Tomorrow // 4.16.15
Grass tickled Casey’s face as a light wind blew through the open space surrounding Hogwarts. He got more annoyed with it than he ever normally would, pushing the stray bits of grass off his face ferociously and sitting upright with a sigh. He was impatiently waiting for Rebekah to come, yet still didn’t want her to come as it would mean telling her something he most certainly didn’t want to tell her. Things had been different with her since the hostage situation, or maybe it was different between them, but either way there was a strain as Casey felt there was only so much he could do to help… he couldn’t make it go away.
He hadn’t told her about what was going on with his Mum and now it was worse. She was in and out of Mungo’s, but according to his Dad she had been there for two days now - it was going to be bad for his Mum or the baby. He had been to McGonagall that day and received approval to visit his Mum for at least a week; Casey thought his Dad must have spoken to her as well as she was willing to let him leave from the word go. He was going to floo to Mungo’s from her office as soon as he got stuff together… well, that’s what she thought. Really he just needed to say his goodbye to Bekah.
He could see her approaching now, not the usual bright Bekah, but the saddened one who he was now so used to seeing. He didn’t know what was worse; not telling her and finding himself getting eaten at with guilt or telling her and making her feel even worse. His head was split in between two frames of mind constantly now - between Bekah and his family. He was more stressed than he had ever been before in his life. He stood up now, as she was within talking distance. He decided to just come out with it before he could back out. “I need to talk to you.”
Bekah walked from Hagrid’s hut to the more central part of Hogwarts to meet Casey. She had been spending even more time taking care of the creatures since the situation with the hostages happened, because besides Casey, nothing helped her feel safer than caring for her favorite creatures. She was running a little late so she walked faster, feeling unusually nervous to talk with Casey. She could feel something off in the pit of her stomach which brought a somber expression to her face, something that had been happening frequently since what happened in Astronomy class.
Rebekah spotted Casey across the open grassy area and her expression brightened a bit more, but the sadness never completely left her eyes anymore it seemed. As she approached, she watched Casey stand up and before she could smile or open her mouth to speak, he said six words that shouldn’t have made her feel anything out of the ordinary, but his face said otherwise. She nodded slightly and reached out gingerly for his hand, hoping to find some comfort, and followed him to sit down. She watched him carefully before speaking. “Is everything okay, Bear?” She bit her lip slightly, unable to hold back the sudden nervousness taking over her body as she waited for him to speak.
Casey stared at his beautiful girlfriend for a moment after she asked the big question, her little hand seeming to itch for a tighter grasp as he figured out how best to make her worry less but also tell the truth - it was a difficult position he’d put himself in. “Uh kind of, I mean it’s fine really…” He trailed off, sighing deeply before refocusing and turning away from her eyes. He couldn’t show her his current worry. “Not really. My mum’s in Mungo’s… again. She’s not doing that well.” He finished, not wanting to say anymore about it. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. I’m not sure how long for.” He didn’t know if she could see that saying this was hurting him probably as much as it was hurting her, but he hoped that she did. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her though as he finished speaking to see if she knew or not. All he could do was squeeze her hand and wait for her words whatever they would be.
Rebekah kept her eyes locked on Casey’s face to watch for any changes that revealed how he was really feeling. She listened carefully as he began to talk then corrected himself and told her what was really happening. Bekah could feel the sadness return to her eyes as Casey told her about his Mum, and immediately she wanted to cry because his Mum was more of a mum to her than she had ever had before and she didn’t want Casey to have to experience the heartbreak that she knew so well. “Oh Casey…” She began with a slightly quivering voice, before he had even finished speaking. Then, when he told her he would have to go, she felt the sadness deepen but nodded immediately. “Of course, you need to be with her. I’ll be okay here.” She put her hand on his cheek and pulled his face up to look at hers and smiled sadly, but as reassuringly as she possibly could, despite the feeling of tears in her eyes. Then she kissed his cheek and pulled him into a hug. “Is there anything I can do to help? Do you think I’ll be able to come see her?” It wasn’t until she spoke those last words that tears began to fall and she began to shake softly beneath Casey. "I'm so sorry that this is happening, Bear."
