Petty Love | Rafe Cameron, JJ Maybank

CHAPTER 2

I'm genuinely convinced I'm living in hell on earth. This dinner with the Camerons keeps getting worse and worse, and when I think that it can't get worse it does. Let me give you a recap. As soon as I step foot into Cameron's household Rafe wants to pick a fight. As soon as I can do my business another one pops up and I have to lie to her. Then as soon as I leave the bathroom there are no more seats where I can be as far away from Rafe as I possibly can. In other words, I have to sit right beside him. I mean the table is fairly large and we have a bit of space from each other but I still have to sit near him. I feel like I'm suffocating on his toxic masculinity. 

I'm currently trying to hold my resolve as I am poking at the food on my plate. I'm not hungry in all honesty. I only came to make Aunt Kate satisfied. I don't know if it worked though but I'll assume so since she is talking with Rose about who knows what, not to mention she's not sending me looks like how she was at the store earlier when I was talking with Sarah.

Rafe seemed to not take part in any conversation and was focused on eating as much as he could. It's like he thinks all the food will disappear if he doesn't eat right then and there. He was inhaling everything on his plate. Maybe it's a way for him to be able to stay out of the conversation. I continued to poke at my food until Rose brought me into the conversation.

"Ivory, aren't you going to eat? If you're worrying about your figure no need, I'm sure you'll be just fine eating a full meal. You've already got a perfect body." I squirmed in my seat, uncomfortable with how everyone seemed to give me their full attention. Well everyone except Rafe but I'm glad he didn't, I don't need his sympathy or whatever other emotions he seems to be capable of. I just looked around, an uneasy smile plastered on my face. Sarah threw me a sympathetic look. She's too far to give me one of those loving touches or whatever, and I'm glad she is. I have been here no more than an hour and the Cameron family has already made me want to rinse off every part of my body in bleach, cut off someone's arm, and tape Rose's mouth shut. Not a good start as you can tell. I wish this weird dinner would just end. 

"Ivory, honey, you look great already," Ward spoke. Rose hummed in agreement, as Aunt Kate was too busy eating out of her fruit bowl to notice the topic of the conversation.

"Doesn't she, Rafe?" Ward placed his arms on the table and folded his hands as he smiled brightly at his son, who seemed surprised to even hear his name being mentioned let alone being dragged into the conversation entirely. He raised an eyebrow towards Ward as if to discreetly tell his father off.

"Huh?" he mustered afterward.

He looks up from the plate in front of him and is met with Ward's demanding glaze. Like he's telling Rafe that he has to compliment me. I don't even want it. I never asked for any of this. Rafe wasn't even trying to hide his frustrated expression. He suddenly tensed up, I could practically feel it radiating off of him. Rafe pressed his tongue to his cheek, unable to look at anyone at the dinner table. He kept his eyes on his plate, that's almost completely cleared. He finally spoke the words that his father wanted to hear. He spoke so low that I almost wasn't able to hear what he said.

"You look...great" he spoke, the forced complement left images of all the different ways she could stab Rafe with the steak knife that sat beside her plate. Turmoil brews between the two "men" as everyone continues through the dinner. Rafe hasn't spoken to me, or anyone really, after the fake compliment. She actually couldn't tell if it was fake or just forced, especially since he had given her a backhanded compliment in the hallway earlier. 

"Thank you, Rafe" I murmured, he looked at me before sending me a glare and I gave him one back. We keep doing that for what seems like forever. His eyes never faltered and never left mine. Even though it felt like forever, he stopped before everyone noticed, but it didn't end with death threats through stares. The looks he gave made my blood boil. He doesn't get to act like I did something wrong. I didn't do shit to him. I'm forced to be here just as much as he is.