Family Line

Chapter seven: Rafe

"Rafe..."

The second Sarah heard her brothers name whispered by her boyfriend, she made a run for the door, stopping just behind John B and staring Rafe dead in the eyes.

"Sarah." Rafe murmured, ignoring everyone else.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Why - Why are you here?" She asked slowly.

Rafe was silent for a moment, before he sniffed. "Topper spotted you girls out shopping," He replied. "Guess you're back from your little adventures then?"

Sarah nodded a little. "Er, got back last night yeah." She said carefully, already knowing where this was going.

"Where's Dad?"

All the Pogues froze for a moment, and Sarah sighed, not knowing if she'd regret this or not. "Come and sit down." She muttered, making sure John B moved out the way of the door.

Pope, Cleo and Kiara all moved to the corner of the room as Rafe hesitantly walked in and over to the sofa, not casting them a glance and keeping his eyes locked on his sister.

John B grabbed Sarah's arm before she could follow, looking horrified. "Are you mad?" He hissed, keeping his voice quiet so Rafe wouldn't hear.

"Probably." Sarah breathed. "But Ward was his Dad too, he deserves to know."

John B sighed. "Great," He grumbled. "I'm dead. You're dead. We're all dead. Might as well start digging our graves right now. Absolutely perfect."

Sarah stared at him, biting her lip, before taking a deep breath and walking over to Rafe, sitting beside him but a decent distance away - she still didn't trust him, not after everything he'd done in the past.

"Um, we ran into some trouble in South America," Sarah said slowly. "Cutting a long story short, we were cornered, this guy has a gun-" She stopped, swallowing hard and forcing back tears at the sudden memories, but when she felt John B's hand land on her shoulder, she took a shaky breath and forced the rest of the story out. "He was about to shoot me - but - but Dad jumped in front of me - um, he was shot - he - he um, didn't make it."

Rafe stared at her. "What - what do you mean he didn't make it?" He murmured.

John B nearly raised an eyebrow at this.

Sarah sighed. "Dad's dead Rafe." She whispered. "He's gone."

There was an extremely uncomfortable silence for ages following this, before Rafe stood, pressing his palms to his eyes for a second before turning sharply to John B. "I told you to look after him!" He shouted.

John B took a step back, but Sarah shot up and stood between them, pointing her finger at her older brother. "It wasn't his fault and you know it." She hissed. "Ward made his own decision, none of us could've done anything about it."

Rafe stayed where he was, but kept his eyes locked on John B.

"Walk away Rafe." Sarah warned. "You're not wanted here, especially if you're just here to seek revenge. You came for what you wanted, I gave you an answer. And look, I'm sorry this happened, trust me I am, but none of us want you here, so walk away."

Rafe balled his hands into fists, before he choked on a deep breath and marched out the door, slamming it so loudly behind him that the whole house shook.

Sarah let out a huge sigh, her legs suddenly shaking as she collapsed back agaisnt John B, who gently sat her down on the sofa. "Alright, you're okay." He murmured. "He's gone."

Sarah took a moment to gather herself before slowly nodding. "Yeah," She murmured. "I'm just scared of what he'll do."

"Don't worry about that," John B told her firmly. "If we stick together he can't do anything to us. You told him what he deserved to know, but let's leave it there okay? You're safe, I won't let him touch you."