The Least Favorite Cameron

Chapter 21

Its been three days since the hearing. John B. was charged for the murder of Sheriff Peterkin and if convicted he could get the death penalty. At the hearing I had to sit in the courtroom and watch as my dad sat there a free man while John B. was in handcuffs. I refuse to stay in that house. I told my dad and Rafe that if either of them even came near me I'd call the police. I've been staying at John B's with JJ mostly. Kiara has been under tight watch with her parents and so has Pope. JJ keeps trying to think of ways to bust John B. out of jail and I can't stop him from trying.

"I think if I can get my cousin's ambulance I can bust him out," JJ says to Kie, Pope, and I. Sarah is basically on house arrest because dad and Rose won't let her come see me. The night of the storm she was with Topper, who I can't believe she is still dating, so It's been hard to catch her up to speed over short texts. Even her phone stays in the kitchen but when she can talk, it's only for short periods of time. Wheezie doesn't understand all the lies our father has created with Rafe, she doesn't understand why I'm not at home. I feel so isolated from my own family, I don't know what I'd do without the Pogues.

"No JJ! Just stop! We aren't gonna follow one of your dumb plans that gets us all thrown in jail!" Pope says back to JJ as he grows tired of the crazy ideas.

"You know what, I'm going off on my own then. If you guys won't help, I am going to get my buddy out of jail before someone kills him okay?" JJ says and marches down the porch steps.

"JJ wait!" I yell but he waves me off and hops on his bike without saying another word.

"Well now that JJ isn't here to yell at me about my Wheezie theory, I wanna try and talk to her," I say to them. Wheezie is the only other person who can admit that Rafe wasn't home the day he shot Peterkin. If I can talk to her and figure out a way to convince her of the truth she can help us save John B.

"If you think it will work, go for it. We don't have time to debate what will work and what won't," Kiara says.

"Pope have you figured anything out about the key for that creepy lady?" I ask him. The woman with evidence to clear John B's name needs this key thing that she thinks Pope's family has.

"No but I'll ask my dad about it today. I don't care if he thinks I'm nuts for asking about it. We have to exhaust all our options here," Pope says.

I leave Kiara and Pope to talk, things seem strange between the two of them and Kie gave me her phone again to text Wheezie.

"Wheezie?"

"Wheezie, it's Gracie, I need to talk to you,"

"Please answer me!"

"Wheezie!"

"Can we meet somewhere and talk?"

I send out several texts to her praying she'll answer over the next few hours. I was beginning to lose hope and then I hear the ping of Kiara's phone.

"Deech's Point 9 o'clock"

Pretty cryptic for Wheezie but Dad and Rose must be watching her phone too. There was a small flare of hope again inside me. Not that I thought a 13 year old's word would be enough to clear John B's name but it's enough to get them to look into Rafe and that's all we needed. I didn't want Rafe to go to jail. I wanted him to get help, and I would argue that he wasn't in the right state of mind that day. You could see it on his face, he was unhinged.

I tell the Pogues what the plan is and I also have Kie text JJ so that he knows as well. I was worried about him too, his plans don't always go well. When I get to Deech's Point, an old bait shop and docking area, I begin to lose hope that Wheezie will even show, it's about 9:15 now, and I wouldn't think she'd be late for this. Then I hear footsteps approaching and I hurry around the corner expecting to see my little sister looking very confused but instead I see my brother. My blood runs cold as he looks at me and I take several steps back.

"Rafe what the hell are you doing here? Where's Wheezie?" I say to him.

"I-uh I needed to talk to you so I borrowed her phone," He says. I'm an idiot for not confirming that I was talking to Wheezie.

"I don't have anything to say to you," I say.

"You see that's the thing. You turned your back on our family, on me! You were the only one I counted on and you just chose them. You chose your pogue boyfriend and your friends over your own brother!" He yelled back at me.

"I did not! Rafe, you shot Peterkin! And dad is letting you get away with it! You know you need help!" I say to him.

"Nah, you see I don't need help. There's nothing wrong with trying to keep what's mine and protecting my family!" He says and takes a few steps closer to me.

"The gold isn't yours! Rafe, you shot me! How is that protecting me?" I say to him and I try to push the tears back that are fighting to come through.

"I didn't mean to! I was aiming for John B, he was gonna shoot dad! It's not my fault that you got in the way! You shouldn't have even been there!" He spats at me. He looks hurt but also rageful; the glint in his eye is the same one I saw that day on the tarmac.

"Rafe, I can help you. We can testify that dad basically manipulated you and you were at a breaking point. You'll get real help and he'll pay for what he's done!" I was pleading with him now. I just wanted this to all be over.

"You don't understand Gracie, and I don't think you ever did. You don't care about us, you're against us. And I-I need to protect us. You understand? You're against us and I can't have that! You understand that Gracie?" Something in me tells me to run as his voice gets louder and more rageful and I run towards the bike I had brought from the Chateau. I have to climb over and maneuver through boxes and ropes but I'm not fast enough. Rafe grabs me and shoves me against a giant bin filled with water.

"Gracie, stop running!" He says to me and I grab at his jacket collar to try and keep myself from falling into the water but my feet are slipping on the wet wood of the dock.

"Rafe, it's me, it's Gracie, please!" I say to him my voice quivering with fear.

"You would let me fry in there, Gracie. You were the only person I cared about and now you would choose them over me!" He pushes me slightly and I pull onto his jacket harder as I lean even further over the water, my toes barely on the ground.

"Rafe please no! You're my brother and I love you!" I cry out to him and I see a tear fall down his cheek.

"Nah, you'd let me rot," And before I can say anything he pushes me hard and into the water. He's too strong to fight off and I have no leverage to get back up. I grasp at the sides of the bin and claw at his hands but it's useless. It's all useless. Within seconds, my lungs scream for air and then I feel myself being picked up again.

"I'm sorry Gracie," He says as he grasps my shoulders holding me out of the water slightly and I can't tell if the droplet falling down his cheek is another tear or water from the bin I was about to drown in.

"No please!" I say to him barely audibly through my coughs and gasps for air but then I'm plunged back into the water. My lungs and throat feel like they're on fire and I open my mouth and it fills with water. I feel my body getting weaker as my grasp loosens on the sides of the bin. My head feels fuzzy and I feel like I'm floating. I feel Rafe's arms release me but I have no fight left in me, there is nothing left for me to fight for. John B. was going to jail, and I was going to die right here at the hands of my brother. Maybe that was okay at this point, I wouldn't have to live through the hell I've been put through anymore. Rafe was once my favorite person but the years of pining for my father's approval and then the drug use have changed him. I didn't know him anymore. Suddenly, I feel someone pulling me out of the water and I collapse onto them. They then release me and I fall to the ground on the dock gasping for air and coughing up the water in my lungs. I turn to look at the person who pulled me out but my vision is still blurry and all I can see is Rafe lying on the ground and someone is hovering over him punching him repeatedly.

"Don't you ever fucking touch her again! You hear me Rafe? You ever touch her again and I will kill you! Stay the fuck away from MY familiy!"

It's not until I hear his voice and feel his arms pick me up that I know exactly who it is.