Blood pools in my mouth. My neck snaps left, my vision swimming and everything goes temporarily black as the world dulls around the edges. I lose my footing and hit the ground on trembling legs.
The only sound that can be heard in the room is my angry, ragged breathing, and hard rise and fall of Rafael's chest as he watches me shake off the effect of the blow.
Through the blur, I see his eyes widen. And then he drops to his knees in front of me and reaches for me tenderly. I flinch, scrambling back, but there is nowhere to run and my spine hits the bedframe.
