This is Me Trying ⭑ Rafe Cameron

nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN
[19]
song: the beach by the neighbourhood

Cassie and Rafe went down to the hull like the rest of the crew did, all walking down the same corridors, all mumbling the same questions. 'What's this about?' 'Where's the captain?'

She was constantly glancing behind her, making sure Rafe was keeping up as he kept stopping to look around, as if he was paranoid he was being watched. "What are you doing?" She'd ask.

"Nothing." He'd say, and nod her along to continue moving.

They walked into the innards of the ship. Where it was all made up of iron, and pipes. Where the only sources of light were the old fluorescents scarcely spaced above their heads, and the blinking of a red light down the hall. She could hear the machinery whirring, the pipes creaking as the boat continued to push through the water.

It was scary down there. It felt like she wasn't supposed to touch anything, and with all of this confusion among even the deckhands, it made her worry as to what this was all about. And Rafe wasn't making her feel any better with his newfound paranoia.

"This doesn't have anything to do with that stowaway, does it?" Cassie heard a deckhand ask another up ahead. She turns around and looks at Rafe, who didn't acknowledge it.

"It's got something to do with that cross. It's cursed. I'm telling you, we're making God angry." The other responded.

Cassie fidgeted with the sleeves of her jacket, as the metal of the grated flooring clanged in her ears as more and more people piled onto it.

She was about to step over and into the next room where everyone was waiting for the captain assumedly, following after Wheezie and Rose, when she felt Rafe's hand on her shoulder holding her back.

"Wait." He says, turned around and looking in the other direction as if he was listening for something.

She was quiet for a few seconds, letting a few deck-hands pass her as she tried to listen for whatever Rafe heard, too. "What?" She eventually spoke after not catching anything.

He thought for a second, then gestured for him to follow her.

It wasn't like she particularly wanted to go huddle in a dark room full of sweaty deckhands, so despite the captain's orders, she followed him down the other hallway, going deeper into the boiler room.

She didn't even have a second to realize where they were going before she turned to see Rafe climbing down a ladder. She looked around quickly, making sure no one saw, before speaking. "What are you doing?"

"Come on." He urged her along as he jumped the rest of the way down.

Cassie hesitated, but realized it would look worse for her to be standing here alone, so she climbed down after him. She felt his strong hands on her waist, lifting her up and off the last few rungs before gently putting her on the ground. She wasn't sure if it was a gesture of affection, or a way to get her to hurry up.

He had already made his way over to one of the many boxes on the bottom level, as she dust herself off. He pushed off a thick wool blanket to reveal the cross, looking like he could have fallen over with relief when he discovered it was as he left it.