Last Resort (The Grayton Series Book 1) (2 page)

She slowly opened the bag and took a bite of the sandwich. It was good. So good, she quickly ate every crumb. When Lilly opened the bag of chips for her, she ate every last one of those. Then she heard a noise she hadn’t heard before and jumped.

“
Would you like to try this?” Lilly held out the Coke can. Cassandra nodded and took the soda. She took a sip and her eyes slid closed. The bubbles ticked her nose and made her throat feel funny. She looked over at Lilly. Lilly had a smile on her face. “It’s good, huh?”

Lilly opened her own soda and drank from it. “Oh!” Lilly said, making Cassandra jump, spilling a little Coke on her clothes.

“
I’m sorry.” She started frantically wiping the dark liquid off her dirty clothes.

“
Honey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Lilly smiled at her. “I’m sorry for scaring you. I was just going to give you this.” She pulled out a package from the white bag. “They’re cupcakes.”

There were two circles in a clear package. Cassandra had never seen anything like it. They had white swirly lines across them. Reaching over, Cassandra took them from Lilly’s waiting hands.

“
Thank you,” Cassandra said and sat them on her lap before taking another drink from her soda.

“
Well, aren’t you going to eat them?” Lilly asked.

“
They’re awful pretty,” Cassandra said.

Lilly laughed. “Yes, I suppose they are. Here, let me help you open the package.”

Lilly opened the bag and handed one circle to her. When Cassandra bit into it, the richness sank into every pore of her little body. She felt goose bumps rise on her arms and legs. The little hairs on her entire body stood straight up.

“
What is this?” Cassandra asked, a smile on her face for the first time.

“
Chocolate,” Lilly said, smiling back.

The rest of the car trip, Cassandra looked out the dark window and thought about chocolate. How could she get more? Where would she get more? Was it something everyone had?

Her little mind finally ran out of questions, and she rested her head against the car door again. She woke when the car stopped suddenly. This time, the sun was just rising.

“
Here we are,” Lilly said in a cheerful voice. “Your new home.”

The place was huge. Cassandra looked out the front window and instantly was afraid. It had three stories and was cleaner than anything she’d ever imagined.

“
There are four other kids around your age living here now, but others come and go. You’ll enjoy it here.” Lilly got out of the car after honking the horn several times. She walked around and opened Cassandra’s door, smiling the entire time.

Cassandra shrunk herself back into the car seat, holding the empty cupcake package tightly to her chest. She shook her head, no.

“
I don’t wanna stay here.”

Lilly knelt down beside her. “It’s okay, honey. No one is going to hurt you here. I promise you.”

Shaking her head again, she watched as three boys her age came running out the front door. Their clothes were clean and they had new shoes on their feet. Two had dark hair, one with blue eyes and one with dark brown eyes. The last boy had blond hair like Lilly.

Cassandra didn’t know much about boys, but she knew they looked tough, and she didn’t want to deal with them. She shook her head from side to side, faster.

“
Look, here comes Marissa. She’s your age and just arrived here last month.”

Cassandra looked over just in time to see a girl around her age walk out the front door. She had a small kitty in her hands and was wearing a white dress and sandals. Her blonde hair was pulled back in short braids.

Cassandra looked at Lilly. “I know they have some chocolate in there and if you don’t like it here, you can come home with me. Okay?”

Finally, Cassandra nodded and got out of the car, holding onto Lilly’s hand as they walked up the front steps under the watchful eye of the four kids and four adults.

Cassandra didn’t pay much attention to the kids since she knew the adults were the ones in charge. There were two women and an older man who looked frail. She knew she could outrun him if she had to. One of the women looked strong and capable; the other looked overweight and older. Cassandra knew that didn’t mean she couldn’t run fast since Kimberly had been pudgy and fast.

“
Hi, everyone, this is Cassey.” Lilly looked down and winked at her. Cassandra liked the shorter name; she’d always thought her name was too long and too big for her.

