BLOODSTREAM 彡 Rafe Cameron

Chapter Six: Damsel in Distress

⋆｡𖦹 °.⋆𓇼˖°

Chapter Six

Damsel in Distress

Townes' heart hammered, her pulse racing as she sat in the backseat behind Rafe and Sarah in the truck. The silence hung thick and suffocating, and her mind replayed the scene on the airstrip, unable to shake the feeling that everything was spiraling out of control. Her fingers dug into the seat, clutching it as if to ground herself in the tangible reality of the truck– of the enclosed space, of Rafe's presence in front of her.

Rafe's hand clenched around the wheel, knuckles white and fingers rigid. His jaw was set, eyes darting to the rearview mirror every few seconds as if expecting someone to come after them. Finally, he broke the silence, his voice laced with desperation and something darker, a manic edge.

"She had the hammer back.You know that" His voice cracked slightly, and he swallowed hard.

"No." Sarah numbly replied.

"She was going to blow his head off." His gaze shifted to Sarah, who was leaning as far away from him as possible.

Sarah's head turned in disbelief, her distraught evident by her expression, "No, she was arresting him, Rafe."

"Okay, I couldn't sit there and let it happen, okay? She was going to kill him... yeah, yeah, she was going to kill him."

In that moment, Townes felt the tug-of-war inside Rafe, the twisted logic he'd used to justify his actions. It was as if he were trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince Sarah. But Sarah's eyes were wide with fear, the tear-streaked desperation that only seemed to intensify as her brother's words echoed through the truck.

Without warning, Sarah's hand gripped the door handle, ready to pull herself free. Rafe's eyes flicked to her, a flash of betrayal and panic cutting through his expression as he noticed the door opening, "Hey! Hey!" he hissed, reaching over and pulling her back roughly. "Hey, get back in!" Sarah gasped, her face etched with shock and fear.

"Owe, Rafe!" Sarah's voice broke as she tried to speak, but Rafe's hands were like iron, gripping her shoulders and forcing her to look at him.

Townes' own voice came out sharper than she expected, her fear igniting into anger. "Rafe, stop! Look at what you're doing!"

But her words only seemed to make him grip Sarah harder, his attention completely focused on his sister, his knuckles pressing white into her shoulders. "What do you think you're doing?" His voice rose, bordering on hysteria.

Sarah's voice cracked, barely a whisper as she stared at him. "Get off of me!"

He swallowed, his gaze locking onto Sarah's with a feverish intensity. "Swear to God, alright?" He barely spared Townes a glance as his eyes flickered between the road and Sarah's pale, trembling face. "I've had it with your bullshit! You need to focus. Do you understand me?"

"Do you understand what you've done?" Sarah uttered.

"I saved dad. What was I supposed to do, okay? Sit there, hope for the best?"

Townes could barely register what he was saying—it was all a jumble of accusations, anger, and regret, his voice slipping between fury and something almost frantic. She could see it in his eyes, the barely restrained panic, like he was wrestling with emotions he didn't know how to handle, emotions he was terrified of facing. His hands clutched the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were ghostly white against the leather. He looked unhinged, eyes darting between the road and Sarah, the weight of his actions crashing down on him.