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Cass tapped at the new loop of metal hung through her septum with the very edge of her fingernail. Pressing any harder made her entire nose flare red hot and her eyes water. But there was something about the new weight and sensation against the skin above her lip that made it impossible not to toy with.
“Quit messing with it,” Vi chuckled from where she walked beside Cass, holding the small bag of antiseptic treatment and ointment the gruff piercing artists had given them before they left.
His small shop was set deep in the underbelly of Zaun, the building quite literally hidden from the sunlight. Their exchange had been mostly silent. A marginally enthusiastic handshake for Vi. A few grunts about payment upfront, a single question about what Cass wanted before shoving her into a chair. The piercing itself had taken only a few moments. A quick, sharp pinch and a watering of her eyes and then Vastayan piercer had shooed them out of the shop and on their way.
But Cass ignored her mother's advice, curling her top lip up to press the piercing to the top of her nose. Immediately dropping it back down as it stung.
“Ow!”
“You deserved that. Playing with a new hole in your nose is gonna get it ripped out or infected by the end of the day.”
“Did yours hurt?” Cass glanced at the two loops curling through her mother’s ear, as well as the one that now nearly matched Cass’ in her nostril.
She knew Vi had them done during her wrongful time imprisoned. And it tinged her preaching about infection with a bit of irony.
“About as much as yours did,” Vi shrugged. “First one took a few tries.”
She pointed to the first metal loop in her ear and Cass shuddered to imagine some poorly crafted piercing tool jammed through the same spot until it broke the flesh.
“How did you clean them?”
“I didn't really.” Vi frowned as if recalling a memory. “I guess the occasional showers we got somehow kept them clean enough.”
Wrinkling her nose - earning a shock of pain - Cass choked, “You cleaned them with Stillwater water?”
“I didn't really have a choice. But you do.” Vi smirked and shoved the care bag into Cass’ hands. “So no excuses. If your nose blows up in a few days, that's on you.”
Despite the warning, Cass curled her lip into the ring again.
“Cass,” Vi heaved a weary sigh.
“I can't help it,” Cass physically resisted the urge to do it again. “It feels weird.”
“It will for a while,” Vi tapped Cass wrist as it came up again. “But then you'll get used to it and forget it's even in your face.”
“Do you think Mum will be mad?” The question she’d kept to herself since they left the manor this morning finally bubbled to the surface.
She hadn’t asked Caitlyn to be a chaperone for a reason. The past few weeks had earned Cass her mother’s ire more than once. Whether it was avoiding her physics homework to work out equations of her own to determine the launch trajectory of her latest hexbot. Or tying her dog’s favorite rope toy to the back of her hoverboard, and piloting it through the gardens with the new remote control she’d created for it. Only to have both board and dog plow through her grandmother’s prized peony bed. Ripping the beautiful pink flowers from the soil and mulching them through the hoverboard’s engine.
On top of that, Cass worried what her mother might feel about how it…looked. How it would come across in terms of the physical representation of her House. Cass had never felt she was the ideal example of a Kiramman. In both outward and inward presentation. While not an intentional statement, she worried that her mother might see it as just another indication of Cass’ inability to fit into her own family. Not that a piercing was something uncommon in their family. But Vi wasn’t just a part of their House, she was Vi. Everyone knew who she was inside and out of it. There wasn’t an expectation of her to fit some decades long expected mold. At least not anymore, if there once had been. Still, public and personal perception clashed.
But really, it was a small effort to emulate Vi anyway. And her heritage. An equally important part of who she was. When Cass was younger, she’d always greatly amuse Vi by asking ‘Mummy, when will my tattoos start to show?’
Cass didn’t have the same refined and noble countenance as her sister and Caitlyn. And she also wasn’t as confident, or remotely badass, as Vi. So, maybe, this tiny gesture was an effort to try to embody one of her parent’s legacies. In any small way she could. Her sister hated needles. She'd never gone near a drop of ink or a loop of metal in her life. But Cass had admired the patterns and shiny metal on her mother's skin from the moment she was old enough to stick them in her mouth as a curious baby. Despite the fact that Vi was right, that it was too late now, Cass was nervous. That almost made it worse. Unable to remove something that might sour her mother every time she looked at it?
Maybe Cass should’ve thought this one through a bit longer.
“I think,” Vi mused. “You're fifteen and can choose what you want to do with your own body - as long as it's not dangerous.”
Narrowing her eyes, Cass pressed, “You didn’t answer my question.”
