Vapor

Five

"Skye, you okay?" John B asked as we rode on the HMS Pogue with the rest of the crew. "Yeah, I'm good." I lied. I had seen Rafe a few times since the big fight two weeks ago, and I couldn't stop thinking about him. John B sent me a smile and Sarah gave me a hug. "Why don't you, me and Wheezie have a sleepover tonight, since Kie is out of town with her parents. I looked at her like she was crazy. "Oh, Rafe won't be there. My dad kicked him out about a month ago." Sarah told me, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Then yeah that sounds fun." I smiled, and Sarah giggled as we pulled up to John B's house. She and I told the boys goodbye and we got in my car my mom had brought back with her, and headed to the Cameron home.

"Do you have any sixes?" Wheezie asked. "No, go fish." I smiled. "Do you hear that?" I asked, and we all went quiet. "Rafe, you fucked us!" I could hear someone yell. "Who is that?" I asked. "That's my dad, Ward. Who's yelling at Rafe. Why is he even here?" Sarah asked, and we all went downstairs. "No, don't walk away from me! I'm trying to have a real conversation with you!" Rafe yelled back, as Sarah, Wheezie and I watched from the doorway. Ward, went to swing at Rafe and he blocked it. Ward's eyes changed to a fury of rage the same look Rafe had in his eyes that night with JJ, Ward charged at Rafe, shoving him into a table of china dishes. I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. Rafe looked over to me, like a scared little kid, and turned back to Ward as he slapped Rafe hard across the face. Ward grabbed Rafe's collar and pulled him close. "Don't ever, talk to me like that again." Ward seethed, and shoved Rafe back onto the table. Rafe caught himself, but sliced his hand on a piece of broken glass. He winced and looked up, seeing Sarah and I were still there. "Rafe." I whispered and went to grab his arm as he walked past, but he pulled his arm away, and walked out the door. I looked from the door to Sarah. "Go." Sarah said softly, and I gave her a hug before running outside. "Rafe!" I called. "Fuck off, Skye." He said coldly, sitting on his bike. I walked up to him, and held my hands out. "What?" He sked. "Give me the fucking helmet so you can take me home." I said with the same tone. Rafe stared at me for a second before sighing and handing me the helmet. "What about your car?" He asked. "Don't worry about it, now shut up, and take me home." I said, and he sped off and I gripped his waist.

"Come on." I said, pulling Rafe into my house. My mom was still at work and my brother was at a friends, so it was just Rafe and I in my house. "Where are we going?" He asked. "To my bathroom so I can clean up your hand." I said, and sat him down on the edge of my bathtub. I grabbed my first aid kit, and got the rubbing alcohol. "This is gonna burn, but it'll keep the cut from getting infected." I warned him. "I know what alcohol does." Rafe snapped. "Okay." I sighed, and poured the liquid over the cut. "Ow! What the fuck!" Rafe yelped. "Sorry." I said softly, as Rafe let out a breath. We were silent as I finished cleaning the cut, and I put a bandage on it. "Thanks.." Rafe said softly. "it's nothing." I said, and he followed me out to the dock. "Can I ask you something?" I said, turning to Rafe. "You just did." He joked. "I'm serious." I told him, and he nodded for me to continue. "Why do you do drugs?" I asked. Rafe took a deep breath. "To forget. What happened today, if you weren't there I was going to go to my dealer's to get more coke." Rafe admitted. "Why do you care?" He asked. "My dad's addicted to drugs. He's addicted to coke. And when he's on it, he's very violent. He refused to go to rehab, so my mom packed her things, I packed mine, and my brother packed his, and we left." I explained. "I'm sorry." Rafe said softly. "You're a lot like my dad when you're high." I admitted, and Rafe tensed up. "But, I didn't see the dickhead side of you today. I saw a scared little kid, who just wanted his dad to listen." I said, and Rafe turned to look at me, and I gave a sad smile. He nodded, and faced the water again. "How long has your dad been like that?" I asked. "A while. Since I was 15 I guess." Rafe said, his voice breaking on the last word. "Rafe.." I sighed. He refused to look at me. I held his face in my hands, and he fought to pull away. "Rafe, stop." I whispered, as he continued to try and get out of my grip. "Rafe look at me." I said softly, and he finally faced me. His eyes were filled with tears, and his bottom lip trembled. "I don't know how to control it..I keep having these thoughts, and i'm scared that they're going to get out of control and I....God, I'm fucking pathetic." Rafe cut himself off, and ripped away from my touch, standing up, with his back to me. "You suck, man up, man up." He mumbled to himself. "Who told you that?" I asked. I got no response. "Did your dad tell you that?" I asked, standing in front of him. He had his hand covering his face, and I pulled them away. The tears that were in his eyes a moment ago, had now fallen onto his face as he looked down at me. I once again placed my hands on the sides of his face. "It's okay Rafe." I whispered. "You don't have to man up around me. Not when it comes to this." I stood on my tippy toes, and kissed him softly. I could feel his lip tremble through the kiss, and I pulled away to look at him. His whole body was shaking. "Hey, hey it's okay." I said quickly wrapping my arms around him as he broke down into sobs. "I'm sorry, about everything." He cried. "I forgive you Rafe. It's okay. Shh, It's okay." I tried to sooth him. He cries calmed a few moments later, and bent my knees to see his face. "Do you want to go inside?" I asked, and he nodded, as we walked back to my house, and laid on the couch. Rafe laid with his head on my belly, and I ran my fingers through his hair. "Want to watcha movie?" I asked after a moment, and he nodded. I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on Netflix, and we settled on Grown ups. through the beginning of the movie, I would occasionally hear Rafe chuckle, but it soon turned quiet as he fell asleep, Sarah texted me saying she was on her way with my car, and I replied with a thumbs up before sitting my phone on the table next to me.

The door slung open as the movie was ending, and Rafe jumped in his sleep. "Shut up Sarah!" I said, and she whispered an apology. She walked over to the couch and froze. "Close your mouth, you're going to catch flies. I giggled. "What did you do to him?" She whispered. "I shoed him that someone cares." I told her, and Sarah smiled. "I've never seen him look this peaceful." She said, and pulled out her phone. "Act like you're asleep." She giggled as I closed my eyes, and she snapped the picture. "I sent it to you." She told me, and sat in the chair next to the couch. "I'm putting on twilight." She giggled, and I shrugged, whatever, I love that movie, and he doesn't really have much of a say." I giggled, and eventually, Sarah and I both fell asleep in my living room.