His Choice - Rafe Cameron

31. Run away

"You expect me to believe you?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "We can go for a drive to Kelce's right now and I can show you. His parents are away for the weekend so there's no way his Mum would have saw it. And the cleaners come on Tuesdays and Fridays."

"I told you I didn't care, remember."

"We both know that's a lie. Just get in, you know I won't ask you again."

Catching a ride home will save me a lot of time and energy. I feel like shit. The sooner I get home, the sooner I can look at jobs in the newspaper. Actually, JJ used the newspaper to clean up the milk he spilt over the kitchen counter. And I can't use my phone to Google anything because those assholes stole my phone from me and that either got turned to ash on the boat, or is laying on the bottom of the ocean floor. 

When I get in the car, Rafe doesn't drive off. He looks over at me and stares for a moment.

"Hurry up and drive."

"What's got you upset, Maybank?

"Nothing."

"I know I make stupid choices, but that doesn't mean I'm actually stupid. I know something is wrong. Someone once told me that speaking about things actually helps you."

I roll my eyes. "What fool gave you that advice?"

"A damn pretty fool, that's who." He reaches over and runs his fingers through the front strands of my hair. 

I press my lips together to force myself not to smile. This guy. I could be in the worst mood but of course he finds a way to make me smile. 

"Do I need to beat someone up?"

"The worst part is, you actually would."

"If someone is upsetting you, yeah. So who was it? A guy?"

"Miranda fired me. I went away for a few days without informing her and obviously I couldn't tell her that I was abducted so she thinks I am unreliable and unprofessional. Now I don't have a job."

Rafe reaches over and places his hand on top of mine which is resting on my thigh. "I'm sorry you lost your job because of me. I will talk to Miranda and-"

"It's no use. I will find another job."

"Like what?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. You know of anyone hiring?"

"No, but I know a quick way to earn cash."

Slipping my hand from out from beneath his, I instead use my hand to slap his arm. "I'm not doing a drug deal Rafe."

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Well the offer was there." 

Rafe drives me home and when we pull up, I reach over and give him a hug. I don't know why I am showing him so much affection, but I really needed a hug from him. He encloses his arms around me and rests his chin on top of my head. 

"You will be okay Scarlett. You always bounce back."

"I'm tired Rafe. Life is too fucking hard."

"Hey." He pulls out of our embrace and instead cups my face with his hands. His light blue eyes stare deeply into mine. "You're a fighter. You have gone through so much and you always keep on fighting. Don't give up now."

"I don't know. Maybe I just need sleep and I'll feel better tomorrow."

"You do look exhausted. Have you not got much sleep?"

I shake my head. "Every time I close my eyes, I have visions of being taken, held captive in that room, having the gun pointed at my head and-" I pause when it all gets too much for me. Rafe pulls me into another hug. 

"I'm sorry Scarlett. You were only in that situation because of me. I should stay away from you because I bring you nothing good into your life. But I just can't stay away."

I move my head away so that I can look at him. He is staring down at me, more particularly, down at my lips. I lean forwards and kiss him. Rafe grabs onto my face and kisses me back, hard. Pulling me as close to him as possible. 

When things were getting too heated, I pull away and reach for the door handle. "Well, thanks for the ride." As I am about to step out of the car, Rafe stops me.

"Wait." He turns around and reaches into the back seat. Rafe turns back to me with a white bag in his hands. I see a small apple logo on the front of the bag. I look at him confusedly. "Take it." He holds the bag out to me. 

I stare inside the bag and see an iPhone box inside, as well as a sim card pack. I look up at Rafe and shake my head. 

"I know your birthday isn't until tomorrow, but a day early won't hurt considering you've had a shitty day." 

"Thank you, but I can't accept this Rafe." I hold the bag out to him, waiting for him to take it back. He holds his hands up, refusing to take it. "Rafe, this is the latest model. It costs over a grand. I can't accept this gift from you."

"The reason why you are without a phone in the first place is because of me, now take it otherwise it'll just go in the trash."

I lean forwards and hug him again. "Thank you Rafe."

"I already have the number saved in my phone so you have no excuse for screening my calls, alright?"

I laugh at him. "Alright, Cameron."