“
Hi, Cassey,” everyone said together.

“
Cassey,” Lilly said, smiling down at her, “this is Mr. and Mrs. Grayton. They own this house. And these are their daughters, Julie and Karen. Julie teaches school and will be responsible for you.”

“
Hello,” she said under her breath.

“
Hi,” Julie said, kneeling down to her. Her hands were tan and she wore a faded pair of jeans and a button-up shirt with flowers on it. Her short brown hair was curly and looked soft like Lilly’s. Her brown eyes looked rich and warm like the rest of her. “I’ve made some pancakes for breakfast. Would you like to come in and have some?”

Cassey looked up to Lilly and when Lilly nodded, she looked at Julie and said, “Yes, please.”

Fifteen years later…
 

Cassey
stood on the crowded boardwalk and looked at the slightly burned building. The windows were knocked out, the front door was boarded up, and a good chunk of the ceiling was falling in. It was perfect. She smiled one of her rare smiles and walked towards the doors. The keys were in her hands and her fingers shook as she slid the silver key home to unlock the large wooden door.
 

When it creaked open, she smiled again, knowing it belonged to her. Well, to her, her family, and the bank. She walked in slowly, keeping the doors open so the light from the boardwalk sifted in. Flipping on the lights, she noticed that tables and chairs were piled up against the back wall. Most of the old mirrors along the walls were broken, thanks, no doubt, to kids breaking in and tossing stones at them. But it wasn’t such a great loss; she’d planned on taking them down anyway. The black ceiling and walls would be painted a lighter color since the place would no longer serve as a grunge dance club.

As she looked around the large room, her mind whirled with ideas, just as it had since she’d first seen the place almost eight years ago. Back then, her aunt, Julie’s sister, had been running the dingy grunge club.

Cassey had spent years walking up and down the beach outside and knew the wonders the mile-long boardwalk held. Even though it was centered on the beach in one of the smallest towns along Florida’s Gulf Coast, tourism had always been booming here. This was the
it
place to be. With it's small-town charm and quaint shops.

Most of those little shops were housed in one long building. They’d recently been painted a light yellow with tall white columns. Some units had upper floors, which usually housed apartments or offices. The little details of each section were unique, showing off the character of each business
.
 

 
The businesses provided everything one might desire on a summer vacation. There were shops that sold sundresses and swimwear which sat alongside ice cream parlors and specialty shops.
There was a fun-plex of sorts at the other end of the docks that was almost always packed with kids, even during the off-season. She and her brothers had spent many hours and all of their allowance there during their school years. The only thing the boardwalk was missing was entertainment for adults. Cassey planned on providing it.
 

Smiling, she looked around the large room. There was a long mahogany bar against the left wall and a stage area in the back right corner that she planned on using. The tables and chairs that had been left there could even be cleaned up and used again.

The old building, which sat separate from the others, had been in the Grayton family for generations, and since waterfront property in the growing resort town of Surf Breeze was highly sought after, it needed to stay that way. Ever since her Aunt Karen’s death two years ago, the family had been receiving offers for the old building.

It wasn’t until Cassey’s last birthday that she had made the decision to follow her dreams and take a chance. She’d worked at the local restaurant in Spring Haven since she was sixteen. Being a waitress had given her the experience she needed to open her own place. But her dream wasn’t only about food. She smiled as she looked around. No, she had a few other plans for this place.

She took her time walking through the large rooms. The large kitchen in the back would need new appliances, but other than that, it could be up and running with minimal work besides a good cleaning, some paint, and TLC.

The two customer bathrooms were standard and only needed cleaning and supplies. She walked back out to the main room and noticed the mirrored office hovering over the back corner. She knew she would be spending time there and decided to walk up and take stock of the shape it was in.

When she climbed the narrow stairway, she could smell burnt carpet. Walking into the office, she frowned. Here the fire had done the most damage. She could actually see through the roof and the water damage to the floor was pretty bad.

