THE PICTURE OF YOU -rafe cameron-

081; on the front porch

Back at the old Maybank cabin, Myra sat in her room quietly, mindlessly drawing on a piece of paper. Her desk was cluttered with pens, fading Polaroid pictures, crumbled up drawings and a few erasers. Some hair ties laid around and a half empty bottle of pale yellow nail polish. She sat on her old wooden chair with her left leg pulled up, her chin resting on her boney knee. Outside of her window a bright orange and pink sunset was slowly forming, casting a golden hue over the island and painting beautiful reflections on the surface of the nearby water. The gentle breeze graced the trees and a few birds soared over the sky, but other than that most of the nature surrounding her was still and peaceful. Myra felt calm, even though she had been furious at Rafe just a mere two hours ago. She had left the island club on her old bicycle, not wanting to go anywhere but to her childhood home. She was met with a quiet and rather dark place unfortunately. The front door had been locked and the absence of her father and her brother was evident, as it often was. Myra had gotten used to it by now.

Minutes passed as Myra sat there drawing the ocean with her pens, slowly adding colour after colour to the turtles and the many fish. Waves and sky, sun and white clouds. There was much to the picture, a pure summer day. As good as it gets. She hummed a slow melody as he kept on drawing, humming so lowly that it was almost inaudible to the human ear. That's when she heard something that didn't match the softness that escaped her lips, a rather loud and obnoxious noise. The sound of a roaring engine and tires. She recognized it, thinking it must be her brother JJ coming home on his dirtbike. It didn't exactly sound like a car. It was louder, but not as heavy. Myra got up, a hinge of curiosity stinging through her small framed body. Her bare feet dragged across the wooden floor as she left her room, walking over towards the windows by the front porch. She pulled the dusty curtains aside, peering outside onto a sight that surprised her. Her eyes must be pulling a unimaginable prank on her, twisting her mind. Out by the dirt road leading to the home wasn't JJ's familiar red and blue dirtbike nor his messy hair or his loud and hysterical laughter. It was nothing like her brother, instead Myra saw a similar looking dirtbike, one she knew all too well. A newer looking red model belonging to Rafe. The bike came to a stop not long after Myra had began to stare, Rafe's feet hitting the dirt road underneath him. Myra let go of the curtain as a sensation of panic settled in within her. She hurried over towards the front door, pulling it open as Rafe pulled the helmet off of his head. "What are you doing here?" Myra urged in a hurry as she walked out of her home, looking around. She feared that her brother or father would come wandering from the woods or down from the marsh and see them. Rafe sat on his bike watching her as he ran a hand through his dark blonde hair, fixing it. Myra rushed over, crossing her arms over her chest. The evening air was crisp and almost a little chilly against her bare skin. The grass however felt dry underneath the soles of her bare feet. She looked at Rafe, wondering if he had lost his mind. Why the hell would he come out to her house?

"I came to see you"

His answer was simple, yet not at the same time. Myra stopped by him, still looking around. She could feel the stress of getting caught again make her heart beat like crazy. She couldn't let it happen, it had been dreadful the first time. "And you came here? Are you insane? Do you want my brother to catch us or something? Or my dad?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as she looked at the tall boy in front of her. A arrogant laugh spilled out of Rafe's lips as he looked around the place. He then gazed back at Myra, a smug look forming upon his face. He leaned forward a little, stroking his fingertips along her right upper arm. "I'm not afraid of your brother or your dad" he spoke with great confidence, making Myra sigh. She was aware of that. Rafe wasn't one to hesitate when it came to arguments and more so fights. "Mhm" she muttered back, once more gazing around, "but that's not what I mean". "What do you mean then pearl?" he asked, now staring at her. Myra could sense a light scent of alcohol coming from off of his lips. "You can't be here Rafe" she clarified. She couldn't risk it. "So where am I supposed to go then?" he asked, a playful tone clear in his cocky voice. It was like this was all a funny game to the tall kook boy. "I don't know, anywhere? Just not here" Myra rushed, once more crossing her arms over her chest. Rafe laughed again, holding onto his helmet. "Anywhere" he hummed, just like he knew where it was and had been there before, "come with me". His words sounded like a demand, not a question. "What?" Myra asked, a little taken aback. He drove all across the island to see her after they had just yelled at each other a few hours before and she was now sending him on his way and he still wanted her to come with him. It didn't make sense to Myra. "If I'm going, you're going too" Rafe spoke, clarifying it like it was the most obvious thing ever, "so come with me pearl". "Where?" Myra asked, her soft voice ringing out into the evening air. Rafe raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. "That's exactly what I asked you like... uhm, five seconds ago?" he spoke, faintly slurring his words, "and you didn't know, so let me be the one to decide now yeah?". Myra felt sceptical, now being the one to raise her eyebrows. "And I'm just supposed to trust you?" she questioned. Rafe shrugged, the smirk upon his lips only growing stronger. "You have before so what's the harm in doing so one more time?" he teased, standing up as he placed his helmet down on his bike, "live a little, pouge". Myra scoffed, feeling both crazily drawn to him and wildly offended at the same time. "Like you have anything to say for yourself you kook" she muttered underneath her breath, gazing off. The fear of getting caught at any given moment still lingered all around her. So did Rafe, taking up all of her personal space as he stepped closer. He lingered around her like he had nothing better to do, stroking his fingertips along her jaw up to her ear, tucking a few strands of her tangled blonde hair away. It inevitably made Myra blush, even though she didn't want to.