.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
↴rafe's point of view
I start to throw John B's belongings into a duffle bag, not caring to give anything back to him.
"What are you doing?" Wheezie asks as she sits down on the guest bed.
"Tossing this crap."
"That's John B's." she protests.
"Yeah, well, I don't think he's gonna be by anytime soon to pick it up, so..." I shrug.
"Why?"
I look up at her. "Did you say why?"
She nods her head.
"They didn't tell you?"
"Nobody tells me anything." she says.
I run my fingers through my hair. "Um, so..." I take a deep breath in. "John B killed Sheriff Peterkin."
She stares at me before laughing. "What?"
"I'm not joking, like, this isn't a game." I throw a shirt on the ground and stare into her eyes. "Look at me. I saw with my own two eyes, all right? He shot her. And then you know what he did? He tried to shoot Dad, but I stepped in and I stopped him. I saved his life."
"Why would John B wanna kill Dad?" she asks.
"He thinks Dad killed his father."
She widens her eyes. "He wants vengeance."
I zip up the duffle bag and begin to walk out of the room. "I'm telling you, he's a maniac." I pause. "And Sarah has been hanging out with him."
✧ ˚ · .
That night, I take the truck out to the neighborhoods and help search for John B. I have to look innocent, right?
I eventually find a ton of police cars parked outside of Kelce's house, so I park next to them and get out of the truck. I begin to walk closer to the scene when a random woman stops me.
"Hey." she says, pointing toward Kelce's house. "I think they've got him trapped in this house."
Her daughter looks at me. "It's John B. It's John B Routledge."
"Yeah?" I mumble quietly before walking closer. Sheriff Shoupe and the other officers look like they're about to go inside. "Remember the fallen, Sheriff!" I shout.
A bystander looks at me. "Yeah, that's right! Kill the son of a bitch!"
After the police are inside the house for a few minutes, they run back out and start yelling. "He went out the back!" Shoupe shouts. "I want three deputies to hit the backyard, now!"
"We'll get him for you, Sheriff!" I yell.
"The suspect is unarmed, alright?" Shoupe continues.
I begin to gather random people and encourage them to help look. "Let's get him."
Kelce runs over to me and we start to walk down the sidewalk. "Gotta protect the homeland." I say, looking between cars in the darkness.
"Hell yeah." Kelce nods.
"Where you at, John B!" I taunt as we arrive at a truck. "Kelce, check the other side."
"Got it." He walks to the other side and looks under the car only to find nothing.
Suddenly, a car alarm sets off and begins to blare. I turn around in confusion before checking through the window of the truck one last time. "Shit." I look up at Kelce. "You see him that way? No?"
Kelce looks around suspiciously before perking up. "Hey, bro! He went this way!" he nudges my shoulder, pointing toward the forest.
"You sure?" I ask.
"There's no other way he could've gone, bro." he insists.
"Hey, do not let him get far, alright?" I shout to everyone and then look at Kelce. "Let's go!"
✧ ˚ · .
After searching through the forest for a while, we eventually hear a loud ring from the bell tower. We look at each other before sprinting toward the noise.
"The bell definitely came from here." I say as we near an old building.
"It's gotta be John B." Kelce says, staring up at the bell tower.
With the cops right behind us, Kelce and I sneak through a back entrance.
He looks up at the platform above us that holds the bell. "You still got that lighter?" he asks.
My mouth falls open. "What?"
"The lighter."
"Yeah?" I pull it out of my pocket. "Why?"
"Let's smoke 'em out." he laughs.
"Like... set it on fire?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Yeah? What the hell do you think smoke 'em out means?"
I hesitate as I look back and forth between Kelce and one of the wooden panels.
"What are you waiting for?" he asks, clearly growing irritated.
I impulsively light a small section on fire and watch as it spreads up the wall. We take a few steps back before running out the side door.
"Hey, this is war!" Kelce shouts eagerly.
We move swiftly around the edge of the trees and join the group of people watching. Suddenly, John B walks out of the fire that has quickly grown, the hood of his jacket still covering his head.
He raises his hands in the air. "It's Topper!"
Topper?
"Topper? What the hell are you doing?" Shoupe asks as officers handcuff Topper and start to load him into a cop car.
I freeze in pure disbelief. Why is he helping John B of all people? He's supposed to be on our side. On my side.
