Last Summer

River

"Oh shit!"

"Fight!"

"Topper and John B!"

I turned my head at the shouts and saw Topper and a brown haired boy fighting. Rafe instantly pulled his arm off my shoulder and rushed over to the front of the fight.

"River, we should leave." Harper grabbed my arm as I went to follow the Kook King.

"Hold on, I wanna see what's happening." I replied and jogged towards the commotion.

The sight I saw turned my stomach. Topper had the other guy's head under the water.

"He's going to kill him." I stepped forward two steps before I felt strong arms around my waist, pulling me back.

"Absolutely not, are you crazy?" He said sternly into my ear and pulled me back into the crowd.

"You have to stop him!" I protested and pushed myself from his grip.

"Let them fight it out, a little fight never hurt anybody." He joked.

We heard shouting and turned back to the two boys.

"Yeah, you know what that is." JJ had a gun pressed to the back of Topper's head.

"Holy fucking shit." My mouth gaped open and the crowd began screaming and running.

Rafe took a step forward, I grabbed his forearm and shook my head, "No, Rafe."

There was protest written all over his face, but he let me pull back up to the car. Two gun shots went off, following JJ's screams.

Rafe sat me in the passenger side of his car, while he stood outside, looking down the beach.

"Are you okay?" He leaned down and asked, his face returning to that serious look that made me nervous.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" I replied.

"I'm cool. Do you want me to take you home?" His eyes seemed upset, but I didn't understand why.

"Hey," I touched his face softly, but he pulled away from my touch, "Rafe." I said again.

He stepped away from the car, closing the passenger door and getting into the driver's seat.

"Rafe. What's wrong?" I tried again, the car getting dark as he reversed out of the parking spot.

"There's nothing wrong, River. Stop asking." His tone had turned harsh and cold.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I asked again, frustration filling me.

"River, today was fun and all but this will never work." He said, finally. He didn't pull his eyes off the road.

"What wh-?" I stammered.

"I don't date, River. I just fuck around and move on. I dropped out of fucking college. I get too fucking high sometimes. This won't work."

Rafe's words hit me like a truck.

"It's been one date. How are you so sure we won't work out?" I questioned, my heart sinking in my chest.

"I'm sorry." He pulled into my driveway. I know my emotions were very clearly on my face.

"Okay." I scoffed. I looked over at him, tears trying their hardest to fall but I won't let them.

He met my eyes, his face harsh. His eyes softened once they met mine.

"I just wish you would've told me this before today." I said before pushing open the door to his car and stomping up to the big white house.

This is why I don't fucking date, I thought to myself as I walked through the door.

My mother and sister were sitting on the couch, their faces stained with tears.

"River Lynn Maxwell, do you have any idea how worried I have been?" My mother began, standing up from the couch, coming towards me.

"Do you also not know how to answer your goddamn phone?" My sister interjected.

"What?" I looked at them, confused. They knew about my date with Rafe.

"There was a shooting at the Boneyard, River. People reported gunshots. Harper told me that you stayed. We both called you and your phone went straight to voicemail. Where the hell were you?" My mother raised her voice, coming towards me slightly. Her hair was messily curled and mascara lined her under eyes.

"I did stay, I was with Rafe, his friend got into a fight and he wanted to stay to make sure he was okay. Then some guy pulled out a gun. No one was shot." I said, calmly. I pressed my hands on all four of my pockets before realizing I must've lost my phone when Rafe and I were jumping around in the ocean. "As for my phone, I'm honestly not sure where it is. I must've left it at the beach."

My mother's face twists in disgust and she steps closer, "Don't you ever do that to me again, or I swear to god, you'll never see that boy or the Outer Banks again. Got it?"

I nodded my head softly, my heart aching for the second time tonight.

I rushed up to my bedroom as my mother called after me, continuing to beat a dead horse. My head began to hurt as it filled with questions.

Why did Rafe's attitude change so quickly?
Why did he say those things?
What happened to make him feel that way?
What did I do?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to stop the tears from making their way out of my now full eyelids.

"Fuck!" I screamed and kicked my dresser. Everything on it went crashing off. How did I let myself fall for him so quickly. I didn't even know him. My stomach turned thinking about how I could've been so starstruck with the Kook King himself, Rafe fucking Cameron.

Rafe fucking Cameron.