A Mother's Scorn

“Mom, I'm gay!" Cassie blurted out, as her mother turned to leave the family room. They were in a heated argument a few moments ago about the type of company she hung out with. “I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell you for months but you were “too busy" (she said while making air quotes) to listen". Kathleen turned to face her. “What did you just say?” she asked angrily as she walked slowly towards Cassie. “I-I-I'm gay" Cassie stuttered nervously. As her mother approaches her, their eyes met each others. It was like a staring contest between them. The closer Kathleen got to her the more nervous she got. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Sweat beaded on her forehead and rolled down the side of her face.

SMACK. Suddenly Cassie felt a burning sensation on the side of her face. Her mother had slapped her. The slap had knocked her to the floor. She laid there holding her face and crying. She looked up at Kathleen with fear in her eyes. Kathleen glared at her with wild eyes. “You’re 16 years old you don’t know anything about being gay. Unless you mean ‘gay’ as in ‘happy’, is that what you mean?” Cassie replied, “no mom I don’t mean happy”. Kathleen starts kicking her. “You’re…not…gay!!! You’re…not…gay!!! No…child…of…mine…is…gay!!! Not…in…my…house…you…aren’t!!!” 

DING DONG. Someone was at the door. “Saved by the bell!” huffed Kathleen, as she turned to go to the door. “This isn’t over!”

Before opening the door, Kathleen took a deep breath, fixed her blouse and her hair then she opened the door. Standing in the doorway was her sister, Kate. “What do you want?” she huffed. “Good day to you too,” Kate said as she entered the hall. “Can’t I visit my sister anymore?” “Now is not a good time,” snaps Kathleen. “What do you mean now isn’t a good time? What’s wrong? Where’s Cassie?” 

A faint whimpering sound came from the family room. “What was that?” asked Kate. “What was what?” Kathleen replied. She heard the whimpering sound again. “That?! It sounds like it’s coming from the family room.” Kate rushes to the room and Kathleen rushes after her to try to stop her from entering the room but Kate was faster than she thought. “Oh…my…god, Kathleen! What happened? Cassie are you okay?” Kate asked as she raced over to Cassie's side. Cassie laid there crying in a fetal position. She was bleeding from her nose and mouth. 

“KATHLEEN! WHAT…DID…YOU…DO?” Kate asked angrily. “I-I-I, she said she was gay so I-“ Kathleen started. “So you…what? You tried to beat the gayness out of her?” Kate interrupted “how stupid could you be? Do you really think you could beat the gayness out of her? Does that even make sense to you? Because it doesn’t make any sense to me!”

Kate helped Cassie off the floor and into a chair. Then she goes into the kitchen for some ice to put on Cassie's face. When she returned to the room Kathleen was ranting. “I told her not to hang out with that girl from across the street, Jamie. Did she listen to me? No, now she thinks she’s gay.” “What does her hanging out with Jamie has to do with your daughter being gay? Kate asked, “it’s not contagious, Kathleen.” 

“My daughter? No daughter of mine is going to be gay in my house. If she wants to be gay she would have to leave my house. She can’t stay here” Kathleen hissed angrily. “Are you crazy? She’s sixteen, where is she going to live?” Kate asked “on the streets?” “I don’t care! She’s no longer my daughter, ” yelled Kathleen. “I want her out of here…TONIGHT!!” 

Cassie starts coughing uncontrollably. Blood shoots everywhere. “I’m taking her to the hospital,” Kate announces “and I’m reporting you to the authorities. I don’t care if you’re my sister. You need to be taught a lesson.” Kate helps Cassie to her feet and they slowly walked towards the front door. “By the way, Cassie will be staying with James and me and we’ll be filing charges against you.” Kathleen stood there speechless.

