Character Analysis
Ben Cassidy may be Taylor's deputy in the territory wars, but we all know that it's really Raffaela, Taylor's bestie, who makes stuff happen behind the scenes—especially since she's a Townie by birth. It's rare to find a friend who loves you unconditionally, tries to protect you from yourself, and isn't afraid to tell you when you're royally screwing things up, but in all these ways and more, Raffaela fits the bill for the main support figure in Taylor's life.
Raffaela was Taylor's first friend she made after moving out of Hannah's house and into the dorms. On their first night there, "Raffaela and I lay side by side and she listened to a tale that I have no memory of today about my life in the city. I'll always remember the look of horror on her face" (1.11). In that moment, Raffaela chooses to do what Hannah did as a child when she kept Webb from seeing their mother's body: She takes Taylor's burden on herself and refuses to give it back.
When Taylor does come to Raffaela and ask her to tell her the story in hopes that it will help her find her mom, Raffaela outright refuses, as thought protecting Taylor from her past: "What you told me," she says, "won't lead you to your mother. It'll just make you remember something that should be forgotten […] It's your memory and you have more right to it than me but I'm holding onto this one" (12.137). We later find out that what Raffaela's trying to protect Taylor from is the memory of being sexually abused by the kiddie porn guy in Sydney. Heavy stuff.
Raffaela's not only a person of great compassion, though, she's someone whose spirituality motivates her to feel the pain of others. While Taylor has no particular interest in God, that doesn't stop Raffaela from praying for her on that first night in the dorms, telling Taylor, "I believe in you" (12.145), and urging her to show greater compassion to the girls in their House when Taylor returns to find that Hannah called and no one came to find her.
Even though Taylor is very much hardened to the world when we first meet her, Raffaela is able to love her in a way that few people seem to be able to, seeing her potential in spite of the damage she wears on her sleeve.