I met her on a hot day in August, down by the creek bed. I can still picture that day watching her soak her pale feet into the rushing creek. The water running through her toes. The hazel eyes that pierced my soul the first time she looked at me. The dark red hair of hers that shined when the sun hit it. Cassie was my first and still to this day my only love. I often dreamed of the day I would tell our children of the day we met at this pool of shallow water.
Her father was the pastor of the Revival fifteen miles outside of town. He did not build his church with bricks and stone, but with canopies and stakes. Even on the hottest or coldest of days, his flock always came to this field. People came from all over the state to catch one of his sermons. Cassie also played a part, which is why I met her.
Her Father walked through the crowd, "Now which one of you weary souls have traveled here for a reprieve of your pain?" My father was the first to struggle to stand.
"What ails you, my child?" Cassie's father inquired.
It was this reason we ended up in this field, my father’s sciatica. He went to doctors in town and the city, but they offered one option. They wanted my father to get surgery. Something he was unwilling to do because that meant being out of work. That was no option for my father or our struggling family. When my father heard rumors of this church in the field he figured he had nothing to lose. My father winced in pain when he stood, Cassie’s father motioned for her to step forth.
"The holy himself blessed my daughter," He shouted. "she can take your pain! She can give you back your strength!"
Cassie placed her hand on my father’s back for a moment. I watched the pain on his face melt away. He stood up straight for the first time in months; he rejoiced and was a believer after that. I watched as Cassie and her father went around healing others and after that; he concluded the service. My parents socialized with the adults, and I glimpsed as Cassie entered the woods. I followed her to see her at the creek.
I watched as she dipped her feet into the water, "I saw what you did for my Dad. How did you do that?" I asked.
"Your father was in pain," Cassie replied. "I don't know how, but I know he isn't anymore."
“I don’t see you around town or school?”
She began skipping around the water, “I don’t go to school in town. He teaches me at home. He says it’s for my own good.”
I took my shoes off and dipped my toes into the water. I remember how warm it was to this day. Cassie smiled as she extended her hand to introduce herself. Even at eleven years old, I learned what love at first sight was that day. We played in the creek throwing stones and talking with one another. It was one of the best days of my life until we could hear her father shouting from the field, “Cassie it’s time to go home!”
She looked nervous, "I have to get going. Are you coming back next Sunday?"
I nodded, and she smiled before running back to her father.
-----
The years passed and I would only see Cassie on Sundays. We would meet at the creek after every sermon. Skipping stones and talking with another was how we spent our little time together. I remember when I turned sixteen I wanted more. I wanted Cassie as my girlfriend. These Sundays by the creek were great, but I wanted to see her more than thirty minutes a week. I wanted to take her to movies, the Cullman Fair, and around the town.
As we sat next to each other, I held her hand, “I want to take you out, Cassie. Maybe, we can go see a movie or even go to the old diner. I want you to be my girlfriend, and I want to see you more.”
“I want that too, but he would never allow it,” she replied with a gloomy face.
"What if I asked and we allowed him to chaperone?" I urged.
She shook her head, "I know he would never allow anyone to take his little angel away from him, but maybe one day we can be together."
I could hear her father calling for her from the field. I knew our time was short as I leaned in kissed Cassie. She returned my advances, and I received my first kiss. It did not end well. Especially, when I felt the bare knuckles of her father's fist on my cheek. When I became stunned and fell to the ground, with the feeling of his hands wrapped around my neck. He choked me as Cassie begged for him to stop.
He continued choking me, "Swear to me you will never see this filthy boy again. If you don't swear to me, I will leave this boy lifeless and for his parents to find in this creek."
She nodded in tears as he let go of his grasp. Cassie ran to me with tears falling from her eyes. I could feel the drops hit my swollen cheek. I winced in pain as she touched my jaw. The pain faded away. I touched it to notice it was no longer swollen, nor were there marks on my throat. When I turned to Cassie's father he gave me a menacing look. She walked to him, and he clutched her arm as he dragged her way.
He ostracized me and my family that day.
I tried to move on from Cassie. I dated other girls in my town. I could never get her out of my head though, I still remembered our Sundays on the creek. Those hazel eyes and her crimson hair. She was my first and only love. The years passed and I would sometimes drive by the field to see her father's congregation still meeting on Sundays, but I never dared to enter. It took five years for me to work up the courage to see Cassie again.
I woke up hours before the church would start its service. I had to be careful. I would drive yards away from the field. Then I would walk through the woods to the creek bed where I had my first kiss. I waited for many Sundays waiting for Cassie to show up, but she never did. I was about to give up until one January morning I tried one last time. When I noticed a girl with dark red hair walk to the creek. I wasn’t sure if it was her until I saw her take off her shoes.
Cassie looks the same, but she was carrying a sadness with her. The once glowing smile was no longer there. The bright hazel eyes I fell in love with now had dark circles underneath. I watch as she walks to the creek dipping her toes, despite the winter cold. For a minute, I can see her face as I reveal myself to her.It takes a moment, but she recognizes me. I can’t help but smile as her eyes widen. We both stare at one another. It’s been five years since we last saw each other.
"Is it really you?" Cassie asks.
I nod, "I've been coming to this creek for a long time hoping to see you. Now you are finally here. I want you to come with me."
"He will kill you if he sees you here," she says with worry.
