"How long do you think they're going to keep us in here?" I ask Rafe who tries kicking the door down for the 6th time since we came in here. Just like the previous 5 attempts, there isn't even a scratch on the door.
Rafe shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know."
"What do you think they will do to us?"
"I said I don't fucking know Scarlett. Just stop talking."
I choose to listen to him because picking a fight with him isn't going to help our situation. Rafe's mood is only decreasing by each hour that we spend in here. I fell asleep a little while ago and I am pretty sure that it is the early hours of the next morning now. I can see Rafe's lips quivering and sweat resting on the top of his forehead.
"If you want Ward, then let's talk. Keeping us locked in here isn't getting anyone anywhere." Rafe shouts into the door. "At least let her go. She plays no part in this."
He walks over to me and sits beside me, using the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat from his forehead. I reach up to his face and feel his cheek. His face is really warm.
"There's only one good thing about being stuck in here."
"What's that?"
"You're forced to be clean."
Rafe shakes his head in disagreement. "By this time tomorrow, you're going to regret saying that."
I shake my head in disagreement. "No, you can do this. Without the drugs, you will be able to see how much better life is sober."
Rafe snickers. I'm glad that he can find humour in this situation.
"Life is brilliant." His voice is laced with sarcasm. "We are locked in a fucking boat in the middle of the ocean. I don't understand what is good about that."
"I mean after we get out of here."
He rolls his eyes. "Here I was thinking you were the Maybank with the brain."
Ignoring his comment, I reach for his hand and grasp onto it. Meanwhile Rafe rests his head on my shoulder and he draws small circles on my hand with his thumb.
"I'm sorry for bringing you into this Scarlett. It's all my fault."
"No, it's Ward's fault."
"I'm not innocent in this. I chose to help my Dad steal that gold. And the cross was all me. I wanted more."
"But you do it all for him. Tell me, was it all worth it Rafe?"
"Yeah, when I get my hands on that gold."
"What about the whole Peterkin thing. That one action of pulling that trigger changed your whole life forever. You're not a murderer Rafe. You only did that to protect him. He was going to prison and killing Peterkin was the only way you could stop that from happening. You were so desperate for him to be proud of you and prove to him that you are worthy of his love. Well I'll tell you something. He's not worthy of yours."
Rafe raises his head and stares into my eyes. "My Dad isn't a bad man. After Mum died, all he wanted was to keep our family together. He wanted to give us a good life."
"Sure, you drive around a Range Rover, but that doesn't define a good life."
"I'd take my life over yours any day."
Minutes ago he was mocking me for trying to convince him that he can live a better life while being sober. Now he is telling me that he lives a better life than me. Honestly, I wouldn't choose either of our lives. They are both fucked up in their own ways.
"Are you really a virgin, Maybank?"
I look away from his piercing blue eyes and at the blank wall opposite us. I don't want him to judge me for my answer like everybody else does. Guys usually tease me for it and call me a pussy, or they want to sleep with me to loosen me up as they say.
"Yeah."
"Hey, look at me." He reaches for my face and tilts it towards him using his index finger. "Why do you say that with humiliation? That is something you should be proud of, not ashamed of."
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Really?" Rafe Cameron is the last person I would expect to be praising me for holding onto my virginity. He is someone I'd expect would tease me and tell me that nobody would ever want me.
"Yeah, I mean I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked. But I'm glad that you have respect for yourself."
I manage a small smile on my face. "Thanks Rafe. It's not like there haven't been opportunities. I just haven't felt a strong enough connection with someone to want to be so intimate with them."
He nods his head understandingly while staring at the ground beneath his feet.
"What was your first time like?"
He slowly turns his head to look my way. "Oh, I'm a virgin Scarlett." He says with a blank poker face.
I close my eyes while shaking my head, trying not to smile. I open my eyes to respond to him. "Please, you're not fooling anyone."
Rafe's lips curve into a small smirk and the tiny creases form beside his eyes as he smiles. That's when I also notice the darkness beneath his eyes.
"You look tired. Have you got any sleep yet?"
"I'll sleep when I know that you are safe."
I pull him towards me so that he is resting his head against my shoulder again. "Please get some rest. We are going to need all of the energy that we can get if we want to put up a fight against these guys."
*
It's day three now. Three days since Rafe and I were taken here against our will. Only being fed two bread rolls and some mashed potato each day. And given just one bottle of water between us.
I am starving, but I'm still alive and I'm still unharmed ... for now.
I'm not worried about the dehydration. I'm not worried about the starvation. I'm not worried about what these guys are capable of.
I'm worried about Rafe.
He has a cocaine addiction. He hasn't consumed the substance in four days. His body has shown signs of withdrawal. Each day is only getting worse.
He spends most of his time sleeping because that gives his mind and body a break from the restless behaviour, anxiety, depressive thoughts and the worst one, increased appetite. It's bad enough being restricted of food and while they keep us locked in here. If we were in any other circumstance, he could eat a burger every hour to satisfy his cravings and drink lots of water to keep up his fluids. But we don't have that luxury.
When he's awake, he gets hot and cold sensations, is constantly swimming in a pool of his own sweat and can't stop walking around because he is agitated. His body desperately wants the drug, but obviously there's no way he is going to get it.
