Life's Curveballs Ch. 04

Time passed for the Morgan-Sutton Household.

In that ticking of time, Elliot's mettle was tested against the onslaught of his stepsisters. At the best of days, they'd tolerate one another by staying out of each other's business or simply ignoring the existence of the opposite party entirely. It was the closest they'd come to peace.

At the worst of it, he'd find himself on the short end of the stick.

Every.

Damn.

Time.

It's like they had the universe on their side whenever their parents suddenly walk in on them. In their eyes it was Elliot who always instigated. They'd scurry of like mice where they had been fighting like cats and dogs a moment before.

And every time, Elliot was always reprimanded with "the talk".

They'd sit him down on the kitchen chair. And tower over him as they try to home in the lesson about treating his "sisters|" nicely. They never hit him or anything, they just talk and talk for an hour or so. Personally, Elliot would have preferred being paddled than having to sit through one of their talks.

And most of all, the two would peek on him from the end of the hall, just out of sight. Out of the corner of his eyes he'd see them, making faces at him while their parent's focus was on him. The purpose of these talks, as stated by Katherine, was to work out his feelings.

But Elliot wasn't the only one to learn that life hits you when you least expect it.

If life was a pitcher, then Kassidy has been hitting it out of the park each time life takes its aim at her. Kassidy had only a few moments in her life where she struck out and all of these instances were outside of her powers. When her biological father walked out on their life. When the family's finances strained as the economy buckled, even despite her mother's best efforts. And even then, they weren't as rich as she would have liked them to be. These few but glaring flaws in an otherwise perfect life gnawed at Kassidy's insides for as long as she could remember.

Whether it be looks smarts or popularity, everything else fell in line for Kassidy. The last of which she never even bothered, thanks to her mother's genes. Coupled with her intellect, people would bend out of their way as she had proved time and time again, she was their better.

Life throws its pitches at her hard and straight, and she damn well doesn't miss, not on her watch.

Until finally, things were coming together.

The family she so wanted was about to be complete. Her mother had found a good, reliable man. Byron Sutton was every father a child could ask and more. Kind, protective and responsible, he owned a small business and was an ideal family man, if only the same can be said for his son.

Just the mere thought of him, put a damper on Kassidy's thoughts. But for three years, three good years, everything went swimmingly. She never considered Elliot a brother, just some pitiful kid who shared the same roof with her. Kassidy was seventeen now. Elliot and Kinley just a year younger than her at sixteen.

Life was amazing. Byron had gotten her a deal from an old acquaintance of his for a used Camry. It was sleek, blue and she fell in love with it at first sight. Their mom had been wanting to buy her a car for some time now but Byron surprised them through his own connections.

Not soon after that, their parents had just given a big announcement. Long had Katherine wanted to send her children to her alma mater and was quite ecstatic when she found news of her old boarding school had set up a sister school in Washington, just a short plane ride away. Some of her old friends from her old life were now in high positions in the school board.

Kassidy and Kinley were both ecstatic. Their mother had worked them up about her carefree days when she was sent there. The programs and the facilities, the school was known for taking some liberties when it came to educating its students potential. But what enticed the sisters most of all was the freedom they were allowed, so far away from home and the oversight of their parents.

Things were finally coming full circle, thought Kassidy. Or so she expected. Everyone, at one point or another, learns a valuable in life. One, that despite everything in your life seems going along swimmingly, the universe decides to throw a wrench into your plans.

Or simply put, shit happens.

It was late in the night and Kassidy was hankering for something to eat after a two-hour study session. Hushed voices in the kitchen warned her by instinct that she hearing something she wasn't suppose to hear. It was their parent's voices bouncing off the walls. The hallway was dark and she hadn't made a sound as she walked down the flight of stairs, fortunately.

Their tone was.... distressed. She swore she could hear her own mother sniffling and her stepfather comforting her as best as he could. Kassidy couldn't hear the exact details of what the issue was but it was certain it wasn't anything good if it brought her mother to tears.

She was so focused on staying hidden and craning to hear what they were whispering about; she didn't notice the shadow that walked past her. Elliot had come down, eyes half shut and a hand underneath his shirt scratching at his chest. He yawned and didn't give Kassidy a passing glance as he walked past by and towards the kitchen.

Both parents looked up and Kassidy pressed against the walls and shadows, cursing that barging idiot.

"Elliot, you're awake," His father said, somewhat startled. Kassidy's presence was still unknown to them.

"Just came down to fetch a glass of water. Is something wrong?"

Kassidy had a quick look-see, hoping the unlighted halls would hide her peeking eyes as she spied on them. Maybe that idiot could shed some light on these late-night whisperings.

"No, no," Katherine said hurriedly, trying her best to not show that she had been crying.

"What is it?" Elliot asked, seemingly oblivious to the mood of the room. Was he dense?

"No, nothing's wrong. Really," Katherine reassured him.

For a moment, no one said or added anything. Elliot just stood there, unwavering. He then turned his attention towards his father. "Yes there is," he simply said. "Dad, I'm not leaving till you say what's wrong."

Father and son had a long hard look into one another. Elliot never back down. Didn't flinch. Kassidy was surprised there was a side to him like this. And was even more surprised when Byron relented and gave him the answer.

"I've been diagnosed with...with uhm...." he stopped and breathed deep, his wide shoulders quaking as he released his breath, "It's cancer, son."

At first, Kassidy didn't make sense of what her father had said. The news was like sand thrown on water, taking its time before it settled down. And when it did, Kassidy's world turned inside out. If she hadn't been leaning against the wall, she would've lost balance and toppled over.

Her parents and Elliot's conversation continued but they were white noise to her as she tried to slunk back into her bedroom as quietly as she could. She couldn't fall asleep, not with that simple word echoing in her mind. Cancer.

