Good Days •Rafe Cameron•

I Hate Him

I felt dirty. Physically and emotionally. The morning sun burned my skin as tread carefully back to the Château.
As I rounded the corner; I noticed the Twinkie sitting in the front lawn of the house. The windshield was cracked. I slowly approached the van, leaning into the drivers side to see if the keys were in it.
But inside there was nothing but, damp carpet and tons of trash from fast food restaurants and to go bags from The Wreck.
"Phoebe! Where have you been?" The sudden sound of John B's voice broke me out of my thoughts.
"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed. I jumped up and down with joy as the tall Pogue ran into me and embraced me with a hug.
"Did JJ really do it?" I asked. "Did he really break you out of jail?" I smiled. Pope, JJ, and Kiara quickly followed behind, joining us.
"Why didn't you guys call me?" I wondered. "He just got here." Kiara smiled. "And to answer your question, Be." JJ says. "No, I did not break him out of jail." He said.
I furrowed my brows looking at the Pogues for an explanation. "Then how are...." I trailed off. "He's free." Pope speaks up.
I look to John B for reassurance. He nods before pulling his lips into a huge smile. He became very giddy as he embraced me into another hug. "They dropped the charges, Be." He says. I can feel his body relax as the weight has finally been lifted off of his shoulders.
I pull away to look at him. "I'm glad you're okay." I whispered, putting my hand on his cheek and caressing it softly.
"I guess you really convinced Rafe to turn himself in." Kiara smiles. I shake my head. "Umm...no. Actually, I didn't. I never found him last night. I ran into Barry instead." I explained.
"Okay, well did you talk to him about convincing Rafe?" Pope asked. "We never really got the chance to." I say softly, suddenly avoiding eye contact with the Pogues.
"Then what happened?" JJ asked, impatiently. I ran my hands through my messy locs, suddenly becoming very embarrassed.
"He kissed me." I quickly say, wanting to get it over with. "Ewww! What?" Kie, exclaimed. Her face scrunches up like it usually did when she was disgusted or annoyed.
"It meant nothing. Okay. To me at least." I say, trying to convince the Pogues. "Barry just confessed his feeling for me and he thought for some reason I felt the same. Which I don't." I say. "So we never talked about Rafe. And I don't know why they let John B out. Maybe the police just came to their senses." I say, looking at the four teens.
No one says anything for a while, until John B breaks the silence. "Where's Sarah?" He asked. Heading towards the dock behind the Chateau.
"She went to go meet Wheezie last night. She didn't come back." Kiara explained.
"Maybe we should call her. See if she's alright." I suggested. "I've been calling her all morning. No answer." Kie says.
The five us walk to the dock in hopes that maybe Sarah might come back when she's ready.
"So Sarah just dips and doesn't call?" John B asked. Leaning on the dock railing. "Yeah, man. She just left her bag. Didn't tell anybody." Pope says, looking back at his friend. His eyes are covered with a old pair of sunglasses.
"Okay, dude, I-I really think Ward got to her." John B starts. "I mean, the dude tried to have me killed in jail!" John B shouts.
"What?!" The four of us say in unison. "Yeah." John B nods. "He sent somebody to the prison who yoked me up and almost killed me." John B exclaimed.
"You serious?" Kiara asked, still in disbelief. "Yes!" John B, nods. "Do we know who this dude was?" JJ asked. "No, I have no idea. Dude, I just swear to God, one day I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." John B said, sitting down, letting his feet hang above the water.
"Well, we wouldn't want that, cause then you'd be back in jail." I smiled cheekily at the Pogue. John B rolls his eyes. "It's not funny, Be. I'm serious." He sighs.
"It's okay." Kiara reassured her friend. "No Kie, it's not okay. We gotta find Sarah." John B, demands.
"No, literally, it's okay. She's right there." Kiara says, pointing to a boat that slowly approached the dock.
"John B?" Sarah called out. "What the hell is she doing with Topper?" Kiara asked, as she noticed Topper driving the boat. I shrugged my shoulders.
The five of us stood up from the dock as we waited for Sarah. She quickly jumped off onto the dock.
"Hey!" She smiled, pulling John B into a massive hug. John B wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. The two of them swayed together, holding the hug for a few moments.
"Oh, my God. I'm so glad you're okay. Hi." John B hummed. "I didn't know if I would see you again. What happened?" Sarah asked, pulling away.
"Uh, they dropped all the charges." John B smiled. Sarah smiled too, as she took in the good news. "What?" She laughed with disbeliefs "Yup. I'm a free man." John B, says. "That's amazing!" Sarah smiled, pulling him into yet another embraced hug.
Topper watched as the happy couple held each other. His frosted tips glowed in the morning sunlight as he gripped the side of his boat with jealousy.
"But listen, Sarah, they're coming after Rafe." John B, spoke.
My body slowly becomes tense as I suddenly realize what this means. John B out of jail means that Rafe is next. And if the police haven't found him yet; it could only mean he's hiding out somewhere no one would find him.
I can feel Kiara looking at me. It was like she was waiting for me to react or cry. But I couldn't react. Not now at least. I need to be here for Sarah. To help her deal with the fact that her brother is going to jail.
