Exposed

Ever since I was younger, life in the Newbury household always seemed to revolve around my older sister Danielle. I guess it made sense however, because I had always been the more reclusive one. The introvert whose best friends were good reads and great music. Danielle was the sort of girl who everybody loved. With her All-American looks and bubbly personality, it was hard not to. Which is why even I looked up to her. Hell, I remember wanting to be her. Even our parents had her on a pedestal. It was evident that even though they loved me too, they prided her more.

Danielle was the brain, the beauty, and the party. She was independent and she cared about something other than herself, unlike most teenagers. She was a magnet that pulled you in. As Danielle got older, more good things just seemed to fall into her lap. Jobs, scholarships, friends, and boys. For someone like Danielle, it was a given. She went through guys like a girl goes through Kleenex watching The Notebook. It was no surprise when Danielle told me she had a new beau. The only difference this time was that she wanted to keep everything hushed until she turned eighteen. This guy was older, she told me, and if Mom and Dad found out they would make them stop seeing each other. She loved him apparently, and when the time was right, they were going to get married.

Every time Danielle told me a little more about her secret guy, I couldn't help but roll my eyes as she fawned over him, her eyes glazing over with adoration. Danielle told me I didn't understand love. Which was almost completely true, especially considering I have never even kissed a boy before. But I understood more about it than Danielle thought. Like when she would come home some nights crying because of him. And when she started wearing long sleeves all the time, even when it was hot, to cover the bruises. Danielle was right. I didn't know what love was, but I knew what it wasn't. I couldn't tell anyone about it because it would betray the promise I made my sister. As it got worse, the only thing I could do was watch and write in my journal. It weird to me, how I was the only one that saw the changes going on in my sister. Our parents and her friends were oblivious. I guess it was because my sister was just that damn good at acting.

Then one day, my Mom was doing some parental snooping and took a peek at my journal. That night my parents had a talk with Danielle. The next day, Danielle was hospitalized.

Nothing was ever the same after that.

When Danielle came home, she sort of zombie-fied herself. She barely talked and when I tried to apologize, I was ignored. Secretly, I was glad that my Mom found my journal but I was genuinely sad for my sister. She closed herself off from the world and it was basically my fault. I couldn't comprehend how all of this happened because of love.

That is until I actually hit puberty and guys started to notice me. I had my first kiss and my first boyfriend, and things with Danielle got a little more better. That summer, Danielle turned eighteen and was off to college. I was coming into my sexuality and since I didn't exactly have a guide on how to act, the only thing I could do was think, what would Danielle do?

Which is kind of how this whole thing started. Me, trying to be like my sister. I wanted to be a better Danielle but instead, I was becoming a worse Cassandra. To try and straighten me out, my parents decided I should do some assisting work at my Dad's law firm so he could keep an eye on me. Instead, I met Jared, one of my Dad's lawyer buddies.

And things just kind of went from there.