We Were Barely Seventeen, and We Were Barely Dressed

I woke up the next morning to someone tapping on my arm. When I looked up, I saw my mom looking down at me.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Can I see Brylee?” I asked, standing up in a panic.

“Nothing’s wrong, baby. It’s still too early for us to see Brylee,” she said before turning to Rylan. “Rylan, would you mind if I took Cassidy here for a walk?”

“Not at all, Mrs. Graham,” he said with a charming smile while unwrapping his arms from around me.

I stood up and followed my mom down the hallway until she turned to go outside. She eventually stopped at a picnic table and sat down.

“Cassidy, I don’t really know if I should be telling you this or not, but you have the right to know.”

I was getting a little freaked out just as every normal person would.

“Sweetheart, you know how I got pregnant with you before you father and I were married?”

I nodded my head in understanding.

“Well, you’re not your dad’s kid. Before your father and I got married, we had a little break. It was only for about a week or so during our engagement, but we both agreed that we needed time apart. I slept with another man, Cass. I told Mark and he wanted nothing to do with you. I’m so sorry I never told you, baby. You’re step-dad, I guess you could say, has never once rejected you or was even that upset that I got pregnant by another man. He’s helped me so much in raising you and we just thought it was best if we kept it a secret between us that he’s not your real dad. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way,” she said with tears rolling down her face.

“Is that why he’s been treating me so badly the past few days?” I asked.

“Absolutely not. He loves you as if you were his own, but he just is worried about Brylee. The reason I’ve seemed almost as if I didn’t care about Brylee was because I wanted to stay strong for you. I knew you were going to be a mess and we didn’t need both of us to go in to depression. You don’t know how many times I cried myself to sleep at night worried about Brylee. I didn’t want what happened to her to happen to you. I know I should’ve told you sooner about all of this.”

I stayed silent for a few minutes as she stared at my face, trying to decipher my reaction.

“Can I just- Can I just be alone for a while?” I said, not making eye contact with her.

She nodded and stood up from the table to leave.

“I love you, baby girl,” she said before making her way back to the hospital.



I don’t know how long I sat out at that picnic bench. It must have been at least an hour.

It was still early in the morning; the sun wasn’t even up when we came out here. I had watched the sun rise behind the trees which were changing with the fall atmosphere.

Birds were chirping an early morning song as I sat at the table, unmoving. When I finally got my cell phone out of my pocket to check the time, I noticed that I had missed texts from people and calls from Violet. It was also just after seven in the morning.

I walked back into the hospital and found Rylan sitting in the same spot but my parents were no where to be found.

“Are you okay, Cassie?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I just got some stuff to think about, but Brylee is more important. Can I see her yet?” I asked with wide eyes.

“Yes. The nurses came out about half an hour ago to retrieve your parents. Would you like me to take you back to see her?” he asked with a smile.

“Yes! Let’s go!” I yelled, grabbing his arm and making him stand up before he lead me towards her room.

When we got there, I peered in through the door and watched my parents before knocking. They both glanced up with me.

“Can I be with her alone?” I asked. They nodded before standing up to leave. As they passed, my ‘dad’ gave me a hug. After he let go, I started to walk into the room. I sat down in the chair next to her bed before I even looked at her.

“Dee?” she asked in a small voice. My head snapped up at the sound as tears started to pour down my cheeks.

“Hi, baby,” I said looking at her beautiful hazel orbs.

“Hi,” she said back with a smile.

And that was all it took for me to break out into small sobs and her to join me as well.