Vi cast her an amused sidelong glance. “Well, if she doesn't, what can she do about it now?”
“Make me take it out?”
“And leave an empty hole in your nose instead? Don't think so.”
They stopped for lunch at one of Cass’ favorite bistros and she only misjudged the distance of her waterglass twice, knocking the tender piercing to eye watering result.
“Y'know,” Vi started as they approached the estate gates later that evening, lugging the groceries they'd bought from the market. “Your mom might not even notice, it's pretty small. As long as you stop messing with it.”
Cass shot her an unamused grimace. Fidgeting or not they both knew Caitlyn was always eerily perceptive of everything around her. Even with only one working eye. It was only a matter of time before she noticed. But maybe, Cass mused, maybe a small part of her wanted Caitlyn to notice. Maybe she wanted Caitlyn to like it. Hoped she would. To see something of Vi in Cass and replace the constant train of disappointing debacles with pride. Affection. Amusement. Something besides a tired sigh and pinched brow.
Once inside the manor, Cass kicked off her boots and helped Vi carry the groceries to the kitchen. As Vi laid out the ingredients she'd chosen to prepare for tonight's dinner, she glanced up at the clock above the door.
“Your mom'll be home in an hour or so. Why don’t you go upstairs and clean up? Your nose is already a little red.”
She nudged Cass’ bag of antiseptics toward her and jerked her chin to dismiss her. Snatching the bag, Cass spun on her heel and scurried up the staircase to find it a safe place in her bathroom. Dashing down the hallway, she nearly careened into her sister as Corinne stepped out of her own room.
Gripping Cass’ shoulder to steady both of them, Corinne looked her up and down. “Where were you? What are you doing? And why are you doing it at top speed down the hall?”
Cass tucked the bag behind her back and ducked her head, nose to the floor. “Nothing, sorry. I was just going to get washed up for dinner.”
“Are you that eager?”
“I'm really hungry.”
Corinne frowned, and then with eyes almost as perceptive as their mother’s, locked onto the slight shine above Cass lip. She gasped, hands flying off Cass’ shoulders as if she'd been burned. “Cassandra… you didn’t.”
Cass gave up, lifting her chin to see the volley of emotions crossing her sister's face. Shock, exasperation, disbelief…sinister glee.
“Mum's going to kill you.”
“No she won't! It's fine! Mom went with me. She said I could.”
Corinne smirked, crossing her arms. “Oh. Well, in that case, Mum is going to kill both of you.”
Frowning, Cass pushed past her, stomping down the hall. The softer steps behind told her Corinne was following.
“She won't even notice,” Cass insisted, shoving open her bedroom door. “And you won't say anything to draw her attention to it.”
“I won't need to,” Corinne leaned against the doorway. “You've basically got a metal target in the middle of your face. She'll spot it through the walls. She'll sense it. She’ll smell it. Track you through the halls like one of the dogs.”
“Shut up,” Cass turned and pushed her sister out of the doorway. The ring was cool and she liked it. Mom liked it. No one else had to. It was her choice and making fun of her for it was beginning to genuinely sting. Still, her stomach ached with the ‘what ifs’.
“Did Mom seriously go with you?” Corinne caught herself on the doorway before Cass could close it. “Was she trying to get you in trouble?”
“It's not going to get me in trouble!” Cass kicked at Corinne’s shoes to force her out. “It's not that big a deal! Mom has them!”
“Mom’s not a kid.”
“I’m not either!”
“Oh please–”
Cass slammed the door shut before her sister could retort. After a moment, there came a heavy sigh from the other side followed by a dull ‘thunk’ of Corinne leaning her weight against the frame.
“Cass. Come on. I’m sorry I upset you…” She paused, giving Cass a chance to reply. Cass adamantly did not, throwing herself onto her bed and pressing her face into the pillows.
“I was teasing.” The doorknob jiggled slightly. “Can I come in?”
“The door’s not locked,” Cass grumbled, voice muffled in the pillowcase.
“I’m respecting your space and asking for permission.”
“That’s a first.”
Corinne made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. “Will you stop being so…petulant?”
Knowing it would make Corinne more annoyed to not respond, Cass remained silent and petulant. A moment later, Corinne scoffed again and then the door swung open, footsteps clattered across the floor and Cass’ mattress dipped so hard it tossed her upward. Landing back on the blankets nose first, while soft, still felt like a punch. Cass yelped in pain and rolled over just in time to bat Corinne’s hands away. Her sister had launched herself onto her bed and was trying to trap her in a headlock.
