'Great, now everyone thinks we had sex.' I say with an upset tone, closing the passenger door. 'Never said we did.' Rafe responds. 'You smirked and shrugged, basically a yes.' I argue. 'What do you expect? Having a relationship and not fucking a lot?' He spoke. I roll my eyes. 'Seems like we have different ideas about what a relationship is.' I mumble. 'So you think having a relationship is no sex?' He asks. 'Not one of the priorities, no.'
Rafe turns on the engine, and we drive away. Driving in the woods is not great. The path is a collection of rough patches and uneven terrain. The wobbly ride is caused by Rafe's lack of effort to avoid the holes in the path. When we finally reach the asphalt, Rafe slowly swings across the road, going slightly left and right. 'Rafe, go in a straight line. It's making me nauseous.' I demand. 'I can't, I'm dizzy.' He says, smiling. Staring at him, I sigh. 'How can you be drunk? You had two beers?'
'No, not drunk, I've had cocaine.' He admits. I frown, 'What, when?' I ask. He grins. 'When you were grabbing water.' I take a deep breath in and press my lips together, 'Are you fucking kidding me.' I whisper. He is still swinging across the road, almost hitting the curb. People behind us are honking at us. "Alright, stop. This isn't going to work. Pull the car over to the side." I say anxiously. He tilts his head to the right for a second with his jaw clenched. He finally turns the steering wheel to the side.
He stops the car, 'Happy?' He snaps. He speaks up again before I can respond, 'I had everything under control, okay? You always ruin everything.' He scolds. My eyebrows rise, 'Are you serious right now? You were swinging on the road! We almost hit the curb, Rafe.' I rant. He rolls his eyes and nods slowly. 'Now what?' His tone is deeper and raspy. 'You had drugs and beer, you're not driving anymore.' I say. 'And you can't drive.' Rafe says. 'I can't, no.' I lie. 'You can try, right?' He grins. 'No, absolutely not, too dangerous.' I say fast. 'It's the only option and sometimes you need to say yolo.'
I take a deep breath and lean back in the car seat. 'Fine.' I say as I open the door. Rafe's grin grows wider. 'I knew you had it within you.' He says, pleased with my answer. After we switched seats, I asked Rafe for a quick sum-up. 'Left pedal is clutch, the middle pedal is brakes, the right is gas, that's it.' He says. 'Hm, okay.' I turn around, no cars. Great. I slowly begin driving on the road.
'Come back here! You bitch!' She shouts at me, her head out of the side window. My arms extended, my hands firmly gripping the steering wheel. My heart beating fast, and my leg bounces slightly on the gas pedal. I look in the rear-view mirror and see her following me in my dad's car. 'I'm calling the police on you!' She screams. I know that she isn't going to. If she does, she and my dad will go to prison for what they did to me.
My arm is bleeding from a cut caused by shattered glass. I look at the broken window, the shards of what used to be the window lay next to me on the passenger seat. The rock she tried to throw at me, is lying on the ground. I'm lucky the rock didn't hit me. Looking back in the small mirror, I see my mom in a rage. She is pointing at me and shouting things. She lost control over herself. She is getting too close to me, so I speed up the car.
As I race down the highway, the wind roars around me, drowning out all other sounds. The speedometer needle crept higher. I zoom past other cars, the world blurring around me. I hear people honk at me. I unexpectedly take the exit to the right, hoping I get rid of her. While taking the exit, I glance once more in the rear-view mirror. She observes my unpredictable turn. Her gaze trails the car I'm in, but as she speeds past the exit, her realization sets in—I've dodged her.
'Valerie, pay attention to the road.' Rafe says with slight laughter. The sound of his voice acted like a sudden jolt, snapping me back to the present. My eyes refocused on the asphalt in front of me. 'Hmhm' I respond. Rafe's fingers twist the radio buttons. 'Could You Be Loved' from Marley Bob begins to play. Rafe is smiling and moving his arms around, in tune with the music. I'm guessing the cocaine is doing its job.
'Why are you so tense? Relax a little.' He says. 'Maybe because I have no idea what I'm doing, Rafe.' Liar. 'For your first time driving a car, you are doing amazing.' He says. Maybe because it's not my first time. 'Can you just shut up? I'm trying to focus.' I snap. 'Okay, okay.' He says. 'Where are you going? Your house is that way.' He points to the left. 'I'm taking you home.'
'Oh.'
'Duh, you aren't going to drive when you are in a state like this.' I give him a side-eye. His head is swinging slowly from left to right. He lets out a chuckle, followed by small raspy laughter. 'What?' I ask. I don't get a response, so I quickly look at him. He is playing with a Dashboard Hula girl. 'Oh gosh..' I say in disbelief.
When we get to his place, Rafe gets out of the car, but it is not without a struggle. He tightly holds on to the assist handle on the roof. He hesitates to place his feet on the ground, probably too dizzy. I roll my eyes and get out of the car. I walk over to Rafe, and I hold out a hand. His other hand holds mine, and he places one of his feet carefully on the grass, then the other. 'You can walk yourself, right?' I ask, hoping he says yes. 'I can barely stand.'
