The door swings open, revealing Topper with a white button-up shirt undone showcasing his bronzed chest. He has a beer in his other hand and steps aside, welcoming me in. A puzzled expression is on his face, as though he doesn't recognise me. "Scarlett, I almost didn't recognise you. You look great." He pulls me into a hug and I can smell the alcohol coming from his breath, mixed with the strong cologne on his body.
"Stole some of Sarah's makeup to cover all the bruises."
I told the others that I was having an early night and went inside. They were all surrounding the fire pit, roasting marshmallows, drinking and sharing memories of their childhood. That's when I went inside, put some of Sarah's makeup on and changed into some of the clothes that Wheezie gave me - courtesy of Ward's credit card. Then I snuck out the bathroom window and walked here. I know I shouldn't walk alone at night, but I took that risk.
Sarah's foundation is a little dark for me, but it works. Everyone here will be too drunk to tell that my foundation is one shade too dark. The bruising around my eyes looks like eyeshadow so I added some mascara to complete the look. Thanks Dad for the smokey eye, it really makes my blue eyes stand out.
"Speaking of, no Sarah?" He looks over me, trying to see if Sarah will mysteriously appear from behind one of the bushes in his front yard.
"Sorry to disappoint, but it's just me." I respond, stepping into the house. It smells like lime and sage, giving the house a fresh scent the second you step through the door.
There's off white stone tiles along the flooring and light grey paint on the walls. A large chandelier is hung directly above the dark grey mat on the floor in the centre of the entry hallway. The brightly lit room makes this old home feel welcoming.
"I'm glad you came. To be honest, I didn't think you would."
"Neither did I."
"What does JJ think about you coming to a Kook party?"
"He doesn't know."
Topper lets out a quiet chuckle as he leads me into the kitchen where there are ten or so people crowding around the island and the rest are scattered in groups leading to the living room. I receive a few odd stares and glances up and down from the females in particular. Some whisper to one another while staring at me, making it obvious that they are speaking about me.
"Who invited the Pogue?" Derek asks as he kicks the fridge closed with his foot. He has a tub of ice cream in his hands and is eating it from the tub. "Hey Top, tell your mum that nobody likes raisins in their ice cream."
Topper takes the tub of ice cream from his hands and tosses it in the bin. "Well my mum does, so keep out of our stuff. I told you that the booze fridge is in here." Topper leads him to another room where there is an apparent fridge dedicated to booze.
Someone slings their arm around my shoulder and given by their fruity scent, and hairless arms, I know it's a female. "Come, let's get you a drink." I look to my my right to see that it is Jane with her arm around me.
"Hey, how are you?" I ask her, resting my head against her arm as I follow her lead. She has a bronzed makeup look going on and her skin has a healthy glow to it. "You look gorgeous."
"So do you, this looks good but let me just blend this out a little more." She lightly taps my neck and blends out my foundation. "What foundation do you use? It's a little dark for you."
"It's Sarah's."
"Sarah should know better than to colour match you properly."
"She doesn't know that I'm wearing it."
She laughs at me. "Well that explains it then."
After getting a drink, Jane and I go outside and she introduces me to her group of friends. I only recognise two of them, the others had arrived into town after I left.
"So who invited you?" One of the girls with red hair asks.
"Topper did."
"About time he moved on from Sarah Cameron." The guy next to the redhead says.
"Oh, it's not like that." I assure them and take another sip from my cup. While I am drinking, I spot someone gathered around the fire pit with a group of his friends. Rafe is always easy to spot because he is usually so much taller than everyone else. The light coming from the fire is shining directly onto his body, making him stand out even more. He is wearing a light yellow t-shirt with black pants. He looks really good.
"Hey guys, excuse me for a second." I smile at the group of friendly Kooks and head over to the fire pit where Rafe is standing. He looks bored and unamused by the conversation happening between the group he is with. His head turns to my direction when I get closer to him and he simply stares at me while the others express their shock.
Hugh stands up from the rock that he is sitting on and walks over to me. "You lost? The place of the poor people is that way." He points to the west where my house is located.
"Actually, it's here." Jeremy adds, pointing to the trash can. "Need a hand getting in there? Come on, I'll help you." He places his hands on my hips in attempt to lift me, but I push him away from me.
"Get lost Jeremy. Don't put your hands on me again."
I walk over to Rafe and stand beside him. "Hey."
He ignores me and avoids eye contact. Apparently the rocks beneath his feet are way more interesting to look at than I am.
"How are you Rafe?"