“How is this helping?” Cass dodged another attempt to catch her and rolled across the bed, scrambling toward the edge. “Are you trying to kill me before Mum does?”
“Exactly,” Corinne laughed and grabbed Cass’ ankle, dragging her back. “Saves everyone the trouble!”
Despite her best efforts, Corinne was taller and stronger and had her pinned and entangled in the sheets like a human sized wrap.
“Yield,” Corinne grinned. “Accept my apology.”
Cass wiggled fruitlessly in her blankets. “Alright, alright. Fine! Let me go.”
With a swift yank, Corinne unrolled Cass from the wrap, nearly throwing her onto the floor. Scrambling around, Cass met her sister’s self satisfied smirk with her most disgruntled glare.
“It looks cool, really.” Corinne pointed to her own nose. “But, uh, it is getting a bit red. Are you sure you went to a reliable shop?”
“Of course.” Hopping off the bed, Cass hurried to her bathroom, peering at her piercing in the mirror. “It’s red because you attacked me.”
Corinne’s reflection appeared in the mirror behind her. “Mhm. Your soft mattress is truly brutal.”
“I have an idea. How about, instead of being annoying, you make yourself useful and help me clean it.” Ignoring Corinne’s offended squeak, Cass crossed back to the bed and tossed the antiseptic bag at her.
“And why should I help you with that attitude?”
“Because if you don’t,” Cass plopped onto the edge of the mattress. “I’ll tell the Mums that you snuck out with Maya the other night when you were supposed to be studying for final exams.”
Cheeks flushing red, Corinne’s mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to think of a response. When Cass just grinned, she huffed and stomped over to the bed beside her, dumping the contents onto the mattress.
Grumbling, Corinne tugged on the pair of plastic gloves included and grabbed Cass’ cheeks to inspect the piercing. Making sure to pinch them so they scrunched out of shape. “You’re lucky I’m such a kind and caring older sister.”
“And you’re lucky I’m not a vindictive younger one.” She stuck out her tongue for good measure, yelping as Corinne shoved the cotton ball covered in antiseptic liquid into her nose.
By the time they’d finished cleaning Cass’ nose, it was possibly more red than before and stinking of alcohol that made Cass’ eyes burn. The faint aroma of dinner drifted up the stairs as Corinne made her way to her own room to wash up, leaving Cass struggling not to fidget any further with the stinging site. The loud ring of the grandfather clock in the foyer signaled the arrival of six in the evening. Sharp. And along with it the front doors ‘whooshing’ open with the arrival of their mother. Heart picking up, Cass crept to her bedroom door, ear pressed to the opening.
Vi’s voice came first, growing louder as she left the kitchen and stepped into the foyer. “Hey, baby. How was–”
The thud of a boot kicked off viciously into a nearby armchair startled Cass so hard she nearly knocked her head into the door.
“When I tell you that I’ve never worked with a House made up of the most incompetent individuals I’ve ever met in my life.”
“-your day?”
“One thing after another is how it was!”
Fighting off her other boot, Caitlyn stormed past Vi, hands waving in the air in the way they always did when her emotions were too big to convey with words. “The newest batch of recruits must’ve been pulled from a nursery because they don’t know their ass from their foot. One of them nearly blew a hole through another on the range the second they were assigned a sidearm.”
Creeping onto the landing, Cass peered over the banister as her parents’ voices faded slightly into the kitchen.
“And then the Council–”
“Sevika?”
“Yes. Mind you, she doesn’t even have a Council seat anymore. But that doesn’t stop her from trying to make me her personal carrier pigeon. When she is entirely capable of handling any communications herself.”
“Maybe she just values your input.”
Caitlyn’s laugh was more of a bark. “She just likes frustrating me. And now with the newest councilor from House Ferros, she has a partner in crime. They just encourage her. And all they’ve been doing lately is manipulating the other Council members into extraneous side projects that waste resources–”
Creeping onto the landing, Cass listened as her parents’ voices retreated into the kitchen. Corinne appeared beside her, hands gripping the railing as she exchanged wide eyed glances with Cass.
She was doomed.
Dinner was accompanied by an air of tension. The clink and clatter of cutlery filling the silence where conversation usually came.
