Page 53 of Heart Break Her

Noah and Rome loosen their hold when they feel me relax, and that’s when I turn to see Cassie. She’s frozen, standing against the building, staring at me with wide eyes that look straight through everything.

“Cassie.” Merry darts around me and pulls her in for a hug, but Cassie’s arms stay at her sides. “What happened?”

“I—” but she doesn’t finish the thought. Or maybe she can’t. If the past minute was as much of a blur to her as it was to me, then I’m not sure what happened exactly.

Merry’s dark eyes find mine and narrow, but I ignore her. The last thing I need right now is her self-righteous attitude. If she knew what the guy on the ground had said, she would have been right by my side, clawing his eyes out.

I take a step toward Cassie, and that’s when I realize there’s blood on her shirt from when my fist first hit that piece of shit’s nose. Red splatter looking almost like paint droplets on the thin white fabric.

“Deal with this shit,” I say to Adrian, or Merry, or who-the-fuck-ever.

All I care about is getting Cassie out of here and into new clothes.

I reach for her hand.

Merry puts her hand on my wrist as my hand connects with Cassie’s.

“Don’t,” I say.

Merry lets go, and I notice Noah coming up beside me. As if I’d fucking lose it on a girl.

I squeeze Cassie’s hand, gauging her reaction. When her shoulders relax and she takes a step toward me, I feel the faintest hint of relief. Her eyes drop to my bloody knuckles and then back up again, but she doesn’t say anything.

“You all right?” Merry turns back to Cassie and places a hand on her shoulder.

Cassie nods. “I’m fine. I just need to get out of here.”

Her eyes flick to me, and she takes another step closer.

“Come on.” I tug Cassie’s hand.

“I’m going to fucking sue you, asshole,” the guy on the ground yells.

“Have fun with that,” I yell over my shoulder as I flip him off and walk away. He’s lucky all I did was shatter his nose.

Adrian’s probably pissed, and the band is no doubt wondering if I’m wasted or if I’ve lost my fucking mind. But I don’t give a shit. Because Cassie is following me right now, trusting me to take care of her, and that’s all that matters.

We climb into the car that’s waiting for me and head back to the hotel. Cassie is silent the whole way, but she doesn’t let go of my hand. Not even when we climb out and walk through the lobby. Not even in the elevator, or when I reach for my room key and open the door. It isn’t until we’re in my room that she finally breaks away from me. Without a word, she heads to the bathroom.

Walking over to the in-room bar, I down a shot of bourbon before pulling out a joint and lighting it. So much for sobriety. Right now, I’ll take anything to get that motherfucker out of my head.

I remember seeing Cassie walking out of the bar with him and instantly having a bad feeling. The way he circled her twice before finally saying hello, the way his eyes cut to her chest every time she looked away, the way he pawed at her like a piece of meat. Something was off; I knew it.

If it weren’t for Madison holding me up, I would have interrupted them at the bar. But Madison was trying to claim me on sight, like she does every time we’re around each other. We dated for a whole five minutes. Just because she’s still willing to give me head on occasion, doesn’t give her the rights to me.

By the time I finally escaped her claws, Cassie was already gone.

I told myself I was stepping outside to get some air, or to smoke a joint and clear my head. Really, I was dying inside because Cassie left with some random guy, and I had to know if they’d actually gone back to the hotel or if they were just outside talking. But when I stepped out the bar door and heard him say those fucking words to her…

Show me what your pretty mouth can do, and I promise I’ll make it worth your while.

I wanted to do a lot more than just break his face.

He’s lucky someone stopped me.

Another reminder of the impact of the tape: guys thinking Cassie is a piece of ass they can break off. She might have been in my bed that night, but I knew walking into my room she wasn’t just another groupie. Fuck this video for making people think that.

I grab one of my Enemy Muse merch T-shirts and head to the bathroom door, knocking twice.

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