetically bounced down the stairs to where her parents and Sam sat. "Morning, losers." She greeted them.

"Morning, girls." Elsa chorused pushing two plates full of pancakes in our direction.

Her family and I made conversation as we ate, Sam occasionally piping in with his own share of facts and statistics to which Casey would egg him on to the point in which a fight would occur which Elsa would ultimately jump in demanding peace.

A normal family fight. A fight so different compared to the ones that would usually occur in my own house.

"Alright, alright, we're going." I heard Casey protest, breaking me out of the trip I had begun to take down memory lane.

I glanced over at the clock on the oven. 7:03. We raced back up the stairs and began our separate morning routines. Three of us were now sharing one bathroom which led Sam to create a very detailed bathroom use outline which gave us each specific times as to when we could be in the bathroom.

Routine. An organized way of life. Something I had always so desperately craved.

"Dad! We're ready." Casey called down the stairs to Doug who was taking us to school this morning.

We gathered together our books and papers into our bags and headed back down the stairs. "Bye, girls. Love you both! Good luck at practice." Elsa called out after us as we walked out the door.

We clambered into the back of Doug's red truck and begin talking about an upcoming biology test we had this week and how we planned to study for it together after school.

Doug pulled into the familiar gates of Clayton and we thanked him for the ride. "Have a good day girls, train hard!" he called before pulling away.

They cared. They cared enough to remember what each day entailed. They cared enough to ask how we were going. They cared about me like I was one of their own.

Finally, for once in my life, I felt loved. I felt important. I felt happy in a time full of utter darkness and betrayal. 

A/N: 

heyyyy, long time no see. been absolutely swamped with school assignments but finally had some extra time to do some writing. i'm hoping to still update at least once a week but each week is more come-what-may in terms of hectic-ness 

anywayssssss - sorry if this is short n trash, the next few chapters will begin to pick up again with more storylines instead of fillers and fluff 

lots of love always, ro xoxo