I sit across the room watching him. He is lying on the bed with the thick duvet tossed to the side because he got hot. His body starts fidgeting and I immediately get up from the floor because I know what is happening. This happens almost every time he is asleep.
He's having a nightmare.
"No Dad. Don't do it, I will fix it. I'll fix it. Please Dad. Why aren't you listening to me?" He shouts. I quickly walk over and and kneel down beside Rafe. I place my hand on his shoulder and lean down to whisper to him.
"Shh Rafe, it's okay. It's just a dream. It's not real." I continue speaking to him calmly, reminding him that the events which are unfolding in his mind, are fiction.
Rafe's eyes burst open and without warning, his hand immediately reaches for my throat. His hand grasps around my neck and he continues to tighten his grip. He stares straight into my eyes but it's not him looking at me. His pupils are completely dilated and almost completely black in colour. He's not completely awake yet. He adds his right hand which only restricts my breathing any more.
My oxygen supply is completely cut off now and I desperately try to free his hands from my neck and push him away from me.
"Rafe." I struggle to say. "I can't breathe."
I stare back into his eyes, desperately pleading for him to let go of me. I can't talk anymore and eventually I stop fighting him to let go of my neck because I lose all of my energy. I begin to close my eyes because the fatigue gets to the better of me. Then at last, Rafe's hands are removed from my neck and I fall backwards onto the hard floor.
"Oh my god Scarlett. Sorry. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to. Scarlett, open your eyes." He taps on my face, trying to bring me back to consciousness. "Fuck." I hear him shout, but I am too tired to open my eyes. Rafe places his hands on my shoulders and shakes my body.
While my eyes are closed, JJ's face appears in my mind. I smile when I see his familiar face. I miss him so much. I can't imagine how worried he is. He would be tearing the town down while looking for me.
"Wake up." JJ whispers to me and my eyes snap open. I take a huge gasp of air and sit up. I see Rafe on top of me with his legs placed either side of my body. He pulls me into him and holds me against his chest.
"Fuck, you scared me. I thought I killed you."
I push him away from me and lay down on the bed. "You nearly did."
Rafe climbs off of me and walks to the other side of the room. He stands there, watching me from afar with his hands on his head. "I'm sorry Scarlett. I thought you were my Dad."
He's hallucinating during his withdrawal. He's not himself and I know that he didn't intentionally try to strangle me. He was having a nightmare and that was his initial instinct when he woke up. To fight.
I nod my head. "I know." I slowly stand up and walk over to him. I reach for his hands and look up at him. His under eyes are darker than the shirt he is wearing. "How are you feeling?"
"I just tried to kill you. And unlike the others, this time I didn't mean it."
I laugh at him. How sick is it that I am laughing about this? Let's blame it on the hunger.
The lock from outside the door jingles and a short moment later, the door swings open. One of the men walks towards us and Rafe stands in front of me protectively.
"I told you before, she plays no part in this. So leave her be."
One of the men pushes Rafe out of the way and before he can fight back, a gun is placed to my head. The man grabs my arm and pushes me towards the doorway.
"Don't you fucking hurt her." Rafe leaps forwards and I feel the man holding the gun move his finger on the trigger. I squint my eyes shut, bracing for the impact. My entire life flashes before my eyes, but thankfully when I open my eyes, no trigger has been pulled.
Two others tie Rafe's hands together and they lead him out of the room. They move both of us to the top deck and I squint my eyes shut as the glare from the sun is intense. We haven't seen the sunlight in 4 days.
"Where is Ward?"
"You think I am going to tell you just like that?" Rafe snickers. "Go to hell."
The man beside me pushes the gun against my head again. "If you want your girlfriend here to live to see another day, you will tell us whatever we want." He spits.
Rafe presses his lips into a thin line and I see his knuckles turn white as he clenches his tied up fists. He tries to wriggle in the chair, but the ropes around his entire body are making it difficult for him.
"I don't know of his exact whereabouts. But you can get him to come to you."
I thought Rafe knew where the island was where Ward is hiding. He is either a really good liar, or he really doesn't know.
"Do you think we are stupid? You really think we would tell him where we are?"
"You arrange for a place for him to meet you. If he knows that his son is in danger, he will do whatever you want. He won't tell anybody else."
The two men beside Rafe exchange a look.
"You took my phone from me. Do you still have it?"
"Yes." The man beside me says.
The long haired man stares at his friend in shock. "What? I told you to throw both of them in the ocean."
"They're switched off. Nobody can track them."
"On my phone case there is a magnet attached to the back of it."
I remember seeing it. Wheezie has one too. There is a device built into it to prevent Ward from being able to track her phone.
"What about it?" The long haired man asks.
"That is a tracking device. The second you turn on my phone, it becomes active again. Take that off and go into my contacts under the name Brian Floyd. Call that number and arrange to meet with my Dad."
I stare over at Rafe and he briefly nods his head at me. I really hope his plan works.
The three men exchange a glance without saying a word. Then finally, the man holding the gun to my head speaks up. "Go on then, get the phone."
The bald man on Rafe's right-hand side retrieves Rafe's phone from somewhere around the other end of the boat. He grips onto the small device stuck to the back of Rafe's phone before glancing at Rafe. "If you are lying to us, you will be scrubbing the brain of your girlfriend off our deck within the next two minutes."
Rafe swallows and his bright blue eyes stare straight into mine.
"I'm not lying."