him & i ↠ rafe cameron

Chapter Three

That initial first morning after the crazy night, Julia had a raging headache and a sour stomach.  She had stayed in bed all day, telling her mom that it was just her being a little homesick. In reality, she just didn't want to have to face Rafe. Sarah had come and laid in bed with her that afternoon and they talked about last nights events. They ate nachos and drank some leftover nips Sarah had in her room to cure the hangover feel. Can't feel hungover if you're still drinking right? Wheezie joined the girls in bed later on that night and they all stayed up re-watching the animated Barbie movies and getting a good laugh in. A couple days after, Julia steered clear of the Cameron boy at any costs. That meant mani and pedi's with her Mom and Rose at the country club, along with spending her time with them. Helping Rose look at the different colors of couches to stage the homes she was looking to sell. Boring as all hell. One thing she could see though was how happy her mother, Violet seemed. The two Wasson girls giggled and talked in hushed tones. True sisters. A 17 year divide was finally over and all Julia hoped for was that her mother could heal her wounds from the past.

Rafe seemed to be out of the house quite often. Probably with Ward, helping him run the business and keeping things in order. Julia was thankful that Ward was a busy man. The only times she knew he was home was when the floorboards near her room creaked in the early morning hours and hearing the door to his room slam shut. Having to face him with his smugness and battered hand that touched her body... Her feelings were conflicted but she didn't want to linger on that too long or her head would hurt. It had been a few days and Julia took advantage of the amenities she had while she was here. She had been to the country club pool, hung there for a while reading an old book of her dad's, sipping her tumbler full of the wine she snuck in from the Cameron wine closet. The country club was filled to the brim with the pretentious. Julia felt bad for the employees but then again, she could see some 'Pouges' behind the towel booth, making jokes about some of the housewives that gloated about their husbands and kids. It made her smile to know she wasn't alone with feeling like an outcast in the Kook community. Then another day she took a beach trip by herself. Lots of tourists flocked to spots like these... they were a dime a dozen. The beach sand was a true beige. Soft and silky against your skin. The water was a true deep blue green, lapping and crashing against the shoreline. It was truly, paradise on earth. Her tan had greatly improved with the days spent in the Outer Banks heat. Another day her and her mother came to the beach. It was one of the first times her mother told her an unprompted story of the past.

Her mother told her about how her and her father would sit on the beach here, just like they did now and not speak a word to one another. Silence. Of course, her mother said she would break the silence and then always ask him whatever random question popped into her mind. He always answered, no matter how ridiculous the question was. That's how her mother said she got to know her father inside and out. Both coming from not so great households, they spent alot of time together out on the Cut. Violet fondly stated that she knew Julia's father like a book. Front to back, every word. She knew his soul, and he knew hers. Julia's heart warmed at the thought of having to have had loved someone like that.

Would she get that lucky? To have a great love of her life, like her mother?

Today, Julia decided she would wake up and try a new spot today to tan. The top of My Druthers, the boat that Cameron's owned. Packing up a towel, sunscreen, her half finished book and a change of clothes, Julia set down the stairs to the kitchen. Her mother, Violet sat at the kitchen island with Wheezie and Rose.

"Good-morning blondie," Her mother cooed, taking a bite out of her english muffin with jelly.

Rose leaned up from her slouched position over her laptop. "Ah, Julia! You're up!" She crowed. "Probably tomorrow or the next day, all us girls are going to take the ferry to go look at Midsummer's dresses! I've been looking online at some of the dresses in stock and they are stunners!" She beamed at her niece. Julia glanced between her mother and Wheezie. Both just shrugged shoulders, not wanting to upset Rose's happy moment. Her mother had once told her what Midsummers was; it was basically a Kook gathering of the richest, gushing over who had more money to spare and giving whoever seemed to 'help' Kildare island become greater. Julia had overheard Rose and her mother talking a day or two ago while having a wine nightcap about how Ward was going to be this year's award's recipient. It was important the entire Cameron clan attend to show solidarity and support. Keeping up appearances as the 'Golden Family'.