Glancing toward the head of the table, Cass saw her mother drawing in long breaths as she chased a single vegetable around her plate with a fork. Clearly trying admirably to regulate the frustration she'd flown in the door with, but no one seemed to know quite what to say. Corinne’s gaze flickered nervously between Cass, then Caitlyn, then Vi, then Cass all over again before shoving an overful forkful of food into her mouth. Meanwhile, Cass sat with her chin tilted down, cheek cradled in her left hand. The other made aimless patterns in her mash potatoes, swirling just like her own stomach.
“So!” Vi finally broke the silence, her fork clattering too loudly on the table as she set it down. “Anyone doing anything fun this week?”
Across the table Corinne’s eyes met Cass’, her chewing slowed until she fought to swallow the enormous mouthful she'd taken.
“I, um, have my exams,” she coughed.
“I said something fun,” Vi teased.
“It will be fun to be done with them?” Corinne’s eyes rounded as she asked rather than answered.
“Right.” Vi nudged Cass’ shoulder.
“You Cass?” Cass tilted her chin, peeking over her hand at Caitlyn. Her mother’s gaze was still trained intently on her plate, brow furrowed. If Cass had to guess, she hadn’t even heard Vi’s question. Shrugging, Cass turned her face again and stabbed a piece of meat. “No.”
“Well, aren’t you all a bundle of joy tonight.” Vi huffed. She rested a hand in front of Caitlyn’s plate, finally drawing her attention with a confused blink. “How about you?”
“Sorry?”
Vi huffed sat back in her chair, chuckling. “I’m just gonna guess ‘no’.”
Caitlyn looked confused, as if she’d just been pulled out of a dream, but finally her attention was on the rest of them. Something Cass could not have been more ungrateful to Vi for. She resisted the urge to twist her lip to relieve the itching around her piercing.
Corinne cleared her throat.
“So, um, I was wondering if… Well, a few of my classmates were trying to organize a trip to the beach just outside the city this weekend. And I was wondering if it would be alright if I went with them? Since exams will be over and all.”
“I just asked if you were doing anything fun!” Vi threw her hands up.
“On the weekend,” Corinne stressed. “You said this week!”
“Well, in that case, no,” Vi teased. “Just for being pedantic.”
Ignoring her, Corinne turned the request to Caitlyn. “Mum?”
Vi’s head whipped between them, “Am I even here?”
Cass giggled beside her and then flinched when the heel of her palm touched her nose. Caitlyn’s eye darted to the movement before Corinne rapidly tapped her finger on the table to regain her attention.
“I’m sure that would be fine.” Caitlyn nodded at Corinne who sat back in her chair beaming.
A successful distraction and weekend reward for herself. Unfortunately, it only led into another question.
“Were you going as well, Cass?”
Cass froze, across the table Corinne’s eyes rounded. Heart racing, Cass sniffed to justify rubbing her palm across her nose and tipped her chin down further. “No. I have…I was going to…Uncle Ekko wanted to show me something new in his workshop, I think.”
Cass wasn’t a good liar on the best of days. It was the main reason she caught most of the flack for her and her sister’s joint escapades. But her halting excuse seemed even less convincing than usual. Daring to glance up at her mother, she saw Caitlyn’s eyes locked on her, a slight furrow forming between her brows. Even her blinded eye, uncovered by an eyepatch, seemed to be laser focused on Cass.
“Are you alright?” she asked, genuine but clearly suspicious.
“Me? Yeah. I’m just not that hungry.” She flicked her thumb over the bridge of her nose and sniffed loudly. “Allergies or something.”
Caitlyn sat back in her chair, gaze drifting to Vi who had suddenly become very interested in following the stitching on the tablecloth with her finger. She glanced at Corinne instead, whose ramrod straight posture and neutral expression was nowhere near casual.
With a quiet huff, Caitlyn pinned Cass back under her gaze. “Alright, what’s going on with you three?”
“Nothing,” Cass assured, briefly waving a hand only to slap it back over her cheek. “Seriously. In fact, I’m probably all done so I’ll just–”
“Cassandra.”
Cass’ shoulders drooped with defeat. Her full name never came out unless she was in true trouble. Heart pounding, cheeks flaring, Cass straightened and slowly dropped her hand from her cheek. Although she couldn’t see herself from Caitlyn’s perspective, she was certain the piercing was obvious right away. Red and irritated from Corinne’s less than gentle cleaning. Bright and shiny new metal. Bracing herself, she turned fully, shocked not to see her mother’s gaze full of anger, but surprise and maybe confusion.
Caitlyn’s eye fell to the ring under Cass’ nose. “When did you–?”
