I enter Reese's bar, complete by myself. The bar is crowded with old folks sitting on their stools drinking beer. They all stare at me, but not because I am a fourteen-year-old girl, but because they know who I am and who my father is. 

They know my father is the next candidate for the city council. I don't even know if these people are supporters or voting against him. But being here, right now. It is bad news.

 I want to scream, and I want a drink. Maybe I need Minhoca to talk about boys and how confusing they are. Reese's son used to fix drinks for Jason and me in the past, but it is not the case now. Now that people are around and the bar is crowded with music playing loud, he pretends this never happened.  

"Not right now, sweet tooth," he whispers as he approaches. "My dad won't be at the bar on Wednesday afternoon. You can come with Jason. I don't want any trouble, especially now, you know."

Reese's son doesn't even know Jason stopped talking to me because I went to that stupid Hawaiian party.

When I step out of Reese's, I bumped into intimidating Gasper, smoking his cigarette outside. He is taller than me, and I don't like how he stares at Emily's dress. I thought he had been arrested for messing up with a minor, but I guess he was bailed out. He is a forty-two-year-old man, and I heard my father speaking with a friend, the happenings between Gasper and the girl were not substantiated. The lack of evidence was the issue to keep him behind bars. 

I'm ready to go home even though Emily's hurt my feet. Maybe I should take them off, for God's sake. There is no point in going back to Jessa's house for a sleepover, not after my friendship with Jason fell apart. My father is not fond of me sleeping alone in our big house, especially when he is out of town and my mother is gone. Well, he doesn't need to know I am going there tonight. I'm a big girl and don't need protection. 

"Would you like to go for a walk, baby girl?" Gasper asks. His black eyes are so intense that they give goosebumps to my spine.

"Finally, I found you," Martin interrupts, getting a hold of my arm. He stares at Gasper, who finishes his cigarette and enters the bar.

He looks at me, "Look, I  know that I pissed you off," He walks me over to the bench and light up a cigarette. The bench is across from Reese's bar on Main Street. There is no malicious tone in his voice now. It is only Martin being Martin. The old Martin that watched after me, Jessa, and Jason when we were younger. The same Martin fed us and played hide and seek around the house with all his cousins and me. The same Martin who sang with us around the fire.

"What are you doing here all by yourself, Cassidy?" he asks. The town has plenty of people walking around, and no matter what I do here, everyone seems to know my business. Everyone knows about my life.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going home." Martin's cigarette is still behind his fingers as he never places it in his mouth.

"No. You were at the bar. You exchanged words with Gasper. You don't want to be around him. It is not safe."

"I don't care. I don't even know if whatever happened between Gasper and that girl is true. It is probably people in this town spreading rumors."

"I don't know about that girl, I forgot her name anyway, but she was thirteen. I know about Angie, though."

"What about her?" Angie is older, Martin's age. Seventeen. I don't go out with her.

"Well, they were..."

"Were they dating?"

"This is what she said, but do you know what consent means?"

"Yes, she gave him consent, right? I saw her a couple of times with him driving around town."

"That's the thing. There is no such thing as consent when it comes to a minor. Gasper should be behind bars, looking for women around his age."

 I don't tell Martin he invited me over for a walk. 

"Sorry, I didn't want to be at the bar. Alcohol doesn't even taste good. I think people pretend they like it."

He allows a small laugh to escape from his lips, "You might be right. People like the effect on their bodies, though."

"You know better."

"Yes, I am seventeen. I have more experience than you," he admits.

"Lik, I said, I am going home." I declare. Martin makes a gesture for me to shut up.

"Look, I don't know if what Jason said was true, okay?" He confesses, the smoke of his cig almost out since he never inhaled.

"What truth?" I ask.

"The crap he said...that Roderick is not good for you. Jason is overprotective...and jealous."

I'm surprised that Martin is sharing this with me, so I add, "I'm sorry the girls from Chelan are not dying to go on a date with him." 

I let a sad smile escape from my lips. He looks at his cigarette. "My father smoke since he was Thirteen. That's Jessa's age. He fucked up his lungs so bad that he is no longer here today to tell his story."

"You're doing the same. Second-hand smoking can be as bad as smoking it."

"You're right."

"So, what do you want to accomplish with that? What's the point of lighting up the cigarette and let it die between your fingers?"

Martin ignores my question, "My mother is the best person in the world. Thank god I have her, but I don't want ever to hurt her, you know?"

"It is never late to change and try to be good again. By the way, why all this conversation about her now?" 

He sighs, "The doctor gave her the news that she has breast cancer."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I'm in shock with the news. I place my hands on his arm, almost bumping my shoulder with his. "She'll get over." It's all I can say. "Your mother is one of the strongest people I've ever met." Martin's mother is Adele's older sister. She has always been full of life.

"Are you sure you are going back home?"

"Yes... what am I going to do at Jessa's with her brother there? Jason hates me now. He totally does."

Martin stares at me for a second before throwing his cig on the ground and steps on it with his shoes. "No, he doesn't hate you, Cassidy. I don't know what the heck is going on with him, but I promise he doesn't."

