𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬| 𝑅𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛

twenty-six

"Rafe?" Banksie called out.

"Out here."

Banksie stepped out onto the balcony, greeted by Rafe and Wheezie.

"Hi," Wheezie smiled with a tight-lipped expression.

About 15 minutes prior, Rafe had asked Banksie to meet him at the Glisson estate. He supposedly wanted to "hang out," so she made time for him before heading to see the Pogues. She also wanted to talk to him.

"Hey, Wheezie," she smiled, looking between the two for a moment. "Where are the Glissons?" she questioned.

"They're in Sun Valley all summer, so you can't tell anyone," Wheezie said, rolling her eyes.

"Right," Banksie nodded.

"Rafe said I can stay here whenever I want," Wheezie smiled, sitting down. Banksie raised a brow at her. "I'm officially the least favorite daughter," she shrugged.

Rafe nodded with a knowing expression on his face.

"Sarah and Dad are going to the Bahamas, and did they invite me? Nope," she said, looking down at the floor. Banksie moved over to sit next to Rafe, Wheezie smirking in the process. "Speaking of Sarah, does she know about y—"

"Wait, wait, wait. They're going to the Bahama house?" Rafe asked, cutting Wheezie off. "In summer?" he said, looking directly at her, while Wheezie quickly shot a glance at Banksie.

"Yup," she nodded. "According to Rose, it's business."

"Hm," Rafe hummed, leaning back in the chair. Banksie took a good look at the injury he had not too long ago, it didn't even look like it attempted to heal.

"I mean, they're all up in some new development, and for some super-secret reason, they're going to the Bahamas," Wheezie shrugged. Banksie's curiosity was piqued.

"You know," Rafe began, standing up quickly, "I—I know about, like, a billion times more about business than she does," he said, extending his arm out. "What is this?" he said, running a hand through his hair.

"We're the black sheep," Wheezie replied. "Get used to it, Rafe," she sighed.

Banksie looked at them both with a hurt expression. It was actually sad to see how differently Wheezie and Rafe were treated compared to Sarah.

"Baa," Wheezie smiled, pulling something out of her bag.

"Shut up, okay?" Rafe said, causing Banksie to give him a look.

"Baa."

"Hey, shut up!" Rafe moved forward quickly, grabbing Wheezie's arm. "I told you to shut up, okay?" he said, finally getting her attention.

"Rafe—"

"Don't tell me to shut up," she snapped, looking up at him, yanking her arm away. Rafe took a step back, breathing heavily as if he'd just run 10 miles.

Wheezie threw a handful of money at him. "My life savings," she said, backing away from him with an annoyed expression.

"Life savings..." Rafe whispered to himself, picking up the bills scattered on the floor.

Banksie rolled her eyes, standing up and reaching into her back pocket. She pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to Wheezie before Rafe could notice. Wheezie mouthed the words "thank you" in return and stuffed it into her pocket as Banksie sat back down.

After Rafe was done picking up the money, he sat down in his original spot next to Banksie. "I'll pay you back," he said, counting the notes.

"Whenever," she nodded.