One morning Andy, a kook, wakes up and finds herself in a unfamiliar place. She finds herself entangled in a mystery, people are keeping things from her and she is determined to find out what. But what happens when she realizes that while uncovering...
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I exited the glass shower with a cape of steam radiating from me. I cleaned all the stray dirt that was clumped to my bruised skin. It's like the water washed away all my curiosities and doubts because the minutes of relaxation gave me time to ponder the situation I was in and what I was going to do about it.
I was refreshed with a new attitude, I was hopeful. Ward's kindness and word choices made me think that he was going to try to talk his way out of this which clued me in that, hopefully, the Camerons were not going to hurt me.
I was running a brush through my hair when my zen was ruined by an irritated knocking on the door. I jumped a little and rotated my gaze to look at the door, dreading who was behind it. I rolled my eyes as I heard Rafe's muffled growl, "Andy you've been in there for over an hour," then his volume increased as he commanded, "Hurry the fuck up!"
My face scrunched into a sour expression at his rude remark. The audacity he had was unmatched, especially given the fact he was the one that put himself in this situation. I vigorously wrapped my towel around my chest, holding it tight with my right hand, and stomped over to the door. I loudly forced the bathroom door open, just a crack, and looked up at him. He was hunching over the opening and looking down to face me with his forearm placed on the doorframe.
I took a shy step because I was a bit taken aback by how close we were. With nothing but a towel covering me, I felt vulnerable to his dominant stance. He rolled his eyes as he looked away from me for a second—in that flash I could feel the water droplets roll off my soaking hair and hear them collide with the stone floor. The air from the hallway was like a surge of coolness that I was unaware my skin craved, it was so refreshing. That wisk of fresh air soon was spoiled by the smell of Rafe's colon burning my nostrils, like I said we were mere inches from one another
That small moment passed and Rafe and I locked eyes once again. I huffed with annoyance and glared at him through my eyebrows as I opened my mouth to say a snarky comment but I bit my tongue. I refrained myself by masking my anger with a slight chuckle followed by a forced smile—it was obviously sarcastic but I doubt he noticed because he was too busy smirking at my previous, nervous reaction to him opening the door. "You know what? You're right, Rafe, I'm so sorry" I started, my face and tone riddled with bitterness
My one hand was holding my towel securely while I placed my other next to my head, gripping the slim and bumpy side of the door. To my fake apology, his shoulders lifted with a bit of arrogant confidence—oh if only he could read all the resentful thoughts flooding my head. "I am just so sorry that my presence here is such an inconvenience to you. If there only was anything you could have done to have prevented this situation? Oh wait..."
My positive tone faded as my sentence ended. Rafes' misled smirk curled into an irritated scowl and his posture was now hunched even further into the doorframe. An uncomfortable tension built in my chest as I scanned his face. His grim energy shifted as he thought of something perfect to say, something that would get under my skin.
He leaned more of his weight onto the frame of the door, his face getting closer to mine until we were basically at eye level. The knot in my stomach now was caught in my throat as I took an intense breath in. His tongue cockily rolled over his teeth—he was soaking up every minute of this conversation. "Well then," his deep voice was calm and unwavering, "I guess you have no one to blame but yourself"
I shifted my weight and readjusted my towel uncomfortably. I dreaded what he was about to say because the shift in his energy indicated to me that he thought of something really good to say. "Everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours, is because you let those pogues manipulate you"
This psycho was trying to gaslight me, trying to turn his actions onto myself. He was also doing it in a diminishing tone and talking to me like I was a child. "No" I said but I could not hide the quiver of doubt in my voice. Rafe noticed my hesitation and smiled at his success, so much so that he lifted himself from his relaxed stance and crossed his arms. I tried to take control back by saying it again with more confidence, "No" I reassured myself but that one sounded even more weak than the last
I was now staring at the floor, thinking about the harsh words that oozed from his lips. A cold shiver ran up my spine and an uncomfortable pressure rose in my chest as I realized I was starting to believe what this horrid boy was saying. My face remained stone still, like a stature, with my eyebrows knitted together with confusion but thoughts rattled through my brain.
What if he was right? The pogues had been lying to me through their teeth, the only one that gave me any sort of clue was JJ— and that is only because I caught him. Kiara just got mad when I questioned their suspicious behavior. Were they even coming for me? Did they even care?
A low chuckled rose from deep in his chest. Rafe now hovered his face close to mine once again, he was hunched down but his arms were still crossed. Instinctively, I pouted my face and reclined it away from his intruding presence. "Even deep down, you know I'm right" Rafe hissed
I hate him. It was like salt in the wound, every word he said burned into me like no other. They were seared into my brain because, even though I didn't want to admit it, I let his manipulation get to me. I was doubting the pogues but most of all, I doubted myself. I thought about the what-ifs. What if I didn't go to that bonfire? Well then I wouldn't have ended up at John B's and I never would have become friends with them. To add off of that, if i wasn't friends with them then I wouldn't be kidnapped by Rafe Cameron. Ugh fuck that guy. Why was he getting into my head so much?
My mouth slightly parted with irritability as his posture straightened and he turned around. I could still hear his snickers of victory as he slowly shut the bathroom door, "like I said" his voice was calm and steady, "hurry up"
My insides turned as I caught the slim hint of mockery in his voice and the closed smile unrolling onto his mouth. I shut my eyes as I heard the door snap into place and I perked my ears and prepared for the sound I was dreading. After a second of me straining my hearing, all I noted was the thump of Rafe's footsteps waning into the distance, each stomp getting softer with each passing second. Suddenly adrenaline washed over my whole body at the sudden realization—that I did not hear a click when he left.