Silence.

"That's the thing," he continues, "What are you going to tell Robert? He thinks you're sleeping over at Adele's."

"Adele is not even at home. She went out with her friends. Who knows what time she'll be back."

"Well, there is a grandma to watch over everyone. Maybe Emily and Delilah can join us. We'll all watch a movie and eat popcorn." That sounded good enough.

"I'm wearing those stupid shoes. They hurt like hell. What about if I go home and change to a different pair?"

"I agree about the shoes." He stops for a second before he continues, "I'm sorry I called you a tomboy in front of everyone. You look pretty tonight. So promise you'll be back? For Jason?"

"Wait? Did Jason ask you to come here and talk to me?"

Martin thinks for a moment. He sighs, "Yes...." he admits. "But don't tell him I told you that, okay?"

My father traveled out of town for business, and I really want to stay over at Jessa's. 

"Should I walk you home?"

"That's okay. It is not that far."

"Okay. Meet us back in the gazebo in forty minutes."

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

***

My house is as empty as I anticipate. The picture of my mother is still hanging on the wall.

I had removed Emily's shoes while walking through the dark streets. When I enter my house, the first thing I do is head toward the fridge and get a slice of guava cake. I tried to bake it a few days ago, and I can tell it is not as tasteful as Granny's. Damn. I can never forget guava cake is Jason's favorite. Sugar makes my body relax, so it makes my mind. I see the landline in the office room. I call Minhoca's phone dialing *67 to make it restricted. She will never know it is me. 

Minhoca answers. Her soft voice comes alive in the line. There is a hint of sadness, too. The sadness that is there since my birth. 

I hung up.

I take the stairs to my bedroom upstairs to pick another pair of shoes and head back downtown. From the hallway, I hear something hitting my window. I open it to find Jason standing down below my house in the darkness, throwing small rocks.

"Please let me come in," he begs. His tone is too pleading for me to say no. 

"The door is unlocked," I confess. From upstairs, I hear Jason entering the house. He usually removes his shoes at the door. This time, he doesn't. Whatever he has to say, it has to be damn important. My feet are still sore with every step I give in.

Jason finds his way to my bedroom. In the bedroom that we played video games for years. The decoration never changes. It is always the same.  He finds me sitting on the bed, massaging my feet. I tell him to sit. Jason is welcome to sit next to me. He does as he is told but doesn't say a word.

"What do you want?" I ask. I sense pain in his eyes as he looks down to the floor. My pain has to be worse than his. I feel betrayed. 

"What did you and Martin talk to you about?"

"Nothing important," I say. 

"There was no bet with Roderick. I'm an asshole."

"What?" So it was true then. Ricky was coming to meet me at the gazebo. He was late, and I flaked out on him. That's embarrassing. "Now I have to go back there and explain why I wasn't there. You're going with me and apologize for God's sake." I say the words while trying to wear my pair of shoes. I rush of adrenaline comes throughout my body. That's insane.

Before I can move forward with my plan of meeting Ricky, Jason grabs my back, pulling me against his arms. I fight to move away from him, but he doesn't let me go. Jason is Jessa's brother. He is supposed to be my best friend in the world, just like her. 

"Stop," I protest, but his lips come in full force to touch mine. "You are so beautiful, Cassie. I can't stop thinking about you."

I attempt to move away from him, but now he leans his body on the top of mine, pushing down on my bed. I feel his hardness against my tight underneath his jeans. This is something new - something I've never felt. "We can't do this, Jason," I beg. 

He breathes heavily, "Fuck Roderick. Fuck everyone, Cassie. I'm the only one who cares about you. The only one who will love forever." Jason is the only person who calls me Cassie. His lips are still on mine. 

His lips kiss me so hard that it makes it difficult to stop them. I feel the electricity rushing inside my body when his tongue reaches out for mine. 

"I always wanted you, Cassie. I want to be mine, here...right now."

His breath is so warm, and I feel the dangerousness of us being here, caught, completely alone in this room. The adrenaline flushes through my veins. I'm far from being the good girl my father and the residents in this town want me to be.

Jason's hands travel underneath my dress as he kisses me. His lips reach my neck up to my ears.

"I'm going to sleep here with you tonight," he says as he pulls the blanket over us. 

I finally break apart from him, "Are you crazy?" What about your mom? She'll come looking for you. You're supposed to be grounded, remember?" I reminded him.

"She won't come back tonight."

"What do you mean? I saw her leaving the house. She said she would go out with her friends. Of course, she'll be back. Besides, I'm supposed to sleep at your house. Martin is waiting for me," I say as I wear the new pair of shoes. This time a flat pair.

Jason stares at me. "No, my mother won't be back." From his expression, there is something else he wants to tell me. He jumps out of bed quickly, "There is something I want to tell you. Something important." He holds my hand, and I know it is something he hasn't told me before. Something Jason has been hiding from me.

"What else are you hiding about Ricky."

"This is not about Rick. It is about your father."

Just as he opens his mouth to say the words, we hear the sound of a door opening downstairs, voices inside the living room. Voices. Two people inside.