Good Days •Rafe Cameron•

Rafe Cameron Is An Asshole

     "This is bullshit!" Kiara storms into my room. She began to pace back and forth between my door and window.
    I roll on the right side of my bed as I prop my head up. "What's bullshit?" I asked, yawning from the nap I had just woken up from. My hair falls into my face as I lift my body off the bed.
"Shoupe arrested JJ!" Kiara exclaims, resting her hands on her hips. I furrow my brows together. "Who's Shoupe." I asked getting out of bed. I walk over to my closet.
"He's the the county police." She explains. "Why did he get arrested?" I asked, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Where the hell are my heels?" I mumble to myself as I pull items from my closet.
Kiara falls dramatically onto my bed. "Apparently, JJ and Pope sank Topper's boat. That's why he was so mad at the movie series." She explains.
"Found it!" I smile, brightly. "Why do you need heels?" Kiara asked, she hops off the bed.
I pull out a bright green metallic dress. "Anna thought it would be a good idea for me to meet some people my age, instead of hanging in the house all summer. So she's making me go to Midsummer's." I say.
Kiara rolls her eyes. "That is so like my mom. She's trying to turn you into a Kook Princess and show you off like some prize." She says.
"There's that word again!" I exclaim. "Kook. What even is that?" I asked. "One thing you need to know about this island is that it's divided into two team. Kooks live on Figure 8, while the Pogues live on The Cut." She explains. "Pogues are so much cooler than Kooks. They're loyal and real. Kooks only care about themselves."
I run my hands through my curls. "But you're a Kook." I state the obvious. Kiara immediately shakes her head. "I'm a Kook by birth. But a Pogue by choice." She smiles, proudly.
A knock on the door catches Kiara and mines attention. Anna taps her foot. "Kiara, I told you to get dress for Midsummer's an hour ago." She shoves a purple dress into Kie's arms.
"Mom, I don't want to go." She whines. "Both of you. Get dressed now." She demands, before storming out of my room.
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"This is disgusting." Kiara pouts at her reflection in the mirror. I sit at my vanity as I touch up my makeup.
"I know. It's just horrible." Anna says, sarcastically. "I'm asking you to relax and go to a fun party." She says.
"I look like a bourgeoisie pig." Kiara sighs. Anna comes up behind me resting her head on my shoulders. "You look just like your mother." She smiles.
"Really?" I turn my head to face her. "Honestly." She pinches my cheek. "And I have good news." She claps her hands. "I have someone who I would love to introduce you to." She says.
"Oh, Anna. You don't have to introduce me to anyone." I shake my head. "Beside, I'm only really coming for the free food." I smirk.
"Mom, people not three miles from here have no power, no running water, and we're going to Midsummer's. That's so tone-deaf." Kiara rants. "Do you know how hard we had to work to get into the Island Club?" Anna says. "Yeah, Mom. How could I forget? You had to grovel for, like, ten years." She rolls her eyes.
"Twelve!" Anna corrects, putting on her earrings. And we also had to cough up a big chunk of dough, and do you know why we did that?" She asked. "To keep up with the Joneses?" Kiara jokes.
"No. So you could have the experiences that I had as a child. Honey, do you know what the Island Club is?" She asked.
"A factory farm for debutantes" Kiara pouts. "It is a nice place, with nice people, where you can do fun stuff." She holds Kiara's face in her hands.
"With out-of-touch rich people, while the island sinks slowly into the ocean." Kiara snaps.
Anna rolls her eyes. "Phoebe, please don't listen to anything Kiara tells you." Anna says. "Sorry, too late." I smile.
"Okay, you two are going to be the death of me. Put on your party face if you want to live." Anna says, walking out of the room.
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         Anna and Mike greeted their friends and colleague as Kiara and I stood uncomfortably behind the two parents.
    My curls blew in the wind as I looked around at the members of the clubs. Everyone was dressed to impress. A variety of colors and pastels covered the experience fabrics and brands the Kooks wore.
     "There's Pope!" Kiara taps my shoulders. I look over the crowd of people. I spot Pope by the grill flipping burgers. A puff of smoke blowing in the wind as he opens the top.
    "Come on." Kiara says. She takes my hand and pulls me along with her. Pope doesn't notices us as his back is turned.
     "Excuse me, sir. Do we have to shuck these ourselves?" Kiara delivers in a terrible English accent.
   Pope let's out a dramatic sigh before turning around. He immediately smiles when he realizes it just his friend. "Cause it might mess up my costume." Kiara jokes.
    "We wouldn't want that now would we." Pope greets. The two friends do a quick handshake.
    "You guys are too cute." I say, crossing my arms over my chest. Kiara scrunches up her face. "Be, don't  ever say that again." She laughs.
