ˢᵘᵖᵉʳ ʳⁱᶜʰ ᵏⁱᵈˢ, ʳᵃᶠᵉ ᶜᵃᵐᵉʳᵒⁿ

014

14 - so much for nothing

TANNYHILL
outerbanks, north carolina
tuesday
august 6, 2024
5pm

as i dropped caramia at the cameron's house i stood in the foyer watching wheezie and caramia run upstairs. just then i felt a pair of hands grab my arm, i looked over with furrowed eyebrows just to see rafe pulling me into the kitchen. his grip was firm but not painful. "what the hell rafe?" i said.

"shut up." he said before looking out the kitchen doorway, making sure no one else was around. he then looked back at me, his eyes filled with something that i couldn't tell if it was annoyance or want. "look, i can't do it."

a look of shocked confusion took over my face at his words. "what do you mean you can't do it? rafe, we had a deal."

he shook his head and let out a small scoff before replying to me. "my dad, okay? he won't go for it." he said as he tapped his temples. "he totally flipped when i asked him, you should've seen him."

"why'd you ask him?!" i whisper yelled. "you should've gone straight to the police."

"would you calm down for a second?" he said as he held onto my arm, making sure i wouldn't move too far. "if i went straight to the police it'd look too suspicious. they'd think me and my family were covering our asses. i had to make it look like i was clearing my conscience by consulting my dad first."

i shook my head. "what the hell are you talking about? if you went to the police they'd believe that john b didn't kill sheriff peterkin!"

rafe let out a small huff of frustration and annoyance as he looked at me. "oh my god, john b is dead anyway! what does it matter?" he said as he got closer to me.

hurt and anger filled my chest at his words. "what the hell is wrong with you? how can you possibly say something so heinous?" i yelled as i stepped away from him.

he let out a scoff as shook his head. "calm down, i didn't mean it like that." he said in a softer voice, but was still firm.

"then how did you mean it?" i asked as i crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

he took a step closer towards me, this time getting right up into my personal space. i could see his eyes moving up and down over my face as he looked at me intently. "i just meant that things happen for a reason." he said as his eyes stopped roaming and landed on my own eyes.

i scoffed in disbelief over how cold he was being about the situation. "how you can say something so cold about john b and your sister? it's messed up. seriously messed up." i said in a soft voice as my eyes filled with tears.

his breathing slowed as he looked at my face. "jesus christ...don't cry, juniper." he said.

"look, i have to go." i said as i walked out of the house and to my audi.

as soon as i sat down in my car and buckled my seatbelt i let the tears i had been holding back finally break through. i allowed the tears to run down my cheeks and sobs to shake my body. john b and sarah were alive, so why was i so hurt by rafe's words?

°˖✧✿✧˖°

HAYWARD'S SEAFOOD
outerbanks, north carolina
5:30pm

"rafe's out, we have to resort to plan b." i explained to the group as they were all around pope who was cleaning.

"you've got to be kidding me." kiara said from her spot on the counter.