la vie en rose | blake richardson

ten

I assume you can guess why Joe wasn't very happy when the group arrived at the hotel after going to the beach. Cassie's face was covered in her mascara and Blake looked as though he had seen a ghost, and when asked what happened, Reece could barely form a sentence.

"I leave you guys to look after her for one second and she returns like this," Joe speaks sternly to the boys, Tanner sat with Cassie in the bathroom as he helps her clean up her face. She was still crying. Being a woman sucked sometimes.

"We kept her safe. I held her behind me the whole time. He couldn't have hurt her," Reece speaks calmly, Blake sat on the bed behind him as George leans against the wall, facing Joe.

"I was calm with him. I didn't try to fight him or curse him off. I was polite, he was just an ass," Reece reasons.

"He was really pushy with her. He kept calling her all these lovey dovey names, commenting on her age and harassing her for hanging out with us," Blake speaks up, Joe looking over at George.

   "I stood back. I thought another guy on Cassie's side would only make him try harder," George explains calmly, able to hear Tanner and Cassie in the bathroom behind the wall he was leaning against.

"She just got really scared. If we hadn't have been there, he probably would of tried to do something I don't even want to speak of, and she knows that, hence her being afraid. Predatory men are out there, Joe, and he seemed to like the fact that she looked young," Reece defends, Joe sighing.

"Did he mention her age at all?" Joe asks, now understanding the further depth of the situation.

"We never told her how old she actually is, but he said he was twenty six. He was commenting on how young she looked before even knowing if she was underage or not, so it was obviously her being young that drew him in."

"She's the youngest member of our staff, and as a photographer, she is classed as one of our staff. Because of that, and her being a woman on top of that, it's our responsibility to make sure she is safe whilst we're on the road," Joe informs, "So I assume you can guess why we were concerned to see her walk back into the hotel whilst sobbing."

"I understand and it's good that you've made her safety a priority," Blake speaks thankfully, Tanner and Cassie now exiting the bathroom.

"How're you feeling, Cass?" Joe asks, Cassie taking a seat next to Blake on the bed.

"Yeah, fine," Cassie sighs, nodding as she pulls her knees up to her chest, "I just don't understand. I was fully clothed, I wasn't showing any skin, I didn't lead him to think I was interested in any way."

"He was just a bad person. He saw you were young, so that wouldn't have mattered. You said he said he saw you from on the Pier, and that's why he came down to talk to you. But he wouldn't have even been able to see if you were young or not from up on the Pier, which is probably why he became persistent only after he saw how you really looked, and just because he was still only in his twenties, doesn't make it any less wrong or as if it was your fault," Tanner speaks to Cassie, who looks down at her hands as he talks, "You did nothing wrong."

"Anyone who treats a woman like that is wrong, doesn't matter how old they are, that doesn't make it any better," George informs Cassie sternly, "it's important to remember none of this was your fault."

"If you don't feel comfortable being alone in the arena during the show, you can stick with me," Tanner speaks to Cassie gently, "but there's also security backstage, and they're usually pretty good with making sure everyone is safe, as they should be."