"She Seems Like A Very Nice Girl, Mr. Goth. I Enjoyed Talking To Her", Dina Said Softly, Doing Her Best

"She seems like a very nice girl, Mr. Goth. I enjoyed talking to her", Dina said softly, doing her best to turn on the praise in front of him.

"Oh, no need to be so formal. You can call me Morty.", Mortimer said with a chuckle. "Dina, Cassie has always been very shy and this arrangement was not her idea. She might be defensive at first, but I promise, she could use a friend like you in her life."

"Like me? Why do you say that?". Dina asked, titling her head as she tried to figure out exactly what it was that he was trying to say.

"I just meant that you seem very outgoing, and sure of yourself. Cassie has always been too focused on her music to really try to talk to other people and get to know them. She's also always been a very well....sad child. I fear some of that might be my doing. She gets her creativity from me. But, I just....I wish she could see that there's more to life than being stuck in her room working on writing music. It's her senior year! She should be out with friends enjoying herself before..."

Mortimer's voice suddenly trailed off as he realized what he was saying. It was as though he was about to unravel some big secret to Dina; one that he wasn't supposed to talk about. He chuckled nervously, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry for going on like that. It's just that...you seem very easy to talk to.", Mortimer said, as he stood up off the couch he had been sitting at.

"No apologies necessary, Mr.....Morty.", Dina said, as she stood as well, as she heard her mother calling for her up the stairs. "It was nice listening to you. I'm glad you care about your daughter this much."

Dina couldn't imagine what it was like to have a father that cared this much about her wellbeing. She hadn't spoken to hers in years.

"Tell Cassie that we will be waiting for her at Pin Alley Lounge tonight at 7pm.", she said as she reached out to offer Mortimer her hand to shake, which he accepted. "It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Goth."

"It was nice to meet you as well, Miss Caliente."

"Dina."

Mortimer smirked as his hand lingered in his for a bit longer than he should have. Dina noticed out of the corner of her eye that they were being watched, but she wasn't sure that Mortimer had. She ignored Bella Goth; and she ignored the look of anger on her face as she finally released her hand and began to move away from Mortimer.

"Coming, Mama.", she called finally, as she heard her mother began to try and walk down the stairs to come and find her.

Everything was coming together for Dina and nothing could stop her.

Katrina brought Don back to her place to find that neither one of the girls seemed to be home. She checked her phone to find messages from both saying that they would be spending the night with friends. Katrina was slightly relieved by this, as she wasn't exactly ready to have the conversation that she needed to have with them about Don.

"Look like we have the house to ourselves.", Katrina said softly, as she reached for Don's hand. "Why don't I go change in to something a little more comfortable?"

Katrina's nerves skyrocketed once she got in the bedroom. Her eyes roamed over her figure, scrutinizing every detail about it. She hadn't been with anyone in so long, and she was sure that someone as young as Don was wouldn't be happy with her cellulite and wrinkles.

After a few more agonizing moments, she heard a soft knock at her bedroom door.

"Mi amor, are you alright?", she heard his voice as she took a deep breath and opened it. She saw his eyes scrap over her body hungrily, but then stopped when he looked at her face.

"I'm not ready.", she told him, and found that she didn't need to go into more detail about the conversation than that as he swept her into his arms again.

"I understand.", he said, as he rubbed the small of her back. "I'm pretty exhausted, actually. School is taking a lot out of me. Do you want to just....call it a night?"

Katrina leaned up to kiss him softly on the cheek. "Yes, I would like that."

She held his hand as she lead him back to her bed. The two of them crawled in and cuddled up in each other's arms. It wasn't long before Don was asleep, but Katrina laid awake for a bit, memorizing every detail of her beau's face, before she drifted off to sleep.

Cassie and Dina, and the rest of the gang, took turns singing on the microphone for a few hours various songs of all genres. Dina wasn't sure she had ever seen Cassandra laugh and smile so much. She seemed to really be having fun, which Dina was actually grateful for it. If what her father said was true; that she spent so much time isolated away from other people, it would be good for her to spend time out having fun.

Dina took to the dance floor with the girls, only to glance over her shoulder and see Cassie seated at the bar, watching her. She had tried to convince her to come out and dance, but Cassie said she had been born with two left feet and that dancing was not her forte.

She let herself get lost in the music, the rhythm of the song pulsing through her head. It was only when she took a spare moment to herself to look back over her shoulder to check on Cassie that she noticed Malcolm Landgraab sitting there.

This was her moment.

She broke away from the pack, making a beeline for the empty seat. She gently tapped on his shoulder, drawing his attention away from Cassandra for once.

"Is this seat taken?"

"Not at all. Go ahead.", he replied, watching as she stepped up onto the edge to slide into the seat. "Cassie and I were just talking about you."

Nina rolled her eyes as she sat back in her chair. She hated that Don was now intruding on their time as a family. She was happy that her mother had a new beau, but Nina didn't think that it would last long. She thought that her mother was being hasty and was making a mistake, but she didn't want to admit that out loud. Nina also believed that relationships were for those that believed in the delusion of monogamy. It just made more sense to approach relationships with a more carefree attitude. That way no one would end up hurt....like Katrina was when their father disappeared in the middle of the night without saying a word.

"Fine. I will.", Nina finally said as she got up from the chair, storming off into the courtyard to search for Don.

She finally found him in a corner where there were a few easels set up with blank canvases. She rolled her eyes, thinking to herself once again how full of himself this man was. There was no way he was actually going to try and paint something on that easel. He just didn't seem the type.

It wasn't long before she realized that Dina was right behind her, and she felt her sister brush past her to sit on the stool situated near the easel. Nina took a deep breath as she tried to calm her anger over the whole situation. She told her mother she would try. That was all she promised, and that was all she could offer.

broken promises

Dina let out a frustrated sigh, watching her friend pick at her food. Ever since Luna's mother died, she had been different, and her father seemed to have total control over her and her whereabouts. She was sure that her father had something to do with Luna's absence, but she knew there wasn't much that could be done about it.

"Okay, well....I will just fill you in on all the details.", Dina said as she went about unloading the events of the day to her friend. Dina gave her a blow by blow of the entire situation, and Luna listened with intent. Dina might not have had very many friends, but she knew that she had Luna, and that was more than enough for her.

"So...she brought home some guy that she met at a bar?", Luna asked, titling her head as a puzzled look came across her face. "That's not like your mother. She always seemed so...level headed."

"That's exactly my point! She's not the type to make decision based off of lust.", Dina said, gripping her fingertips together as the anger washed back over her again. "I don't know what kind of magic this Don weaved over her, but she's positively enamoured!"

Luna pursed her lips together as she pondered, hesitating on what she wanted to say next. "Maybe she just really likes him?"

Dina scoffed, laughing it off at the idea. "No, somethings up, and I'm going to figure it out. She obviously isn't in her right mind. This guy has to have something on her. I'm sure of it."

The two girls spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about Prom and the rest of their high school days. Dina was eager for it all to be over with. Her 18th birthday was quickly approaching and, if things continued the way they were going now, Dina would move off to Brichester as soon as the school season was over. She wasn't about to watch her mother make a foolish mistake with a man...again.