STRANGE LOVE | RAFE CAMERON |

CHAPTER 6: | YOU DON'T OWN ME |

Kie walked into Allison's room, her energy vibrant and infectious as always, but today it did little to lift Allison's spirits. Allison lay on her stomach, her phone in hand, staring at the screen with a mix of curiosity and dread. She had just received a message from Rafe, a name that now brought a confusing mix of emotions swirling inside her.

Rafe: Are you going to the movies tonight?

Allison's heart skipped a beat. His text carried a casual tone, but she knew Rafe too well by now to mistake it for anything but a calculated move. He wasn't just asking; he was plotting. He wanted them to meet, to continue the twisted, intoxicating game they'd started. But Allison had already made plans—plans that involved Jordan, the sweet, steady presence who was everything Rafe wasn't.

She typed her response with firm resolve, hoping it would send the right message: "I'm going with my sister. Don't ask me to go with you."

For a moment, her thumb hovered over the send button, the conflicting emotions tearing at her resolve. She couldn't deny the thrill Rafe brought into her life, the way he made her feel alive, teetering on the edge of something dangerous and exhilarating. But she couldn't allow herself to be pulled into his world—not tonight, not when she had promised Jordan they would sneak away together. She hit send, her breath catching in her throat as she watched the message deliver.

Kie plopped down on the bed next to her, completely unaware of the inner turmoil raging within her sister.

"You ready?" Kie asked, her voice bright and cheerful.

Allison quickly flipped her phone over, the screen now hidden from view. "Just need to change clothes," she replied, her voice a little too light, a little too strained.

Kie's eyes narrowed, her playful smile fading as she leaned in closer, noticing something. Without warning, she reached out and moved a strand of Allison's hair aside. "Where did you get that hickey?"

Allison froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She had forgotten about the mark, the bruise that Rafe's lips had left on her neck. She shot up from the bed, making a beeline for the mirror. The small, telltale sign of their encounter stared back at her, glaringly obvious against her pale skin.

"I have no idea," Allison lied, but the words felt hollow even to her own ears.

Kie wasn't convinced. Her sisterly instincts were too sharp for that. "So, what's happening between you and Jordan? Everyone saw you give him that little peck the other day."

Allison's mind raced as she tried to find a way out of this. She needed Kie to believe it was Jordan, not Rafe, who had left that mark. "Me and him? Nothing serious," she deflected, reaching for her foundation and applying it to cover a hickey.

But Kie wasn't letting it go that easily. "I know there's something. He asked for your number, and I know you were with him that night when you came home in the morning. And now you have a hickey. Did you see him last night too?"

Allison sighed, the weight of her secrets bearing down on her. "Well... we kinda hooked up," she admitted, hoping that would be enough to satisfy Kie's curiosity.

"Kinda?" Kie pressed, her tone skeptical.

Allison turned back to the mirror, avoiding her sister's gaze as she rummaged through her closet. "It's nothing serious, Kie. We slept together, and that's it."

Kie softened, her protective nature taking over. "I don't have anything against you two being together. I just wanted to know."

Allison sighed, wishing things could be as simple as Kie made them sound. "I don't want a relationship, and he said he's fine with just hooking up."