Before they fully push him into the car, he looks at me. We stare at each other for a few seconds until he gets inside.
"How much you wanna bet Sarah is behind this shit?" Kelce mutters to me.
I casually laugh but stay silent.
"She's got him whipped, bro." he says, shaking his head.
I inhale deeply before turning back around, toward the woods. "Let's go."
✧ ˚ · .
After searching across the entire island for hours into the night, we never ended up finding John B. We decided to give up and go over to Kelce's to have a couple of drinks.
"You sure you good to drive home, bro?" Kelce eventually asks, holding the front door open.
"Yeah, yeah." I nod, even though I don't really care if I am, and walk down his driveway toward my dad's truck.
"Aight." he says before pausing for a moment. "We'll get that bitch, man."
"Yeah, we will." I shake my head as I unlock the car.
"Is Juliet better?" he calls out from his porch.
"Mmm-hm." I reply, opening the car door. "See ya, Kelce."
As I close the door, I sit in silence for a moment. I need to see Juliet.
I open up my phone to see that she has already texted me.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Jules ❤️
is everything still going okay?
yeah
okay
come over.,
what
come o ver
to ny hou se
plaese
pleas e
rafe
what
ur high
no
i am nit
im drnuk
okay
i'll text u tomorrow
i have to go to sleep
ther is r oom in my bef
bed
rafe
juliet pls
i neednyou so bad rn
pls jyst come o ver .
you haven't been driving have you?
no
i an in my be d
join
oh my god
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
✧ ˚ · .
↴juliet's point of view
Not even two seconds after knocking on the front door of Tanneyhill, the door swings open quickly. Rafe sighs in relief before pulling me into his arms.
"Holy shit." he whispers to himself before kissing the top of my head.
"Rafe, what's going on?" I ask with absolute confusion.
He quickly moves me up in his arms so that my legs are wrapped around his torso.
"Rafe." I pull my head back to look at him. "What's going on with you?"
"I'm fine." he says nonchalantly.
I hold onto his cheeks with my hands as I look at him closely, trying to see if I can figure out the truth in his face. "Is there anything I can do?" I ask.
"Nothing. God, nothing." He pulls my head into his shoulder. "You being here is all I need."
I give in and hug him. "Okay."
He kisses my cheek before running upstairs to his room, still holding onto me tightly. The moment he closes his bedroom door and locks it, he sets me on the edge of the bed and kisses me sloppily.
I hold onto his face to slow him down, but he quickly hops up on the bed and moves me on top of him, never once breaking contact with my lips.
After being hesitant of his mental state at first, I decide that I might as well return his energy. He seems to be fine now, and I wouldn't pass up a good make out session with Rafe.
He places me perfectly in his lap before wrapping his arms around my lower back. I keep my hands placed on his jaw as I kiss him back, barely being able to keep up with his pace.
Rafe reaches his hand up my shirt as he starts to hold onto my bare back. He pulls me closer to him as he continues to kiss me.
Just as I begin to worry about waking up his family from how loud we're being, I feel something wet on my cheeks. I slowly pull away, to his annoyance, before realizing that he's crying.
"Rafe..." I sit back and try to get a good look at him through the darkness.
His tears fall faster as he tries to make out with me again.
I forcefully pull away. "Stop."
"Jules, please." he cries before holding onto my legs and trying to move me closer.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I move his hands off of me as I stare at him.
"Nothing is wrong with me." He slurs his words, clearly getting impatient.
I inhale and exhale slowly. "How much did you drink tonight, Rafe?"
"Barely anything." he insists as he rolls his eyes to the back of his head.
"Really? Because you're sweating like crazy."
He purses his lips as he takes entirely too long to process my words. "Sorry that I get hot when we make out. It's... you're making me. You're—"
I move to my knees as I shift off of him. "I shouldn't have come here."
"Please, baby." He exasperatedly crawls after me, desperately trying to cling onto my clothes. "Don't leave."
I irritatedly sit back in front of him and put my hands on his face. "Stop acting like a toddler. I don't care that you're drunk. You're eighteen years old."
"I'm not acting like a fucking toddler." he insists with an ironically whiny voice as he frantically holds onto my hips.
"Rafe."
