lovers - obx

- 3 -

Katie sighed as she looked down the long hall lined with jail cells on either side. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she spotted a young blonde girl sitting alone in a cell. She couldn't have been more than 10, and she looked pregnant. That poor girl...

"Do you have evidence for Ward?" Katie asked as she walked slowly behind Peterkin, keeping her hands behind her back as she was instructed to do.

"Yes," Peterkin said, "We've had evidence on him for a while now. We were just waiting for the perfect moment to crack down on him, and when you called both of them out at Pope's memorial, it couldn't have been better timing."

Katie laughed softly, "Glad to know I helped you catch Ward Cameron."

Peterkin smiled over her shoulder at Katie, something Katie needed a lot right now. She was about to talk to her biggest enemy, the person that almost killed her on more than one occasion.

After a few minutes, they finally stopped in front of his cell. Katie looked down to see Rafe, sitting and handcuffed. She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Why is he still cuffed?" She asked, stuffing her hands in her front pockets, keeping her distance from the cell.

"See Figure Eight as you drove in?" Peterkin asked, Katie nodded, "He did that."

Katie gasped slightly. She knew someone had done it, but her initial thought was that the Pogue's went rouge after they left. To hear that Rafe destroyed his own home, and for god knows what reason, was insane.

"Rafe," Peterkin said, knocking on the cell door.

All the cells had one solid piece of metal by the lock, this was where she knocked.

"Yeah?" He mumbled, his voice low and raspy.

He'd probably been yelling.

"Katie's here to see you," Peterkin said.

Rafe lifted his head and his gaze rested on Katie. His eyes immediately softened, they always did when he looked at her, like it was instinct. Peterkin stepped back and leaned against the wall. She'd promised she'd only leave when Katie felt comfortable.

Katie took a deep breath and swallowed hard before she looked over her shoulder, nodding to let Peterkin know that she could go. Peterkin nodded and made her way out of the room, leaving Katie alone with Rafe.

"Baby," Rafe whined, "Please get them to let me out of here."

"First of all, don't called me that," Katie said sternly, "Secondly, I am not getting them to let you out of here. Definitely not after you kidnapped me and murdered one of my best friends."

Rafe laughed deeply, the vein on his neck sticking out as he did. He licked his lips and moved to the side before steadying himself and looking back down at Katie.

"I kidnapped you for your own good," Rafe said, "Killing Pope? That was just for fun."

His smile burned into her skin. He thought he could always get her to melt into his hands, but this time, he was wrong. He had just done exactly what they needed him to.

Katie started smiling cunningly. Rafe's face contorted in confusion.

"Why are you smiling, cupcake?" Rafe asked.

The nickname stung. JJ was the only person who called her that, and was allowed to call her that.

"Because, cupcake, you just confessed," Katie said, "On tape."

She smiled again and pointed towards the camera overhead. Rafe scoffed.

"Those cameras don't have audio," He said, "I could say that I murdered Pope, kidnapped you, raped you, and stole $100,000,000 from my dad and they would never even known because they can't hear anything I'm saying."

There was a moment of silence before the intercom buzzed.

"I heard all of that, Cameron," Shoupe spoke over the intercom.

Rafe's face fell. His whole world fell. Everything was falling apart for him and falling together for Katie. He was finally going to get caught and sent away. They had copped Ward so there was no one to bail him out. It's finally over.

💌

The group wanted to celebrate their big victory against Rafe. They had finally won and it felt final this time. Nothing could come loose and knock any ducks out of line. It was all finally over.

Once they arrived back at the chateau, they began preparing for their evening in paradise. they wanted everything to be perfect for their first night back at home. Like the old times.

Kie and Sarah occupied themselves in the kitchen with preparing the food while Leah occupied herself with watching Kie cook, it was something Leah found very sexy. JJ and John B tasked themselves with collecting fire wood, and Katie---she found herself out on the dock, watching the birds fly over the water.

A lot of things had happened in the past few months, and it was all over. Somehow she'd lost everything and nothing at the same time. Everything gelt like it was still falling apart despite all the pieces being tied up into a little bow.

Katie was trying her best to be optimistic about everything, but something still felt like it was missing. When she looked at it mentally, there was a huge hole in the middle of it all. Something was missing, and she didn't know what it was.

"Whatcha doin', Cupcake?" JJ asked as he sat down beside her, dangling his legs over the side of the dock, mirroring Katie.

"Just thinkin'," She said.

She let out a breath, causing JJ to look at her, concerned.

"What's up, sweetheart?" JJ asked, placing his hand on her lower back and rubbing it to comfort her.

There was a moment of silence before Katie looked JJ in the eye and answered.

"Everything is just...happening so perfectly," She said, JJ nodded, encouraging her to go on, "I just feel like something is missing. Don't you?"

"Well, I don't know if something is missing," JJ said, continuing to rub Katie's back, "But I definitely feel like something has to give eventually. This all feels to good to be true. Especially for us."

Katie sighed, something she was doing a lot these days. Disappointment was around every corner in her life, except with her friends.

JJ didn't say another word before pulling Katie into his arms. He sat himself criss-cross applesauce and pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and took. a deep breath, breathing in his scent, ocean.

They sat there for a moment in silence as the wind blew their hair in every direction. Both of them, in each other's grasp, watching the sunset. Both unbeknownst to their friends watching in awe.

Sarah smiled as she pulled out her phone and snapped quick photo. Katie would want to remember this later. Her and JJ, plus a sunset. Perfection in her eyes.

"I love you, JJ Maybank," Katie said, her voice cutting through the wind.

JJ looked up at Katie, her eyes resting just above his forehead since she was sitting on his lap.

"I love you, Katelynn Routledge," He said, causing Katie to blush.

Nobody every used her full name, but when JJ did, it sounded like angels were singing. Katie loved this boy with all her heart. She wasn't even sure he knew how much she loved him. So, she was gonna do her best to show him.

💌

word count: 1,173 words