Me and the Devil

5.

The next morning, I am awoken by voices coming from the living room. I can tell it's Sheriff Peterkin. Fuck. Is this about the gun incident yesterday? I stay still, not wanting to alert her that I'm here. I strain to hear more.

"Now, down here is foster care, juvie. Pretty big drop for a smart kid like you. Up here is you and your little friends doing whatever you want. Outer Banks... or foster care on the mainland. You one inch above the surface, John B. If I, was you, I'd start flappin' my wings."

I tune out the rest of the conversation as I take in what I just heard. John B can't go into foster care. We'd be nothing without him. I'd be nothing without him. I hear the door to The Chateau close. I head out into the living room. John B is picking up garbage scattered around the house.

John B goes, "Sheriff Peterkin says she's got dogs livin' better than this." I don't say anything while I start helping John B pick up.

JJ, Kiara, and Pope show up about an hour later. They look around impressed with the cleanliness of The Chateau. John B sits down.

"Look, I'm calling it off. All right? Peterkin said, 'if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS.'"

"And you believe her? A cop. An actual cop." JJ asks.

"Yes, I believe her, JJ. All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help me out. It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."

"You know what I should have done? Just let Topper drown your ass."

"Shut up, both of you. It's over. But if they don't want us in the march, that's exactly where we need to be. I can feel it - danger always lurks near something worht taking."

"y/n is right. You and me, John B, we got nothing to lose. I know it didn't used to be that way and I'm sorry, man.." JJ starts.

John B pushes him out of the way. "I don't want to talk about it."

"John B, listen to me. I have a plan."

John B stops to look at JJ, intrigued. Kiara and Pope look skeptical. JJ's plans aren't always the best. The backbones of his plans are typically good. I come in with the details.

"You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right?"

"No" John B says. John B works for the Cameron's as well. He is a hired deck hand for Ward's boat, My Druthers.

"I can get one." I state. Everyone looks at me. "I got a job working for Cameron Development yesterday. Might as well get something out of it, right?"

"Perfect. y/n can get a key to Cameron's big boat. There's scuba gear inside. You and y/n can borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. You don't see rich kids going into foster care, do you?"

John B stays silent and nods. I look at my watch. I must get going to the Cameron's.

"I'll meet you at the Druthers, in a few hours." I yell as I hop into my jeep.

I arrive at Tannyhill, the Cameron's estate. I've been there a few times, but their house never ceases to amaze me. The white estate oozes with southern charm as it sits on 14 acres of beautiful waterfront property. I walk up to the door and knock. Rafe opens the door.

"You're late," he smirks.

"You're high," I retort.

His smirk fades, eyes narrowing, but before he can say anything, Ward steps into the entryway.

"Welcome, y/n!" Ward booms oblivious to the tension. "Since it's your first day there isn't much to do. I just wanted to show you around Tannyhill and give a little explanation of what you will be doing. However, I have a meeting with a client, so I asked Rafe to give you the tour. I'll meet up with you a little bit later."

I force a polite smile, my stomach knotting. Being alone with Rafe after last night's encounter isn't ideal. I'll make you pay. His words echo in my head.

"What do you say we ditch the tour and have our own bit of fun?" Rafe interrupts my thoughts as if he heard them.

"I don't think your dad would approve of that." I say matter-of-factly.

"You're right. Let's go then, shall we?" Rafe heads off towards the stairs. He leads me into Ward's office first, explaining that I will probably do a lot of work from here. Next, he leads me to Rose's office, explaining that I will also be working with Rose, his step mom. Rose is a real estate agent, while Ward is a developer. We walk down the hall, and he stops at a door.

"This is where you will be spending most of your time," he says, pushing it open.

His bedroom. Of course.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I mutter under my breath, but I feel a flicker of curiosity. The tension in the air...

I follow him through his room to the balcony. His room is super clean. He has a few awards on the maroon walls, but besides that it's boring. A gold four-poster bed sits in the middle of the room with maroon bedding. A gold and maroon wingback chair rests elegantly in the corner by a huge bay window overlooking the water. What is this Gryffindor tower? His propped open closet door reveals an array of polos, button-ups, and other kook clothing. Lastly, a desk full of papers, books, and a few razor blades creates the image that the room is actually occupied by a human being.

"The gardens are below, which I know you've been in before. Down there is our boat, My Druthers. Should you need access to that, the keys are in the right top drawer of my dad's desk," Rafe says. Thank god Rafe mentioned that because I sure as hell wasn't going to ask him directly for that information.

I feel Rafe looking at me. I turn and meet his piercing gaze. "You're pretty hot for a Pogue."

My brain falters. Did Rafe Cameron just call me hot? I try to focus, shaking it off.

"You haven't even seen the best part," I quip as I turn around and walk right out the door straight to Ward's office to retrieve the boat key.

I look up towards Rafe's balcony to make sure he still isn't out there. He isn't. Either somewhere shoveling snow or maybe he's thinking about me. Was I playing hard to get with Rafe Cameron?? John B and I head into the boat and run directly into Sarah Cameron, Rafe's Kook Princess sister and girlfriend of Topper.

"Are you stalking us?" she asks, arms crossed. "Plotting your revenge?"

"I'm just showing y/n around while she waits for your dad to get out of a meeting. I blew out the bilge on the Druthers. It's good to go. Now, I'm just going to top off these tanks." John B says as he points to the scuba gear in the corner.

"Are you ok? That looks like it hurts." Sarah points to John B's swollen eye.

"You can tell Topper that was just round one. John B will get him next time," I cut in, picking up the scuba tanks and hauling them towards the boat.

"Can we just drop the whole Kooks vs. Pogues thing? It's dumb." Sarah says following us.

"Easy to say when you're a kook." John B jumps in his boat and takes off.

I give Sarah an apologetic look. While I always felt out of place at the kook academy or at high society functions, I could always count on Sarah to be warm and friendly to me. Sarah takes me inside to meet Ward.

"Afternoon y/n. I hope your tour this morning was to your liking. I know spending time with Rafe wasn't what you were expecting, but Rafe is a stockholder in Cameron Development, so you will be working with him as well. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I have nothing for you to do this afternoon, so you are free to go. I'll see you tomorrow for some hurricane clean up."

I thank him and wave goodbye to Sarah, feeling like I've just walked into something bigger than I realized. Working for the Camerons - it might be a terrible idea. Or maybe, it's exactly what I need.