"its torturous, tonight
is gonna be the
loneliest."
"RED, I TOLD YOU NOT TO bullshit me." Rafe sighed. It was typical, he had no reason to believe her anyway, she didn't care.
"I'm not," Red replied sternly, it seemed that every word she spoke to Rafe came hand in hand with a death glare.
Red took a breath, tearing her hand apart from his arm and walking over towards the same closet she'd gotten her dress from, which was now stocked with silk grey pajamas and a dark towel.
She picked the two items up and made her way to the bathroom hooked to the bedroom she and Rafe were locked in. It almost reminded her of when Kie and Sarah were trapped on the boat together in a desperate attempt to get along. Except that wasn't the purpose this time, and when they did that, neither Kie nor Sarah were murderers. Rafe was.
With a loud slam, Red closed the foggy sliding glass door of the shower and twisted her wrist in the direction of the shower turning on. She hadn't had a shower in a full month. She felt grimy.
It was safe to say she never needed a hot shower more than then. She'd been kidnapped and locked into a tight room with the last person she wanted to see. The same person who'd called her the first name she wanted to be called. At the moment, Red was surprised that she'd rather hear Rafe call her Bee than JJ call her Sunshine.
Even though she probably shouldn't have, Red trusted that Rafe wouldn't do anything to hurt her. If anything, he'd protect her. Just like he always had when they were kids.
She wished she could hate him, she really did. But she couldn't bring herself to even say it. She liked him. Or, at least she used to. She didn't hate him, she didn't like him. One move could throw her opinion of him in one direction or the other.
Red didn't think Rafe really cared whether or not Red liked him or hated him, but in order to escape, they needed to work together, whether they liked it or not.
She hadn't had a conversation with Rafe since the night of the kegger, almost two months earlier. So much had changed since then. Sometimes, more than she chose to admit, Red wondered what it would be like if she didn't go surfing the night of Agatha. She never would have met JJ or any of the pogues, and she wouldn't even be involved.
Red took a long shower, just enough to wash herself and her hair off and a few extra moments to relax for a short minute or so. Then, she clothed herself in the silk and opened the white door leading to the bedroom.
Rafe turned his head towards her for a moment but soon turned back towards the window where he stood glaring at the patio below. Red set down her old clothes and hesitantly walked over to his side.
"What are you thinking?" Red cleared her throat, looking down at the boring and empty patio. Rafe didn't respond but instead kept his eyes fixated below. "Rafe."
Rafe finally turned his head towards her, "Why are you talking to me? You made it pretty clear to Carlos that we weren't friends."
"Well of course not," Red replied, crossing her arms. "But as much as I hate to admit it, we have to have each other's back, especially now. We only have a day."
Red had a plan. One she hoped would work. She needed to get Rafe to trust her again because once she did, then she might be able to trust him. She needed to get close to him. She needed to make sure that he wasn't holding the grudge Red had hesitantly decided to let go of. He had nothing to be mad about, she did. But Red needed to make him trust her, or getting out of there would be near impossible.
Red took a breath, preparing her ultimatum. "Look, I know that we're definitely not friends. And I know that you probably hate being here just as much as I do. But I need to trust you, and you need to trust me."
"And how exactly am I going to do that? You pogues tried to take everything from me. You tried to put me in jail." Rafe spat, clearly off to a rough start with the whole grudge thing.
"And you shot the sheriff and blamed it on John B." Red fired back. "Now, we're even. "Rafe, I need you to be reasonable here. This is serious."
Rafe exhaled deeply, sitting down on the edge of the bed and laying his head in his hands. "Ok, ok. Fine."
"Ok." Red shrugged, looking around the room once more before taking a seat next to Rafe on the bed. "So... where's the cross?"
"I don't know, where's the diary."
"I told you I don't have it."
"Right."
"Rafe, I told you, the first thing you have to do is trust me," Red spoke, already losing her patience with the boy. "Here... we can... play a game or something."
"A game?" Rafe's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It was the only way Red knew how to get closer to someone. She liked to play a game of questions with new people so she could get a better understanding of them. You start off with simple questions and gradually break the ice and get into deeper questions. All she needed was for him to get comfortable with talking to her.
"Yeah... like icebreakers," Red replied. Rafe rolled his eyes non-subtly, but Red returned the gesture and went along anyway. "I'll start." She thought for a moment. She needed a generic icebreaker question besides 'What's your favorite color' because that was just stupid. "What's been happening... y'know, with you. In the OBX."
"I don't know," Rafe responded nonchalantly, looking over at Red who asked why with her ocean-blue eyes. "I haven't been there. I've been to Guadeloupe. Takin' care of my dad.." As soon as Rafe spoke, he shot Red worried eyes, immediately regretting that he'd just told her that Ward was alive.
"You don't have to worry about me, Rafe." Red sighed, actually meaning it. She didn't like Ward, not after what he did to them, but she wasn't one to let secrets spill. She had nothing personal against him unless he made her. "To be honest, It's Sarah you should be worried about. And John B."
Rafe brushed off the comment, continuing the game. "Uh... favorite movie?"
"Pride and Prejudice, easy," Red replied to his simple question. She loved Pride and Prejudice. Something about the way Elizabeth Bennet fell for Mr. Darcy and their whole story made her want a story just like that. "You?"
"Die Hard," Rafe responded. Red wasn't surprised, really. It was a very Rafe movie to watch.
