chapter 28

Daniel entered the mansion and called Ryker’s name out loud and when he didn’t receive any response, Daniel kept screaming his name and walked over to Ryker’s room. Ryker was sitting on his window wearing noise-cancelation headphones. When Daniel flung open his door Ryker was taken aback.

Daniel’s nostrils flared and how Daniel looked at Ryker and stood in his room enough to tell Ryker that he got to know about his shenanigans. Ryker took a deep breath and took off his headphones. He jumped out of his window. “Look if you came to…”

Ryker was in the middle of his sentence and Daniel stepped forward and punched him in the face. Ryker fell onto his couch. It took him a few minutes to process what Daniel had done to him. Ryker shrugged his head and stood up. “How dare…”

Daniel once again didn’t let him complete and punched him. Daniel dragged him out off the couch gripped him by his shirt and punched his face. Ryker jerked Daniel’s grip and pushed him back. Daniel lunged forward and kicked him on his chest. This time Ryker has flown over the couch and fell on the floor. Ryker started to laugh blood dripping from his face. “So you were the third one.”

Daniel ignored him and picked him up by his shirt. “How could you do this to her?”

Ryker laughed. “You should know how it happens, brother. Come on I am in no mood to explain to you about sex.”

Daniel slapped him. "I always ignored your every wrong action because I thought one day you would see your mistake or grow up enough to understand that it's not good to hurt everyone. I was wrong, though, because people like you never change."

Ryker had no strength to fight back as he was already fighting in his mind about Cassie so when Steven and Daniel beat Ryker, he was assuming somewhere in the corner of his heart that he deserved that or maybe that physical pain was helping him to forget about the pain caused to him after hurting Cassie.

After one last punch to Ryker’s face, Daniel left his shirt and he fell on the floor. Daniel pointed at him. “If I see you anywhere near Cassie I swear I will forget that you are my brother.”

Ryker didn’t want to give Daniel satisfaction so he raised his hand. “Correction please, it’s half-brother.”

Daniel kicked him in the stomach and stormed out of his room. Then he rushed to his room cleaned his hand and changed his clothes. Daniel was shocked by his own reaction because he never had the courage to stand against Ryker. Daniel spent all these years in fear of Ryker and his bully.

Daniel sat down in his bed and felt himself brave enough to explain to his dad and Ryker’s mom why he raised his hand on Ryker. Daniel realized all this strength had come from a fear of losing Cassie. She gave him the power to stand up and fight against the wrong instead of ignore like he had been doing for years.

Daniel looked at the time and stood up to go to Cassie’s as all her classes would be over. He started his car and went straight to her place. Daniel knocked and he heard Cassie’s loud cry. Daniel tried to listen one more time and then he opened the door which was not locked.

Daniel ran inside and followed Cassie’s cry. The voice came from the room next to the kitchen. He abruptly opened the door and Cassie was sitting on the floor and Ruth was lying on the floor unconscious. Daniel ran towards them and asked. “What happened?

Cassie responded. “I don’t know when I came home I found her like this.”

Daniel asked. “Did you call 911?”

Cassie nodded and police barged into the room they took her mom in an ambulance and told them she was alive but her pulse was so weak. Daniel and Cassie followed the ambulance and they stayed in the waiting area because her mom had been taken into the emergency.

Cassie buried her face into Daniel’s chest and cried. “I don’t want to lose her.”

Daniel enveloped her in his arms. “You won’t.”

Cassie didn’t respond and she was feeling safe and in peace in Daniel’s arms so she kept sticking to him until one of the staff members asked. “Who is with Ruth Reed?”

Cassie raised her head. “I am her daughter.”

The staff girl signaled her to come to her. Cassie wipes her tears and rushes towards her. “She is fine now but she needs to rest.”

Cassie asked. “But what happened to her?”

The staff girl. “Doctor will tell you the details please wait. He is with another patient”

Cassie asked. “Can I meet my mom?”

The staff girl. “She is sleeping.”

Cassie nodded and along with Daniel both once again rushed to the waiting area. Cassie’s eyes fell on Daniel’s hand. “What the hell happened to your hand?”

Daniel looked at it and realized he had forgotten to bandage it. He immediately tucked it into his pocket. “It’s nothing serious.”

Cassie was about to pull out his hand but Daniel asked to distract her mind. “Is Ruth fine?”

Cassie shook her head. “She had been experiencing severe back pain and yesterday doctor wrote her a few tests because she had a history of back pain due to the accident.”

Daniel asked. “Accident? When? If I may ask.”

Cassie leaned back and sighed. “It was ten years ago my mom and dad were coming back from their anniversary dinner and were hit by a truck. Mom survived but dad…” tears rolled down her cheeks.

Daniel kept a hand around her shoulders. “Hey, everything is going to be fine so soon.”

Cassie nodded and then the doctor came and told her. "Ruth's body reacted to the excessive quantity of painkiller that she had taken, and as a result of the fact that she had been dehydrated, she lost consciousness.

Cassie was aware of the reasons why her mother had taken an excessive amount of tablets, and she made the decision to go to her place of work on her mom's behalf and resign.