"Good. He's completely unhinged." Sarah sighs. "He jumped me last night." She says quietly, but loud enough for all of us to hear.
"What?" Kia gasped. "Oh, my God." I exclaimed. "That's why I didn't come back." Sarah says.
"Yeah, man. Rafe has lost his mind. Literally almost drowned his own sister. Thankfully, I got there just in time." Topper explains.
Sarah nods. "Yeah, he did." She smiles, softly. "Uh, well, I guess I owe you one, Topper, don't I?" John B grimaced at Topper.
Topper scoffs. "It's all good. I mean, somebody had to rescue your girlfriend, right?" He says, mockingly.
"Uh, that's funny because she's not my girlfriend, right?" John B smiles at Sarah. Topper laughs. Well then, what is she then?" He asked.
"Tell him." John B gestures his hand towards Sarah allowing her to tell Topper the news. Sarah looks away shyly at the dock floor then back to Topper. She hesitates.
"I'm-I'm with him." She stuttered, with embarrassment. "Gotcha!" Topper laughs. "You're with him. Okay, yeah." He says.
Kiara and I look at each other knowingly. I pull my lips into a thin line as she shrugs her shoulders. I silently mouth the word: Embarrassing to Kiara. She nods her head in agreement.
"Thanks for the clarity there." Topper continues. "Are you guys clear on that?" He asked, pointing to Pope and JJ.
"I think it's clear you gotta go now." JJ demands. "Yeah." Pope agrees. "It's about that time." He adds.
"Topper." Sarah speaks up. She walks back up to the boat, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you." She says. "Yeah, of course. I'm glad you're okay." He smiles, hugging her tightly and rubbing his hands on her back.
The two of them pull away before he drives away from the dock leaving the six of us.
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I sat quietly alone at the dock allowing my feet to hang above the water. My bare feet would occasionally allow my toes to graze the warm water. The sun sat high in the sky as I watch a flock of birds glide along the marsh waters searching for fish.
"You do realize that we've become the fifth wheel of the group." The sound of JJ's voice breaks me out of my thoughts.
He join me; taking a seat next to me on the dock. His feet hand over the water. But, his feet aren't bare. Instead they're covered with his old combat boots.
JJ cracks open a can of beer before he quickly chugs it down. "You'd give the frat boys at college a run for their money if drinking from a beer can was a competition." I joked, looking back at the marsh.
"You good, Be?" JJ asked, ignoring my comment. I shrug. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I asked. "I don't know. Maybe cause your boyfriend is probably being arrested as we speak." JJ comments.
I shake my head. "Don't." My voice cracks. "Don't call him my boyfriend. It's sounds too..." I trail off. "Real?" JJ asked.
I nod. "Yup. And if it's real then it means that I care. And I don't want to be that girl." I explain. "What girl?" He asked. I let out an exaggerated sigh. "I don't know. I'm confused and stressed." I say.
JJ nods. He doesn't say anything. He stares at the water. Taking in the scenic views of the Outer Banks.
It's so silent that I can hear him breathing. Our breaths suddenly begin to sync. It makes me think about Rafe. Our breathing was always in sync, but sometimes I wondered if our hearts beat in sync.
"Do you like me, JJ?" I asked. JJ doesn't say anything at first. He turns his body a little towards me. "Of course, I like you. You're one of my best friends." He smiles. "Why would you even ask that?" He asked.
I sigh. "I don't know. I just feel like you guys have all this history. You even know Kiara better than me. And I'm her cousin." I says.
"That's because I have a crush on her." JJ says. I roll my eyes. "Yeah, I know. I've known since I met you at the movie showing in the park a couple months ago." I explain.
"Well, I knew Rafe liked you since that night, too." I shove my arm into JJ's side teasingly. "Shut up." I laugh. "You're lying." I say.
"I'm not!" JJ exclaimed. "I thought he was looking at me and Pope most of the night. But there were these moments when his eyes would soften like some stupid love sick puppy. He was watching you sometimes. He kept pointing at you and whispering to Topper and Kelce and whenever you would turn to Pope and talk to him he would get this hint of jealousy in his eyes." JJ explains.
My mouth hangs open a little as I try to process what he just told me. And suddenly, I feel myself shaking as tears began to fall.
"Phoebe." JJ whispers. He pulls me into a hugs. I begin to sob uncontrollably. "I hate him." I cry, trying to wipe the tears from eyes.
"I hate him so much. What he did to Peterkin is unforgivable. And maybe if I were to pick up the phone and answer his text that night and be there for him she would still be here." I began to hiccup and choke on my words.
"Phoebe it's not your fault." JJ says, holding my face. I nod. "Yes, it is! I'm a bad friend. I treat you guys like shit and I lie to you guys. And I hate myself. And I hate him for making me hate myself. And I just want everything to go back to before. Before my parents died. Before I knew you guys." I burrow my face into his chest as he rubbed small circles across my back.
"Why would you tell me this? Why did you keep this from me. If I would have know. I could have fought for him. I could have stopped all of this."