"Fine." He says and then skulls the rest of his can. He throws the can on the floor and steps on it before turning around and walking off. I walk after him and end up running because of his large steps. Screw those long legs of his.
"Rafe, wait up."
"What do you want Scarlett?"
"I want to talk to you."
"What could you possibly want to talk about? You and I aren't friends."
"What's wrong with you? You literally saved my life and now you're acting like we don't know each other."
Rafe stops walking suddenly and I end up bumping into him. He tilts his head to the side while leaning forwards. He stares down at my face and I can see his eyes scanning around, analysing my features.
"Why are you wearing makeup?"
"To stop people from asking questions about why my face is beaten up."
He nods his head before turning around. I grab onto his arm to stop him from walking off.
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
"I told you I'm fine Scarlett. Did Daddy hit your head a little too hard and demolish your ability to understand English?"
I let go of his arm, offended by the tone he is speaking to me with. "Why do you do this?"
"Do what?"
"When it's just you and I, you're somewhat nice to me. But when there's other people around, you are a completely different person."
"I was never nice to you. I just needed you to help me solve something. I used you Scarlett, you really shouldn't be so naive."
When he walks off, I don't stop him this time. Instead I return to Jane and her group of friends.
"Do you want another drink?" She asks me.
"I'll go get it. Anyone else want anything?"
"I will, thanks." The redhead says to me. I take their empty cups and return to Topper's house. While I am in the booze fridge, I pull out three cans of beer and close it. When I turn around, I see Rafe standing in the doorway and he is staring at me.
I look away from him and roll my eyes while walking straight past him. Rafe wraps his arm around my bicep and spins me around to face him.
"Don't roll your eyes at me."
"Let go of my arm. You and I aren't friends, remember."
Rafe doesn't let go of my arm when I try to shake it from his grip. Having lost all of my patience now, I snap at him. "Rafe, fucking let go of my arm." I pull away with more force and his hand detaches from around my arm.
He laughs at me in a condescending way. "You're mad at me. So now I'm the bad guy?"
"What are you on about?"
"Scarlett, I have called you countless times this past week because I was the idiot who for some reason was worried about you. I went by your house and it was empty. Then Sarah told me you were fine and you were staying at John B's."
Sarah never mentioned to me that Rafe had asked where I was.
"You called me?"
Rafe rolls his eyes and steps back into the wall. He leans against the hard surface and stares up at the ceiling.
"My phone was in my back pocket when my Dad attacked me. When I fell onto the ground, I landed on my phone which cracked it to such a severe extent that the touch screen doesn't work. I can't afford a new phone so I left it at home before moving into John B's."
Rafe looks from the ceiling, down to me. I walk over and stand beside him against the wall. The cold cans of beer are making my hands go numb.
"Thank you for calling to check in on me."
"Okay."
I laugh at him and he stares at me with confusion.
"What's funny?"
"I thank you and you respond with okay. You look so uncomfortable right now and that humours me. I'm not used to seeing you like this."
"Because it makes me look like a pussy."
"You're not a pussy for caring about someone."
"Are you?"
"Am I what?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "A pussy? No, but I have one."
Rafe places his hand over his face and I can see his skin turning red. "No, oh my god. I meant are you okay. Fuck, Scarlett."
We share a moment of laughter before the conversation turns serious again. I let out a long sigh while the events of the last 8 days play over in my head. "I'm getting there. My body is physically healing, but mentally..."
"Mentally you feel shitter every single day. Every time you close your eyes the events play over in your head. You can't sleep because you can see the blood dripping onto the floor from your body, feel the defenceless screams coming from your throat and hear the sound of your father shouting at you and you just want it all to stop but it doesn't."
I place the cans on the floor beside me and reach for Rafe's hand. He pulls it away and stares down at my hands. "They're cold."
"Sorry." I wipe them against my white pants, as if that is somehow going to warm them up instantly.
"You still have severe trauma from how Ward has treated you."
Rafe is silent for a moment and I feel like he is going to finally open up to me, but then something washes over his face and his teary eyes turn cold again. He looks down at me before picking up one of the beers from the floor. Rafe opens the can and drinks from it.
"I'm going back outside."
*
"Rafe, truth or dare?" Harley, the redhead girl asks Rafe who is standing diagonally opposite me in this group of 10 or so people.
"I don't play these childish games."
Harley then turns to Jane. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Pussy." Hugh mutters under his breath and Jane flips him off before turning her attention back to Harley who is thinking of what to ask her.
"How many guys have you slept with?"
