Only because you asked // Rafe Cameron

Chapter Fourteen - Avoiding acknowledgment of the obvious

Rafe had decided to come home later whilst Lana took Sarah home.

She sat in the living room, bowl of ice cream in her hands as she sobbed into her plate.

"Don't beat yourself over it,"
Lana told her, rubbing her back. "It wasn't your fault."

She intended to stay with Sarah until late evening, to make sure that she would be okay. She had almost dosed off to sleep next to Sarah on the sofa, a random reality TV show playing in the background when someone startled her.

"Alannah?" a voice called to her from behind, turning around to reveal it to be Ward Cameron. "I'd like to have a word with you," he told her, telling her to follow him.

Confused being one word for it, she followed him into his office, closing the door behind her.

"Take a seat," he told her, gesturing his hand towards the chair on the other side of his desk, opposite to where he was sitting. "You're not in any trouble," he assured her, laughing whilst he said it. "I just have a question to ask you."

"Sure," she politely confirmed, clasping her hands together.

"I understand your family background is a bit complicated," he began. Before he continued, Lana found it rather odd that he would ask her a question regarding her family when he could just ask her father. "Do you know about that?"

"I do sir," she answered, her confusion amplifying by the second.

"I see, so you are aware of your family tree?" She nodded. "And you would happen to know your ancestral history?"

"Is this about the Royal Merchant sir?"

Silence filled the air; obviously he was not expecting her to be so up front about it, and neither did she - it just sort of slipped out.

"Why do you ask?" he asked, curious to see what she knew about it.

"It's a common thing to associate my family with, considering it's one of the world's most famous shipwrecks."

Ward nodded his hair, conspiring words in his head. "Thank you, Lana. I have a few things to discuss with you that I intend of doing in a few days."

"Of course," she told him, in actuality feeling clueless. She got up and began to leave the room.

"Oh and," he began, causing her to stop within the doorway, "I'd appreciate it if you kept this encounter of ours a secret. All will be clearer in a few days."

She left the room and thought about it: what was that about?

Sarah had fallen asleep on the sofa, and thought it would be wise to show herself out now. That seemed like a unproblematic, simple plan until she stepped outside, seeing Rafe get out of his car.

Her house was only 30 seconds away, she could still make it in that time if she had chosen to ignore him however, at this point she had become incapable to do so.

"Why," she asked, approaching him.

"Why what?"

"Why do you act like that, but then also act like an asshole the next."