"I can't do this shit right now." He presses his forehead up against mine. "I need you, Juliet. Please. Please." he begs, his voice suddenly cracking on the last word.
I tilt my head back to see more tears rushing onto his cheeks.
"Please." He begins to sob as he gasps for air. "Please."
I furrow my eyebrows in pure confusion at the sight before me, now unable to be upset with him. Something is clearly very wrong.
"Hey." I rub his arm.
He starts to hiccup as he quickly puts his hands around my waist, hunching over and burying his head into my lap. He sobs loudly as he tries to hold himself up on my body.
I watch him slowly soak my shorts with tears. I brush his hair back patiently as I wait for him to calm down. It takes a while, but he eventually starts to breathe slowly and deeply.
After a few seconds of his careful breathing, I kiss his cheek. "It's late."
He lets out an exhausted breath before sitting back up. I take his hand in mine and slowly guide him underneath the covers. He lays on his back as I place half of my body on him, cupping his cheek in my hand.
I really hope that he just had too much to drink and it's nothing else.
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ
↴rafe's point of view
After Juliet leaves early in the morning, I go down to the police station for different interrogations. With my family being involved in the Peterkin case, they're trying to get as much information as they can. Of course, I lie to the police. I need to stick with the story my dad told me.
I try to spend most of the afternoon ignoring my thoughts and getting wasted, but my mind catches up with me. Juliet still has more work at the Surf Shop, so I can't be with her. But considering the fact that I already lost my shit with her last night, don't think I can risk doing that again. The next best thing is getting high. Even though I hate what Barry did to her, I'm out of the supply I had, so I have to go get more from him. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.
I park my dirt-bike outside of his house and run through the door. "Barry!"
He sniffs and looks up at me from the couch.
"I need cocaine." I say, standing awkwardly in front of him.
"Well, I'm all out, man. That was my last line right there." He continues to mess with his nose. "Everybody done came and done a run on me."
I ignore him and start to search through every cabinet and drawer. "I know you got it in here, bro!"
"No, I don't got anything in here! I'm all out, man!" he yells.
"Bullshit!" I shout, running into his room to continue searching.
"Rafe! What'd I say, bitch? I'm out!" He follows me into the room and slams me onto the bed. "Get out of my room!"
I bounce back up quickly and run to the living room. "Where is it? I know you got some." I start to visibly panic at the thought of not being able to drown out my thoughts.
"What the hell done got into you?" He watches as I become hysterical in his living room.
I start to choke on my words and cry, falling onto the floor.
"Oh, shit, man." he says, noticing my erratic behavior. He flips a chair around and sits on it, facing me. "Hey, look, dog."
I continue to cry as I run my fingers through my hair.
"Hey, you good, you good. Breathe." he says, trying to calm me down.
I stare off at the floor. "Have you ever, uh... have you ever done something that you never thought you would? Like something... bad?" I look up at him.
"What you done, Country Club? Was you late to a tea time? Huh?" he jokes.
I stay silent.
"You can talk to me, man. Just tell me whatever the hell you done because I can promise you, whatever it was, I've done worse, bro. I was in the army."
"I did, uh... something." I begin to say. "And now I'm screwed, man. Like... for life. There's no way out of this, bro." I complain with tears streaming down my face.
"Don't be coming on my porch saying there ain't no way out. Imma tell you right now, there's a way out, alright? If you've got a problem, only thing you can do is fix it." He looks at me. "Your little sister and all her little surf rat friends still got my cabbage. And you ain't brought it to me yet. But, the hammers coming down on them Pogues."
A lightbulb turns on in my head. "You know it was John B that stole that $25k from you. Right?"
"That's the point I'm talking about, Country Club. When they get ahold of John B, how quickly do you think he's gonna start snitching on me? It's gonna be a lose-lose for me, homie." He tilts his head down toward me. "Unless... I get to him first. I want that boy, and I want my money. So what do you say we go get him?"
I nod my head in agreement. Time to finally find this son of a bitch.
✧ ˚ · .
↴juliet's point of view
"Thank you so much, have a good one!" My dad chimes from behind the counter.
I've been restocking some shelves near the back of the Surf Shop for about an hour, but my dad finally decided to come over and help. The shop is pretty much empty.
"So... how's Rafe been doing with all of this?" he asks, restocking some of the merchandise.
