JJ's biggest flaw was his recklessness, and his bad ideas. Honestly, that didn't seem that bad to Bexley.
Rafe's biggest flaw? Jealousy. Pure, uncontrolled jealousy.
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tw: abuse, parental abuse, manipulate, triggering language (Rafe bringing up dark topics)
What a long, long day it'd been.
And it was only one o'clock.
Bexley's face was tear stained, but neither of the boys seemed to care. Topper drove his truck, Rafe sat in the passenger seat. Bexley sat in the back by herself. Her suitcase was next to her, as was Rafe's. In them was everything they'd need for their life at the Cameron house.
Because that's where they were going to live now, apparently. The Cameron's.
Rafe packed their stuff into the car as soon as Shoupe left. He didn't even ask for permission. It's what finally got her out of her mother's room. Bexley had screamed at Rafe, and insisted she wasn't leaving. This was her home, she wanted to stay. But it fell on deaf ears. Topper was the one person left to defend her, and he agreed with Rafe.
"It's too dangerous here," Topper had told her. "You'll have more fun living with Wheezie anyway."
Bexley cried when they left. Because she knew Madelyn's house would never be her home again. They had one chance to live there again, and it was ruined.
She stared out the window, silent as they drove towards Figure Eight. Something glinted in the sun, catching her eye. It came from under the driver's seat. Bexley recognized the wax pen. She recognized anything that got someone high, because Rafe made her so paranoid of them. She shut her eyes, frustrated. She knew Rafe must've taken a few hits off the wax pen. Definitely before he starting shooting at JJ. He probably took some before she got in the car this time too.
He must've been high when he came in firing that gun, Bexley realized. That must have been why he screamed at her so loudly and angrily while she was already so scared and vulnerable.
Rafe wasn't the one who broke into her house. But for some reason, he was the one she was angry at. She was the one that had made her more scared. He was always screaming at her, wasn't he? He was always scaring her. That was the main reason she was even in Topper's car right now, driving somewhere she didn't want to go. Because she was scared of what Rafe would do if she refused to.
If she had flat out refused to get in the car and leave, what would he have done?
A pit formed in her stomach as she recalled the night he locked her in a bathroom. Goosebumps formed on her skin just remembering how much he had terrified her that night.
He actually...terrified her a lot. Even now, sitting in the back of car, she was scared. Because he still looked so angry. She was scared he'd turn around and lash out at her. Topper used to be able to calm him down, but he couldn't anymore. Nothing calmed Rafe down these days.
The fear in her chest sent JJ's words back in her mind. 'John B's house. Eleven o'clock.'
Bexley knew things were going bad with her and Rafe. Because she started getting this irrational fear that he could read her mind. She tried to censor what she was thinking.
