Good Days •Rafe Cameron•

Strange

The uncomfortable heat from the May weather beat down against my skin as I stood motionless next to two caskets. One wood. One marble. The loud hums of cicada drowned the cries and sobs of Mike as he watched his sister's casket begin to descend into the ground.
I could feel a slight squeeze from Kiara as she held my hand right in hers. A single tear ran down her cheek as she watch her Aunt and Uncle leave the world. Anna's eyes were covered with black opaque sunglasses. She remained strong or at least pretended to.
And me. A complete mess. The next of kin alone in this world without her parents. On the outside I looked fine. My black dress came just above my knees. My hair pulled back in a ponytail. The pearls on my neck sat still. My heels dug into the grass.
But I wanted to scream. How dare this happened to me. A drunk driver. Reckless.
I remember being broken from my thoughts as I feel a hand rest on my back and begin to rub small circles. They were hesitant at first but eventually continued.
"I'm sorry for your loss." The blonde boy spoke. I assumed he was one of Kiara's friends. He wasn't wearing black. Instead he wore dirty boots that looked a little too big for him. An old shirt and jeans. Most of his hair was covered with a hat.
I ignored the boy, pulling away from his touch. "Good going, JJ." I heard as I began to walk away. This time it belonged to a boy with honey brown hair. He wore a similar outfit to the blonde boy. But no hat. "You probably freaked her out." Finally a boy with dark brown skin spoke. At least he wore all black.
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After the funeral all I wanted to do was hide in a closet and disappear. The house was filled with people I barely knew. Friends of Mike and Anna who didn't really know how to comfort me. And teens boys who stood awkwardly in the corner watching me.
     "Are you hungry?" Kiara asked. She takes a seat next to me on the coach with a plate full of food. Fried chicken, baked macaroni, collard greens, fish, mash potatoes.
    I eyed the plate. Clearly hungry after the long day. But I knew I would end up throwing it up from all the anxiety and stress of the last few weeks.
    I shake my head. "No." I hum, turning away from the teen. I can hear Kiara sigh, feeling defeated that she could barely get two words out of me.
     "I think I'm going to head to bed." I say, standing up. I pull my dress down, annoyed at how short it felt on me.
     "But it's only four o'clock." Kiara states. "I just want to be alone, Kie." I can feel my throat swell up and my eyes begin to water. The overwhelming urge to burst into tears was strong.
     "Can I come with you?"
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My body shook itself awake as I looked at my surroundings. A brown blanket covered my body. The smell of old spice and weed filled my nose as I push myself up. I furrowed my brows, not recognizing the bedroom.
"Finally you're up." Sarah smiles, skipping over to the bed. Kiara follows behind her. The two of them sit on the blanket.
"You're in John B's room." Kiara says as she sees me look around confused. "Oh." I hum.
My mind goes back to my dream. Or memory, if I'm being correct. "Are you okay?" Sarah asked, moving in closer. I nod. "Yes, of course." I sigh. "I'm just hot." I say, pulling the blanket off my legs. I jump up from the bed, stretching my legs.
A loud commotion from the next room over, allows me to notice the three boys in the kitchen who seem to be celebrating.
"What's up with them?" I asked, pushing my locs behind my back allowing them to fall back. Sarah looks down at her hands. She begins to fiddle with her hands.
"I'm just worried about my dad." She speaks. The sound of JJ making a drumroll with his lips is loud. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Ward Cameron, King of the Kooks, is going to jail!" He shouts as Pope and John B down a beer. "Goodbye! Goodbye, Adios! He's out of here!" John B, gloats.
Kiara quickly gets up from the bed, closing the door for some privacy. "Do you regret it?" Kiara asked, seeing the conflicted look on Sarah's face.
She immediately shakes her head. "No. He deserves all of it, and I know that." She hums. "He's your dad. I get it." Kiara says. "I'm sure it sucks to be in the middle." She states.
"Do you think you'll visit him?" I asked, Sarah. "In prison, I mean." I asked. Sarah looks up from her hands to me. "Would you visit?" She asked. "Rafe, I mean." She clarified.
"I'd like to think I would." I answered. "I mean he was my first..." I trail off, looking at Sarah. Her eyes roam around the room. "Sorry." I smile, softly. "You probably don't want to hear about your brother's sex life." I apologized.
Kiara and Sarah laugh. "I don't even wanna hear about it." Kie says.
"I just have one question?" Sarah starts. I nod. "Don't get angry, but, what do you see in Rafe?" She asked.
I could see the two girls wait in anticipation, wanting to know so bad why I was so attached to someone so violent.
