You knew what you were seeing in front of you was real. But there was that voice in your head, that one that said Rafe still cared, that wanted to believe your eyes were playing tricks on you. That even though the two of you were still very much covered in bruises and unhealed scars from the wreckage of your former relationship, that he wouldn’t be this deliberately cruel. And then you had to face reality. Rafe at his very core had a cruel, sadistic streak. He let his pain and anger guide him, lashing out frequently without a thought for who he might hurt. You just had never expected him to make you a target of that cruelty.

You move your hands, to your sides on the couch, hoping that no one would notice how they were shaking. Who were you kidding? Your friends were too buzzed, too caught up in the drunken game of truth or dare, to pick up on your emotions. None of them had even batted an eye when Rafe had strolled into the room with Sofia at his side. No one had cared when he sat down on the chair opposite you, grabbing Sofia by the hips and pulling her onto his lap.

You didn’t know where to look. You didn’t know who you were more mad at. Rafe, who had clearly chosen Sofia as his date because he knew that would hurt you, or Sofia, your friend, who knew you weren’t over Rafe. Your anger and hurt was pretty much evenly split between the two of them. You could feel Rafe’s eyes on you, a cold mocking smirk on his face as he pulled Sofia closer to him. Your eyes moved to Sofia’s, and the way she shyly waved at you made you want to slap her. With friends like her who needed enemies.

You sip your beer, thinking back to last night. How Rafe had called and the two of you had just talked, falling right back into your easy banter. It had felt like something between you was slowly being held. When he’d confessed he missed you, your heart had felt like it was being brought back to life. You should’ve known to expect him to act out after that. He hated when anyone, even you, saw his vulnerable side, thinking it made him seem weak. So, while you had gone to bed hopeful, he’d obviously let his emotions fester, and plotted a plan to punish you for making him weak.

Rafe brushed a loose hair behind Sofia’s ear. She smelled like strawberries and flowers, and his body almost recoiled at the scent. It wasn’t right. You smelled like coconut and vanilla, he could bury his nose in your skin and hair for hours, and never get enough of that scent. Truthfully, everything about Sofia was wrong. Her body didn’t mold to his. Her voice didn’t have that soft, breathy quality that yours did. She wasn’t you. He forced himself to shake those thoughts from his head. Last night had been a mistake. He’d let you in again. And he hated you for it. He hated how you could so easily make him feel all the emotions he had spent most of his life trying to ignore. Nothing good came from that vulnerability, he was determined to never feel it again.

He knew, as your eyes narrowed watching him play with Sofia’s hair, that he was hurting you. He could see the pain and the confusion in your eyes. He knew you’d be questioning if when he’d hung out with you and Sofia, if he’d harboured an attraction for your friend. The answer to that was so obviously no, when he was with you it was like all he saw, all he wanted was you. But he wanted you to question that, wanted you to feel the hurt of this double betrayal. He wants to push it further, to make you cry.

“Sofia, truth or dare?” He asks, smirking as he thinks of what he’s about to do.

“Dare” she says without hesitation, giggling.

“I dare you to kiss me” he growls, not even waiting for her to make the move. As he tilts her jaw up, he sees the tears glisten in your eyes, and he crashes his lips against Sofia’s, almost grinning against her lips when he hears the catcalls and cheers from his friends.