Rafe Cameron Blurbs

59

"hey," rafe greeted when you slipped into his room. you were quieter than usual. normally you rushed to him to tell him about your day, but something was off with you. he could tell from the moment he laid eyes on you.

"i'm gonna take a shower." when you mumbled that before sliding into the bathroom, he noticed the way you were hiding from him. your voice wasn't as happy as it was usually. it sounded like you were exhausted. but why were you hiding from him? you had had your fair share of rough days, but each one you'd spent in his arms as you told him what bothered you. you never hid from him. you were always your true authentic self. why were you hiding?

rafe couldn't take it any longer. he had to make sure you were at least okay before he could leave you alone. as quietly as he could, he got up from the bed and made his way to the closed bathroom door. leaning his head closer, he heard a sniffle followed by a hiss then a sigh.

"hey, can i come in?" the blond called out when his knuckles knocked against the wood.

"uh, i'm on my period," you lied on the spot, but you knew it wasn't enough. you had never cared about that with him before so why did you all of a sudden now? you knew he was going to see what happened eventually, but you wanted to wait until it had healed a bit and didn't seem as bad.

"yeah, come in," you sighed in defeat, casting your eyes down so you wouldn't have to look at him. rafe entered the room and in the bright lighting of the bathroom, he could see it all.

"who did this to you?" he asked as his fingers gently grasped your jaw to see your bruises in a better light, tilting your head in a way that was more visible for him. you slightly shook your head, not wanting to say it, but rafe forced your teary gaze to meet his by turning your head to him.

"hey, look at me. look at me. who did this to you?" he tried again after you didn't speak up, his worried blue eyes jumping between your own.

"i don't want you to fight back," you muttered, bottom lip trembling due to you trying to hold back your tears.

"is this because of me? someone hurt you because of me?" you could see the anger bubbling within him. "you can't ask me to do that, not when you were attacked by associating with me."

"please?" you begged but you knew it was a losing battle.

"i'll try, okay? that's all i can say until i know the full story. now, please tell me who did this," rafe now pleaded while he pushed some hair away from your face. you let your head look down again before you answered his repeated query.

"barry." you watched rafe's hand curl into a tight fist as he tried to keep his cool around you. "said he wanted to send you a message, not to mess with him ever again."

"why? i've been done with him for a while now and i moved away from outer banks to get away from all that. it wasn't supposed to follow me here." you finally looked up to see him pacing and running a stressed hand through his hair. you knew he had a bad life back in kildare county but here you met a completely different guy than the one he told you about. rafe had been nothing but good as long as you'd known him. he had grown a lot since those days back on the coast. "i- i- i have to go after him. i-"

"no," you called to him, reaching out to grab his hand. his eyes met yours as you watched that frantic nature leave him. you always brought him back down to earth. "stay with me, please?"

rafe let out a breath before nodding and stepping closer to you. "hey, i'm here. not going anywhere, i promise."