Endgame

Pt 8: Mangoes

"You're feeding it to me?" I asked, incredulous.

"Well what does this look like, Kie?" He asked.
"It's not like I'm gonna untie you. You've proven to be untrustworthy. I can't risk anything yet, we've barely just set sale. Now open wide." He said.

I can't believe this man. He's treating me like an absolute child.

I open my mouth, and he spoons the mango into my mouth.

"Good job." He says, almost absent mindedly as he continues to feed me the mango. Canned food has never tasted better, and I gulp down every spoonful.

Within a few bites, the can is nearly done.

"As far as kidnappings go this isn't so bad, is it?" Rafe asks. I just scowl at him.

"Kie, I've been meaning to talk to you since Barbados..." he trailed off as I ate another spoonful. "I thought we... I thought we connected. I thought we trusted each other."

"Rafe you've actually lost it." I can't help but snap. He seems a little taken aback.
"You have ceaselessly trying to kill me and my friends. You stole Pope's family heirloom and melted it down to sell, and yet again, you're trying to steal something from us. Why would I trust you?"

"I guess I just thought you understood me. I don't know. I told you something I've never told anyone else, and I just thought that built something between us."

"Well you're wrong Rafe. I'm sorry."

He nodded, but kept his eyes down. He stood up with the empty can and began to walk away.

"Wait Rafe."

He stopped walking and looked at me over his shoulder.

"Yeah Kie?"

"Can I get some water?"

"Sure." He said. He stepped out of the room but returned shortly with a disposable bottle of water. He opened it and slowly began to tip the water into my mouth.

"Thanks good that's good." I said. He ended up spilling some on my shirt.

"Fuck, sorry." He said. He unbuttoned his shirt quickly. We was wearing a wife beater underneath, and he used the button up to try and soak up as much water as he could.

"It's ok." I said. He stopped and gave me a straight lipped smile, then he left swiftly, like he was never there, the button up balled up in his fist. I didn't notice until now how much he had bulked up since I last saw him.

I do feel bad for betraying him. Maybe all he truly wanted was to help me. Plus, he's been in my dreams for months. Ive regretted pushing him for months. I might really be in the wrong here. I mean him too because there's no justification for literal kidnapping... but it's not all his fault.

And then another thought popped into my head.

He values trust so much that if I get him to trust me, that might just be my ticket out.

"Rafe?" I called out. I didn't hear anything, so I opened my mouth to call him again but right then his head popped in the doorway.

"What's up?" He asked.
"Come here." I said. Surprisingly, he listened without questioning me, coming and sitting beside me on the bed once again.

"I'm... I'm sorry." I kept my eyes down. Making eye contact would only make this harder.
"I'm sorry for double crossing you in the Barbados. I just... I thought that was the right thing for me to do and it was far from it."

"Hey." He said. "Kie look at me."
I looked up and our eyes met. His looked clear and bright.

"I'm not gonna say 'it's all good' or something because what you did was still kinda shit, but I'm glad I got to hear this from you." He nodded and smiled. I smiled back.

"Now, I think we're well underway. Let's get these off you know yeah?" He pokes at the scarf around my ankles. I nodded, and he began to untie it. Next was my hands, which were tied behind my back.

"Imma need you to stand up please." He said. Why was he being so polite? Does he realize he has the upper hand right now?

I stood up, and turned around. He began to take the knots out, and soon I felt the tension give out and my wrists were free. I rubbed them. They had been tied so tightly there were marks.

"Lemme see." He said. Hesitating, I offered my hands. He turned them palm up and examined the marks. "Nothing too bad, it'll go away in a few hours, it was just fabric after all. Rose's scarfs and stuff." He said, more to himself than me.

"Rafe I don't feel so good, I think I'm gonna be sick." I groan.

"Shit. Yeah just go up to the deck. Get some air. Decks upstairs.

"Thanks." I say quickly brushing past him. I make my way up the stairs and sure enough I'm on the deck. It's ocean for miles and miles around us, and I have no idea where we are.

I've basically spent my whole life on boats, my sea legs are strong. I just had to fake sick to get out. I need a plan... a good strong plan-

"Hey Kie you good?"

Shit.

I hurled myself at the rail and pretended to barf.
"Yeah I'm fine." I called back weakly. I heard his footsteps and all of a sudden he was beside me, rubbing my back and holding my hair.

"Just breathe." He said, rubbing my back in small circular motions.

Why was Rafe Cameron being so nice?