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END OF JANEL'S POV
Outer Banks, Cameron's house July 9th, 2020 10:07am
I woke up, the feeling of a resting sleep making me feel energetic not even a second after my eyes were open. Then I took a quick shower and made sure to put on a polo which hid the marks on my body which the fight with these Pogues had left on my skin. When I was ready I rushed down the stairs, walking outside where I found my dad, reading the newspapers on a chair. I grabbed my motorbike's helmet, since I had told Topper I'd join him at the Wreck soon, but before I could walk away, my dad spoke up, catching my attention. "Hey Rafe, come here," he ordered.
"Dad I need to go, I'm sorry-" I began.
"I said come here!" he yelled at my face.
I knew how my dad acted when he was mad or anxious (or both) and the way he played with his wedding ring was not reassuring to me. I took a sit in front of him and crossed my arms over my chest, already annoyed. If he didn't have anything to reproach me, he always found a way to yell at me, and sometimes he forgot I was 19. I wasn't a child anymore, and having him on my back constantly really started to piss me off. "What's up? What did I do again, dad?" I sighed.
He brought his chair closer from mine keeping his eyes on my face. "Don't be like this Rafe. I just want to have a conversation with my son alright? Look- I know it's kind of complicated between us sometimes okay? I'm aware. But I need you, I need my boy to help me," he told me sternly.
"What the hell could you possibly need me for? You've got the whole island at your feet," I chuckled, which he didn't appreciate at all.
"You think it's fucking funny? I'm involved in some real bad shit Rafe okay?" he seethed, anger and panic dripping off his voice. "I did something that I regret- something really bad, and I know for a fact I'm about to get caught for it"
I frowned, not sure why he was being so dramatic and mysterious with me in this exact moment. "Yeah, well what did you do?" I asked, unbothered, because to be fully honest I didn't give a fuck about his speech and all I wanted to do was get on my bike and drive over at Top's to pick him up.
"I killed Big John Routledge," he announced, lowering his voice to make sure I'd be the only one hearing (even if I was the only one outside with him).
My face contorted as I tried to process the news. Ward Cameron was the most powerful man on the island, and he was never involved in some dirty business, since he wanted our family's name to stay clean. He always confronted me when I faced troubles because of the drugs but learning he had committed a murder turned my whole world upside down. I sat there, my mouth half-opened, feeling numb, absent and betrayed at the same time. I knew him better than that, or at least I thought so, how could he do this?
"Wh-" I was about to speak up but he cut me off.
"Rafe, look I know it looks like I'm a horrible person but I'm not. It was an accident, it all happened very fast, and I didn't mean to kill him okay? I pushed him, he hit his head and then it was too late, I couldn't save him," he began to explain, trying to diminish his murder. "I'm not a bad guy, Rafe okay? you need to understand this, it's very, very important"