Turning down a long hallway, she walked towards what would be her home. She knew the apartment was furnished, but was afraid of what was in there. Using her other keys, she opened the heavy door and took another narrow hallway to her new apartment. The door to the small place was painted bright teal. She liked the color and smiled slightly, knowing she would keep it.

When she walked into the one-bedroom place, she was shocked. It was gorgeous. She’d never been back here; when they had visited eight years ago, they had stayed in the front building. Her Aunt Karen had lived here and had run the club since the early eighties. She had been the wild child, though she had always been accepted in the family.

Where Julie had been soft-spoken and very modest in her appearance, Karen had been her complete opposite. Even though their faces matched perfectly, the twins had chosen completely different attitudes and lifestyles.

She walked into the apartment and noticed the flowered colonial furniture. Karen’s clothing style had always been dark, but her apartment reflected a more feminine side.

The tan tile floors needed a good cleaning, some of the furniture as well, but it was better than she had expected. Walking through it, she noticed the out-of-date appliances in the small kitchen. She knew her budget wouldn’t allow for new ones just yet, but maybe she could find some used ones that were in better condition.

Walking to the back, she noticed the bathroom needed some work as well. When she walked into the bedroom, she gasped and rushed to the sliding doors. Outside, a small rooftop patio garden area was in full bloom. It hadn’t been tended in the last two years since no one had lived there, but still the flowers and trees were beautiful. She made a mental note to buy some shears to trim back the bushes that had grown wild. An iron table and chairs sat in the middle of the stone pathway. On either side of the back-alley garden were low brick walls which helped kept the secret patio hidden. It was a small slice of heaven in the middle of grunge. She loved it. She could imagine herself spending most of her free time here, reading, working on her laptop, or just soaking up some sun.

Walking back in, she noticed the bedroom for the first time. A large four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room. Old white lace hung off the tall posts, giving a canopy look to the bed.

She tested the mattress; it was soft and would be comfortable enough. Lying back on it, she closed her eyes for a moment. She could do this. She was only twenty-two, but the business classes she’d taken while waiting tables would serve her well.

Her business plan had impressed the bank enough that they had given her a loan to fix the place up without batting an eye. Now all she had to do was get her hands a little dirty and get started.

Her brothers were going to be there first thing tomorrow morning, but she just couldn’t wait to get started. Heading back out to her car, she grabbed her bags and carried them in through the side gate and walked up the outer stone steps to her new apartment. Changing out of her clean clothes, she pulled on a pair of old jeans and an old T-shirt. Tying her long dark hair back with a bandana, she pulled out a box of cleaning supplies from her car and got to work downstairs. The office would have to wait for her brothers to arrive since it would have to be gutted and someone would have to climb up on the roof to patch the holes. No doubt, Marcus would be the one to get up there and do the patching.

Marcus had always been fearless. When she first arrived at the Grayton place fifteen years ago, she’d never imagined having three brothers and a sister to grow up with. But the kids had bonded and had been inseparable, at least until Marissa had run away suddenly, shortly after her seventeenth birthday.

Cassey frowned as she started to clean, thinking about her sister. She missed her and wondered what had caused her to leave such a wonderful place. Whatever it had been, she hadn’t confided in her and that hurt worse than any beating she’d ever received from her real parents.

As she worked, she remembered the last night she’d seen Marissa. They had walked down to the lake and had gone swimming, something they had done since bonding the first summer they’d lived in the house on the hill with the Graytons.

“
Do you believe in fate?” Marissa asked as she floated in the cool water, looking up at the dying light. Her long blonde hair floated around her tan face. She’d just turned seventeen three days earlier and they’d had a large party that weekend.
 

“
Fate?” Cassey thought about it. “Sure, I guess so.” She was floating, much like Marissa, but her dark hair was shorter and closer to her head.