I instinctively shrug as I think about his reaction last night. "His dad is the one that saw everything. And Sarah, too."
"That's true." He pauses and picks up a few more things. "I mean, you think you know someone, and they—"
"I don't want to talk about John B." I abruptly stop stocking shelves and walk over to the counter.
After a few moments, my dad eventually breaks the silence. "Well, I think I've got it from here. You can leave now if you want, kiddo."
"Okay." I pick up my bag from underneath the counter and walk toward the glass door. "Thanks, Dad."
I start the engine to my car when I can't help but think about the Pogues again. I feel like I need to talk to them and sort things out.
✧ ˚ · .
After briefly checking the Chateau and finding nothing, I resort to driving to JJ's.
As I pull up to his house, I park by the grass and turn off my car. I begin to walk up to the door when I hear loud shouting coming from the shed out back.
"JJ!" Kiara yells.
I furrow my eyebrows as my walk to the shed turns into a run.
"Okay, JJ! That's enough!" she cries out with fear in her voice.
I turn the corner to see JJ choking Rafe with a rope while Pope and Kiara watch helplessly. Rafe has blood covering his face as he's struggling to free himself.
"Oh my god." I cover my mouth. "Oh my god!" I scream as I run toward him, leading JJ to drop the rope. Rafe falls to the ground and groans in pain.
"That's too fucking far, dude." Pope whispers to JJ, who is still frozen in shock.
"Rafe, look at me!" I hover over him and hold his face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably to the point where I feel like I can't breathe. "You're okay, alright? It's okay!"
He stares up at the ceiling and begins to cough up blood. I notice an old rag to my left, so I pick it up and try to gently wipe some of the blood off of his face, which ends up transferring to my hands.
"I'm so sorry, Rafe." My voice breaks as I hold him in my arms. "I'm gonna help you, okay? You're good now, I promise. It's gonna be okay." I say, tears overflowing out of my eyes.
"Guys, we gotta go." Kiara says, motioning to JJ and Pope.
Pope quickly follows her as they attach Luke Maybank's boat to her car. JJ continues to hover next to me, still standing in place.
I look up at him to see absolutely no emotion on his face. "I don't even know who you are anymore." I say with pure disappointment.
"JJ!" Kiara shouts, opening the door to her car. "Come on!"
Pope has to run over and physically drag JJ to the backseat before they take off down the road.
I look back down at Rafe's head that is still in my hands. I cry harder as I watch him struggle to breathe with blood still covering his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I cry.
He continues to gasp for air before eventually sitting up. He has blood covering his hands and a big bruise on his cheek, along with some scratches.
"Rafe, I need to get you to my house. My parents aren't home, I can help clean you up." I speak at a fast pace as I lift him up by his hands and hold onto him, taking him to my car.
"I'm fine." he mumbles, blood still filling his mouth.
"You're not." I open my car door and try my best to lift him inside.
I finally close his door, jump in my side of the car, and speed off of the grass and onto the backroad. I loudly sob as I stare out at the road, barely being able to see through my tears.
"Jules." he mutters. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not." I wipe away the tears that are continually streaming down my face.
"Pull over." he says, putting his hand on my leg.
"I can't do that—"
"Pull over." he groans.
"I'm not pulling over!" I hiccup. "You need help—"
"Stop the fucking car!" he demands.
I reluctantly drive to the edge of the road and turn off the car, crying even harder at his stubborn anger. He gets out and walks to the other side before opening my door.
He gently pulls me out of the car and wraps his arms around me. "I need you to calm down, alright?"
I heave and gasp for air until my breathing gradually slows down.
"I'm gonna be fine." he insists.
I pull away and look at him, analyzing the blood on his face and hands. "What the hell did he do to you?"
Rafe sighs and uses his fingers to touch the bruises and cuts left by JJ. "I don't know."
I pull him back into a hug and rest my head on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"I know, but..." I let go and look at him. "I don't know why JJ's acting like this."
He shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.
"My house is two blocks away. Can we please just clean your face?"
He looks at me. "And your shirt?"
I shift my gaze toward myself and notice some of his blood on me. "That too."
"Fine." he agrees.
"Thank you." I say, moving my hand toward the door handle.
He pushes my hand away quickly. "I'm driving."
