Whispers || Rafe Cameron

CHAPTER TWO

A/N this one might be a bit too long so i apologise.

The hours passed in a blur. I spent the rest of the afternoon helping Dad unpack boxes for the marina office while Malakai lounged on the dock. He hadn't said much since we got here, and I wasn't sure how to bring up Sarah's invitation without getting an immediate no.

As the clock crept closer to seven, I finally decided to go for it.

"Hey, Mal?" I called from the kitchen.

"What?" he replied without looking up from his phone.

"So, I kind of got invited to this thing tonight. A hangout."

That got his attention. He glanced up, narrowing his eyes. "What kind of 'thing'?"

"Nothing crazy," I said quickly. "Just a casual spot called The boneyard. Sarah-one of the locals-invited me. I told her I'd bring you."

Malakai snorted. "You told her that? Without asking me?"

I rolled my eyes. "You've been sulking since we got here. You can at least see what the people are like. Who knows? You might actually make a few friends."

He thought for moment, "Fine. But only because I don't trust you out there by yourself."

That counted as a win from me, "Right, because the beach is so dangerous," I said, grabbing my jacket.

________________________________________

As they arrived to the Boneyard, the beach was packed, the air thick with the sound of waves crashing and voices blending together in the distance. The bonfire at the Boneyard crackled, casting a warm, flickering light across a group of people gathered around it. I could already feel the energy in the air-the mix of tension and excitement.

I could tell Malakai was already uneasy, the sharp look in his eyes scanning the crowd. He wasn't wrong-there was something about the place that felt odd.

"This is the place, huh?" Malakai muttered, glancing around.

"Yeah, I think so," I said, my voice unsure. I didn't know what to expect. All Sarah had said was that it was a hangout, but now that we were here, I realized I had no idea what I was walking into. Sarah couldn't pick us up anymore so we decided to walk together.

As we walked closer to the fire, I spotted Sarah. She was sitting on a log with a group of people, her blonde hair glowing in the firelight. She stood up as soon as she saw us and waved excitedly.

"You made it!" she called out, her voice cheerful.

"Of course," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

"This is my brother, Malakai," I added, nodding toward him.

Malakai gave a stiff wave, and Sarah grinned. "Nice to meet you! Come over, we're just getting started."

We followed her to the group, and I immediately felt out of place. There was a bunch of people I didn't know, all hanging around the fire, some chatting, others laughing. A majority of them had beers in their hands, while others just sat back and soaked in the atmosphere.

"This is Alana and Malakai," Sarah said, introducing us to the group. "They just moved here."

A guy with short dark hair looked us over and smiled. "Newbies, huh? Welcome to the madness," he said, giving a playful wink.

"That's Kelce," Sarah said, gesturing to him with a smile.

Next, she pointed to the guy sitting closest to the fire, he was taller than malakai, with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He gave us a sharp look as we walked up, his gaze lingering a moment longer than I expected.