On the way to the hospital, Kate calls James to let him know what had happen. “There was an incident by Kathleen’s and Cassie was injured. I’m on my way to hospital with Cassie.” Kate said while trying to hold back tears. “What type of incident?” James asked, “is Cassie ok?” “I’m-I’m not sure.” Kate replied “I’ll explain everything at the hospital.” “Ok see you there, bye,” said James as he end the call.

At the hospital, the doctors and nurses all buzzed busily around Cassie as they examined her in the ER. Kate stood outside the room praying for her to be ok. It seemed like hours had passed, when one of the doctors came to talk to Kate. 

“Hi, I’m Dr. Kellogg. I’m one of the doctors tending to Cassie’s injuries.” said the doctor. “How is she, doctor?” asked Kate. “Are you her mother?” he asked. “No, I’m her aunt.” Kate replied. The doctor clears his throat, looks at Kate and says “she has a mild concussion, two cracked ribs and a broken nose.” Kate gasps “oh no!” as tears rolled down her cheek. “We have alerted the police and CPS about the situation because Cassie is still a minor and they will be here to ask you some questions. In the meantime we'll keep her here under observation for a few weeks.” “C-c-could I see her?” she asked. “Sure, just give the nurses a few minutes to tidy up then you can go in.” said the doctor before walking away.

A few minutes later Kate entered Cassie's room with tears in her eyes. She sat in the chair next to Cassie's bed. The nurse was adjusting the speed on the central line so that the morphine bag wouldn’t get empty too quickly. She looks at Kate and smiles. “She’s in good hands. We'll take great care of her,” the nurse assured her. Kate smiles and nods. “I’m right outside if you need anything.” “Thanks nurse…?” Kate replied as she tried to see the nametag on the nurse's shirt. “It’s Kristie”, the nurse says with a smile as she left the room. Kate smiles back. 

“She looks so peaceful when she’s asleep” came a familiar voice from the doorway. Kate looks up. It was her husband James, standing with a bouquet of flowers. “Yea she does,” she said smiling. He walks closer to Cassie’s bedside, kisses her on her forehead and places the flowers on the table next to the bed. He then walks over to Kate and pulls her up into a comforting hug. 

“Are you ok?” James asks. “Yea, I’m ok. I’m just worried about Cassie.” Kate replied. “What happened? Where’s Kathleen?” Kate clears her throat, “maybe we should talk outside”. “How about some coffee?” James suggested. “Sure,” says Kate. 

As they walked down the hall to the coffee machine, Kate told James what had happened. James was so angry, Kate could see the vein in his neck pulsing. He punched the coffee machine so hard that everyone looked around at him. “Could you calm down there’s no need to make a scene.” Kate said as she looked around. “I’m sorry. This just makes me so angry. I can’t believe she would do something like that…and to her own daughter.”

“Excuse me, ” came a voice from behind them. They turned to see who was behind them. It was a lady dressed in a grey pants suit and two officers. “Are you the relatives of Cassie Montgomery?” “Yes…yes, we are. You must be the lady from CPS.” Kate replied. “Indeed. I’m Ms. Stephanie Bynoe and these are officers Jacobs and Busby,” the lady explained. “No need for the formal introduction,” said James “we’re familiar with the officers. We work together. I’m James and this is my wife, Kate.” “It’s nice to meet you both. Let’s talk somewhere more private,” she said pointing to a nearby office. 

In the office, they sat around a huge round table. “Ok, let’s begin,” says Stephanie, “ could you state your relation to Cassie?” “I’m her aunt, her mother is my sister.” Kate answered. “Okay, could you tell me what happened?” asked Stephanie. “I went over to my sister's house to visit her and Cassie because I haven’t seen them in a while. When I got there, Kathleen’s behaviour was a little odder than usual. She acted like she didn’t want me there. When I entered the house I heard a strange sound coming from the family room so I rushed into the room and saw Cassie laying on the floor bleeding from her nose and mouth. I asked Kathleen what had happened and she said Cassie had told her she was…” Kate took a deep breath before continuing “she was gay. A few weeks ago Cassie had told me she was gay and I asked her if she had told her mother and she said she was afraid to tell her because of what she thought Kathleen might do so I told her I’ll go with her when she speaks to Kathleen.” “What do you mean Cassie was afraid of Kathleen?” asked Stephanie. “My sister has a very short temper and she doesn’t know how to control her anger,” Kate replied. “So, you’re saying she’s aggressive towards Cassie?” asked officer Jacobs. Kate nodded as she tried to hold back her tears.

