Anchor | Rafael Waithe [1]

10 | cassie

ten
cassie.

A WEEK LATER, Isabelle and Rafael are sitting in the student lounge chatting when the door to the room is thrown open to reveal a girl with caramel skin. She's barefoot, bloody, bruised. Rafael pales when he sees her, slowly rising to his feet as if he's in a daze. "Cassie..."

Isabelle's eyes widen in disbelief as the girl turns at the sound of her name. "Raf."

"Cassie," Isabelle whispers in confusion as Rafael throws his arms around her. "As in-"

"My girlfriend."

The next few hours are like a blur to Isabelle. She finds Cassie some clean clothes, and when she's finally ready to talk, Isabelle finds herself sitting across from Cassie and Rafael. Isabelle and Rafael both seem a bit uncomfortable, but Cassie is oblivious to the tension between them.

"Cassie, I wanna help you," Isabelle declares, breaking the awkward silence. Cassie stares at Isabelle blankly before shaking her head.

"I-I don't understand what's happening. Why am I here?"

"I didn't know what to tell her," Rafael deadpans, not completely sure what to do about this entire situation.

But Isabelle has an idea as to why Cassie is here. After they found Josie, a monster called the Necromancer visited Alaric. He's currently in the cellar, being questioned by Alaric.

"Well, what's the last thing you remember?" Isabelle questions, sitting back in her chair to get comfortable.

"Um... Raf and I were driving home from a track meet. The roads were bad, it was wet, and then dark, and I heard this voice telling me to open up my eyes, and then I was here."

"Um... okay," Isabelle nods, knowing her next words are gonna come as a shock to Cassie. "Alright. This is gonna be really hard for you to hear, but you and Raf were in an accident. A car accident, two months ago. And you... you didn't make it. But somebody bought you back."

A soft gasp escapes Cassie's lips, and she turns to Rafael with a somber expression. Isabelle looks at them sadly before making eye contact with Cassie. "Can I get you anything? A blanket? Some tea?"

"I'm hungry. I need a shower," Cassie answers bluntly as Isabelle nods, standing up to take her to the shower's. But then she turns and glares at her boyfriend. "And then I'd like to get to the bottom of how you murdered me."

The trio fall silent before Isabelle shows Cassie where the showers are. The witch's head is spinning as she makes Cassie some hot tea, and some chicken soup. She takes it to Rafael's room, and sets it on the desk before sitting down on the empty bed next to Rafael's. He's sitting on his own, unable to meet Isabelle's gaze. "I made Cassie some tea and soup for when she's done showering."

"Thanks," Rafael replies, unable to stop thinking about his girlfriend's words. "My head is spinning, Isabelle. She thinks that I killed her on purpose. It was an accident."

"I know, but that doesn't make it any better for her," Isabelle points out, wishing there was something-anything she could do to help him. "She died, and it's probably only a matter of time before she dies again."

"This guy that brought her back, do you think that we can convince him to let her stay?"

"No," Isabelle states, giving him an honest answer. "Dr.Saltzman has been trying to kill the Necromancer all week, and now I see why. He's dangerous, Raf. Bringing people back, it's unnatural and does more harm than good ninety percent of the time. Just... spend as much time with her as you can."

She slips out of the room without another word, and heads to her own room to study. Everything is fine until a couple of hours later, when Rafael bursts into her room with tears in his eyes. She stands up from her desk, wondering why he's crying, but then she realizes his hands are shaking and she can sense his fear. How he's fearful of how she's gonna react to what he's about to say.

"It was my fault, Izzy. I got pissed because I didn't medal. And then I thought my girlfriend was flirting with the guy that beat me. I got jealous and I picked a fight with her. And then all that- that anger stuff started building up. That stuff that I can't control. And then I started yelling at her. And then I took the turn too fast. And she's always telling me not to take the turn that fast. And she was right. It wasn't the storm. It was me. I killed her. I killed her, Isabelle."

By the end of his explanation, he's sobbing, and his feet give out from under him. She, however, gets to him before he hits the ground, and wraps her arms around him in an effort to comfort him. She holds onto him as tightly as she can without hurting him, and lets him cry on her shoulder.

Once he's calmed down, Isabelle pulls away from him, gently touching his cheek. She can feel Cassie's life force fading away from here, and wants him to get a chance to talk to her again. "You don't have much longer with her. I can feel it. Go say goodbye."

He stands up, wiping the tears off his face before doing exactly that. Once she's gone, he returns and the pair find themselves sitting in the student lounge once again. "She told me she wanted me to be a better man, Isabelle. Can you help me with that?"

"I can certainly try."

"Thanks," Rafael finds himself smiling at the girl. She gives him a questioning look, only for him to shrug. "For being there for me today."

"What are friends for? I-"

She trails off as Hope rushes towards them, her eyes the size of saucers. "The knife is gone, and Landon's in trouble. You gotta help me, Izzy."

UNEDITED