The late morning sun spilled over your face from the cracks in your blinds, and you warily opened an eyeball. You didn’t even remember falling asleep. You’d been tossing and turning for most of the night. Your sleep was never restful when Rafe wasn’t there, but lately it had gotten even worse. There were nights you didn’t sleep at all and spent the next day going through the motions like a zombie.

It had been a month since the attack. A month since strangers had grabbed you, and intimidated you as a message to Rafe. He’d been tight lipped since then, telling you it was better for your safety if you didn’t know what was going on. It was hard not to push, but you’d known when you met Rafe that he had secrets. That there were parts of his life that he kept hidden.

He’d barely left you alone since that night, but he’d had business out of town last night. You smile softly to yourself when you peek at the clock and realize he should be home by now. He’s probably down in his office waiting for you to wake up.

You sit up and stretch your arms to the ceiling with a yawn. Flashes of gold on the pillow catch your eye, and you turn around curious. Not gold, blonde. Blonde hair, strand after strand of it. The same pale blonde as your own hair. You feel panic rising up in your chest as you bring your hands up to your head. Your hair is haphazardly chopped, some long strands remain, others are as short as to end at your shoulder. What the hell?

Questioning what you feel, you get up and walk over to the large mirror above the dresser. You’re so freaked out by your appearance that you don’t clock the word written across the mirror in dripping red ink. SOON you stare wide eyed at the word and then at your hair. And then you start screaming and screaming. Footsteps bound up the stairs and the bedroom door is flung open.

“What the hell is the screaming-“ Rafe trails off, his eyes widening as he takes in your appearance and the word written on the mirror. Damn it. They were amping things up and using you to get at him. Again. He strides over to you and wraps you in his arms, turning you away from the mirror.

“Shhh, shhh baby. I’m here. It’s going to be okay” he murmurs into your ear. He tries to keep his voice calm even as he’s boiling over with rage. He can’t let you hear it though, he doesn’t want you anymore upset than you already are.