As they were wrapping up the interview, there was a knock at the door. James got up to open the door. It was nurse Kristie. “Sorry to interrupt but Cassie is awake,” she said. Kate and Stephanie left the office while James and the officers stayed behind. “Is it ok if I asked her a few questions?” Stephanie asked. “Sure.” Kate replied. 

“Hey Cassie,” Kate said as she hugged her. “How are you feeling?” “I'm fine…who’s your new friend?” she asked looking at Stephanie. “This is Ms. Stephanie Bynoe. She’s with CPS and she wants to ask you some questions.” “Okay…” she replied hesitantly. Stephanie took a seat next to Cassie’s bed while Kate stood on the other side. “Your aunt told me that your mother has been aggressive towards you…is this how you got your injuries?” Cassie nods and says, “yea, we were arguing.” “May I ask what you were arguing about?” asked Stephanie. “it was about the type of friends I hang out with. Someone told her they saw me kissing a girl and that made her angry. She told me she doesn’t want me hanging out with Jamie anymore so I told her I was gay. That’s when she knocked me to the ground and started kicking me.” Cassie said as tears flowed from her eyes. Stephanie sat there shocked. After a few moments she says “We will put her away . She’s not going to hurt you anymore. I promise.” Stephanie wrapped up the interview and left the room.

Back at the house Kathleen was cleaning up the blood from the carpet (where Cassie laid a few hours ago) when officers Jacobs and Busby arrived at the house. She saw them make their way to the door through the family room's window. “S***!” she said under her breath. She opened the door before they could ring the bell. “Are you Kathleen Montgomery?” asked officer Jacobs. “Yes, I am,” she replies “and I know exactly why you’re here.” They put the handcuffs on her as they read her --her rights.

At the station, they booked her and put her in a holding cell. “Hey, don’t I get a phone call?” she yelled. “Would you keep it down?” said officer Busby. “You’ll get your phone call, just keep it down.” Kathleen rolled her eyes, sticks up her middle finger in an offensive manner and turned to take a seat. 

“Real smooth Kathleen.” said a deep voice. “That’s the reason you’re in here you have no respect for anyone not even yourself and especially your daughter.” She looks around, it was James. “That ***** isn’t my daughter. I lost my daughter when she decided to be gay,” she answered aggressively. “Is that why you beat her so bad that she ended up in the hospital with a concussion, two cracked ribs and a broken nose?” James asked the vein in his neck pulsed rapidly. “She deserves it!” she huffed “I don’t want her in my house.” James chuckles. “You know what’s funny? You’re saying you don’t want her in your house but you aren’t going back to your house either, you’re going to prison. And no judge is going to grant you bail.” He looks her in deep in her eyes and says “see you in 10 years, ” and walks away.

A few weeks after the incident, Cassie was discharged from hospital. Kate drove her home. When Kate turned down a familiar street, Cassie looked around and said “I thought we were going to your house.” “We were,” Kate said smiling “But there is a change in plans. As they pulled up to the house, Kate turns to her and says, “James was able to convince Kathleen to sign over the deed to you so you own the house and we will be staying with you since you’re still a minor.” Cassie screamed in excitement. “How did he do that?” “I don’t know but I’m glad he did what he did,” Kate said as she got out of the car. She walks around to Cassie's side of the car and helps her out of the car and up the steps.

That night, the three of them sat at the dinner table and had dinner like a real family. Cassie's heart filled with warmth and happiness because she was finally safe and surrounded by people who loved her.