Before she knew it, tears were falling down her cheeks.

There's a spot in the big old house where she likes to go for a little quiet time. Where her usual company were nothing more than just cobwebs and dust, just to be alone with her thoughts. Try as she might, she couldn't stop the tears falling. Her chest would shudder, trying to make it stop. God, she must've look fucking pathetic right now. Good thing no one was there to see her.

"Relax, it's not the end of the world," Elliot suddenly spoke beside her.

She looked up to find him standing beside her.

"How can you be calm? It's your own father!" she screamed back at him.

For Elliot, it was unnerving seeing the usually stoic Kassidy displaying intense emotions. Elliot had been so used to her apathetic façade that the tears flowing in her eyes right now was like seeing a unicorn, a myth come to life.

"I'm not. I'm just processing it for now." His eyes looked up, trying to come up what to say next and simply spoke what was on his mind, "I'll cry myself to sleep later," he said it so casually Kassidy couldn't decide if there was indeed something more to him or he was just a daft imbecile.

"Dad's news.... I'm still having trouble believing it too. If anything, there's a part inside of me that doesn't want to believe and I'm lending all my ears on that guy for now. That my dad isn't going to die. But I know the words just haven't settled just yet and that it wouldn't last," a small bit of weight was lifted off his chest as she said to Kassidy what his thoughts were. It felt good.

Kassidy didn't say anything, didn't look at him but Elliot knows she heard him just fine. She just stared outside the window, at the stars and the rolling night. They both did. After a while, another thought came to Elliot.

"Look at the bright side -"

"The bright side?! What bright side?!Your father has cancer!" she suddenly bawled at him.

Elliot was undeterred by her outburst as he squared to look Kassidy straight in her eyes.

"I get time to say goodbye."

Whatever else Kassidy would have thrown his way, died hallway up her throat at his words. Elliot continued.

"I get to say thank you, I love you and I'll miss you" he wasn't feeling the least bit hesitant nor abashed by his words. They were long held thoughts he had forever locked up in his heart since his mother's sudden death, "Do you know what I most hate about the day my mother died? I never got to say goodbye. One morning she was there. And then the next, gone."

Another thing bubbled to the surface from Elliot's chest. It was aimless anger. Deep seated and long concealed at how the universe makes no sense at times. He had thought it had been long gone but no, it simply buried inside of him, dug up whenever something unexpectedly bad happens.

He took one long deep breath and returned that anger back to the hole where it came from, deep inside Elliot's chest. "Everyone dies, I know that, but she didn't deserve to die like that. She deserved to grow old. Live her life. Maybe have some grandkids. Content and at peace, knowing her end might just be around the corner and have enough time to say goodbye."

Finally, the tears started to well up from the back of Elliot's throat and on the corner of his eyes. He broke his gaze from Kassidy. Jesus, his dad was going to die.

"And....," he tried to start, fighting best to keep his voice from shaking, "....and I would have preferred the same for my dad." He returned his gaze back to Kassidy, who just looked at him solemnly.

"But...shit happens," he ended with a shrug of his shoulders, a sad small etched on his lips.

Kassidy's sniffling had stopped. At least for now. Elliot waited for a bit till she was well enough to speak.

She produced a handkerchief from somewhere and blew her nose on it, another sight Elliot didn't imagine ever seeing, for Kassidy to be grubby, "A-Are you trying to be nice?" she asked.

"Is it working?" Elliot asked in return.

"No, your fucking horrible."

He grunted. At least he tried. And it seems to have worked to a degree. She was more composed now than before.

"Guess me and Kiley have to stop going to that boarding school then," she stated, dejected but understanding as to why.

Elliot shook his head, "No, you're still going."

Her eyes looked up, incredulity emphasizing the whites of her eyeballs, "What? Why? That's school is expensive! And with dad's medical bills - -,"

"That's what mom also said. But dad insists." Elliot repeated the earlier conversations of his parents with a shrug of his shoulders, "Said something about being young only once. And that money can be found every day. 'We'll figure something out', is what he said."

"That's stupid! The medical bills alone are no joke! Chemotherapy sessions costs a fortune."

"That's what mom said too. But dad said that he had something lined up, I don't know what it was." But what Elliot did probably know was why his father didn't put up much of a struggle for his own health. He was, after all, Byron's son. He could tell how the gears turned inside the big man's head. And by God, he wasn't telling his stepmother and stepsisters about it. It would break their hearts even more if they find out that Byron Sutton had little to no intention of fighting his illness.

Kassidy was right, the treatments alone would cost a fortune.

It may even keep his father alive for years to come. But at what cost? For Katherine to work to near-death to scrounge up the necessary funds for his medicine and treatment while he lies in bed? That did not sit well with Byron's principles. The idea of his family suffering for his sake.

Elliot would have to talk to his father about this, if his suspicions are right.

Elliot retuned his thoughts to the present, he leveled with Kassidy and sat beside her.

"Kass, it's important for him to see you both happy, you and Kinley. It'll give him something to fight for. Right now, all you can do for him is to live your youth. And be happy. Nothing would give him greater joy and happiness."

"Oh god!" Kassidy suddenly grabbed Elliot into a hug and cried uncontrollable on his shoulder. He was helpless and simply offered a simple shoulder to cry on. He was so unused to this show of emotion on the older girl. A sigh escaped his lips as he had thought to have finally comforter his stepsister only for her to have another outburst. He didn't know what to do with his hands and resorted to awkwardly patting her back.

Death has a way of chipping away at the pettiness of things. When confronted by it, Kassidy's paltry outlook on Elliot was shattered to give way to something more genuine. And might one dare say affectionate even.

And in the years to come, little did they know, it would blossom into something much more.