I'd decided, on a whim, that I'd leave a little bit earlier than I normally would. Others might disagree, but I try my best to not be late to most things. It's just that once you get comfortable with anything, work, class, your girlfriend, you start to sit that extra minute more for no other reason than knowing it's okay that you'll be late. So today, when I looked at the clock, I decided that I would leave a little early. That's the only reason I got to Cassandra's house earlier than expected.
We'd been dating for a year; well not really a year. I usually said a year because in my mind we were already a sure thing and saying things like a year made me feel more secure in my relationship with her. I loved her, like you love any first girlfriend, without any reservations. We met after her last boyfriend got tired of her and dumped her. Poor thing was thrown to the curb, in a totally different state, and had to be bussed back by her parents. Now depressed and a little resentful of life, my twenty year old head decided I could be a hero and save her. This was made even worse by her parents, who loved to praise me and talk about how depressed and sad their daughter's life was before I came into it.
She wasn't the only fuck-up of the family. Her brother passed on college to join the marines, following in their dad's footsteps. It was something, I assume, he thought would make their perpetually horney father happy. It did not.
Most conversations regarding the family involved subtle jabs at their children and compliments towards me. Cassandra's mother, Susan, talked me up constantly like she was my wingman at a bar; constantly reminding her daughter of how attractive and lucky she was. Her father, Robert, admired that I was a smart college man, studying business like he eventually went to school for. In many regards, I was like the son they never had, which only pushed the kids they did have away.
We were all going to be meeting for dinner. Cassandra's brother, named Robert after her father, but went by his middle name Alex, was back in town. I still wasn't let in on some of the family gossip, but I got the sense that it wasn't really a good visit. I had asked Cassandra if he was going to be transferring somewhere close-by or something, but she responded coldly saying she didn't know what he was doing. Her cold demeanor was something that I had lived to just ignore. I was too afraid of conflict to push back on anything, so when she was moody I just ignored it.
I pulled up to their house, an oddly large home in the middle of nowhere, which wasn't uncommon for Texas. I had made really good time, probably too good, as I noticed I had arrived nearly 45 minutes sooner than I had anticipated. It wasn't a problem though, because I enjoyed surprising Cassandra when I could. As I parked, I noticed that only the car Cassandra and her mother shared was still at the house. Robert had probably been sent out to get some things from the store. I had pulled in slowly, as to not let anyone know I had made it there, as to not ruin the surprise.
