Chapter XCIX

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(Mentions of abuse.)

After pulling Rafe through the club and tripping up the front entrance stairs, you're hit with the cold brisk air of the night. Oddly thicker than the air back on the cut but that could probably be thanks to the buildings that replaced trees instead. That wasn't what bothered you though, what bothered you was that at this time of night, nowhere was open. There was nowhere to seek warmth, all there was to do was get home safely, tipsy and cold, that'd be enough.

Rafe was pretty quiet as you stay dragging him behind you, following back your steps that it took to get you there in the first place. Around a few buildings, a sharp turn here and there and finally, the docks came into view which was beautiful during the day but at night, it was eerie. The dark ships out in the distance floating upon the dark waters, it was unnerving to gaze at.

You sigh at his silence as your pace slows to a more relaxed speed.
"Rafe, you didn't have to do that."
He says nothing.
Your heart begins to ache as a cloud of guilt hangs low above your head, thinking maybe he blames himself for something that wasn't his to take the blame for. Just like every other instance before this one, blaming himself seemed to be a bad habit he picked up somewhere along the way from putting up with his father, the cruel cost of being just a boy.
"I shouldn't have entertained it..." You mumble softly, your voice shakes subtly but it was apparent as day to Rafe. "He was right to call me a bitch."
Finally, he's responsive.
Though he didn't speak at first, he stopped abruptly in his tracks which made you turn back at him with glassy eyes, making his own furrow sadly back at them.
"Don't say that." He says with the most gentle voice he could muster as he pulls you into his chest, wrapping his arms around your noticeably cold body, shivering against his.

You shivered but not because you were cold, you were glad he had pulled you into his body because that shivering was your heart breaking inside your chest, tears escaping the puddle that your eyes had become. It wasn't like you to get so emotional after a spur with a man, a man that meant less than dirt to you, at that; but you'd expect yourself to be immune to such things like this after Kelce, Zane and even Jj. You felt embarrassed as you strained your quivering breath under the weight of his arms trying to steady it again but you were so confused that it had you crying all the more.

Maybe it was the strange mixes of alcohol you had tonight or the unwelcoming excuse of a foreign town that you got all wrong since the very start but in any case, you felt like you could cry forever.

You're nothing but for men to take pleasure in.

Not even your best friend thinks of you as a human.

Nobody sees past your shell, nobody really cares.

Though these were nonsensical drunken thoughts, they had you uncontrollably pondering whether Rafe was one of them, second guessing your worth to him and if it was all the same, it would make sense. It would make sense because the worries you felt in regards to Heather would be set in stone and you would've been right all along, about everything.

You felt like you were spiralling into a dark abyss of self hatred, self loathing; but maybe you were onto something or perhaps the morning will bring a new light. Either way, you keep it to yourself out of fear of truly being right.

You feel his arms begin to loosen amidst your drunken thoughts but your arms only tighten, bringing him back towards you. "Please don't go."
"...I won't..." He says, positioning his arms back around your waist where they fit perfectly within the curve of your hips. He wanted to ask what had you so down but he had a feeling he already knew. It was all becoming too much for one softhearted girl to handle so he stay quiet, to only be there for you.
"I don't want you to see me cry." You giggle softly but it faded away again into quivering.
"Let it out, I won't look."
"I just want things to be okay, I'm trying to keep it together."
It hurt his heart to hear you open yourself up to him so vulnerably but to let you let it out, would be for the best, no matter how hard it was to bare.
"You don't always have to keep yourself together, you know." He says, "That's why I'm here, to pick you back up."

The reassuring love you felt in his words made your tears stop falling, in the simplest of ways,
they soothed your soul.

You pull away at last, wiping your damp cheeks with your finger tips as he does the same. He raises both his hands, bringing them up to caress your face and wiping at your tears as well, looking deeply into your eyes as he does.
"You ready to go home?" He asks so softly.
"Yeah." You smile tenderly at him, "Oh! The others!"
You had completely forgotten about the others, the alcohol in your system created a blurry haze over anything that happened in the past hour, it was almost impossible to comprehend the fact that Rafe had almost started a bar fight tonight, so leaving the others behind went easily overlooked.
"I'm sure Kie and Sarah saw what happened back there with all the fuss it caused." Rafe says.
"Still, I should make sure so I don't worry them. Plus, I left the drink that Jj got me."
"Pftt- You're not bringing that back home." Rafe chuckles with a shake of his head.
"Why not?"
"Who knows what's in it, especially by now."
"Hmm...I guess you're right."
"I'm sure that bartender added something special in that drink he was so insistent to give you anyways."
Rafe adds with a roll of his eyes, still puzzled at how unprofessional he was so careless to be for the sake of a girl and the chance at a one night stand.
"Yeah, it did taste bad." You say.
"Bad as in I should probably take you to a hospital or...?"
"No," You laugh, "Bad as in it was almost straight vodka and jäger, together."

Rafe thought back to what the friendly bartender had told him about Jerry's drinks.

"...she came in to see me at work one night but just  like everybody else, she fell for jerry."

"...can't blame him. He was always better than me in something, especially mixing drinks. His always seemed to get the girls going..."

He really felt for the poor bartender, losing his girlfriend to that dirtbag as easily as he could've lost you. After all, that was his plan.
If it wasn't clear before, it surely was now.
The reputation of being a ladies man bestowed upon him just like it was that he made drinks like a god creates flowers, limitless in his field and yet they were Venus fly traps in disguise because that's exactly what they were.

A trap, and you were his subject.

A love potion consisting of an overkill of alcohol and quite literally a blind date back at his place and from there, I'm sure you can guess what happens next.

As it started to unravel in Rafes mind what that man had planned for you, his blood began to boil and his eyes clouded with rage as if you hadn't already been through enough.

"Rafe?"

Your voice ran through his mind, pulling him out of the depth of his fury. He was always thankful for that, how easily and effortlessly you could tame his rough waters with as little as a single word.
"Hm? Sorry, I was...spaced out."
"Is everything okay?" You ask.
"Mhm."
"Okayyy..." You drone, not believing him in the slightest. "My phone is dead, I was just wondering if I could use yours to text Sarah. You have her number, don't you?"
"Of course I have her number, you goof." He laughs, "help yourself."
He flips his phone out of the back pocket of his pants, handing it over to you in exchange for a kiss which you gladly lean into because his lips always made you feel light on your feet, like you were walking on clouds and it was such a euphoric feeling, better than any drug could ever offer.

But with great happiness, comes great downfall just as well. Your smile fades and your fingers stop typing out your message to Sarah when a notification pops up.

Ding!
Heather

'Safe with Rafe' Y/N x Rafe CameronWhere stories live. Discover now