I reluctantly head to the passenger's side and buckle my seatbelt before he takes off to my house.
✧ ˚ · .
Once we arrive, I send Rafe to the kitchen while I look for my Mom's first aid kit. I eventually find it in one of the drawers in her office before I quickly make my way back to him.
He's standing against the counter with his arms crossed, staring at the floor.
I grab a cotton ball along with hydrogen-peroxide and start to clean the cuts on his cheek. He groans from the pain but stays still.
After I finish, I pat-dry his face with a towel. "Wash your hands." I say before moving to put everything away.
He walks over to the sink and rinses off his hands. "Thank you." he says, drying them with a nearby towel.
"Mmm-hm." I reply as I begin to wash and dry my own.
As I let go of the towel, I turn around to find Rafe hovering over me. I feel one arm wrap around my waist, followed closely by the other. A small smile spreads on his face as he leans down to kiss me. "Haven't done that in a while." he says. "Sober."
"At least you waited until I cleaned your face." I smile and kiss him again.
"You're saying you didn't want to kiss me when I was covered in blood?"
"No." I giggle as I wrap my arms around his neck.
He grins and pulls me closer to him, pressing his lips gently up against mine. I start to run my fingers through his hair when I notice that all the gel seems to be gone from his usual slicked-backed style. I pull away as I continue to mess with his hair.
"What are you doing?" he laughs.
I move some pieces around and let it fall in front of his face, turning him to look into the mirror on the wall. "Keep your hair like this. I like it better."
"Yes ma'am." His mouth curls into a smile as he kisses me again.
We stand in the middle of my kitchen, the only noise filling the silence being the sound of our lips connecting and separating.
Our bodies suddenly break apart as police sirens start to blare past my house. We walk over to the front porch to find cars blazing quickly through the neighborhood.
"They're headed for the cove by the lighthouse." he says.
"How do you know?"
"They have a whole set up there with SBI agents and everything. My dad's been there all day."
"Should we go see what's going on?" I ask.
"Yeah." he replies.
✧ ˚ · .
Upon arriving, there seem to be dozens of cops staked out in the rain. I follow Rafe to one of the tents while being practically drenched until a few guards stop us.
"Hey, he's Rafe Cameron! Let him through!" an officer shouts, pulling him past me.
Rafe doesn't hesitate before running toward the tent where his dad is. I try to follow him, but one of the guards grabs my arm.
"What's going on?" I ask, trying to jerk back. "Why can't I go with him?"
"Authorized personnel only." he says, tightening his grip.
"Let go of me." I demand, desperately trying to free myself. "Let go!"
He shifts my arm closer to himself before dragging me toward a different tent. "I'll put you with some of your friends." he says sarcastically.
As I'm forcefully pushed into the tent, I lock eyes with Kiara, Pope, and JJ, who immediately look up at me.
"Stay put." the guard says sternly before walking back out.
"What the hell is going on?" I watch the three of them as I wait for a response. JJ stares at his shoes.
"John B and Sarah are out there." Kiara says quietly.
"What do you mean out there? Like on the water?" I ask. "In the storm?"
"Yes." Pope replies with his head down.
"Where are they going?"
"Out of town." JJ finally says matter-of-factly.
"In the Phantom?" My jaw drops. "They're never gonna make it!"
They all stay silent, so I take that as a cue to sit down in one of the chairs and wait on whatever the hell they're waiting on.
✧ ˚ · .
After fifteen minutes or so, Officer Shoupe walks into the tent with a weird expression on his face. We all stand up.
"Did you find them?" Pope asks.
"No." Shoupe shakes his head.
"So they got away?" Kiara asks, staring the Sheriff down.
"We, uh... we lost them." he announces. "I'm sorry."
"Lost them?" Tears well up in my eyes as I raise my eyebrows. "What the hell do you mean you lost them?"
"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Juli." Shoupe looks at me as tears begin to trickle down my cheeks.
"So they're dead?" Kie's voice breaks.
"We don't know." Shoupe answers honestly.
An uncomfortable tension suddenly covers the room as everyone realizes the situation at hand. John B and Sarah just died.