'Right.' I say. He grabs my arm, and we slowly start walking. 'I'll pick up the car tomorrow.' He says. 'What do you mean?' I ask. 'You're driving to your house, and I pick the car up tomorrow? I thought that was the plan.' It wasn't, but now it is. I expected to walk home, but this is much better. 'Oh yeah, forgot.' I say I grin slightly.
Rafe reaches into his pocket for his house key. He gives them to me. I open the front door using the keys. As we enter his house, he looks up the stairs, frightened. Then he looks at me, and I sigh. 'I'm not helping you anymore, I did enough. Get someone else to do it.' I say. He groans, 'You know my parents get mad when they see me like this. I just need help getting me upstairs and to my room.' He says. I raise my eyebrows, waiting for him to say a word. 'Please?' He begs. I smirk. 'Fine.'
When we finally reach upstairs, we walk into his room. He slowly sits on the bed. 'Thanks for helping me.' He mumbles, rubbing in his eyes. 'You should go to sleep.' I suggest. 'Yeah, I probably should.' He says awkwardly. 'Goodbye Rafe.' I say as I walk out of his room. When I close his door, I see Sarah going up the stairs. I'm glad she doesn't notice me, and I want to keep it that way.
I quickly go inside Rafe's room again. Rafe gives me a look of confusion. 'You said you were–' I shush him. We both hear footsteps walking past his room. 'What was that about?' He questions. 'It was Sarah.' I explain. 'So?' 'She hates me, remember? I don't want a dirty look from her or another argument.' I say. He nods slowly. 'I'm leaving, bye.' I say, walking out of his room again. 'Bye.' He mumbles. I leave his house and get in his car. After turning on the engine, I drive away towards my house.
As I step out of the car, closing the door behind me, I look at the sky above my modest house. The sky is breathtaking— no clouds, just a pure, vivid blue. I enter my house and walk to my bedroom, where I grab my Diary. Grasping my pen, I lie down on my bed. I write about my day.
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My doorbell rings, must be Rafe. I open my door, it's Sarah. 'I'm here to pick up the car.' She states. 'I thought Rafe was going to pick up th–' Sarah cuts me off. 'Does it matter?' She says. 'No. I'll grab the car keys.' I say, and I walk to the kitchen. I return to Sarah after grabbing the car keys from the counter. 'Here.' I hand the keys over to Sarah. She doesn't say anything and walks to the car. 'Sarah, wait.'
'I don't want to hear it, Valerie.' She says. 'I'm sorry. Please let me explain.' She sighs as she opens the car door. "I said I don't want to hear it," she replies, then gets in the car. She glances at me while closing her door. She drives off. I stand there, watching as the car drives away. I take a deep breath, my mind racing with thoughts and emotions. After grabbing my house keys, I head out the door.
As I lay on the beach, I heard a familiar voice. When I look to the side, I notice Rafe and his friends. I sigh and roll my eyes. I guess it's time to leave. I get up, pick up my flip-flops, and walk towards my bike. 'Valerie, is that you?' I hear. I turn around and see Kelce waving at me from a distance. I wave back. 'Want to join us?' He says when they walk up to me. I quickly look at the volleyball he's holding. 'Another time.' I respond. 'C'mon baby.' Rafe says in a hoarse voice. His hair is dripping wet, and his shirt is off, exposing his six-pack and large muscles.
I glance back at his face and notice that he is grinning. 'Like what you see, love? It's all yours, don't worry.' He says. I'm speechless by his words. 'Oh, shut up.' I reply with a chuckle a few seconds later. 'Okay, you two love birds can stop now. You playing or not?' Kelce asks. I tilt my head to the right, I take a moment to think. 'I'll play.' I say. 'Good.' Rafe says.
We make two teams, with three people on each team. I'm in a team with Rafe and Hayes. I don't know Hayes very well, but he is damn handsome. Rafe begins the match with an overhand serve. As Rafe's overhand serve starts the game, I position myself for the return, while Hayes readies for any possible rebounds. The ball swiftly crosses the net, and I perform a precise pass to Hayes. He sends the ball flying over the net, catching our opponents off guard.
As the match progresses, we find ourselves in a closely challenged battle, each team competing for the lead. The tension builds with each rally. 'They need one more point, and so do we. We have to win this, alright?' Hayes says. Me and Rafe both nod.
Rafe smashes the ball over the net. As the volleyball glides over the net, seemingly out of reach, Kelce sprints towards it. Realizing a straightforward leap wouldn't cut it, he dives toward the ball. Instead of the ball dropping to the ground, the ball rose gracefully.
With a fast jump, Caden throws a smashing spike, sending the volleyball toward our side. As the ball lands on our team's court, they cheer. Rafe runs a hand over his hair. 'We did our best.' Hayes says. 'Yeah.' Rafe responds. 'Good game.' Kelce says. I nod. 'That dive was impressive, by the way.' I compliment Kelce. 'Thanks.'
'I should go home.' I state. After saying goodbye to everyone, I cycle home.
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Do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters?
Thank you all for reading this story, I'm honestly honored.
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