Right Here Waiting [Rafe Cameron x reader]

chapter nineteen

The next few days after our encounter at my house were spent by me mostly trying to avoid him, something I knew I shouldn't have done. It was sort of an escape from the subject I knew I would have to address sooner rather than later.

As I was walking down to the beach with Sarah, we knocked into Rafe, who seemed incredibly concerned.

"Hey." He said, rapidly looking around, as if searching for something, or better said- someone.

"Hi." I replied, at the same time with Sarah. "What's wrong?" I'd asked, noticing the way he tried to hide his trembling hands. "You're not high again, are you?"

"I don't have any money." He shrugged nonchalantly. Sarah raised her eyebrows, but she let me talk.

"What do you mean? What happened with your allowance?" He glared at me, making me feel bad for asking, but I had to know what was wrong in order to help him.

"I lost everything when I bought my motorcycle. Dad was really angry so he cut me off completely." I sighed, not knowing what to say.

"I- I don't know-" He cut me off, already knowing what I was about to tell him.

"It's fine, you don't have to say anything." This was a good moment to talk about his problem, but he was already very angry and he'd only start a fight, so I chose to try and help him calm down.

"Do you want to go grab something to eat?" He seemed to think about it for a second, before nodding.

——

After we returned from the restaurant we chose to eat from, I dropped Sarah off in front of her house, before heading back home with Rafe. He looked like he wanted to ask me something, but couldn't find the right words to do so. He kept looking out the window, fidgeting with his hands.

"What's up?" I asked him, resting one of my hands on his thigh, hoping he'd open up. He suddenly turned his head to look at me.

"I- uh, I was wondering if I could stay at your house for a few days, maybe a week, so I can let my dad cool off a bit."

"You don't need to cool off?" I smirked, knowing he had the same temper as his father.

"Yeah, but I have you." His words made my breath hitch in my throat. He actually acknowledged needing my help.

"I'm sure my mom will be alright with you coming to live with us for a while." I said as I turned the steering wheel to park in front of my house.

We headed towards the stairs, to go to my room. I let him go in front of me, having to stop to check if my mother was home. She probably forgot to tell me that she'd be out of town again, because when I called her she'd told me that she was going to be gone for a few days.

It was a bit awkward as we stood around my room. Rafe wasn't saying anything, too lost in his thoughts to do so. I was trying to find the best way to talk to him about his drug addiction.

"What are you thinking about?" He was the first to break the silence, turning to look at me. I shrugged, avoiding his gaze.

"I need to tell you this, but you have to promise me that you won't get mad." He nodded, curious about what I was going to say. "It's not healthy to constantly get high." I saw him falter, which was expected. "You've become addicted, Rafe." His head moved to look at the ground, his eyes studying my rug. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words to respond.

"I- I can only promise you that I'll try. But you have to be there with me every step of the way, it's hard to stop all of a sudden." I nodded wholeheartedly, the corners of my lips slowly turning upwards. "Are you worried about me?" He smirked at me, standing up and sitting next to me on the bed.

"Of course I am, I want you to be alright. Not going around and doing things that could ruin your future." He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I turned around, so our lips could meet. His were hot and red from the way he bit them from the stress, but he found mine soothing, thanks to the chapstick I was wearing.

"Thank you- so much. For everything." He said between kisses, as he pulled away for air. I smiled, putting my hand on the back of his neck, my fingers threading his hair.

Author's Note: This chapter had no drama whatsoever in it, but it'll happen!! Hope you enjoyed this!!