"Don't tell my mother." She takes a drink from her silver can of beer. "Seven."
"You little slut." Harley says with a grin on her face. "How many does Heather think you have slept with?"
"Mum thinks I'm still a virgin."
The group share a minute of laughter before Hugh speaks up. "Alright Pogue, truth or dare?" He asks me.
"Dare."
He stares down at the ground while thinking of a dare. Eventually he looks back up at me with a smirk plastered on his face. "I dare you to kiss me."
"Dude, you literally dislocated my finger. There's no way I'm kissing you, even for a stupid game."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not." I stand my ground and bring up the red cup up to my lips, not breaking eye contact from Hugh while I drink from it.
Hugh glances around the circle, earning snickers and grins from the rest of the group. "That's a pathetic excuse, Scarlett."
"I think she's afraid man. I've seen it first hand myself, the girl doesn't like to be touched." Jeremy reveals his unwanted opinion.
"Yeah, Jeremy told us that you were frigid." One of his friends with black hair and piercing green eyes says to me.
"Did he now?" I look over at Jeremy. "Did you tell them the full story that happened that night, or did you skip a few important details? More importantly, what happened after you took a swing at me?"
From memory, I was the one who kicked his ass and had him beg me to let go of him.
The girl standing in Jeremy's arms steps out from his grip and turns around to face him. "Are you serious? You tried to hit her?"
Jeremy opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. The pink haired girl walks away from the group, leaving Jeremy humiliated and alone.
"Jeremy's right. Have you even kissed anyone, Scarlett? I bet you're a virgin."
I roll my eyes. "Not that I have to explain myself to you Hugh, but yeah I've had my first kiss."
Hugh's smile grows wider. "So you are a virgin."
"I am seventeen years old, not everyone loses their virginity at 13 like you did. I have more respect for myself than that."
This earns a few intrigued responses from the men in the group.
"Come on then, kiss me." Hugh takes a step towards me, but I push him away.
"Fuck off, I told you I'm not kissing you."
"Just admit it, you're a bad kisser."
"I'm not."
Hugh glances around the circle before looking back at me. "Then prove it."
"Fine." I let out a sigh and step down from the rock that I was standing on. I skull the rest of my drink and push the empty cup against Hugh's chest when I pass him. I walk over to where Rafe is standing and I place one of my hands behind his neck and pull him down to my level. I tilt my head to the side to get a better angle, and kiss him.
I feel Rafe's hands make their way onto my hips while kissing me back. I place my free hand around his neck too and lean back into his hands. Rafe pulls me closer to him and stands up to his full height, lifting me off the ground while doing so. I smile into the kiss before detaching my lips from his and he places me back onto the ground.
"So, what's the verdict?" I say while staring up at Rafe who has a small smile playing on his lips.
Rafe's tongue swipes across his bottom lip while he stares down at me. Without breaking eye contact, he speaks to Hugh. "She's good." He says, unable to hide the smile on his face.
The rest of the group cheer as if they're at a football game, meanwhile Hugh and Jeremy remain as still as a statue.
Neither of them have a response.
I tap on Rafe's chest before removing my hand and walking away, but he catches my wrist and pulls me back to him. "I'm not done yet, Maybank." With a harsh tug on my hand, he pulls me into him and my chest collides with his stomach. He wastes no time in crashing his lips onto mine again, this time slipping his tongue into my mouth and catching me by surprise. My hands involuntarily make their way into his hair and I slip my fingers through his dark blonde locks.
"Alright, that's enough now. Get a room you two." One of the guys say.
"Shut up, that's hot." One of the girls respond back to him.
After the kiss, Rafe places his arm around my shoulder, keeping me close to him. I lean into him, enjoying the warmth of his body on this cool night. He's so tall and the feeling of his strong arms around me makes me feel safe. I know it's strange to say that, given Rafe's previous actions. But he does make me feel oddly safe.
"Oi Jeremy, truth or dare?" Rafe asks him.
"I thought you didn't play these childish games."
"Truth it is." Rafe ignores his antics. "How long did it take you to recover from Scarlett's hit to your stomach? Because when she hit you and you doubled over in pain, it looked pretty rough from where I was sitting. Actually, that's not even the best part. My personal favourite was when you acted like a little bitch when she had you in a headlock."
"She had you in a fucking headlock? Look at the size of her. Bro, that can't be true." Kelce says to Jeremy who is staring down at the ground and avoiding all eye contact.
Hugh steps in to Jeremy's defence. "Whose side are you on? You going to turn into a Pogue now like your sister?"
