You were pretty certain that you hated Rafe Cameron. That thought repeats through your head on a loop as you sit on a lounge chair in the backyard of Tannyhill. You’ve managed to avoid him for most of the night. Whenever you’d caught a glimpse of his tall, muscular frame out of the corner of your eye, you’d darted to a different part of the large mansion. And now you’d ended up outside, pretending to listen to Sarah and Kiera, while sipping your beer and thinking of how very much you hated Rafe Cameron.

You hadn’t always hated him. In fact it had been the opposite for a long time. You two had been the golden couple of figure eight. Rich, popular and good looking. Everyone had wanted what you two had. You’d put Rafe first, and he’d absolutely adored you. When the red flags popped up, you’d ignored them, wearing rose coloured glasses. His anger, his drug use, your insecurities. All of your flaws had become magnified as the relationship started to crack. He’d still continued to cling on, you both had. Promising to change, promising the world, anything to make it work.

Then the night came that you couldn’t ignore that your relationship was beyond toxic. Rafe had gotten jealous that you’d been talking to a male co-worker when he came to pick you up. You’d argued the whole way home. He’d called you every name in the book, twisted an innocent conversation into proof that you were cheating on him, and weaponized your mental health against you. The argument had continued once you’d gotten home. You were falling apart crying, as he started throwing your things onto the lawn. He’d pushed you out the door, locked you out. Refused to answer the door. Eventually you’d walked to your parents in the rain, and that had been the last time you’d spoken to him.

Your texts begging for another chance had all been ignored. Your parents had made the decision that you needed to get away to heal. You’d been sent to your grandmother’s for two months. Losing him, started to hurt less as you started to get back your confidence, and love yourself again. You’d seen that towards the end, the two of you only brought out the worst in each other. That he’d started to get off on hurting you, all while making you think you deserved it. In losing him, you’d found yourself. You closed the chapter on him, on the two of you.

Until tonight, when you’d decided you were ready to hangout with your shared friend group again. You’d avoided them all, and you felt guilty for it. But you’d needed not to know anything about Rafe. Hearing from Sarah tonight that he’d started dating almost immediately after you’d left, had ignited the hatred you felt towards him. And seeing him, so easily interacting with his date tonight was the icing on the cake.

You abruptly get up from your seat, Sarah and Kie exchange worried looks, but you’d needed assure them you’re just getting up to stretch your legs. Your legs seem to have a mind of their own, walking steadily right towards where Rafe stands, laughing with his date. Like he’d used to laugh with you. It wasn’t like you wanted to be back there with him. No, you just wanted him to hurt, to feel humiliated like he’d humiliated you. Before you can talk yourself out of it, you grip your drink tightly and then you toss the contents right in his smug face.

“What the hell?” He yells in surprise. His face is thunderous with anger as he uses his hand to wipe the dripping alcohol from his face.