𝐧𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞- 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

18.

My eyes fluttered open, a headache pounding at my head straight away. I sat up, almost passing out right away. I felt dizzy. If this is what dying feels like, someone just kill me and get it over with. I inspected my arms, noticing the bruises on my shoulder caused by Rafe, the cuts on the back of my arm, and the finger prints of Ward's strong grip.

Sounds of screaming and yelling were coming from outside of the door. I crawled my way over, scared that if I stand up then I'd pass out again. I was in the wine cellar that was probably in the bottom of the basement. If that was the case, there was no way of getting out of here. There was no window and the door was locked from the outside. If I screamed, no one would hear me.

But two people were standing outside of the door, arguing over something. I could tell it was Ward and Rafe, so I kept my mouth shut. Was Rafe in on this now, too?

I pressed my ear against the door to get a better listen. They were yelling about Peterkin and Gavin, Rafe was obviously stressed out and I couldn't even see him.

"Sarah is fine." Ward assured.

Rafe stayed silent. For a moment I thought that maybe he had left, but then his voice came out lower and calmer than it was before. "What if I'm not okay?"

The tone of his voice shattered me to pieces. It's the lowest I've ever heard him. He never admitted that he wasn't okay. He put on a brave face and kept going throughout his day. He was insecure about himself, I could tell from that one question. He was drowning in his thoughts and none of us knew about it.

"You're okay." Ward convinced.

"I'm so angry. I have so many thoughts running through my head and I don't know how to control it. I'm afraid of what'll happen." Rafe stressed. "I hurt Atallia... I couldn't help it and she was scared."

"Man up. You're okay." Ward responded.

It made me furious that he did nothing about it. It made me think that everything was Ward's fault all along. Rafe shot Peterkin because he was saving his dad, but Ward twisted it around on him. From there on out, Ward controlled everything.

"Come on." Ward's voice was stern and controlling.

"I need to go find Atallia. I need to tell her about this. She could die." Rafe ignored him, thrusting his feelings into the back of his head.

He doesn't know I'm in here. He could help me.

"Rafe!" I screamed, pounding on the door. "Help!"

"What the fuck." He mumbled. "Atallia?"

"No. Let's go." Ward said.

"What did you do to her?" Rafe yelled.

"Help! Please!" I begged.

"She was going to turn you in." Ward lied.

"No! He's lying!" I gasped, slamming my hand against the door. "Please, Rafe! The Pogues- they're going to-"

"Shut up!" Ward slammed his fist against the outside of the door, scaring me enough to jump back.

"What the fuck did you do?" I couldn't tell if Rafe believed me or his father more, but he was still mad that I was locked in here. "Where's the key?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes! It fucking does!"

There was a loud crash and a groan. I hated that I couldn't see what was going on.

"Rafe?" I yelled, hoping for a respond.

"Where's the key?" Answered my question.

There was another thud, this time quieter than the crash. "Rafe!" Ward yelled.

"Give me the key. I swear to god, give me the fucking key." Rafe argued.

"I'm not going to fight you, son."

"I will. Let her out." Rafe waited.

A second later, there was another thud. I couldn't hear anything except the sound of someone standing up.

"Rafe?" I whispered.

The key jingled in the doorway and a second later it opened. A sigh of relief escaped our lips as I threw myself against the boy in front of me. His arms wrapped around my waist, holding me tightly against him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was scared and-" he stopped. "That's not an excuse. I was just stupid."

It was a relief to have him beside me again. I was angry at him for our argument, but having him in my arms against me made me feel comfortable and safe. The comfort didn't last long because I had to plop all the information I found right on top of him.

"The Pogues are going to turn you in. Something about a key and a recording that proves you're guilty." I rambled.

Rafe froze, breaking away from me. I spotted Ward on the ground, the objects on the desk scattered around him. "We'll figure it out."

"He threatened my family. He called me the other day." I informed. My phone. "Where's my bag?"

All my stuff is in there. If someone found it then I would definitely look suspicious.

I stood up, searching the room. My backpack was sitting on his chair. He must not of had time to hide it from anyone. I unzipped it, throwing everything aside. Everything was still in there including my phone and my keys.

"Your car was parked outside. He said you were here to find Sarah but walked down the beach to find her." Rafe said. "We'll find a place to stay then figure this all out. Okay?" Rafe asked, his hand placed on my shoulder. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

The cuts on the back of my arm were still noticeable, but the blood was dry from the drips. "I'm fine. This was from a party."

"A party?" He scolded. "What-"

"I'll explain later." I promised.

I fell into him, wrapping my arms around him again. It was weird to say that I've never been so happy to see him. He was shocked at first, but slowly wrapped his arms around me, too. He was warm, his fingertips brushing against my back.

"Let's get out of here."