   I look over at Pope. His smile immediately drops. "Sure thing, Kie." I put my hands up in surrender. Pope clears his throat. "So why are you here, Phoebe?" He asked, changing the subject. "Anna wants to introduce me to some people." I pull my lips into a thing line.
    "Can you believe my parents!" Kiara exclaims. "Dad is acting like his sister didn't just die. He barely cried at the funeral." Kiara sighs.
     My parents funeral was the worst day of my life. Anna cried the whole time. She lost a friend. Kiara sobbed in my arms. She lost an Aunt and Uncle. And me. I lost everything.
    "I just think Anna wants what's best for me." I rub Kiara's arm. "What's best for you is for you to drown yourself in a tub of ice cream." She says. "The tub of ice cream are for break ups, Kie." I smile.
     "What people is she introducing you to?" Pope asked. I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. She said they're some nice people." I say.
    "Phoebe!" I hear my name being called. I turn around. Anna and Mike are waving their arms for me to join them. I turn back to the Pogues. "Wish me luck." I say, clicking my tongue.
     I catch up with Mike and Anna. "You look beautiful, Be." Mike smiles. He takes my hand, guiding me through the crowd of people.
     We finally make it to a family of five. "Phoebe, I would like you to meet the Cameron's. Everyone this is my niece. She recently just moved in with us."Anna says.
    A proud father stands before his wife and kids. His dark brown hair was combed back. Next to him was his wife. She wore a huge crown on top of her head. Standing shyly besides her was a young girl. She looked to be about my height. Her big brown eyes hid behind her glasses. And next to here was a beautiful blonde girl. Her white dress made her look like the perfect bride.
   And finally, my eyes landed on the son. Rafe. I narrowed my eyes at him as he gave me a sly smirk. "Nice to meet you, Phoebe." The man says. He pulls out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Ward. This is my wife, Rose. My two lovely daughters, Louisa and Sarah." He points to the girls.
   "Everyone calls me Wheezie." The young girl corrects. "And right here is my son, Rafe." Ward says.
To everyone they looked like the picture perfect family. But to me; they appeared to be holding up a facade. I imagine what their house looked like. Was it the type of home were the mother stayed home all day, slowly becoming a Stepford Wife. Was the attic full of paper flowers so the children could distract themselves from their incestuous thoughts of each other. Did the father pretend to always be at work, but instead have another family he takes care of.
     "It's nice to meet you." I say, quietly. "You look about Rafe's age." Rose points out. Everyone nods in agreement.
     "You know what, Rafe." Ward says. "Why don't you take Phoebe out to the dance floor. You both can get to know each other." He demands. "That's a wonderful idea." Anna claps her hands.
    Rafe runs his hands through his hair. His once slicked back locks were now messy and falling into his eyes.
    "Sure, whatever." Rafe sighs. He holds out a hand for me to take. I stare at his hand for a moment, before interlocking my fingers with his.
     His hands devour my small palms. His skin is rough with callouses. We move to the center of the dance floor.
I rest my right hand on his shoulder. And my left hand stays interlocked with his right. He places his left hand in my waist before pulling me closer to his body.
He smells like cologne. The very expensive kind that beauty venders sell at the mall. I can feel his thumb rub my lower back as we begin to sway to the music.
Look After You by The Fray begins to play. "So you're Kiara's cousin?" Rafe asked with a sly smirk. I roll my eyes.
"Yup." I say. "And as her cousin I advise you stay away from her and her friends." I tilted my head looking up at him. Rafe laughs. "And if I don't?" He teased.
"I'm not joking. JJ went to jail because of you!" I snap. I try to pull away from his hold but his grip tightens on my waist. "Listen up!" Rafe says, he pulls his lips into a thin line. "Your Pogue friends are a menace to society. And I would advise you to stop hanging around them before you're stuck with them." He threaten.
"If you hang with me for the summer I can steer you in the right path." He offers. I blink my eyes several times.
"Why do you think my life needs to be steered?" I question. Rafe shrugs his shoulders. "Your parents must have sent you to live your Aunt and Uncle for a reason. What is it?" He asked. "Are you secretly knocked up? Did you get into some fights at school. I mean you gotta be a troubled teen." He said.
I finally pull out of his grip. "For the record, I am not a trouble teen. My parents were killed in an accident. Mike and Anna took me in. They're my family." I shouted.
A small crowd of people begin to look in our direction. Kiara suddenly come running over. "What did you say to her, Rafe?" Kie immediately takes my hand, pulling me away from the tall boy.
"Are you okay, Be?" She asked. I shake my head. "No." I feel myself begin to cry. "Rafe Cameron is an asshole."