UNEDITED

"She's still not in?" I asked José as I walked in. On Friday she didn't come in, José saying she had an emergency to attend to. I had sent her a text but she never responded and I didn't want to push it, so I left her be and made sure to do everything she needed me to do.

It was now Tuesday and she still wasn't here. Yesterday I called her and she told me she was fine and that she had a cold before abruptly hanging up the phone.

"I'm fine, Ms. Alvarez. I have a flu.'

Kaya said it didn't feel right, and I agreed. So today during my lunch break I was determined to find her address and visit her.

"What's her address?" I asked José as I sat at my desk. He scoffed and I shot him a look that caused him to roll his eyes.

"The gated community on the west side. House 430."

"Thank you, honey." I grinned and kissed his cheek.

"If she rips you a new one, I will be denying that I had any parts in this." He giggled before going back to his desk. I counted down the minutes to my lunch break, reading through the manuscripts she forwarded to me until

My alarm went off indicating it was twelve thirty.

I decided to stop at the nearby bakery and got her a small box of red velvet cupcakes and some soup before driving off to her house. I just wanted to make sure she was okay because something deep inside was telling me she wasn't.

I call it my Haitian third eye.

I pulled into the gated community after showing the security guard my ID, before pulling up in front of her house. The familiar Bentley sat in the driveway along with a few other cars and I sighed, before getting out and grabbing the treats I bought for her.

I knocked on her door a few times but there was no response. I rang the doorbell until I heard her yell out of annoyance. Heavy footsteps and the sound of a ton of cursing filled my ears before the door swung open.

"Oh my God.." I gasped, the tears welling in my eyes as I analyzed Amelia's face. It was bruised, her eye black and blue and her lip having stitches attached to them.

"Casey? What are you-"

"What happened to you?" I sniffed as I analyzed her face. She shook her head, getting ready to close the door but I pushed it open, causing her to gasp in shock at my strength.

I lift three hundred pounds on a daily basis. No one is stopping me.

"What the fuck happened, Amelia?" I asked again, the anger in my voice causing her eyes to widen as they filled with tears.

"Please..please just go. I'll see you next week. Please." She suddenly sobbed, causing my own tears to stream down my face.

"Was it Sheri?" I asked as I gently moved her to the side and walked in. She didn't answer, staring at the ground as her long, bouncy blonde locks surrounded her face.

"Answer me, Amelia-"

"Yes! Yes it was, okay?! Now please! Just drop it and go!" She exclaimed, the tears streaming down her red face. I placed the food I bought for her onto the counter before unbuttoning my collared wrists and pushing them up to my elbows. I kicked off my shoes and looked around.

"Is she here?"

She didn't respond and I clenched my fists.

"Amelia. Is she here, yes or no?"

Amelia looked up at me with a broken look before nodding and I ran upstairs, hearing Amelia protest behind me as she followed suit. I busted the bedroom door open and saw Sheri digging through the mess that plagued the bedroom. The large vanity mirror was broken, large pieces of glass all over the ground. There were papers and clothes along with broken pieces of wood all over the floor and I growled.

"Oh, it's you." Sheri scoffed as she inhaled from her cigarette while looking through the file cabinet that sat in the center of the room.

"Yeah. It is." I hissed as I walked toward her.

"Casey, please.." Amelia sobbed as she stood by the doorway. I looked over at her with dark eyes and shook my head, before looking back at Sheri who just scoffed as she ashed on the picture of Amelia that sat flat on the bed.

"What? You came to defend her honor? Princess charming. How sweet."

"What did I tell you about putting your hands on people?" I asked as I took a step forward, meeting eye to eye with Sheri. She blew smoke in my face and scoffed.

"Please. Do you see the way she talks? It was bound to happen."

"I'm sure it's not the first time you've done this to her, either." I hissed. Sheri smirked before shrugging, rubbing the back of her hand against her nose as if she was on drugs.

How pathetic.

"And? What are you going to do about it? Yeah I hit her, so what? She needs it."

"Yeah? Well now it's my turn." I growled before my fist connected with her jaw. Amelia gasped, screaming in fright as I allowed my fist to connect with her jaw again, it cracking as blood poured from her mouth.

"Casey! Stop! Please!" Amelia sobbed. I didn't though, allowing my fist to pound in her face until she was coughing up blood. Her face looked worse than Amelia's and it made me smile.

"Now look. You thought this was a joke?" I laughed.

One thing about me is I love confrontation. It gives me an excuse to lash out. But once I start?

I can't stop.

Sheri stood, wobbling slightly before growling and running toward me, tackling me to the ground. I flipped us over and punched her repeatedly, grunting with each punch until she was wheezing and sputtering for air.

"Amelia, call an ambulance. She's gonna need it."