Sing Me To Sleep

Eventually, after being unable to get through to a still-sobbing Katy's mom, the family counsellor left, leaving only a cheap business card and the stench of failure in the air.

Alex followed the man with his eyes and, when he was gone, slid over to Mrs. Ross, placing a comforting arm around her.

"She'll be okay, Mrs. R," Alex told her confidently. "When has Katy ever let you down? She's a trooper."

"I should have been there for her," the distraught woman sobbed. "I'm the one wh's let her down."

Alex took in the distraught woman. He couldn't imagine how she felt. No matter how much he loved Katy, how much he adored her, he knew a mother's pain equaled no other.

He knew from his own mother. When Joe did the unspeakable and...

Never mind. That was in the past. No use crying over spilt milk.

"There's nothing anyone could've done," Jack croaked from his hunched position next to Cassadee and Rian, their argument long forgotten.

Mrs. Ross wiped the tears from her face with shaky hands. Nodding, she stood.

"Let me drive you home," Rian offered. "Cass will be okay for a bit. Besides, there needs to be someone here to keep Jack and Alex out of trouble."

Katy's mom smiled as warmly as she could given the circumstances and left with Rian.

Jack and Alex were alone with Cass, who remained motionless in the corner.

The gravity of the situation suddenly weighed down on Alex, crushing his conscience and burning his mind with curiosity, questions and 'what if?'s.

His eyes found their way to Cassadee's crumpled form. She was so still it was terrifying. More so than normal, anyway.

He knew he shouldn't ask, that he would probably be met with barks of anger and sharp bites of blame.

But he had to.

"Cassadee," he began, his voice wavering with nerves, "I... I need to know what's going on. Please, I'm begging you, fill me in."

The room was silent for a few moments, and Jack looked between the two before opening his mouth.

"Alex, I really think-..."

"It's so horrifying," Cassadee cut in, her voice barely a whisper, "to know that your best friend is intentionally harming herself and won't see rhyme or reason. To know that her reasons are foolish and fixable and, god damn, they're not her fault. But you can't tell her, because it'll just set her off. She'll hurt herself, maybe shut you out and then you can't even help her just a little bit."

Alex looked at her. She'd barely moved an inch as the words came out of her mouth. She was so sure of herself yet sounded completely unstable at the same time. He felt terrible. He hadn't been there for Katy. Cassadee had been carrying this, for the most part, alone.

"I'm sorry, Cass," he muttered, tears prickling at her eyes. "I've been so stupid."

"Yeah," Cassadee agreed, "you have. She loves you, you know. Not just as a best friend but for real, maybe even more than I love Rian!" She stopped for a second, and thought. "Okay, maybe about the same. But that's seriously a lot."

Alex quirked a smile. "I know. I love her too, Cassadee. I've been so stupid. I wish I'd just told her instead of burying it away."

"She did the same," Cassadee reasoned grudgingly.

Silence enveloped the room again for a while, the severity of the situation storming it's way into their heads like a seven nation army.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Jack whispered, his hair laying lank across his forehead and his eyes devoid of their usual sparkle.

"I hope so," Alex murmured. "I really do."