Rafe lets go of me and takes a step forward to meet with Hugh. The two stare at each other, mimicking how opponents of a boxing match stare at each other before the fight. I feel a little sick in my stomach, terrified that one of them is going to swing at the other and then get into a brawl. I'm not worried for Rafe's safety, I know he will win easily. I don't care about Hugh either because he is a worthless piece of shit.
I am worried because I know what Rafe is capable of and I know that he already regrets so much of his reckless decisions of hurting people whether he cares to admit it or not. So I have to stop this before it gets out of hand.
I step in front of Rafe, slipping in between the two boys who are much bigger than I am. Hugh stares down at me, surprised by my actions. Meanwhile Rafe has his eyes glued on Hugh.
"Hugh, back off now."
"I'm not going to listen to you. Move the fuck out of the way." He places his hand on me which angers Rafe and he reaches over me, grabs onto Hugh's collar and tosses him aside. Kelce and Topper rush to Rafe's side and pull him backwards. It takes two more guys to hold him back, meanwhile only two guys to keep Hugh away.
"Let go of me." Rafe says to Topper and Kelce as they pull him away from the fire pit.
"Not until you calm down." Topper responds.
I follow after them as they lead Rafe out the back and towards the dock. Eventually Rafe cools down and he sits down on the dock. Topper and Kelce stand over him, unsure of what he is going to do. Their eyes are full of fear, as if they are afraid of what Rafe might do. His actions are clearly unpredictable.
I sit down in front of Rafe and reach forwards to grab onto his hands. "Hey, I'm okay." I assure him while staring directly into his eyes. I even manage to put somewhat of a smile onto my face. "Hugh and Jeremy are idiots. They're not worth adding to the bruises on your knuckles." I stare down at the wounds that have resulted from hitting my father.
There's dark purple bruises on his right hand that get lighter towards the tops of his fingers. His hand is still slightly swollen and it looks like his far right knuckle is busted. I gently caress the surface of his hands and feel horrible because they wouldn't be in this state if it wasn't for me.
"Could you guys please give us a minute?"
Kelce nods his head and starts to walk away, but Topper remains put. He is concerned and doesn't want to leave me alone with Rafe.
"I'm not going to fucking hurt her so you can stop looking at me like that." Rafe raises his voice at Topper.
"I witnessed you trying to drown your own sister last year. You are drunk, high and filled with rage. Three reasons why leaving you alone with this girl is not an option."
"This girl has a name. It's Scarlett. But I'm sure you know all about that seeing as though you are making her your next target." Rafe looks from Topper, down to me. "Hey Scar, did you know that my buddy Topper here has a little crush. He is still pathetically in love with my sister, but to fill the void of Sarah, he has had his eye on you."
I look up at Topper who remains silent.
"So did the little grocery adventure win your heart or should he maybe buy you a car next? Actually Top, she needs a new phone because her other one smashed to pieces when her father abused her."
Topper's eyebrows furrow together as he stares down at me. His head tilts to the side a little and I can tell that he is thinking about the wounds on my face which he seen earlier today.
"Those are from your father?"
I look at Rafe, sending him a glare so intense that it gives me a migraine. I am filled with so much anger right now.
"How could you say that?"
"What did I say wrong? Your father beat you up. It's a Maybank thing. Luke did it to JJ too before he went to prison and dropped off the face of the earth."
Now would be the perfect time to tell Rafe that it isn't just a Maybank thing because his father has abused him as well. But I am not that low. I cannot believe he would come out and say that to Topper. This is a private matter and the reason why I have been avoiding everyone this past week is to keep it that way. Nobody can find out about this.
I stand to my feet and walk over to Topper. "Please don't tell anybody."
"It's okay. I won't."
"Promise me Topper. I could lose my job over this and I really need that job."
Topper places his hands on my shoulders and gives me a gentle shake. "I promise you Scarlett. Now come back with me, I will organise you a ride home."
"Thank you, I appreciate that but I'm going to stay here with Rafe. I want to talk with him about something. I'll be in shortly."
Topper glances over at Rafe before looking back at me. He has an uneasy expression on his face. I know that it doesn't sit right with him leaving me alone with Rafe but I do genuinely believe that Rafe won't hurt me. I don't know why, because he is reckless and dangerous. But I somehow trust him.
"I'll be right over there." Topper points to his backyard. "I'll be keeping my eye out." He says while looking at Rafe who could care less about Topper's threats. When Topper leaves us alone, I sit back down across from Rafe and stare at him in silence.