Love Hurts At All Ages

Before we made it to Jordan’s, Cass told me that she was hungry. When I asked her what she wanted, she shrugged but a second later she turned to me and asked if I would take her to Sev.

The door chimed as we walked into 7-11. “Ben doesn’t think eating food from here is healthy,” Cassie said out of nowhere. “But you know what Aunt Anna? I don’t care what he thinks, I’ll pig out on Sev’s food if I want and he can’t stop me!”

Taking a left after we got in the door, we made our way down the aisle towards the pop coolers where we both grabbed a liter of Pepsi before heading straight for the front counter where all the hot food was waiting for us, calling our name.

“So what did you want?” I asked her, not taking my eyes off the mountains of food; I couldn’t help but laugh when my stomach growled loudly. “I’m starving!”

“Well I would like some wedges and a chicken kabob,” she said and then groaned. “But look at those wings Aunt Anna! And the corn dogs and the…” she motioned towards the hot dog wieners that were rotating in their case. “I don’t know; it’s too hard to decide!”

I totally agreed with her. “Well we better make up our minds and get in line before we have nothing to choose from!”

While we were gawking at the food, we didn’t notice the door opening or the group of people that walked in. It wasn’t until I pulled Cassie into the line up that I noticed Ben over by the slurpee machines with his friends; he was watching us; he smiled when I caught his eye.

“Umm Cassie don’t be mad but -”

“Hey babygirl,” Ben slipped his arm around Cassie’s waist and nodded slightly in my direction. “What are you doing here?” He seemed so calm; I was wondering if he was really that stupid to think that Cassie wasn’t mad at him or if he was putting on an act because I was there.

“Don’t touch me!” Cassie hissed as she shoved him away from her. “Aunt Anna can we just go?”

“But Cassie, what about…?” I gazed longingly at the various chicken pieces in the warmer and my stomach growled again.

“You aren’t getting food from here,” it sounded like Ben was almost laughing at the thought of someone actually ordering food from Sev.

“Yes we are,” Cassie snapped at him. “If you don’t like it, then…well I don’t care if you don’t like it.”

“If you are hungry, I’ll talk you out for something better than this stuff.” Ben tried to slip his arm around Cassie again but she stepped away from him. “Come on babygirl, don’t be like that.”

Cassie spun around; glaring at him she told him she wasn’t his ‘babygirl’. “I told you I didn’t want to see you again and I meant it! Leave me alone!” She asked me for my keys and when I gave them to her, she ran out of Sev; Ben went after her.

“Umm,” I chuckled nervously at the guy behind the till as he watched Cassie leave with the bottle of Pepsi still in her hand. “I’m paying for that too.”

Since I didn’t know what she really wanted, I got some of everything; it was expensive but my bank account could handle it. As I made my way to the door, I saw that Ben was still trying to get Cassie to talk to him but from the sound coming from my car, she turned on the radio – on top volume – so she wouldn’t hear him.

“Anna!” He looked hopeful as I appeared by the car. “She won’t listen to me.”

“And there is nothing I can say that will make her listen to you right now Ben.” He started to say something but I stopped him. “Hounding Cassie right now when she’s mad at you won’t do you any good. If she wants to talk to you, she’ll call until then I suggest you give her some time.”

“You’ll talk to her though? Make her see that I didn’t mean it?”

I glanced at Cass who was watching us. Sighing, I told him that there wasn’t anything I could do to help him. “I’m only here for her, to help her. If she changes her mind and wants to talk to you, then ok but if she doesn’t…” I walked around to the driver’s side. “Bye Ben,” I said before I got into the car.

The entire drive to Jordan’s house, Cassie was quiet.

It wasn’t until we were seated in Jordan’s living room with our plates fill of food that she turned to me. “I don’t want to date Ben anymore,” she told me.

I opened my pop, “Why is that Cassie? I thought you liked Ben?” I lifted the bottle to my lips and took a sip.

“I did,” she told me. “But when I told him I wasn’t going to sleep with him, he started to call me names.” I almost dropped my pop. “He told me that I would sleep with him, if I loved him and that if I didn’t, why was he wasting his time when there were so many chicks dying to be with him. I told him if that was the case then go find one of those chicks.” She stopped and looked at me, the tears building up in her eyes again. “I didn’t think he would do it Aunt Anna, we had that fight before but tonight he…”

Putting down my plate, I moved over to her as she continued. “I wasn’t supposed to go to his friend’s house tonight but Mira wanted to go. When I showed up, his friends tried to distract me as one of them backed out of the room. I pretended I didn’t notice and within a couple minutes his friend returned with Ben in tow.”

“Could he just have been hanging out with some other friends somewhere in the house and his buddy went to get him for you?”

Cassie laughed, “That’s what he tried to tell me but I know it wasn’t true! He had hickys on his neck Aunt Anna, right here!” She pointed to a spot just under her collar. “I sure as hell didn’t give them to him!”