Sunflower || JJ Maybank/Cassandra Routledge

25. Nothing Better Than A Midsummers Battle

Midsummers 5.04

She keeps her eyes on JJ as he stops fighting and shakes his head. He does not want her to do anything that will upset Rafe more. He can not protect her right now, so whatever happens, it will be without retaliation.

           Fear immediately travels through Casey's body as she locks eyes with him. She was so close. If she didn't see JJ, she would be walking down the shore right now. But no. She couldn't push past the need to see him and now, here she is, face to face with her assaulter. "Let me go." She demands. She tries to pull her wrist out of his hold, without causing a scene, but of course, he doesn't let go.

           "Case, hey." He says in a disgustingly friendly way, closing the distance between them. He stops a few inches away from her and a smile appears on his face. He can see the nervousness seeping from her eyes. She is trying her hardest to hide it, but he can see it clear as day. He can see the fear he instilled in her at the golf course. And in the last few days, nothing has brought him as much joy as watching a Pogue be terrified of him. "What are you doing here? A dirty Pogue at Midsummers? Something's not adding up, even if you look hot in that dress."

          She cringes as the demeaning compliment leaves his mouth. Anyone else? She would take it with a fake smile on her face, but coming from Rafe? She can feel the venom seeping through the words. "I told you not to call me that." She says, gritting her teeth. She tries to pull her arm again, this time with all of her strength, and manages to get out of his grip. She may be terrified he is towering over her, less than a foot away, but she sends daggers his way as his eyes travel down her body. She wants to walk away, to do anything to get away from him, but she can't get herself to move. The way he is looking at her, as if he owns her, makes the anger she is feeling multiply and she stays planted in front of him. "What the fuck do you want?"

          Rafe devilishly smiles at the fire building inside of Casey. He will never admit it, but if she wasn't a Pogue, he has a feeling they would actually get along. He glances over her for a moment, letting go of the all around sickening thought, and scans the crowd. He doesn't find who he is looking for, so his eyes fall back to her. "Well, I was wondering if you could tell me where your little boyfriend ran off to?"

          "And who might that be?" Casey asks as she folds her arms in front of herself. Reading into the last three words of the question, it is obvious Rafe saw JJ. He saw them kissing and it's not difficult to put the rest together. The only problem, JJ and Rafe now have this unspoken desire to kill each other. Not metaphorically, but physically. JJ wants to rip Rafe a new one for touching her, and Rafe always has a target on JJ's back, no matter what. Which makes the war between them continue to expand. "Sorry, I have no idea who you're talking about."

          "Oh, is he not your boyfriend?" Rafe laughs. He takes another step closer, making her straighten, and gently moves her hair away from her neck to reveal the hickies. For everyone around them, this looks like a sweet gesture between a couple, but Casey can feel the fear and anger boil at his actions. She knows if she does anything to push him away he will retaliate and that is the last thing she needs. She is alone, in a crowd of people who don't care what happens to her, and her friends are god knows, so she has no choice but to let him gently place his hand on the side of her neck. His touch feels like fire burning against her skin, but again, she lets it happen and allows him to place his thumb over the hickies, then the red handprint he created. "Damn, I really did that?"

          "I don't know who you're talking about, Psycho." Casey says, ignoring the comment about her neck and staying focused on JJ. The longer she can keep him from feeling like he has some power over her, the better her chances of surviving this are. A small smile appears when the Kook's face drops. He hates that she is not going to give him the satisfaction of talking about the fight at the golf course.