Until It Doesn't Hurt | Rafe Cameron

10

Wheezie came to visit Rafe the following morning. Not only did she catch him doing the drugs he promised his girlfriend he was not doing, but she also broke the news that Ward was taking Sarah to the Bahamas on a business trip. Why wouldn't he take Rafe, despite the fact they weren't currently speaking? Rafe knew more about business than Sarah did.

It left him disheveled, to say the least. After she left, he came straight to Eleanor and proposed a crazy idea. "What if we left?" he stated, drawing Eleanor's attention.

"Left?" she echoed, "Like the OBX?"

"Yeah, what if we moved away somewhere? Like to the mainland?"

Eleanor had never really thought of moving away, not even after Elizabeth's death. She liked living in the Outer Banks. She raised her eyebrows at him, "Are you serious?" 

"Think about it," he said, "We could start over in a new place. I wouldn't know where to go to find drugs. I could be clean, El. And you, you could go to college somewhere. And we could get a house. And a dog. And eventually, get married-"

"Rafe," Eleanor stopped him, "Let's just start with this moving idea. Where would we go?"

"Anywhere," he stated, "We could stay in North Carolina. Or maybe Florida. I'd like to stay somewhere near the coast."

This was crazy. Rafe was out of his mind. But, Eleanor wasn't completely against it. Maybe it would do some good to start over somewhere new. Somewhere where there wouldn't be some turf war with the Pogues, where they wouldn't be Kooks. Somewhere where Rafe wouldn't have access to drugs. It could really be a good thing for them.

"What would we tell our parents?" Eleanor asked

"The truth," Rafe said, "That we wanted to leave. To get away. That we wanted to start over together, start a life together. "

After her initial shock wore off, Eleanor realized that it wasn't really that bad of an idea. She was eighteen years old to his nineteen years old. It was time for them to start to be independent from their parents. Why not jump into adulthood and start a life together?

The biggest thing driving Eleanor's decision was Rafe's sobriety. Leaving would probably be the best thing to keep him clean, and that was her biggest concern when it came to her boyfriend.

"Okay," Eleanor answered.

Her parents were going to kill her. They were going to be so mad when she told them that she was leaving. She hoped they would understand that this was what was best for both her and Rafe. She'd even speak of his addiction if she knew it would help.

"Okay?" Rafe echoed, "You're sure?"

Eleanor nodded and Rafe enveloped her in a giant hug. He picked her off the ground and swung her around. Any doubts she may have had disappeared with the excitement in his voice, his enthusiasm. It was something she hadn't seen in a while.

***

Eleanor gathered her parents in their living room to break the news to them. "Mom. Dad. I have something to tell you."

"You're not pregnant are you?" April frantically asked.

"No, Mom," Eleanor answered, waving her hands out in front of her. "Um, Rafe and I are thinking about leaving OBX."

She surveyed her parents' reactions to gauge how they were feeling. April's jaw dropped slightly at her daughter's admission. Christopher, however, stayed sternly still.

"Leaving?" April questioned, "Honey, you can't be serious. Do you think it's a good idea?"

"Yes!" Eleanor said defensively, "Rafe and I talked about it this morning and I've been thinking a lot about it. I think this will be good for us, him and I."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Eleanor stated with finality. She looked to Christopher who hadn't said a word. "Dad? What do you think?"

Christopher would be the one to end this newfound dream of hers. Whatever her father said went. Eleanor trusted his opinion more than anything, even more than Rafe. Her dad could play the father card and cancel any possible thought of leaving.

"I think... that I'm about to lose my little girl," he spoke, giving his daughter the acceptance she was looking for.

Mai's reaction was a different story. A completely different story.

After talking with her parents for a while longer, filling them in on all the details she and Rafe discussed, she excitedly went to tell her best friend. She knocked on Mai's front door. The brunette answered and welcomed Eleanor in.

The girls sat upstairs in Mai's room. They exchanged greetings and briefly caught up, discussing everything that had happened since before Midsummer. They hadn't seen each other in that long, Eleanor figured Mai was avoiding her.

"I have news!" Eleanor squealed.

"Ooh, tell me?" 

The girls sat down on Mai's bed side by side. Eleanor was nervous about Mai's reaction. It was no secret the way Mai felt about Rafe and his relationship with El. Mai had always felt that way about him absolutely despised him. Even before all the fighting with the Pogues and doing drugs, Mai hated Rafe.

"Well..." Eleanor began, "Rafe and I are moving to Florida. Soon."

Mai was taken aback, "What?"

"We decided this morning that it is best for 

"He loves me!" Eleanor shouted, "We love each other!"

"Oh yeah? Did he tell you that in between him doing drugs and beating up Pogues?" Mai seethed.

"Why can you just be happy for me?"

"Because he's going to hurt you!"

Eleanor's mind went to her wrist, the bruise covered with makeup. He would never hurt her again, that was a one-time, heat-of-the-moment type thing. He was drunk and high and angry at Ward. He promised he would never lay a finger on her ever again and she whole-heartedly believed him.

"Mai, he is not," Eleanor scoffed.

"He is, Eleanor," Mai stated, "And I refuse to sit here and wait for him to destroy you."

Without another word, Eleanor left the Nguyen home, leaving behind her closest friend. Possibly even for good. When Eleanor got back to her house, Rafe was waiting for her in the driveway. He stood against his dirtbike, visibly shaking with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Rafe? What's going on?"

"We need to leave sooner than I thought." He told her.

"When?" She asked.

Originally, she figured they'd leave in a month or so. Whatever happened that day had Rafe really freaked out. He looked so shaken up and unsettled that there was nothing Eleanor could do to help him.

"In two days."

Mai is a voice of reason, for sure. Little does El know, Rafe just killed Peterkin.