𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡, obx

13 ... nevers

nalani ran through the woods of the island, the wind whistling in her ears. the police had turned up at the tarmac and she didn't want to be spotted, so she ran. her mind was racing with thoughts and she couldn't get them out.

she tripped over a root underfoot and hit the ground harshly, making her chin start to bleed. tears began to stream out of her eyes at the realisation of what she had just seen. she hadn't had time to think about it, but now she was.

ward cameron was a killer. he had killed big john routledge and was supposed to be getting arrested for it. his son, rafe cameron, was also a killer. he had shot sheriff peterkin in cold blood. he didn't care, he wanted to do it.

nalani knew the right thing was to tell someone. tell them how she had seen her older brother, her role model, kill the sheriff. something in her brain was telling her no. rafe had protected her, made her feel special, been the light in the darkness. he was there through everything, how was she meant to throw it away like that?

she couldn't. she wouldn't.

nobody knew she was on the tarmac and she wasn't going to tell the pogues about it, either. maybe they'd all hate her forever but rafe was her family. she was so conflicted, it hurt to even think about it.

she wished she could go back to a week and a half ago when she was sat on a beach with austen, piper and oscar while playing in the ocean, way past all of their curfews. she wished she could go home and talk to rafe without knowing everything she did.

-

nalani shut the door to the cameron home, glancing around at the quiet house. it was always weirdly silent but it felt different. she was going to go to sleep with the same people who had killed.

she wanted everything in the world to just stop so she could run up the stairs and down the hall into rafe's bedroom. sit on his bed and tell him everything about her day, listen to him give her the worst advice ever.

instead, she headed to sarah's bedroom. she knocked lightly on the door before opening it and walking towards her sister. nalani's head shook back and forth rapidly, "i-i...sarah."

at the sight of her little sister's tear-stained face and red eyes, sarah hopped up from the bed and wrapped her arms around her.

"i saw it," nalani spoke into sarah's chest. sarah leaned back to meet her eyes, "peterkin- i saw everything, i- i don't know what to do. please don't tell anyone i know, please sarah."

"i won't, i'm sorry," sarah pulled her back in and ran her hands in nalani's hair, "i'm so sorry."

the door of the bedroom swung open and ward stepped in, his eyes widening at the sight. he walked up and pulled nalani away, turning to sarah. "what did you tell her?"

sarah shook her head, "nothing, dad!"

"well, then why is she crying?" he swung nalani around with force and bent down, getting in her face. "you always get in people's business, you're just like your mother!"

ward gripped nalani's arm harder and took her out of sarah's room, shoving her into her own. he closed the door, a click coming from the lock.

nalani scoffed, walking up to it and shaking the doorknob. "you're such an asshole!" she shouted, sighing and moving to sit on her bed. "no wonder mom left you."

-

a soft tap came from nalani's window, making her whip her head around to face it. she jumped up and drew back her navy blue curtains, spotting oscar on the other side.

"lani!" he exhaled, "bro, you won't believe what's going on. like, you might actually need to sit down. can you come with us?"

she pressed her hands up against the window and tried to slide it up, "no, it's locked. so is my door, my dad locked me in here."