I cover my mouth as I loudly sob. Memories flood through my mind with the little brunette boy I've known almost my whole life. My dad taught him how to surf. His dad tried to teach JJ and I how to fish, even though I hated it. We've spent our entire childhood together. And then there's Sarah. I haven't been close with her for very long, but the moment we met, I could tell we would be best friends. She quickly became the girl that I could go to for anything. But now, John B and Sarah are dead.
"You drove them straight through the storm, man! Are you kidding me?" JJ shouts. "Come here!" He starts to shove and grab at Shoupe.
"JJ, stop!" Kie pleads as other guards try to pull JJ off of Shoupe.
Pope grabs another officer by the collar. "You killed him! He didn't do anything and you know it!" he yells.
"Pope, just stop." Kiara exhaustedly sobs. "Please, stop."
The tent opens slightly as Kiara's and Pope's parents walk inside, immediately going to their own children. JJ and I stand off to the side and watch as our friends cry into their arms.
Mrs. Carrera reaches out for me and pulls me into a hug, while Heyward does the same for JJ.
Where are my parents? They should be here.
After a few seconds, we all break from the hug. Kiara and Pope wrap their arms around each other and sob, leaving JJ to stare at me.
I think back to when it was just me, JJ and John B. The memories that included fishing trips, surf trips, and endless sleepovers at the Chateau. Now it's only me and JJ. We lost our best friend.
"This is your fault, Juli." he finally says with an evil look in his eyes.
I furrow my eyebrows and gape at him in shock. "What?"
"You left us." he growls. "You could've stopped Rafe from going bat-shit crazy, but you didn't. Because you're in love with him. And now, John B and Sarah are dead."
"JJ." Kiara cautions.
"He's got you under a spell, huh? What happened to Pogues for life?" JJ continues as angry tears start to fill his eyes.
I stare back at him, unable to get any words out.
"Rafe can have you, because we don't want you."
"JJ." Pope says sternly.
"Traitor." JJ says coldly as his eyes darken.
I stand frozen in place as I look at the boy I thought I knew. My best friend.
We hold intense eye contact until I break and run out of the tent.
"Juli!" Mrs. Carrera calls out.
The tears falling from my face blend in with the rainfall pouring down on me. Rafe is already walking toward the tent, completely soaked. It looks like he's just seen a ghost.
Without saying a word, he puts one hand on the back of my head and pulls me into his chest. The sound of the rain and thunder drown out my sobs.
"We need to go, baby." He says before lifting me into his arms and slowly carrying me to the jeep.
✧ ˚ · .
There's a silent, mutual agreement that we can't go to his house, and we can't go to my house, so Rafe drives for a little while until we reach what I recognize to be the park near the golf course.
"Are we sleeping in the car?" I ask.
"We don't have to. There's a hammock in the garden." he says with tired eyes.
"Okay." I open the passenger door and notice that most of the heavy rain is gone, leaving only sprinkling raindrops.
We walk to the garden that is enclosed by a fence. It has flourishing plants consisting of trees and bushes and flowers that almost provide a curtain to the outside. There's a fountain in the center with benches surrounding it, and to the side, a large tree with a hammock.
He lays down on the hammock, picks me up, and sets me down next to him. Once I'm on, the cloth folds us in so we're almost on top of each other. He wraps his arms around me as I rest my head in the crook of his neck.
Not only did two of my best friends die today, but I lost the other three.
I bury my face into Rafe's chest and cry. He holds onto my head with one hand and rubs my back with the other. I wish I knew how to comfort him, because this is his sister we're talking about, but he doesn't normally show his feelings outwardly. I don't want him to feel like he has to be the strong one.
Eventually, though, I hear him sniffle. I look up to see tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rafe." I say before gently kissing his non-bruised cheek. I place my head back where it was and hold onto him.
"Jules?" he whispers quietly.
"Yeah?" I reply, still keeping my head buried into his chest.
"I love you." he admits softly.
Butterflies immediately swarm in my stomach. The same ones that I had when we first kissed.
I look up at him. "Do you really?"
"Mmm-hm." he musters up a sweet half-smile.
I place my thumb up against his cheek. "I love you." I whisper.
We kiss for a few moments until I yawn and lay my head back down. He brushes through my hair with his fingers while I look at the moon and stars. I finally catch my last glimpse of the sky, and of Rafe's soft demeanor, before I feel myself drift off to sleep.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
thank u guys for reading!!!! chapters 1-9 of vol 2 are out now :)