This is Me Trying ⭑ Rafe Cameron

twenty seven

Cassie couldn't help but scoff, returning her focus back to the road. "Was he trying to choke him out? 'Cause—"

"He was trying to protect my family." Rafe spoke sternly, and louder than expected.

Cassie sunk into her sink, remembering Rafe's patience wasn't something to toy with. "So you agree with him? You think he should've just killed me?"

Rafe rubs his eyes frustratedly, letting out a deep sigh. "That's not what I'm saying."

"What are you saying, then?" Cassie shrugged.

"That he's not a bad guy, alright?" Rafe says, lifting his head up. "He's made some bad choices, but he loves his family, and he'd— he's done a lot to protect us. And not a lot of people can say that about their fathers."

Cassie's eyes widen, and she laughs. "Are you serious?"

He doesn't respond.

"Jesus, Luke might not be dad of the year but he protected us, too." She spoke, just as stern. "But I don't equate my dad's love to how many people he'd kill for me, personally."

Rafe let out a small laugh, and Cassie looked at him, confused. She couldn't tell if that was an annoyed scoff, or a genuine chuckle. But it eased the tension of the conversation, even just a little.

Without the lights strung tree to tree in the yard of The Chateau, it was pitch black out, and eerie, as the headlights illuminated the house. It wouldn't be the first time Cassie had been to John B's house without John B. And it wasn't like that was abnormal. Ever since his dad passed, The Chateau had acted as a getaway for any Pogue who needed one. But now, with Rafe in her car, it felt like she was trespassing.

When she got out, she looked around, and thought over the rough plan she'd made up in her head. And while she was wearing her own clothes now, and freshly showered, and well-fed, her thoughts were still muddied, and it was hard for her to think straight.

"Where does he keep all his shit?" Rafe says, after getting out and walking towards the house, Cassie remaining by the car.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, and pushed past the brain-fog. "Uh, everywhere," she started following after him. "It's kind of a mess."

Rafe flipped the light switch after they walked inside, but nothing happened. "Must've cut the energy." He says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone flashlight.

Cassie didn't have her phone, instead, she was given her grandma's ten year old flip-phone that she never used in case of emergency, and that didn't come equipped with a flashlight.

Dust flew around them the farther they walked inside, the familiar smell of the house being overtaken by the rotting leftovers in the fridge. "Just don't—" Cassie stopped, the idea of asking him not to make a mess felt like a joke given the state of this place. "Don't break anything, and put everything back the way you found it."

Rafe didn't respond, already on his own wandering through the house. Cassie, after scouring through the kitchen drawers, found a hunter's grade flashlight and used that to guide her.

She went through each book on the book shelf, opening each one just to double check that there wasn't anything stuck in between the pages. She lifted every picture frame off the walls, and took out the backing to be sure there wasn't anything hidden back there.