Rogue Wave | Rafe Cameron

18

A shiver ran through my body, trailing all the way to the hairs on the very back of my neck.

I was stunned, to say the least. Even for Rafe, this was unexpected and it completely changed my perception of him, if it could've changed even more.

"Okay, you really cannot go back, JB. This is much more dangerous now." I stood crossing my arms, looking at the stare of offense that played along the lines of John B's face.

"No, I have to, K," He followed my trailing gaze, forcing me to make eye contact with him, "For my dad, for us. For the Pogues, K."

I let a sigh fall heavily through the floor of my lungs, turning away from him in disappointment with an undertone of frustration.

Why did it always have to be like this?

"What if..." I let my words go on their own with no noise, swallowing my breath and closing my eyes.

"What if Rafe hurts you?"

I avoided his eyes, knowing what I had truly meant: what if Rafe got hurt?

I hadn't worried for John B, who even in the face of death had managed to pull through somehow.

For some reason, I felt the need to defend Rafe, because he was just a kid after all. We all were, and more so, he was in a blinded mask of pleasing his father.

Maybe my reaction would've been slightly different had it been JJ or Pope and not Sarah, who I hadn't bothered to really become close to. We had shared our small amounts of greetings and looks of annoyance, but nothing that exceeded it and definitely not to the extent of the pogues.

"I'll be okay, Khalia," he took my hand, facing me to him again and lowered himself to become level with me, "Promise."

The reassurance of John B waved over me like air, because I couldn't help but let my mind dwell on much heavier things. His words became sharp blows of wind, something that almost felt easy to ignore even if I didn't want to.

—

"Home sweet home," I waved my hands in the air out of celebration, turning to JJ who laughed at me and held my bag in one hand.

"Yes, it is." He acknowledged, nodding slightly and looking off to the side before coming back to me. "You gonna be okay?" He pointed towards my house, letting a moment of silence pass by.

"Mom's probably too drunk to notice I was even gone, It'll be fine, Jay." I waved off, taking my hand out to get my bag back.

"You sure? I mean, I can stay and—"

"JJ, I'm sure..."

"Okay, and hey, I've got this..." He reached into his pocket, pulling my phone out and shaking it proudly.

"Oh thank fucking god," I breathed out in relief, taking it in my hand to turn it over and inspect it.

It had suffered some cracks, but I had hoped I could salvage it.

"I know this guy, Carter, he's like a technology nerd. He can fix that bad boy up like wham!" JJ snapped his fingers, causing me to laugh in return.

"Thanks, JJ." I said sincerely, looking at him and taking the bag off of his hands, "Make sure JB, stays safe okay?"

"Got it, ma'am."

—

"John Booker Routledge, pursuant to the North Carolina statute section 14, you are charged with murder in the first degree with aggravated circumstances."

I rolled my eyes, biting my lip in silenced fury and focusing on anything else but the intimidating stare of the judge upon his table.

He gathered his papers, raising an eyebrow and looking intently down below at John B, who seemed much more conflicted. John B looked off to the side, letting the window's sunlight hit his eyes.