'Safe with Rafe' Y/N x Rafe Cameron

Chapter CXXIII

(A/N: Alright yall, Imma be transparent and say I've been cheating on my man Rafe with Eric Coulter. I know, I know, How could I? So! Let's finish this book! Let me know your ideas for endings if you have any! I'll take them all into consideration! Much love to you, my fellow obx heads!)

Rafe took you by the hand and guided you inside, dripping and all.
"Oh noo, not the floor boards." Pope sighs as you create a puddle from where you stand.
"What the hell happened?" Jj asks rather plainly as he looks you up and down. He was sat on a single arm chair, slouched lazily but he still came off as intimidating. To you, at least.
"You know how the old pier is, it finally caved in, I guess." You awkwardly laugh.
You shuffle your feet on the spot as you stare down at the water dripping below. Rafe had left to frantically look around for a few towels so you were left waiting in the living room, silence loomed over its entirety which was uncomfortable enough; but on top of that, you could still feel Jj's stare burning holes into your figure.
"Here." Finally, Rafe returns and wraps one towel around your shoulders, making you smile up at him. Grateful for his kind gesture but also mostly grateful to have interrupted the silence.

Even though Rafe seemed completely oblivious, you knew what everybody was thinking. They were thinking about how loose of a canon Rafe can be, the way he lost it earlier could probably pose as a problem to the pogues. After all, it was the Rafe they warned you about from the start, you can see how they'd be worried. Even you, found yourself shrinking in front of him but they don't know him like you do. You know that he wouldn't hurt you, nor your friends and yet, the air around you felt doubtful...similar to the look in Jj's eyes and similar to the hint in Popes voice as he spoke.

Maybe love really is blinding.

"Are we...good?..."
You look up towards Pope as he sit at the kitchen counter but your head stays low.
"Yeah, we're good." You smile.
Pope smiles back but quickly averts his eyes to his fiddling hand as he twirls a pen between his fingers.
Jj stayed mostly quiet but his glare did all the speaking for him, he was angry. It radiated off of him so strongly that you were sure that Rafe could sense it too after he had just paused behind you, hands on your shoulders and quietly watching the room as he stalked dangerously close against you.
"Let's go get changed." Rafe finally says.
You only nod and his hands begin to turn your body towards the hallway.

After reaching John B's bedroom, he closes the door gently. You didn't take notice of it at first but he was hesitant to face you for a moment as he leant his forehead against the back of the door, sighing.
"That was kind of a refreshing dip if I'm being honest." You say with a giggle as you stand back towards Rafe. He doesn't answer, so you resume to dry yourself with the towel around your shoulders. You wipe at your face first before pulling it off of you completely.
"I feel a little slimy but I guess it could be worse." You laugh again as you turn towards Rafe. Your smile quickly faltered when you saw how exhausted he was.
"Rafe..."
He quickly turns around to face you at last, a smile forced upon his face that didn't quite match his eyes. His eyes looked empty and dark.
"Yep?" He says, pressing his lips together tightly as he waits for a response. A lowly one for sure, becoming self aware at the scene he had caused just earlier.
"Rafe, I know you don't want to talk about it right now but..."
"We have to." He finishes your sentence with a downwards sigh, "I know."
"We just...can't live like this." You mutter, stepping towards him cautiously. His fidgety stance says that he wants to turn away, but he forces himself to stay put. Even if he decided that now really wasn't the time or he had enough of the Kelce talk for one morning, you were practically backing him into the wall by now, so he had no choice but to heed your words anyways.
"I don't know how to fix it without hurting you in the process." He mumbles.
"You could never hurt me, Rafe."
"I just..."
"Go on."
"I don't want to leave you." He says as he shakes his head, "I don't want to go a minute parted from you and if Kelce gets locked up, which he will because Shoupe is on our side, that means he can press charges against me too."
His voice was calm and husky, but his face was dejected.
"Oh, Rafe..." You sigh, leaning your head against his chest. He doesn't quite wrap his arms around you, but his spiritless hands rest on your hips, letting you use his body as comfort.

His heart beat was surprising slow and faint.
Was his heart rate always this steady?
It confused you how calm he was in the moment, given the topic at hand and the loss of options. When it came down to it, you were both doomed; and although that should scare him, he was so, very, unconcerned.

His chest rises beneath your head, feeling him take a deep and staggered breath before quietly speaking with a tone you weren't used to. It almost went unheard if it hadn't echoed through his chest.
"I think we should kill them all."

You feel yourself freeze.
Your eyes widen and your breathing comes to a halt.
Not a single word could manage to leave your throat, not like you could bring yourself to string a thought together anyways after something like that.
He notices your chest pause against his.
"You don't even have to lift a finger. I'll handle it." He says again, "My dad already pays off Shoupe, he can help me sweep it under the rug and then we'll be safe, you'll be safe. We can be happy, Y/N."
His hands on your hips, tighten.