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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Last year
✧
3:34 pm
After midsummers, her secret started to eat her up inside.
Keeping the fact that she lost her virginity to Rafe Cameron from her friends made her feel guilty—like she was betraying them. And yeah, in a way she kinda was.
Rafe never liked them, and the feeling was always mutual. Up until the night he was fucking her out on the balcony, she thought she felt the same way about him. But she didn't know if she did anymore. She knew out of loyalty tied to her friends that it was wrong, but she couldn't stop reliving that night.
It played like a never-ending episode that went on all day in her head.
So, she told Astrid. She couldn't keep something that big from her, so she told her a halfway lie instead, saying she lost it to a touron—what they'd call the tourist on the island.
But two weeks had passed and what made her feel even worse was him treating it like it never happened.
He and his friends still fought with her friends, and he barely acknowledged her presence whenever she was around.
It's not like she expected them to be friends or anything after, but her mind started to become her worse enemy from the lack of reassurance.
She didn't know much about Rafe, but she knew that he didn't do relationships.
He would mess around with some girls on the Island at parties and bonfires but nothing ever serious. In those two weeks, she started thinking that he saw her as one of those girls he used for a nut and nothing else. The thought made her feel disgusting and kind of humiliated.
Until one day, she finally got some reassurance.
" Ryan's," her eyes shifted from the sidewalk she was riding her skateboard on, to a familiar black truck with Rafe, Kelce, and Topper driving next to her. She made a face, pulling out one of her earphones." What are you doing tonight?"
A sense of relief filled her chest, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth when it did. " I don't know, I was heading home," she laughed lightly, slowing down her speed on her board, to match the truck's.
" Come to a party," he jerked his head, throwing a captivating smile at her.
It was so unexpected, that it was weird. They never talked since that night at midsummers, so the invite caught her off guard. But it did intrigue her.
" Um," her brain had this WWE smackdown moment—conflicted on what to say next, she just decided to play it safe." I can't. Curfew."
" It's just a couple of hours," he clicked his tongue, glancing between her and the road, " C'mon, I'll take you home after if you want."
" I don't know-"
" Come on, Franny," Kelce added from the backseat, with one arm over a bubbly blonde with her chest out.
" Yeah, Ryan's, don't be such a pussy." A devious smirk played on Rafe's lips, knowing those familiar words would somewhat sway her. And it did.
" Okay," she dragged out, reluctantly. Franny sighed to herself, before grabbing her skateboard and running across the street to get in his truck.
This year
✧
4:21 pm
" No fucking way," JJ laughed in disbelief, sitting up from a brown couch on the porch of John B's chateau.
Pope coughed from a joint he was mid-inhaling, turning his head to face her. " Holy shit. Franny?"
She laughed as the two left the couch and jogged up to her, throwing their arms over her to pull her into a overdue hug.
" Thought they were locking you up for longer than that." JJ muttered over shoulder.
" Yeah, I broke out a little early," another muffled laugh left her chest, still brought into the suffocating embrace, " Pope, you're smoking now?"
Pope pulled away, flicking the cherry off the joint he was still pinching in one hand." You know JJ's a terrible influence-"
" Oh yeah because I forced you to smoke that." JJ retorted.
" No way," Her eyes left the two boys, glancing up at the porch. A grin reached her lips as she saw John B and Kiara rushing out his front door." Oh my god, Franny!" Kie exclaimed, as they ran over to the front of his yard to hug her.
" You, okay?" John B asked, referring to all the drama that surrounded her from last year.
" I'll live," she mumbled over his shoulder, " Wait, Astrid and KC aren't here?"
" KC's grounded. My dad said he's gonna send him off to the army if he doesn't get his shit together by Senior year." Pope mentioned.
KC's Pope's younger brother by two years. The Heyward brothers had always been different. Pope always had good grades and was never known to be a troublemaker while KC was the polar opposite. He'd rather skip class to go smoke and skateboard throughout the mainland all day.
The group all grew up together but, Franny, Astrid, and KC were the youngest and just naturally gravitated into a trio in the midst of it. But things kind of paused from last year.
" And Astrid's picking up her check from the Johnson's. She's babysitting that ankle biter this summer," JJ mumbled, snatching the joint from Pope's hand.
" How's Janet?" John B queried, pulling away from hugging her.
"She's good, just strict as always. Astrid's the only reason she's even letting me out of the house right now."
" So, you aren't coming to the kickback tonight in Charleston?" Her friends shared a glare at the oblivious blonde, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at them.
" JJ," Kie slapped his arm," She just got back from rehab, seriously?"
" Why am I the bad guy for just asking a question-"
" It was a stupid question," Pope interjected.
" Oh, of course, you take her side." JJ argued back, " That desperate for brownie points huh, Pope?"
" Wait, there's a party tonight?" She asked, interrupting all the bickering between her friends. They all stopped to turn to her, smiling back at the four of them. "I wanna go."
