Chapter 1

4 years before TNCF

"Bry, have you thought about what you'd like to study in Uni?" Dad asked as he chewed the little bit of food left in his mouth.

I shrugged mindlessly without looking at Dad, scooping up another spoonful of food from my plate.

"I haven't really thought about it but it'll probably be Business Management? You know I'm not very good at anything that has to do with Science or Art," I answered.

I noticed the growing frown on Cassandra's face while listening to our conversation.

I can almost hear her inner thoughts rant just by observing the shifts in her facial expressions. "Why do they have to have this conversation now? Bryant is still in the 9th grade. Isn't it too soon to have this talk?"

"Have you looked into which schools you want to attend yet?" Dad asked again, sipping on his juice.

I shrugged once again. "I've still got a lot of time to choose and my choice will probably change a lot but I'm looking into Brighton."

I saw Mom's eyes flicker towards Cassandra and her expression morphed into a worried one.

I could understand where she was coming from. Everyone knew that we were close, basically glued by the hip, I can't imagine what it'd be like to be apart from each other.

But 2 years will go by in a flash, right?

"Is that far?" My 13-year-old sister asked from her seat beside me.

"Well, I think it's a 12-hour drive?" Dad estimated, seemingly still oblivious of the looks Mom was shooting him.

Cassandra inaudibly sucked in a sharp breath and I felt her give me a side glance.

I could tell that Cassandra was biting her tongue and was staying quiet although her brain was probably raging in protest. Cassandra was fairly mature for her age. She knew which of her thoughts were rational and which were based off her own mental tantrums.

I know that despite the fact that the thought of us getting separated bothered her, she understood that it was inevitable and necessary; especially when it comes to education.

We have a 2-year age gap, which means that I will be leaving for University 2 years earlier than Casey and that we'll be apart for 2 years unless she can somehow finish high school earlier.

I turned slightly and took a glimpse at her, noticing her faraway look before snapping my fingers in front of Casey's face to bring her out of her trance.

"You alright, sis?"

She looked at me, slightly disoriented for a second, before giving me a brief tight-lipped smile in response before continuing to eat her dinner.

After dinner, I helped Casey with the dishes while our parents moved to the couch and flicked through the TV channels. Once the dishes were washed and Casey was done drying her hands, she wordlessly went straight to bed and slipped under her bed covers.

I sighed as I watched her climb up the stairs. It didn't take a genius to notice her sullen mood.

I sent Mom and Dad a smile and grabbed a bar of chocolate before going up the stairs to go after Casey. Once I was in front of our bedroom door, I knocked softly.

We did share the room but at times like these, we make sure to respect each other's personal space. The only reason why we still share a room is because Casey's nightmares occurs frequently and she ends up crawling into my bedroom late at night, frightened from her own dreams. Her nightmares started happening right after my parents decided to give us our own rooms.

After the first week of nightmares, my parents gave up in trying to separate us and I agreed to have my bed moved into Casey's room. From then on, the nightmares rarely happen and when they do, I would have pulled Casey out of her sleep before it could get to the point where she starts screaming.

I knocked at the door once again when there was no response from the other side. "Case?"

After a few seconds of silence, I finally turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

The room was covered in darkness but the light from the hallways illuminated the lump of a curled Casey under the covers.

From the slight movement that I caught thanks to the small amount of light that trickled in from the opened bedroom door, I could tell that she was still awake.

I closed our bedroom door and turned on the nightlight in the corner of the room on my way to my own bed.

Between our beds was a small gap that keeps our beds from being joint together. I sat on my bed, facing Casey's curled up form.

Judging by the angle that she was curled up in, it was likely that I was talking to her back and that she was facing the other way, towards the wall.

"Case? You okay?" I asked softly, careful with my words and intonation as if I was trying to approach a doe.

When she continued to ignore me, I moved closer to her bed and placed the chocolate bar I grabbed earlier on the bed, right in front of her face. I retreated to my own bed and laid down to stare at the ceiling.

