028 !! COMFORT
"JJ, stop".
He doesn't stop.
"Seriously, stop".
He keeps walking.
"Can you, for one second, take a moment to actually think before doing something?".
He turns around.
As soon as they'd left Barry to sulk by the side of his car on the street, JJ had directed them over to the drug dealer's house.
He'd gone absolutely ballistic and ransacked through all of his belongings before stuffing 25 thousand dollars worth of cash into a duffel bag and exiting the house, John B in tow, expecting his friends to holler and welcome him with open arms.
They hadn't, naturally.
Stealing from a notorious drug dealer capable of arranging untraceable illegal activities at the snap of his fingers is not only dangerous but also plain stupidity.
And all of them know that, which is why they refused to support this rash decision of their friend's no matter how hurt he seemed.
So, JJ being JJ took off after throwing a small fit while the others simply watched him walk away.
Not Georgie though.
The green-eyed blonde girl had looked on, worried and anxious about her brother's life choices — as she usually is — and ignoring all of her friends' protests, she'd taken off after him walking at a fast pace to catch up with the blond boy stomping away from her.
And now, he looks right at her, jaw clenched and fist curled over the strap of the duffel bag.
"Why? 'Cause you think I'm dumb? 'Cause, 'hey JJ always keeps getting into trouble so maybe I should try condescending him a little? See if he straightens out?' I don't need your help. Stop trying to clean up my mess and live your own life".
Now that, was so unwarranted for.
She knows he's angry, furious even but that doesn't do shit to make her feel better inside.
Her stomach drops at his words, eyes blinking as she takes in what he's just said.
She feels like someone just ripped her heart out and stomped on it, not once not twice but innumerable times until it was left a pathetic shattered mess on the side of the road to die out with its final gasping breaths.
And no one stopped to touch it for it wasn't beautiful enough to be deemed worthy.
She swallows wrapping her arms around herself.
"I just want to make sure you know what you're doing", she mutters quietly staring at the ground.
"Well, I do. So are we done here?".
Not uttering a word, she glances up catching his frustrated gaze.
She shrugs looking away and chewing on the inside of her mouth.
"Right. We're done", he turns on his heels and walks away leaving her standing there by the side of the road feeling like an utter and complete fool.
Georgie looks around at the bushes and lower class housing surrounding the deep end of the Cut they'd somehow found themselves in thanks to her brother.
Tipping her head back, she looks up at the sky squinting against the harsh sun gaze reflecting off the blue tint of the serene clouds, the late afternoon light washing everything with a sort of leisurely feel.
She debates going back to look for her friends but soon decides against it because they've probably left by now and the last thing she wants is to find herself alone with a very angry Barry outside his house.
Her mind turns a puppet to her heart as she pulls her phone out, scrolling through her contacts to dial his number without a single thought.
It's like that's all she needs to feel sane right now.
He is all she needs to feel sane.
He picks up on the third ring, and her body immediately relaxes at the sound of his husky voice.
"Georgie? Hi".
She bites her lip, beginning to walk.
"Hi. Uhm, are you . . . . are you free . . . right now?".
He inhales deeply.
"Yeah, uhm. Yeah, I'm free", he sounds surprised and honestly she is too because what in God's name is she doing calling up Rafe Cameron when she's in need of comfort?
"Okay. I . . . . can I come by? Is it . . . . is it okay?".
Her voice shakes, nerves kicking up again, her mind now very very conscious of the fact that she's doing something she shouldn't be.
This wasn't the deal. She can't just run to him every time she needs to feel okay.
Or . . . . can she?
"Of course, you can. I'm not in right now but I'll be there in a few. D'you need me to pick you up? 'Cause I can, you know".
"No, that's", she clears her throat picking up her pace, "that's fine. I'll be there soon. Uhm . . . . thank you, Rafe".
His end goes silent for so long that she almost pulls the phone back to check if the call is still connected.
She continues walking, waiting for him to respond or hang up.
"You don't need to thank me", he finally mumbles.
She breathes out, shaking her head even though he can't see her.
"Why not?", she asks, quietly.
Somehow, this weird conversation relaxes her even more.
It manages to perfectly distract her from the last few hours and that scares her to her core because if just talking to him on the phone can make her forget everything, what would happen when she saw him?
When she finally kissed him? When she finally came face-to-face with Kildare County's very own golden boy who's heart she had somehow become a possessor to without even realising it?
It terrifies her, the hold he has on her.
The fact that her first instinct was to call him and not any of her friends.
The fact that even now she's walking to him, someone who only days ago she couldn't imagine letting in even a bit and now she's walking to him, to a house not a home but at least he's there.
He doesn't make her question her existence, he makes her want to live.
Just forget and live.
And maybe that's not so bad after all.
"Because", he sighs, "Because you're the one doing me the favour . . . . see ya, Georgie".
The corners of her lips twitch into a smile.
"See you, Rafe".
***
agdhdnfnvnv ARE THEY CUTE OR ARE THEY CUTE BC I THINK THEY'RE FUCKING ADORABLE AND I AM LOSING IT
finished obx3 yesterday and omg what i've got planned for this book will fit SO WELL with the plot IM EXCITED 🧎♀️