Gold Forever

Chapter 3 - Monday Blues On A Thursday.

Author's P.O.V.

4:00 am.

Cassidy's Home.

It's been several hours since news broke of Tommy's death amongst the group of friends at Murphy's bar and poor Cassidy isn't coping very well with the news.

She's currently sitting on the couch in her living room with a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand as her red and teary eyes remain transfixed on a group photo of the eight friends which was taken shortly before the break-up between her and her boyfriend.

Her phone has been ringing and pinging off the hook with phone calls, text messages and DM's from her loved ones who want to get hold of her and make sure she's ok because she hasn't been seen or heard from ever since she ran out of the bar.

After her parents told her about Tommy's passing, Cassidy immediately became angry and irate and she accused her parents of lying to her.

She then stormed out of the bar before anyone could comfort her or calm her down and she ran all the way to the Logan residence hoping to see Tommy alive so that she can prove her parents and everyone else wrong but she ended up getting the shock of her life and her heart broke when she saw not only a regular ambulance but also one which transfers a dead body to the morgue.

Cassidy stood frozen to the spot in the pouring rain as she watched her best friend of twenty-five years being brought out of the home he shared with his wife and two children in a cold, black, body bag which was getting wet from the rain.

She wanted nothing more than to go over and open up the body bag and prove all of this was just a hoax but she couldn't because her feet were glued to the pavement beneath her.

She also hoped and prayed that this was all just a prank Tommy was playing on all of them but she very quickly dismissed this because she knows her friend wasn't a heartless human being and he'd never use death or even an illness such as cancer for a joke or prank, especially when his own death was rapidly approaching.

Cassidy eventually became unfrozen when she saw the two ambulances leaving Tommy and Layla's home.

She wanted to go and see Layla and be with her friend in her time of need but she decided not to because she was in no fit state to comfort anyone especially when she needed comforting herself and she felt better and more comfortable about her decision when she saw both Layla and Tommy's parents cars outside of the home.

Feeling content with the fact that Layla wasn't alone and she had folk around her, a very numb Cassidy walked back to her home which wasn't too far away and she's been there ever since drinking whatever alcohol she had left in her house including a bottle and a half of Jack Daniels, a few bottles of beer and a couple shots of Patrón El Alto.

Cassidy's phone starts ringing again as she takes a sip of the whiskey in her hand, she then picks up her phone and rolls her eyes when she sees Benji calling on her phone screen.

She doesn't wanna answer the call because she doesn't want to see or speak to anyone but she knows if she doesn't answer it then Ben and maybe her parents and or friends will come over to her home and stop her from drowning herself in grief with alcohol.

Cassidy picks up her phone and attempts to answer it but she drops it on the floor before she can.

"s**t"

She groans in annoyance as she leans down and picks her phone up.

She then lets out a short sigh as she answers it.

"Hello, clumsy idiots phone, how can one help you today...tonight...today? whatever"

Cassidy said in a fake English accent before chuckling slightly.

"Are you drunk, Cassidy?"

"Is the Catholic a pope? wait...I mean does the woods s**t in a bear...wait, what I mean is...oh forget it"

"Cassidy"

Ben growls down the phone.

"Are you drunk?"

"Hmm, just a scoatch"

Cassidy said as she pinched her thumb and forefinger together to show how much not realising her brother can't see her.

"Scoatch? what the f**k, Cassidy?"

"Urgh!!, can you not shout Benji? you're seriously hurting my ears and my head"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Cassidy, I just wanted to make sure my little sister is ok considering she's just been given heartbreaking and devastating news and has been M.I.A. for the past four hours"

Ben once again growls and Cassidy rolls her eyes as she licks her dry lips.

"I haven't been M.I.A. dumbass, I've been at home hanging out with my good friend Jack"

"Jack?"

"Mm-hmm, Jack Daniels, I would've had some Jim Beam as well but I stopped buying that s**t after that bastard Klayton left me because he didn't want to be a big fish in a little pond"

She said as she once again rolled her eyes and mumbled whatever under her breath.

"Oh Cass, please don't do this to yourself love, you know how much Klayton lov..."