No longer than 5 seconds later, I heard some shuffling as Casey pulled the covers down and unveiled her face. I heard the tearing of the chocolate wrapper and shifted my head to the side to watch Casey take a bite out of the bar.

"Are you ready to talk now?" I asked her after she took her second bite out of the chocolate bar.

Casey's lips jutted out into a slight pout as she stared at the wall opposite of her.

"Does it really have to be so far away? I mean, can't you go to a local university? What difference will it make anyway? They're all universities." She ranted, throwing the hand that wasn't holding her chocolate bar over her head in exasperation.

"I know it's far, Case. But you know that they're not all the same." I reasoned with her.

Casey's shoulders slumped in defeat, knowing that I was right.

"I know. I'm just annoyed. Why did Dad even bring up the University talk? I mean you're only in the 9thgrade. You have another 3 years to decide and have that talk." She fussed.

I sighed, turning sideways to look at her better. "Exactly, I still have another 3 years, so don't worry. My decision might change for all we know and I might go to a closer university. Don't think about it too much."

Her pout didn't disappear as she munched on the chocolate bar. I could tell that she wasn't quite ready to let the conversation go but I know that she knew it was non-negotiable. Our parents have always stressed how important education was for us. We were taught to prioritize our future above everything else. Besides, 2 years is temporary.

"2 years will come and go in a flash, Case. Before you know it, you'll finish high school and we'll go to the same school again." I tried once again to cheer her up.

"Who's to say that I'll go to the same university as you? What if I choose to go to a different university?" She boldly challenged.

The edges of my lips quirked into an amused smile, knowing that she was all bluff. "I don't believe you. You? You're probably going to take the same major as I do anyway. Plus, why would you go to another university when you can't even stand being away from me?"

Cassandra glared at me, knowing I was right. "Just humor me!" She snapped.

I chuckled at her silliness. "Alright, alright."

"If, by any chance, and I mean any chance, you insist on going to a different university, I'll make sure Mom and Dad make you go to a university that's somewhat close to mine so that I can visit you every weekend. Happy?" I asked her.

A smile finally graced her lips and I feel myself relax, knowing that the storm has passed.

I turned my body once more to face the ceiling and we stayed like that in silence for a while before Casey spoke up.

"Are you going to send me off to university too?"

I snorted, "You're going to have to send me off first, dummy."

"Well, you can just come back home and send me off to university." She insisted.

I scoffed, looking at her again in mock disbelief. "You want me to take the 12-hour drive back home just to pick you up and 'send you off', taking another 12-hour drive trip back to the uni?"

Casey smiled sweetly back at me, "Wouldn't you do that for me?"

"In your dreams," I joked.

Casey frowned. "Hey!"

"Didn't you say that you'll go to a different university?" I teased.

Casey rolled her eyes, "Oh who are we trying to fool here? I'm probably going to follow you wherever you go for the rest of my life."

I laughed, "Have some independence, Case!"

Casey feigned hurt, "I'm very independent!"

"Mhm, right..." I chuckled.

"Hey!" She threw a pillow at me.

"It's right though, you have to gain some sort of independence. We'll have to live separate lives one day. I plan to get married, you know." I sighed.

"With who? With Maddison?" Casey teased. "Bryant and Maddison sitting on a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

I laughed at her childishness, shushing her before she gets too loud and have our parents overhear her chant.

"Shut up!" I ordered with a chuckle.

"Can we have a huge farewell bash for me before I go?" Casey asked.

I chuckled, "You do realize that I'm going to leave before you do, right?"

"You're going to go home to pick me up anyways," she retorted.

"Fair enough," I shrugged. "Does that mean I'll get to throw a huge farewell party for myself too when I leave?"

"What does that have to do with anything I just suggested?" Casey argued.

I laughed out loud this time. "What do you mean? It has everything to do with what you just asked for. It's only fair to throw me a farewell party too if we're going to throw you one!"

And so the night went on like that. We debated on and on until our voices got softer and softer and we gradually lost our consciousness to sleep.