“This morning. Mom took me.”
Caitlyn’s gaze then flickered to Vi who smiled and shrugged. “She wanted to do it. I figured she’s old enough to make her own choice.”
A brief moment passed where Caitlyn was silent, her jaw tensing slightly before she exhaled sharply and picked up her fork. “You’ll care for it? Keep it clean?”
Surprise stole the reply from Cass’ lungs. That was it?
She blinked, waiting for the reprimand, the judgement, the disappointment…Anything. Instead, there was quiet, cautious acceptance. Cass cast a quick glance at Vi who wore an ‘I told you so’ smirk, as though she’d done anything to truly assuage any anxiety Cass had felt about the potential reaction.
“Um, yes.” Cass found her voice, straightening in her chair. “Yeah, of course. I will.”
“Good. That's it then.” The legs of Caitlyn’s chair scraped the floor loudly as she slowly pushed herself to her feet.
Her face was suddenly drawn, shoulders slumped. An air of exhaustion ,and something else Cass couldn't place, blanketing her like a shroud.
“If you'll all excuse me,” she murmured. “I think I'm going to get ready for bed.”
Outside the dining room windows, the glow of late evening sun still lit the room. It was an odd choice for the time alone, and even more strange when considering the habitual night owl her mother was. A heavy silence filled her space as she left. Cass looked between her sister and Vi, each one mirroring an expression as confused as her own.
After she and Corinne had worked together to clear the table and clean up dinner, Cass ambled her way up to the manor's second floor, trailing after her sister.
“Do you think she’s alright?” Cass asked as they passed their parents’ room.
Corinne shrugged. “Sure. Probably just tired. You heard how she came home today.”
Cass didn’t know if she’d call Caitlyn’s look tired so much as dejected. As if Cass’ admission had saddened her. Somehow, that felt worse than the expected disappointment.
“You’re alive and in one piece though, right?” Corinne bumped Cass’ shoulder. “She’s fine with it and there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Right.” Cass acknowledged, although she didn’t agree at all. And the night didn’t feel like a success or a relief.
Corinne ruffled her hair and then retired to her room, leaving Cass alone in the cavernous halls. Worrying her lip, Cass backtracked the way they’d come, stopping in front of her parent’s door again. She leaned against the frame, catching a hint of their voices muted behind the wood.
“Why didn’t she feel like she could tell me?”
“Probably thought that asking your permission would be an easy no.”
“What have I ever done to earn that lack of trust?”
“Not so much a lack of trust as knowing she was probably still on your shit list for wrecking your mom’s old peony bed. And the homework thing. And the week before that when she left that antique pin you gave her on the balcony and the local wildlife stole it.”
Cass flinched, face flushing hot as she recalled the accidental destruction and her mother’s righteous anger and every previous fumble beforehand.
Caitlyn scoffed, but only retaliated against the peony debacle. “There’s no ‘shit list’. She knows what she did was wrong and was made to clean up the disaster on her own. It took her three days from what I can recall. And that doesn’t have anything to do with something like this anyway.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No! You were right that she’s old enough to make her own decisions. I just don’t want her to do anything she regrets. Or something that will end up hurting her. You know how impulsive she can be –”
Vi hummed gently. “Mhm. Wonder where she got that from…”
Caitlyn either didn’t hear her or feigned to answer. “I just don’t understand why she seemed…Terrified to tell me. Have I… been treating her that poorly?”
“Cait, I think you’re overthinking it. She’s a teenager. They don’t think things through on a good day. And she’s been on a roll of poor decisions lately. She was probably just worried about upsetting you again, despite doing something she wanted for herself that she knew she could handle.”
“But,” Caitlyn’s voice shifted to something small. “Even if it wasn’t this. Shouldn’t we be able to talk to each other? I don’t want her to resent me. For trying to keep her safe.”
Vi’s response was a solemn, soft noise. Full of some deeper understanding that Cass couldn’t place.
Taking advantage of the pause that followed, Cass rapped her knuckles against the door. Only a moment passed before Vi called out “Come in!”
Inside, her parents sat together on their enormous bed. The humble hearth on the west side of the room was lit, filling the space with comforting warmth and the gentle crackle of flame. It bathed everything in a soothing gold, contrasting the dark, starless night outside the large windows.
“What's up, Cass?” Vi stood, the question casual as she headed for the connected bathroom. As if she already knew Cass was here to talk to Caitlyn and aimed to make herself as ‘not there’ as possible.
