𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐓 ― rafe cameron

σαράντατρία ; 43

song of the chapter:
I WAS ALL OVER HER ; salvia palth

Margarita sat alone on top of a random hill overlooking the shoreline, her knees tucked close to her chest as she watched the waves crash lazily against the sand. The sun was setting, painting the horizon in soft pinks and golds that stretched out endlessly before her. It was beautiful, almost serene, but her mind couldn't find peace. It never did. The weight of everything that had happened, and everything that hadn't, lingered like a shadow.

She felt tired—exhausted, really—but it wasn't just physical. It was the kind of tired that came from within, from having too many thoughts swirling in her head that she couldn't quite grasp or silence. It had been this way for a while, ever since she got back to OBX. The noise of it all—the expectations, the drama, the uncertainty—it never left her alone.

Her eyes, heavy with a quiet sadness, drifted over the water, watching the way the waves curled and crashed, endlessly moving, never stopping, just like her thoughts. She couldn't help but miss her family. The absence was loud. They hadn't been around much lately, too wrapped up in the family business. Especially now, with the influx of tourists visiting, there was always something to take care of. And she got it—she really did—but that didn't make it any easier.

It wasn't that they didn't care. They did. But sometimes it felt like she was invisible, a part of the picture they were too busy to look at. She missed the times when things were simpler—before the business consumed everything, before she started feeling like a background character in her own life.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she ran her fingers through her hair, the wind tugging at the loose strands. She wondered if they even noticed she wasn't around as much lately. It had been easy to drift away, to get lost in her own world. Her dad would always say, "There's time for everything later," but later never seemed to come. It felt like they were always caught up in the rush of making everything perfect for everyone else—leaving her feeling forgotten.

Margarita's gaze settled back on the waves, the rhythmic pull of the tide bringing a strange sense of calm. She wished it could carry her worries away with it. For just a moment, she wished she could be like the ocean, constantly moving, constantly going forward, never held back by the weight of everything around her.

The Pogues had been distant lately, caught up in something they wouldn't share with her. No matter how many times Margarita had asked Sarah or Pope what was going on, their responses were always the same: "Don't worry about it."

At first, she didn't press too hard. She figured maybe it was something small, nothing worth stressing over. But as the days stretched into weeks, it became impossible to ignore. There was a secret plan, something big, and they were all in on it—except her. The more they brushed her off, the more she felt the sting of being left out. She wasn't just some random person in their lives; she was Sarah's best friend. She had grown close to all of them, shared so much with them. But now, it was like there was an invisible wall between her and the rest of the group.

Margarita couldn't help but feel like they were hiding something important. Every time they said, "It's nothing, just trust us," it only made her trust them less. She had been through enough to know that when people started keeping secrets, it usually meant trouble.

Sitting on that hill, she could feel the loneliness settling in deeper. She missed the old days—when things were simple, when they were all just kids chasing adventure, no heavy secrets or lies between them. But now, everything felt complicated. She had this nagging feeling that whatever they were planning, it was something that could change everything.

Her phone buzzed in her lap, and she glanced down at the screen. Another missed call from Rafe. He had been trying to reach out, trying to talk about what had happened between them, but right now, even that felt too heavy to deal with. She didn't know how to navigate her feelings for him, much less the secrecy with the Pogues. It was all too much.