Franchesca Ryans met life altering events after hooking up with Rafe Cameron at Midsummers last year. The seventeen yr old alcoholic finds herself back in her old ways after being released from rehab to come back home this summer.
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This Year
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5:58 pm
" So," Astrid trailed. " How was your vacation?" She held in a laugh, referring to Franny's stay at rehab, as the two hopped off Astrid's bike.
" All of us were just holding hands, singing Kumbaya around a campfire," Astrid laughed at Franny's words laced with sarcasm." It was lame. I was just drinking off-brand apple juice and watching Law & Order reruns all day."
" Better than cleaning the docks from that bitch Agatha," Astrid scoffed, referring to a Hurricane that came through the OBX a couple of weeks back. It ruined a bunch of boats and covered docks with trash and debris, creating a huge mess to clean up on the Island. Huge pain in the ass for the lower class.
" So did I miss anything else?"
Astrid shrugged, as they stepped over some red plastic cups scattered across someone's yard.
She snapped her fingers, remembering something." Oh, John B's been boning Sarah."
Franny furrowed her brows," Cameron?" Astrid nodded her head." Bullshit."
Sarah's Rafe's baby sister, and just a year older than Astrid and Franny. Just like her brother, she was known for being an attractive — popular rich kid from Figure 8. But unlike her brother, she'd always been humble about it, and always thought the pogue vs kook thing was kinda dumb.
Franny guessed it finally made since now.
" Yeah," Astrid said, tossing her bike in the grass as they approached the gathering in a backyard, surrounded by people and blaring music." Topper's been on a war path ever since he caught them swapping spit at a kegger a couple weeks back."
Hesitant, Franny blurted out a question she'd been thinking a lot about." How's KC?"
" His new kook girlfriend bailed him out last Friday. Heyward was gonna let him stay at the precinct over the weekend. Pope said he's been real tired of his shit lately."
Franny made a face while narrowing her eyes, " Wait, KC got a girlfriend?"
Astrid smiled to herself, noticing the tone in her friend's voice. " I love how that's the only thing you got from that sentence, Fran-"
" So, Him and John B gave me shit for dating Rafe for months and now they're both with kooks? And you guys are okay with that?"
" Sarah and KC's girlfriend aren't the spawn of Satan, so it doesn't count-"
" Oh shit, everybody hide the beer," The two girls turned their heads to a familiar face," Welcome home, Ryans."
Their friend, Jack, announced before tossing an arm over her, pulling her into a hug.
Eyes fell over her from all around, while words of others above the music surrounded her." Asshole," Franny mumbled into his chest, annoyed at the unwanted attention he brought on her.
" Yeah, I missed you too," he laughed, flashing a not-so-subtle smile at Astrid. " Did you guys wanna come smoke with us? Travis is lighting up another bowl on the couch," Their eyes fell on Jack's friend, sitting on a vintage maroon-colored sofa in the middle of the backyard.
" Yeah, we'll be over there." Astrid said in a tone implying for him to leave. He caught the hint, giving a quick nod before walking back over to the couch.
Franny shared glances at the both of them while grinning," So, Jack's still in love with you."
Astrid scrunched her nose at that." Ew, no we're just fucking."
" Astrid!" Franny exclaimed, slapping her best friends arm.
" You know I don't do relationships," she mumbled, subconsciously noticing all alcohol surrounding them," On another note, are you sure we should be here? We can stay at mines, order Postmates, and rewatch Fast & Furious movies like old times."
" I've been locked up in a dungeon for months, I just want to feel normal again. And I haven't really thought about drinking in a while anyways."
" Are you sure?" She wondered, and Franny nodded shortly after, assuring her she was fine.
Rafe and his two close friends, Kelce and Topper, watched as the curly-headed girl made an appearance. His lips rested on the edge of a cup he held, and he stared at her from above the rim
" Who let her out her cage?" Topper and Kelce laughed until Rafe shot them both a death glare. " Relax, you know we're just fucking around."
" C'mon, Rafe," Kelce trailed, resting an elbow on his friend's shoulder." She is kind of a shit show now."
Rafe would rather swallow a handful of thumbtacks than admit that he actually missed her, but he did. He missed how her dimples pinched her cheeks when she would smile, how she'd flinch occasionally in her sleep, and how her body trembled when he would fuck her.
He knew she'd be back on the Island eventually, he just didn't expect it to be this soon. Especially since he'd been distracted with fucking Sofia — this kook he used to go to school with, who always had a thing for him.
But it was something about Franny he couldn't shake. Something that made his heart jump and jaw tick all in the same breath.
His eyes were on her. They roamed over her skimpy lavender dress, hugging her body tight enough to define her slim frame. It wasn't long before Franny's eyes found his, urging memories to flood her head in a warm wave.
She always felt when Rafe's gaze set on her, making sure no one was hitting on her or disrespecting her.
He liked protecting her.
She used to adore it. How possessive he was over her.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he watched her struggle to keep eye contact with him. She would nod her head occasionally, trying to pay attention to her friends conversation, but she couldn't. Her eyes kept finding their way back to his, and the music around her started to fade naturally.
It all felt familiar, she thought. Feeling absent whenever it came to him.
Those ocean-blue eyes always did something to her, but she wasn't stupid. She knew what hid behind them.
