Basket Case ━━━━ JJ Maybank︱✓

𝟬𝟬𝟰 1 step forward, 3 steps back

As Izzy drove down the road, the image of the house party came into view. It stood tall with pillars adorning the front view, but it wasn't anything special. It looked just like any other house on the Figure Eight. Izzy's house . . . now that was something. So Izzy scoffed at the house and pulled into the driveway. As she parked off to the side, she almost hit some half-naked couples walking across the pavement, who shot her dirty looks and cursed at her. Izzy only rolled her eyes and turned off the engine to her car. She hopped out of the car and put her hands on her hips, leaning against her car as she waited for Rafe.

A few seconds later, Rafe sped into the driveway and parked his motorcycle behind Izzy's car. He took off his helmet and threw his leg over the seat to get off the motorcycle. "I don't know why you don't just ride on the back on my bike," he commented as he rested the helmet on top of his bike. "It makes no sense."

Izzy narrowed her eyes into slits and set her jaw. "Because I like my car," she stated, her voice sharp. She crossed her arms over her chest and quirked a brow. "Does there have to be a reason?" There was a reason. She didn't trust going in others' cars. It made her sick to her stomach if she wasn't in control. She had to be the one driving her car, otherwise, she felt like she was drowning.

Rafe scoffed and turned his head to the party as he stuffed something into the pocket of his khaki shorts. He clasped Izzy's hand in his, lacing their fingers together despite the irritated look which crossed his girlfriend's face when she felt the warmth of his skin on hers. Izzy didn't put up much of a fight. She let him interlock their fingers together as he led them toward the entrance of the house.

"I saw that Pogue's dad in the Cut earlier," Rafe said after a moment. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, studying her face.

Izzy furrowed her brows and shrugged. "Okay?"

She felt Rafe's stare harden as they entered the house. She wasn't sure what he was expecting her to say or do with that information, but she assumed it had to do with what happened between her and JJ the other night at the Boneyard. She pushed those thoughts away and took in the party coming to life around her. All around her were people she had seen before but she had no idea what their names were. She had never cared to learn them, and here they were, waving at her and smiling as if they had been friends since grade school. Izzy rolled her eyes. Assholes. That was what they were. Every single one of them was a freeloading asshole.

A low noise sounded from Rafe's throat. He squeezed her hand in his, causing her to look at him with her brows furrowed on her face in confusion. "I just keep replaying it in my head—" He tapped the side of his head with his fingers— "He was gonna' shoot, Iz. Fucking Pogues."

Anger flashed in Izzy's eyes as she slid her hand out of his and crossed her arms over her chest. She was tired of having the same argument with him day after day. He just kept going on about how JJ threatened to shoot him. For some reason, it made her blood boil. "I don't think he was going to shoot," she stated simply. She leaned against a wall to avoid getting bumped into by drunk teenagers.

Rafe shook his head, stepping close enough to her so she could smell the spearmint on his breath. "What so you're on his side?" he asked, setting his jaw.

Izzy groaned and tilted her head against the wall, craning her neck to look at the ceiling. "God, Rafe, there are no sides!" she muttered. "Topper was going to drown John B. You'd do the same thing if it was Topper's life on the line."

Rafe pressed his thumb against her chin and tilted her head down so their eyes were locked. Betrayal and hurt clouded his blue eyes and for a second Izzy thought she was looking at the boy she once knew. Before she could even blink, the vulnerability molded into anger and the boy was gone, replaced by whoever he claimed to be. "You think I'd kill someone?" he asked.