"I'm not scared of your father," I reply.
“He’s not my father!” Cassie snaps as I can see a tear roll down her eye. I walk across the creek, even with the cold water it reminds me of the first day we met. I wrap my arms around her and she clings tightly. I hear the shouting as someone is calling for her. She lets go of our embrace as I try to hold on to her arm. She comes to my ear and whispers. She tells me where to find her. She gives me her address, says she will wait for me.
All I can do now is watch her run toward the field.
-----
I went after midnight to the address Cassie gave me. The house was made of dark brick about two miles from the field. All the lights were off, except one that had bars covering it. Cassie wasn’t living here. She was being held captive. The yellow color walls were bare with no pictures. She had only three pieces of furniture. The bed she was lying on with a small bookshelf next to it. The only other thing in the room was a small pot in the corner.
I tap gently on the window, “Cassie, it’s me. I have come to get you out of here.” She lifts herself off the bed to come to the window. She has both a look of hope and fear on her face.
"Can you sneak out?" I ask.
She shakes her head, "No, he locks the door from the other side." As I notice her bedroom door seems thick and solid.
I was at a loss on how to free her from this bedroom that was a jail cell. The bars had to come off the window though, and I did not see a way to do it quietly. I backed my truck up as close to the window as I could. The look of desperation on Cassie’s face told me we had no choice. I attach a set of rusting chains to the bars. It was our only hope. It amazed me that the noise from my truck did not wake up her captor. When I hooked them to the bars, I got back in the truck. The sound of the engine roaring as I began to pull. I could see lights coming on in the house as I stomp on the gas pedal.
The bars fell off as I watch Cassie climb out of her window as he bursts through her door. She ran to the door of my truck. He looks out the window with a look of rage as we drive off. Tears of joy run down Cassie’s face as we drive into the darkness.
“If he isn’t your father, then who is he?” I ask.
She wipes her tears, “I don’t know who he is. Someone gave me to him when I was three. My mother died giving birth and my dad took care of me. One day my dad went out and never came back. The man that gave me to that monster said my he could no longer take care of me.”
"What do you think happened to him?"
"I don't know," she replies. "but I know he would never abandon me."
I drove to the only part of town where no one would look for us. The seedy motel next to the rundown bar, it was the only place no one would search. It was full of sketchy people, but they mostly seem to mind their own. I checked us a room on the top floor. It didn’t offer much more than a small drawer, a television, and a double bed. Not the way I wanted to begin my new life with Cassie, but it will do. Tomorrow we can figure where to go together.
Cassie relaxes on the bed as I lie down next to her. I spoon her and play with her hair running it through my fingers. She turns to face me and rubs my face with a smile and tear on her cheek. She kisses me, and we both strip naked. I always knew I would lose my virginity to Cassie, my only love. When we finish she lies on my chest with tears still in her eyes as I stroke her hair.
I remember falling asleep that all was right in this messed up world.
-----
"I want to go back to the creek," Cassie says as I begin to wake up.
I rub my eyes, "We need to get out of Cullman as fast as possible. We don't need you anywhere close to that man. He will be looking for you."
I began to dress as Cassie looks outside the motel window. She had a look of sadness on her as she stared at the rundown bar across the street. I kiss her as I grab her hand. She returns my kiss as she rubs my face. "I just want to say goodbye," Cassie says.
The drive to the creek is quiet as Cassie stares outside the window. When we park I grab her hand as we walk through the woods. She looks at every tree, listens to every bird’s song, and just lives at the moment. She stops when we see the creek. Where our love story began. I watch as Cassie takes off her shoes and runs to the small stream. She steps in the water walking around until the water is almost past her ankles.
"I still believe in god," Cassie remarks. "despite everything I have been through I still believe he is out there."
"I hope you are right," I say.
She cups her hands gathering water, "I love you, I knew I did from the first time we played at this creek. You were the only hope I ever had, but I need you to do something for me." I can see more tears coming from her eyes.
"What do you need me to do?" I ask her with concern.
"I need you to kill me," Cassie replies. "I thought of killing myself, but I am too scared that hell might exist."
My heart sinks as I look at Cassie’s weary eyes. She stands in the deepest part of the creek. I walk to her as she stares at the water below her. The tears from her eyes fall creating small ripples near her legs. There is only silence when I cry and shake my head. “I can’t do it, I just got you back.” I plea.
"You have to do it because he will come for me!"
"I will protect you and kill him if I have to!" I scream as it echoes through the woods.
She looks back to me, “If not him someone else will come for me. I don’t know what I am, but I know that it will never end unless I am dead. What if something happens to you like my dad? Then I am locked away again. I am sorry, but this is the only way.”
"I can't do it," I whimper.
"You are the only one that can do it," Cassie continues. "last night was the only time I felt anything in a long time, and I am so grateful it was with you. It only—”
"You are asking me to kill you, Cassie!" I protest as I stand next to her. I grab her hand trying to lead her out of the water. She pulls it away with a look of sorrow on her face. I watch helplessly as she kneels. She begins to shiver from the cold water and looks up to me one more time.
"Please don't condemn me to hell," Cassie begs.
I crouch next to her, and she leans in giving me one last kiss. I begin to sob as I watch her submerge her head into the water. I can see the bubbles from the air rise as I place my hand on her head.
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