"Don't worry brother, I'm not wallowing over that bastard, I'm over him and I wish him all the best in life...I just also wish that he'll always walk on lego whenever he's barefoot for the rest of his life as well"

Cassidy says cutting off her brother.

She then takes a huge gulp of whiskey hoping to dull the ache in her heart where her love for Klayton Antonelli used to be but it doesn't go away.

"Damn you, Klayton Antonelli, damn your sexy self all the way to h..hell"

She says in a whisper as a sob escapes her mouth.

Cassidy's mouth may say that she loathes and hates Klayton but her heart and mind sing a totally different tune.

As for Benjamin, hearing his little sister's broken and pained voice as well as the pitiful sob that left her mouth is confirmation that Cassidy never really got over her first love and has been putting on an act for the past five years.

Cassidy leans back resting her head on the back of the couch as she lets out a breath, she then closes her eyes as a couple of stray tears fall from them and flow down her cheeks.

She completely forgot all about the phone call with her brother and didn't hear his last words to her as she drifted off to sleep.

"I'm on my way over, Cass, please stop drinking...I love you, little sister"

The Next Morning...

Cassidy's P.O.V.

"Mmm, urgh!!"

I groan in annoyance as I wake up and feel a harsh thumping in my head.

Urgh!!, I'm never drinking again.

"Morning sleepyhead, how are you feeling?"

I hear my brother ask me.

"Like I've got a marching band performing the national anthem with extra thumps and bangs in my head"

I say and Ben chuckles.

"Well, take two of these and drink this, you should feel a lot better after it"

I open my eyes and instantly regretted it when the bright sunlight which has filled my room burns my sensitive eyes.

Why does getting drunk always have such horrid consequences?.

When I got used to the bright and annoying light, I grab the painkillers and glass of water from my brother and quickly take them with a huge gulp of the much-needed and very much-appreciated cold liquid.

I let out a relieved sigh and rest my head back on the pillow after quenching my thirst.

"Thanks for that, Benj"

"You're welcome, kid...how are you feeling?"

He once again asks me.

"Like s**t"

"Do you remember anything from last night?"

Of course, I do.

There isn't enough liquor in the world which could make me forget the awful news I received last night.

"If by remember last night, you mean do I remember mom and dad coming to Murphy's bar and telling us about Tommy? then yes...I remember everything"

I said feeling my chest tighten in pain from grief.

I can't believe he's gone, it doesn't seem real.

I came out of my thoughts when I felt a pair of warm hands touching me, one hand was on my wrist and the other one was cupping my face and gently caressing my cheek.

"It's ok to cry, Cassie"

Ben said and I only realised that I was crying and he was wiping away my tears after he'd said this.

"I just can't believe he's gone, Benji...it doesn't seem real at all"

I voiced my earlier thoughts in a pained whisper.

"I know sweetheart, it's hard for us all to believe...we're all in a state of shock right now"

He says and I take a deep inhale in before quickly releasing it.

"How's Kylie doing?"

Ben lets out a ragged breath like he's trying to control his own emotions and he ran his hand through his short blond hair.

"She's a wreck...she's trying to stay strong for everyone...but she's struggling"

"I don't blame her, I know I'd struggle to cope and control my emotions if you had died"

I said and Ben smiled sadly at me as his grip on my wrist tightened.

We fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Ben spoke up again and what he said filled me with dread because I didn't want to leave my bed let alone my house.

"You should get up and get ready, everyone is waiting for us at Tommy and Layla's house"

"I'm not going"

"Cassie..."

"No Ben, I'm not going...I don't wanna see everyone"

I said feeling tears fill my eyes as my lower lip trembled slightly.

"I don't wanna see his parents or Kylie or Lay or his...his kids"

I whispered the last part as my heart broke.

Just thinking about little T.J. and baby Anastasia makes my heart clench even tighter in pain.

It's bad enough that we all have to one day experience the loss of our parents but it shouldn't happen when you're a kid and especially not when the parent in question is only twenty-eight and has got his entire life ahead of him.

