Island girl | Rafe Cameron

8. JJ'S FAULT

Outer Banks, Cameron's mansion
July 16th, 2020
10:01am

I arrived at my workplace stressed, unsure how to act around my boss now that my brother had hurt his son. I walked along the narrow pathway flanked by colorful flowers, before knocking at the front door, my heart beating so fast and loudly in my chest that it felt like it was gonna explode. The door soon opened, to a serious and cold Ward Cameron, greeting me with a small nod.

"Hello Mr Cameron," I greeted.

"Hi Margot. We should talk, come in, it's too warm outside," he told me, pointing at the living-room.

I nodded and made my way to the sofa where he sat near me, and gave me a glass of water. I thanked him with a head nod, and even though I tried to stay calm, I couldn't contain my nervousness anymore. "Is Rafe okay?" I asked him.

He sighed. "Yeah, he'll be home tonight. I know you texted him, it's very nice of you, but he doesn't have his phone," he stated, grabbing what I assumed was Rafe's phone and showing it to me.

I blushed a little, realizing Ward had read the text message I had sent to his son. So many questions popped in my head but all I could do was remaining silent and shrugging, trying to show him that I wasn't okay with what my brother had done.

"I'm really sorry," I softly apologized.

"Look, I think you're a very smart girl, and I'm sorry that your brother and you are so different, because it must be hard for you not to be seen as a delinquent," Ward began, making my heart race up quickly. "But I think you'll understand that I can't have a Maybank around after what happened to Rafe"

My face fell and tears immediately pecked my eyes, sadness replacing disbelief as I realized I had just lost my job, not even three days after I had started working. He must have noticed my sorrow because he bit his lower lip and stared at me with a gaze full of compassion and respect, but how could he pretend he understood my pain?

"Please no," I begged.

"I'm really sorry. I want to make sure no Maybank will be on my side of the island anymore. What would it make me look like, if people knew I hired a Maybank after what happened?" he asked rhetorically.

I laughed bitterly and wiped the tears which were pouring down my cheeks, before getting up and nodding. "Yeah, of course, your reputation would be ruined," I mocked, but it was probably so important to him that he didn't realize I wasn't serious.

"I hope you'll find another job on the Cut, you seem like a nice person. Trust me, firing you pains me more than it seems," Ward told me as if it could make me feel any better.

I nodded. "Alright, goodbye," I told him.

I left his house and ran home, crying because I had lost my job and being a Maybank was harder than ever. I walked in our house, my stomach and eyes hurting from all the anxiety and sorrow I had been going through for the past few hours. My father was fortunately not here, because coming back home to an abusive father right after being fired would have been the icing on the cake.

JJ heard me coming back, so he walked out of his bedroom, and when he saw me bursting into loud sobs, sitting down on the sofa, he rushed towards me even faster. "Hey, hey Margot what's up?" he asked me, panicked.

It took me a few seconds before I could breathe more normally, as all of my emotions escaped my body. Maybe it could seem like I was overreacting and JJ would probably not understand my tears, but my cries weren't just about my job. After spending all year studying hard at school, working every week-end, summer holidays had began, but not for me. I had worked almost everyday, until late at night, came back home to an abusive father who hit me when I had not washed dishes correctly.

Losing my job, more than just being annoying financially, meant that as soon as my dad would learn it, I'd be dead. I stared at JJ when my tears had dried up a little and he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for me to explain what made me cry.

"I just lost my job at the Cameron's," I told him.

"Wh-what? why?" he asked innocently.

For a second, I hesitated and thought that maybe I shouldn't tell him the truth, he would just feel worse, but then I remembered that he was old enough to understand that his actions had consequences, and not only upon him.

"Because Ward doesn't want a Maybank in his house anymore," I announced, making his face fall.

"You're joking," he replied, skeptic.

"Yeah, as you can see, I am," I snapped, annoyed that I had to justify myself once more.

He got up and lifted his arms up, before his hands found their way in his hair and he paced around the room. I knew he was probably looking for solutions or a master plan to plot a revenge against the Camerons, but whatever was about to come out of his mouth would be stupid.

"I got this, I know who'll hire you," he said proudly.

"Oh yeah? who?" I inquired, curious.

"Mike Carrera, at the Wreck," he told me.

I laughed at how lost he was and shook my head, rolling eyes at his words. "When Kie begged him to hire me he said no. Trust me, he never says to his daughter, so that's a real no," I expressed.

JJ sighed. "Look, if you can't find another job, it's fine, you'll just have more free time," he shrugged innocently.

"Yeah, you're right. How are we even gonna survive? You know exactly what dad would do if all of a sudden I didn't bring money home and he had to pay for our stuff. Working isn't a pleasure, JJ, for us it's a need," I affirmed, remaining calm because I couldn't blame him for the situation we were in.

If we had a normal dad, maybe I'd still have to work, but at least if I got fired, I wouldn't fear my father's reaction to the point where I'd have to find a new job right away. JJ nodded and shrugged. "I'll try to talk to Kie, and maybe Pope. You could maybe work at Heyward's, we never know. And I know you always say it's not my responsibility, but if you need me to work so you don't have to, I can," he told me, which was nice.

"No, I'd be a horrible sister to send my younger brother to work so I can surf. Besides, I don't know who would hire you now that you assaulted Rafe Cameron," I responded.

We both chuckled and then spent most of the day laying on the couch, watching tv together as if nothing mattered. JJ begged me to watch a soccer game with him, then we watched a stupid superhero movie and when our eyes began to hurt from staying in front of a screen for so long, we both went to our rooms. For a little while, JJ and I spent time together like when we were kids and laughed like the kids we once were.

I joined my bedroom late at night, after showering and making myself ready for bed since I couldn't wait to close my eyes and finally get some sleep. As I laid down, my phone buzzed and I grabbed it, thinking it would be a message from Kie telling us four to meet her by the dock on the next day.

It wasn't her though, and what I read wasn't as nice as a message Kie would have sent me. My eyes widened at those words and I kept on re reading them to make sure I was not misreading it. Rafe Cameron had texted me, and I really wished he didn't.

«Hi Margot, I think it's bold of you to text me after what happened. I learned that my dad fired you and that's exactly what you deserve, a good lesson from those who received a proper education. I should have hit you just like I hit your friends, I was stupid to help you out. Now since you seem worried about me, I'm fine and back home, ready to make y'all regret» he had texted me, which was more violent than anything I could have imagined from him.