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CASSIDY STARED AT HER REFLECTION in the mirror and nearly started to sob again at what looked back at her. Her once stoic eyes were now red and puffy, black makeup smeared underneath her lashes and there was a growing bruise beginning to etch itself into the fair skin around her neck.
She gently doused her face with water and took a deep breath before she pinned a salesman smile back onto her face and exited the bathroom, walking back into the living room as she reclaimed her seat besides Rafe.
The boy looked over at her and his opened his mouth to say something until Topper found the chance first and informed them all that their food was finally ready. He offered to go and pick it up but Cassidy sprung to her feet and took the matter into her own hands.
"I'll get it, you just stay here and relax," She smiled, her voice was soft and friendly but Rafe caught notice of the barely audible tremble that was tied within it. He shook his head and grabbed his car keys from the table, holding his hand out for her to take.
"You're drunk, Cass. I'll take you," he offered, his body relaxing when she nodded and timidly grabbed his hand in agreement. They walked out of the room and out the front door, his hand never leaving her own until he opened the car door for her and bounded around to the other side.
He pulled down Topper's driveway and took off down the road as the soft music played from his speakers, a tension clear within the car between them.
He reached over and turned to face her, his eyes falling to the way that her hand held her throat like something was wrong. Rafe leaned over and gently pulled her hand away, his body freezing at the sight of the brand new bruise that tainted her nearly flawless skin.
In a matter of seconds he was slamming on the breaks and pulling over to the side of the road, his hands moving smoothly to park the car before he turned to bombard her with questions that she wasn't quite in the mood for.
"What the hell happened to your neck?"
Cassidy scoffed at the worry in his voice and waved her hand in clear dismissal of the question. There was no way in hell that she would ever tell Rafe Cameron that she had been sleeping with his sisters boyfriend for the past three months, even if she knew he would never utter a word, simply because he knew better than to blab about her secrets.
"Nothing, Rafe. Can you just drive," she snapped, her eyes focused solely on the blue sky infront of her. He didn't move, even when she finally turned to glare at him rather than the clouds infront of her, and instead jerked her body towards him. He brushed the hair away from her neck and inspected the bruise like it was a disease, his body flaring in anger at the thought of somebody hurting her.
