Snow On The Beach // R.C.

1.21

"A white lie party?" I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I awoke this morning to Rafe gently shaking me, saying that Ward and Rose took Wheezie to Charleston for a little getaway for a couple days, and he's throwing a party.

"Yeah," he says, smiling down at me from where he sits on the edge of my bed. "Everyone shows up in white and writes a white lie on their shirt. It's supposed to be funny."

Sitting up, I push my hair out of my face. "And you had to wake me up at" —I sneak a peek at the clock on my bedside table— "8 AM to tell me this for what reason?"

"I just wanted to see you."

"Liar."

"Well...that and I wanted to ask if you'd bake something for it..." Watching him with a knowing smile as he trails off, I'm slapped in the face (and finally fully awake) when he pulls a bag of weed out from his pocket, dangling it around like he's proud of it.

"No," I blurt, crossing my arms over my chest.

He frowns. "Why not?"

"Did you go see Barry again?"

His blue eyes fall, splashing my white sheets with their guilt. I didn't mean to make him feel guilty, and I truthfully don't understand what there is to feel guilty about. It was a simple question, and Rafe is nineteen—practically an adult. He can do what he wants. He always has. Though I suppose the fear that I feel deep within my gut probably rose to the surface, lacing my voice with a certain tone.

I haven't told him that someone was watching us last night. And I sure as hell haven't told him that I think that someone was Oli—the guy with the hooded eyes who stood in front of my bike that night I passed Barry's place on my way home. That's twice now that I've run into his guys: Alan and Oli. One felt like it was simply in passing, but last night felt intentional. And it's only now that Barry's words from that night are coming back to me: I'll be seeing you.

I shake it off. It's probably nothing. I'm probably working everything up in my brain. Yet I still say: "You told me he was dangerous."

Rafe shocks me by smirking. "Are you saying that you're concerned for my safety?"

"Yes."

That smile falls, the lines by his eyes flattening out. "I've got everything under control, okay? I promised him my bike as collateral—"

"What do you mean collateral?" I interrupt him, fingers aimlessly fiddling with the comforter. "Are you indebted to this guy?"

He shrugs.

"Holy shit." My hands encompass my temples. "That's where the generator money that your dad gave you went. To this Barry guy. And that's why you decided to deal at Kelce's party so you could make the money back to buy the generators! Where is that money Rafe? Is that what you bought this with?" I snap, yanking the bag of weed from his hands and dangling it between our faces.

Before I can even so much as blink, he snatches it back from me, shoving it in his pocket. I don't like the way his face warps, jawline hardening. "Actually, I bought this." The strap of my tank top finds its way between his fingers. "And this." He yanks back my covers, revealing my skin and everything I'm wearing to the cold AC. And then he gets off the bed and storms over to my closet where he throws open the door and motions to everything inside. "And all of this."

I'm shocked into silence. Meanwhile, Rafe is literally starting to shake. I stand, slowly walking over to him.

"So you not only still owe your dad, but you now owe Barry even more than you did before?" I say, over enunciating each word, not because I think Rafe is stupid (and believe me, I do), but because I'm trying to understand it myself.