RIPTIDE | Rafe Cameron

37. 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦

"Come near me with that thing one more time and I will hit you over the head," I mumble as John B wafts his kebab from last night in front of my face, the stench of garlic mayonnaise enough to make anyone throw up, especially with a hangover.

"You want some water, Sid?" Pope asks as he takes a seat on one of the spare chairs, Kie and I lying on a coach each, my legs resting comfortably on JJ's lap.

"If I drink or eat anything I don't think it'll stay down," I tell him, "But thank you."

"I still can't get over Kelce's face last night," John B changes the subject.

"It was pretty hard not to," Kiara sighs.

"At least you reminded them that they don't own the island." I tell John B, hoping that Kelce didn't pass any of what happened last night onto Rafe.

"The rats don't run the city, we do," JJ adds in a stupid voice.

"I think we are the rats, J." I laugh, tossing a pillow at him which he catches with ease.

"Oh, hello princess," JJ smiles as the porch door opens, turning our attention to Sarah walking towards us, an awkward look on her face.

"You okay?" I smile, as I sit up straight beside JJ.

"Yeah," She nods.

"Shouldn't you be on Figure Eight, with your little group of polo players?" John B teases, "Or did you break up with Topper?"

"We're just friends," Sarah tells him bluntly but with a smile.

"He's just a friend," John B scoffs, "You have a lot of friends, Sarah Cameron."

"Yeah, it seems like you've got some of your own too." Sarah retaliates, which I respect because given the reasons for their breakup, I had hoped they could at least be civil.

"What are you actually doing here?" John B asks her, frustration lacing his voice.

"I'm here for Pope." She tells him before turning her attention to Pope, confusing us all, "I think I found the island room."

"What?" Pope stands up in disbelief, "Where?"

"Tannyhill." Sarah tells him, my stomach dropping at the thought of going back there.

"We should go right now then," Pope declares, as though a fire has been lit inside him.

"Is that okay?" I ask quietly, nervous that Rafe might be there. Even though the last time I was there Rafe wasn't, that place is still tainted with memories of him, memories of us. I've been doing well at this whole healing thing, and I've not relapsed which I'm proud of. But going back there, I'm not sure if seeing Rafe would set me back again.

Sarah turns to me with a gentle smile, "Rafe isn't there, none of them are."

The drive to Tannyhill was quick, and allowed Pope to tell us more about Denmark Tanny and the cross from what he had found in the diary. It took me some time to reassure myself that I'm okay with going back to Tannyhill, remembering that it's just bricks at the end of the day, those memories both good and bad are with me regardless of where I am.

"This place still freaks me out," John B mutters as we walk along the corridor towards one of the several dining rooms in the house.

"Same," I sigh, because despite the good memories I have here, it's still just a big house,
an unnecessarily big house with too many rooms and way too many secrets.

"Pope, look," Sarah says as she opens the door to a room that I've only been inside a handful of times.

The room is a mess, the once pristine wallpaper is now in ripped shreds all over the floor, revealing images on the wall that can only be described as an intricate and artistic map of the island.