THE PICTURE OF YOU -rafe cameron-

088; back home on figure eight

"What were you thinking Rafe?"

Ward's voice rang out loudly into the living room of the big Cameron mansion. He was pacing back and forth, his hands on his hips. Rafe was sat on the couch, leaning back. "I didn't do anything dad" Rafe argued, lifting his hands up into the air. Ward stopped, glaring at his son. "You didn't do anything?" he questioned, keeping his hands on his hips, "you didn't do anything huh? What about the bond I had to pay to get you out? You have a court date for a assault and battery case Rafe and you're telling me you're innocent?"

"I am innocent dad, why can't you ever believe me?" Rafe questioned, staring at Ward. He sighed, letting his hands fall to his sides. "Cause you keep on doing reckless things like this Rafe, time and time again" Ward shouted angrily, "I have every right not to believe you". It was now Rafe's time to sigh as he gazed off. "Look at me as I'm talking to you" Ward instructed his son, sounding a little threatening. Rafe unwillingly turned his attention back to his father, letting his gaze flicker over him. He was having a hard time keeping eye contact with his did, as he often had whenever they fought. "This crap has to stop Rafe, you hear me? It stops right now". The tall boy groaned, clearly not happy about this whole conversation. "Fuck dad, I'm telling you... I was only acting in self defence" Rafe urged. "Don't swear" Ward spat, pointing his index finger towards Rafe, "self defence? What are you taking about?"

"That dude started it!" Rafe exclaimed loudly as he stood up from the couch, once more throwing his hand up into air. "He started it? The one who's nose you broke?" Ward questioned, his eyebrows raised. "Yeah" Rafe nodded, trying to convince his dad that he was telling the truth. "What did he do huh?" Ward pushed, seemingly sceptical. Rafe sighed, gazing off again. He wasn't sure just how many details he should tell his dad, he wasn't sure how well it would go down. "He was being rude to a girl, he was taunting me, he was just being an asshole" Rafe answered, being awfully unspecific as he listed off things, counting them on his fingers. Ward sighed as he turned around, pacing once more. Rafe watched him nervously as he bit down on his bottom lip to suffocate the quiver that he felt coming on. He didn't want to seem vulnerable in front of his dad, or anyone for that matter. The previous night kept on replaying itself inside of Rafe's mind. He hated thinking about what that boy had called Myra, it enraged him.

Ward soon stopped pacing again, turning back to face his son once more. He kept his silence for a moment, squeezing his lips and eyes shut as he gathered himself. "Let me get this straight" Ward spoke, a little lower than before, "he was bothering some girl so you decided to punch him and break his nose?"

"Yeah, what was I supposed to do?" Rafe exclaimed, looking at his dad with wide eyes, "you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing". Ward dragged his hands along his face, groaning with disbelief and disappointment. "No Rafe, I wouldn't have done it cause I would've stopped to think and that's what you need to learn how to do... to just stop and think" Ward lectured his son, once again raising his voice a little. Rafe sighed, sitting down on the couch again. He kept quiet, unsure what to say to that. He wasn't great at stopping and thinking, he was awfully impulsive. Rafe found it hard to think rationally and logically once his thoughts and emotions got too overwhelming. He didn't know what to do with them, so he most often tried the first the thing that came to mind to try and get rid of them.

"Who's the girl?" Ward asked, stopping to look at his son. Rafe looked up at his dad, sitting still on the couch. "What?" he asked, needing a bit of clarification. "Who's the girl?" Ward repeated himself, taking a step closer to Rafe, "is it the girl from the club you were seeing before?". Shit right, that lie. It flashed within Rafe's memory. "Y-Yeah" he croaked out as he nodded his head vigorously, trying to go along with whatever his dad thought. It was a good coverup, at least according to Rafe. Bulletproof, whatever. "Mhm" his father mumbled, nodding his head as he dragged the palm of his right hand over his chin, "right... or is she even real? Maybe the girl from the club is just a coverup so I wouldn't know that it's really all about the pouge girl from the station?"