"We all need to stick together, Cass, we've all lost someone who is very important and incredibly special to us...he wouldn't want any of us to be alone"

I close my eyes and several tears fall down my face.

I don't like to cry and I haven't cried much since I split up with my ex-boyfriend because I don't want or like people to see me as this weak little girl who couldn't get over or move on from her heartbreak and I know this is different, it's a different type of pain and heartbreak and it doesn't make me weak to cry over my friend's death but still.

Ben leans in close and places a gentle and lingering kiss on my forehead.

"Have a shower and get dressed in some warm clothes, I'll be downstairs making you some breakfast, ok"

Ben says and I nod my head.

He quickly kisses my cheek before getting up and leaving my room.

I sat in bed for a few minutes just thinking about everything which made me feel all emotional again so I took a deep inhale in and slowly released it before throwing the blankets off myself and heading into my en-suite for a shower.

I didn't have a long shower and I was only in there long enough to wash my hair and wash the nasty ass smell of a bad night of drinking off me.

After I get out of the shower, I do my usual routine and get changed into a white bra and thong, a pair of socks, a long-sleeved baby pink top which comes off the shoulders a little bit, a pair of denim skinny jeans and a pair of black heeled knee high boots.

Once I was dressed, I blow-dried my hair into my natural beach waves and brushed it into a ponytail.

I didn't even bother putting on any make-up because I didn't want to waste my time doing it knowing I'll most likely be crying again soon.

"CASS, BREAKFAST'S READY!!"

"OK!!"

I leave my room and head downstairs.

My stomach turned and also growled oddly enough when I smelled my brother's cooking because it smelled of something greasy which in my current state I wasn't keen on eating but I'm also starving so I'll probably have to.

I walk into my kitchen and the first thing I see are two plates filled with a greasy fry up which any other day I'd happily accept but not today.

"There you are, come and eat"

"Are you trying to kill me, brother?"

"No why?"

He asks looking at me confused.

"Because there's more grease on those plates than on a teenager's face"

I say and Ben chuckles.

"Well, greasy food is good for hangovers"

"Says who?"

"Dad"

Ben says with a smile as he chomps down on a sausage.

There's a dirty joke in there somewhere I'm sure of it.

I think to myself as I sit down at the table and dive into my own food.

"I don't know why you always take dad's word like it's the bible Ben, besides, I'm not hungover, I barely drank last night"

"Really? your recycling bin says otherwise"

He says and I glare at him.

"It's not like I'm an alcoholic Ben, I had my reasons for hitting the bottle last night"

I said as I shoved a spoon full of buttered mushrooms into my mouth.

"Tommy wouldn't want you drinking yourself into a stupor, sis"

"Well, Tommy's not here to judge me, is he?"

I growled but instantly regretted what I said when I saw the sad and hurt look on my brother's face.

"I'm sorry, Benj"

I said as I grabbed hold of his hand giving it a gentle squeeze.

Ben looked up at me and smiled.

"It's ok, kid"

"No, it's not, I'm not the only one who is hurting or grieving here...I shouldn't be saying s**t like that"

"You may not be the only one, Cass but you're still hurting and grieving and one of the many things people often do when they're feeling these two emotions is to lash out even if they don't want to"

He's right but it still doesn't excuse what I said.

After having our breakfast and washing it all down with a nice, hot cup of tea or coffee for my brother, we head out and get into Ben's truck.

It wasn't raining today but it was still cold so I made sure I was all wrapped up in my coat, scarf and gloves.

Ben received a call from our father who wanted to know where we were and if I'm doing ok.

I pretended I wasn't listening to their conversation as I focused all of my attention on my phone and scrolled through all of the tributes to Tommy on i********: and f*******:.

I heard Ben letting out a sigh and I noticed out the corner of my eye that he was running his hand through his short hair as he briefly looked over at me before narrowing his eyes back at the front window and telling our father 'barely coping' when he asked about me which isn't a lie because I'm just about coping right now.

When he got off the phone, Ben started up his truck and we were both caught by surprise when we heard the familiar beat of Journey's Don't Stop Believing.