A huge smile appears on my face as I try to hold in my happiness. The pure butterflies that floated in my stomach just thinking about the boy. "He gets me." I answer.
It was a simple answer, but acceptable. "We fight and we hurt each other. Him more than me. But I know he really cares for me. I mean, we've talked about getting married. Jokingly, of course. But deep down I know Rafe really meant it. But seeing him being taken away, just only proved my point that they were only dreams." I explained.
"And you love him?" Kiara asked. "Yes. But I think I need to love him a little bit more to actually marry him if we were ever to get the chance. I mean if we ever get married, we'd be sisters, Sarah. And Rafe would be your cousin-in-law." I say gleefully.
Sarah smiles at the thought, while Kiara frowns. "Well I already consider you as a sister." Sarah smiles. "Both of you." She pulls Kiara and I into a hug.
    After a few moments of us hugging, Sarah's phone rings. "Sorry." She apologizes, walking to the other end of the room.
     "Topper." She says into the phone. After a few seconds she whispers a "thanks" before hanging up.
    "We have to go."
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      John B drove the Twinkie onto Figure Eight turning into Sarah's neighborhood. The sounds of sirens and police cars passing by rang through.
     "Shit." Kiara whispers as she counts the number of cars on their way to Tannyhill. Pope, JJ, and I sit in the back quietly waiting for the next move.
    I looked at Sarah who seemed to be a little annoyed with John B's speed. "Oh, my God. Can you please hurry? I need to be there for Wheezie." Sarah says to John B.
     "You think I wanna miss this?" John B states, keeping his eyes on the road and speeding up. Sarah quickly looks to John B with a little disgust at his comment.
    The van came to a sudden halt as the six of us quickly rushed out the Twinkie. The tall stone walls of Tannyhill, blocked our view as we watched the police run towards the dock on the side of the big white house.
    "Bro, I can't see." JJ exclaims pushing Pope to the side. "Now, I can't see." Pope whines. "Stop, fighting." I glare at the boys trying to see over the wall.
    "Screw it. I'm going over." John B states, pushing himself up the wall. I can see the concern written all over Sarah's face. Concern for her dad. Concern for Wheezie. She watches her boyfriend hop over the stone wall, already on the other side.
    "Right behind you." JJ says, helping Kiara, Sarah, and I to the other side. I kick off from JJ's hands landing on the soft grass of Tannyhill.
   We quickly run over to Rose and Wheezie. "What's going on? Why are the police here?" Wheezie explains. She rushes over to Sarah pulling her big sister into a hug.
     "Wheezie." Sarah whispers, holding on to her sister. "What's going on?" Wheezie asked again. Rose stood by the front door, shaking her head in disbelief. Her eyes were blood shot as she watched the chaos unfold.
    "Go inside. Don't come out." Sarah demands. Rose and Wheezie quickly head back into the house closing the doors.
    We begin to make our way to the dock. One by one we follow Sarah and the police to the end. "Dad!" Sarah calls out.
    Ward stands on the top of the yacht, drink in hand as he watches his daughter. The police begin to block us from going any further.
    "That's Sarah Cameron. Let her through!" Shoupe shouts, allowing us to join Sarah on the docks. "What are you doing here, Sarah!" Ward cries. "Dad! What are you doing?" She shouts back at her father.
    The steady rocking of the dock begins to feel fast. The overwhelming pressure of watching Ward Cameron finally be taken away was becoming intense.
    It felt like a brick was lying on my chest. Kiara and I looked at each other for comfort, not knowing what to say or do.
    It was all crazy. Watching this go down the way it was. Ward finally being on his last leg. Giving up and accepting defeat. It had only been four month since all this gold and deaths began. But it felt like a lifetime.
    And I wondered if this was the moment I would finally find a little bit of peace. Some slowness in my life. In our lives.
     "Shoupe, you gotta get her out of here! She can't be here right now!" Ward exclaimed. He didn't want his daughter to see him being taken away. It was too heartbreaking.
     "Just come on in, and you can talk to her!" Shoupe, reasons.
     "Sarah, I'm so sorry, baby. I can't!" He cries, with apology. Ward begins to lift the anchor to the yacht, allowing the boat to move further away from shore.
    It was all happening so fast. Sarah shouting for her  Ward to stop. The police trying to reason with him. The smaller boast moved in closer waiting for word on their next move.
     And just like that, flames and smoke exploded from the boat engulfing it in flames. The debris flying everywhere into the water.
     I ducked my head under my arms covering my face before peaking through.
     The cries and sobs from Sarah were loud and painful as I watched Topper run onto the dock. He pulled her into a hug.