Cass glanced at Caitlyn to see her staring back, both eyes wide and body drained of the frustration and anger she'd come storming home with. She looked tired and for perhaps that reason, Cass’ chest tightened further with the guilt that had been growing since dinner. And all she’d just overheard. An entire evening of self imposed panic had been completely unnecessary. And Cass was ashamed. Especially after hearing how her deception had affected her mother’s feelings. No matter how obviously Caitlyn supported her over the years, Cass couldn't seem to stop using her as a projection of self doubt and judgement. She wasn’t afraid of her. And she didn’t resent her. More than anything she just wanted her approval and her pride. And she couldn’t seem to earn it without hitting a snag every few weeks. Or months. Or years.
But if there was one thing she shared with her mother, it was their struggle - or reluctance - to verbally express their most tangled emotions.
So, gathering her courage, Cass stepped to the edge of the bed, hands clasped. “I'm sorry about dinner. About lying to you.”
Caitlyn’s mouth opened but Cass interrupted before she could reply. “I was afraid of what you would think.”
Of it. Of me.
Glancing up, Cass asked what she really wanted to know. “Do you like it?”
Caitlyn’s browns dipped, puzzled. Then she nodded, the corners of her mouth quirking up. “I think it looks nice.”
Vi stepped out from the bathroom then, toothbrush stuffed in her mouth and garbling her words. “Rumor has it your mom likes piercings, you know.”
“Violet.”
“What? Don't you remember the headlines in the papers back then?” Vi chuckled as Caitlyn rolled her eye. “They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for shit to gossip about.”
“Then you’re not mad at me for getting it?” Cass paused, plucking the ends of her fingers. Without asking you?”
Caitlyn’s shoulders fell slightly. “I wish you hadn’t felt like you couldn’t. But I’m glad you told someone.”
“I was probably the better chaperone for it anyway,” Vi mused. “First hand experience with a needle in the nose and all.”
Caitlyn searched for Cass’ gaze. “Do you like it?”
Cass paused, surprised by the question, and then nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Then that's all that really matters, isn't it?” Caitlyn’s smile was soft.
Carefully, Cass climbed up onto the bed, mattress dipping beneath her knees. Somehow it still felt as big as when she used to scurry up with them as a child. Toothbrush stored, Vi rejoined them and flopped down onto her back, arms behind her head as Cass settled on her knees between them.
“I’m sorry if me not telling you hurt your feelings,” Cass mumbled, plucking at the duvet.
“And I’m sorry if I made you feel like there are things you can’t tell me for fear of punishment.”
Cass shook her head. But she wasn’t sure she had the words to really explain her feelings now. Instead, she offered:
“I was thinking. Since Cori will be out with her friends this weekend. Maybe you and I could go up to the lodge? Bring the dogs. We could shoot?”
Their shared appreciation for marksmanship had been the one thing over the years that connected Cass and Caitlyn without fail. Rarely were words needed when they were out together on the range. Caitlyn had shared her passion for it when Cass was young, and Cass' own enthusiasm took root quickly. Only growing over the years as Caitlyn taught her all she knew. Cass’ offer for a weekend trip to their lodge and the shooting range it housed was not only an olive branch, but a wordless request to reconnect. To wipe clean whatever grievances had accumulated on both their slates.
Slowly, Caitlyn’s mouth tilted into a smile and she reached out to cup Cass’ cheek in a warm hand. “I would like that very much.”
Cass shuffled forward into her mother’s open arms, pressing her forehead against her shoulder. The soft sleep shirt she wore smelled like her laundry soap, crisp and clean. Caitlyn tucked her closer only to accidentally press Cass’ nose into her collarbone. Yelping, Cass jerked back, eyes watering as she fought back the urge to slap her hands to her nose.
Vi stretched and then curled onto her side to face them. “So I get the entire house to myself this weekend? What am I gonna do with all that time?”
“Miss us, probably?” Cass teased as she brushed the tears from her eyes.
Vi chuckled and reached across the bed to flick her knee. “Yeah, miss you, definitely.”
“You could come with us?” Cass offered, realizing it would be a genuinely lonely weekend for her mother. Who didn’t like to be without them for any period of time.
“Nah,” she smiled, fond, eyes soft. “I think you two could use the time together.”
Cass looked to Caitlyn who blinked in the exaggerated way that Cass had long since known as her own special brand of affection, utilizing her single eye in the few ways she could. Smiling, Cass blinked back.
And the scrunch of her nose only hurt a little.