I felt him struggling with my pants...then I felt them sliding down my hips.
For a moment, it was like I wasn’t even in my body anymore, watching it happen to someone else.And then the bite of something hard behind me, as I was pushed back, brought me back into myself.
I couldn't understand what Andrew was saying...it didn't make sense.I tried to push back, but he was so much stronger than me, and I was pinned.I tried to make eye contact with him, plead with my eyes, through my muffled screams.
"I fucking missed my pussy, baby.Stop fighting and give it to me."
I tried to raise my knee, but my pants were partly down, restricting my movement.
Please..please...don't let this happen.
I felt Andrew lick my cheek.
I felt his hand pushing past the elastic of my panties.
And then a roar split the air.
Andrew was ripped off me so violently I hit the floor, gasping, my vision swimming.
Brody.
His fist twisted in Andrew’s shirt, slamming him into the edge of the table so hard it splintered, sending shards skittering across the floor.
My vision cleared for a moment, and all I could see was Brody standing over Andrew, boxes everywhere, wood splintered on the floor and Brody's arm swinging back.
It felt like the room was tilting.I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fight back the dizzy spell.I heard crashing and a crunching sound, shouting and then...
“You touch her again,” Brody snarled, his voice a guttural growl, “and I swear to God, I’ll kill you.”
I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t move.It felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Everything blurred around me.
Mason came into view, his face pale, his fists clenched.Chase’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and panicked.
I tried to stand but couldn't, so I pulled my knees to my chest, shaking so hard I couldn’t stop.I didn’t realize until I looked down that my shirt was torn, my pants still halfway down my legs.I curled in tighter, tears streaking down my cheeks.
Someone yelled, “Call the cops!”
"I am going to kill him."
Chase was at my side then, dropping to his knees, his face pale and tight.“Shit.Oh my God, Cass...”His voice broke.“Are you okay?Did he...”
A sob ripped out of me before I could answer, shaking my whole body.He swore under his breath, grabbing his sweater and wrapping me in it, tucking me against his chest like he could shield me from all of it.
When everything stopped spinning, I could see Brody standing between me and Andrew, his chest heaving, his fists curled at his sides like he was one breath away from breaking him in half.Mason had Andrew pinned against the wall, yelling something I couldn’t hear through the ringing in my ears.
Then the sirens.
Flashing lights washed against the walls as the cops poured in.Andrew was dragged out, yelling about love, aboutus, about how this wasn’t over.
I couldn’t process any of it.
Then Mom was there, her arms around me, her voice soft and shaking.Dad’s voice was harder, clipped as he told someone we had a lawyer on the way.Clara wasn’t there; she’d stayed with Jackson, but I heard her name over and over again in broken fragments of conversation.
It all blurred.
The questions I barely understood.Hands passing me water, I couldn’t drink.Words I couldn’t absorb.Something about consent to be photographed, my mom helping me.