"Do you consider it a Christmas movie?"
"No. That's like saying Deadpool is a Christmas movie just because it was around Christmas time."
"Ok, fair." Red tilted her head in understanding. She needed to dig deeper, no more small talk. They only had a day to figure things out, she needed to use it wisely. "What's the one thing in the world that you couldn't live without?"
"Money, I guess." Rafe shrugged, not really putting much thought into it. Red chuckled at his bluntness. "What about you?"
"I guess it would be pretty hard to live without my phone. But I've already done that. All month." Red spoke, getting a small smile out of Rafe. Although it was hard to admit, he did have a comforting smile. It made him seem more like a boy and less like a man. He was forced to grow up before he needed to, just like Red. "What's something you'll never do?"
"Fall in love," Rafe replied. It didn't really catch Red off guard. He probably wasn't very big on romantic relationships unless it was flings.
"What? You don't believe in soulmates?" Rafe shook his head. "Well, I'll let your future wife and kids know that Rafe Cameron is never falling in love."
"Good luck with that." Rafe scoffed playfully, turning his head to meet her eyes again. "You believe in soulmates, don't you?"
"Why do you think so?"
"You just seem like the type of person that loves cliche tropes and stuff like that. You did say your favorite movie was Pride and Prejudice, aka the ultimate enemies-to-lovers bullshit."
"It's not bullshit." Red defended. The story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy never seemed like a cringy cliche to her. She always believed in love. "Yeah, I guess I do. I know everyone has their person. Even you."
"We'll see," Rafe spoke. With that, he stood back up and began setting up cushions on the floor for a bed of his own.
Red nodded her head, getting up from her spot and peeling back the soft covers of the bed to reveal the pillows she would use for the night if she'd even get any sleep.
Red walked over towards the wide window adjacent to the king bed and pulled the curtains closed, blocking what was left of the light at night time. She looked back over at Rafe, who was now getting comfortable on his makeshift bed at the foot of hers.
She climbed under the sheets of the bed, laying her head on the soft, cushioned pillows. She wondered if she could request a Benadryl but her to sleep, but Mr. Singh probably wouldn't even get the request.
Now, it had already been at least an hour since Red climbed into the bed, and she was thinking about too much to sleep at all. She wondered what the pogues were doing right now and if they were looking for her. She liked to think they were, but she hoped nothing would happen to them.
Red heard Rafe tumbling around from the floor, probably having more trouble than her sleeping. It had been the first time in a long time Red didn't sleep with JJ's arms wrapped around her providing security and comfort, and although the home was impossible to get in and out of, she still would have felt more comfortable laying on the side of a crowded street surrounded by JJ's warmth than here. She missed him.
"Rafe, you awake?" Red called, sitting up in her spot to look down at him. He simply nodded.
"Yeah." He replied groggily.
Red took a deep breath. This was a bad idea. This was a horrible idea. "You don't have to sleep on the floor if you don't want to." Immediately, she regretted giving him the option to sleep in the same bed as her. But she didn't care. She'd rather sleep with him than not sleep at all. She always had trouble sleeping on her own. Embarrassingly, Red slept with her parents till she was ten years old because she never like being alone. "I mean, I can put a pillow in the middle."
"Yeah, ok." Rafe snapped, he was just as tired as she was. He'd sleep with a crocodile just to get an ounce of sleep.
Rafe gathered the pillow he'd stolen from the bed as Red scooted over to one side of the bed making space for him. Rafe soon lay beside her, laying the pillow in between them.
"Thanks." He muttered, maybe as uncomfortable as she was. But as dreadful it was to admit, she felt way more secure. She just wished JJ was in his place instead. Still, something was better than nothing.
Finally, Red fell into a deep slumber. Not as good as a night of sleep that the ones with JJ on the island, but still good.
The next morning, she woke up to the sound of a rock clinking against the glass of the window. She looked beside her. The noise didn't seem to wake Rafe up, but she got up to check it out anyway.
The second her eyes landed on the outside of the window, she met his eyes. It was JJ, standing on the porch in a blue denim long-sleeved shirt and a brown-brimmed hat.
Red smiled widely, matching his. She reached beneath the window, attempting to open it before her heart dropped. Red looked up, trying to tell JJ that the window wouldn't open, but when she looked down, He'd been spotted by Carlos.
Mr. Singh shot Red a cold smirk, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a gain, aiming it straight at JJ.
"No! Please! Please, don't!" Red screamed, banging up against the window and begging for Mr. Singh to have even just an ounce of humility.
With a shot to his head, Red's screams immediately turned into a sob as JJ's body fell to the cold concrete of the patio.
Then, Red shot up from the bed, sobbing into her hands, waking Rafe up. Thank God it had been a dream. But it felt too real. The thought of losing JJ killed her to think about.
Red continued crying in a cold sweat. Rafe tore the pillow out from between them, springing into action.
"Hey, sh, sh, sh. It's ok." He repeated, trying to keep her quiet and trying to calm her down. Red leaned back into him, still sobbing. Rafe wrapped both arms around her and pet the back of her blonde head in response. "It's ok, I got you. It was a dream." He repeated over and over again.
literally went through
6 gifs because they were all
bigger than freakin 3 MBs...
like... Can we raise that
please 😭
all in favor of signing a
petition to make the minimum
GIF size 8 MBs say 'Slay'
also... Rafe comforting Red... 💕💕💕