angel - rafe cameron (outerbanks)

9 - what gold?

chapter 37
what gold?

it had been over 48 hours since angie received the first text from rafe. he had sent five more texts. all unanswered. she hadn't responded to any of them. she wasn't sure why. maybe she couldn't find the right words, or maybe she just didn't want to face whatever was waiting on the other side of that conversation. angie had never been the kind of girl to ignore a warning. and yet, here she was, ignoring two. both rose and barry had warned her. at the time, angie had brushed it off as nothing more than rose being rose—but now, she wondered if she should've listened. barry had been less subtle. she had let him in too close. angie wasn't stupid—she knew what rafe was capable of. she had seen it with her own eyes, and still, some part of her had convinced herself that he was different with her. that maybe she wasn't just another girl he had messed around with once or twice. but now, with over 48 hours of silence between them and five unanswered texts sitting on her phone, she wasn't so sure. the first text felt like her sign to walk away, that he wasn't interested; but the five that followed confused her tenfold.

hello?

pls answer me angel

r u ok?

i need u.

coming home tmrw. can i see u?

angie stared at the messages, her thumb hovering over the keyboard, but she couldn't bring herself to type anything. he needed her. that was what had her stuck—the way those three words made her feel something she wasn't sure she wanted to feel. it was easier to pretend rafe didn't need anyone. but now? now he was asking for her. and she didn't know what to do with that.

she had spent the last two days convincing herself that the space was good. that distance was necessary. that she had let him in too close, let herself get too wrapped up in the mess that followed him like a storm cloud. she told herself it wasn't her problem. that she didn't owe him anything. but if that was true, why did her chest feel tight every time she looked at his name on her screen? why was there a part of her that wanted to answer, even when she knew she shouldn't?

before she could spiral any further, her phone buzzed again, snapping her out of her thoughts. but this time, it wasn't rafe. it was kiara.

you need to come to john b's. there's something you might want to see. urgent.

froze. her heart lurched in her chest as her eyes flicked over the message again.

urgent.

whatever kiara wanted to show her, it couldn't be good.

a hundred thoughts ran through her mind at once. her stomach twisted at the idea of something bad happening. her first instinct was to ignore it, to pretend she hadn't seen it. but then her fingers moved on their own, typing out a quick response before she could stop herself.

on my way.

as she grabbed her keys and headed for the door, she tried to shake the feeling creeping up her spine—the quiet, nagging voice in the back of her head whispering that whatever can't have been good.

when she pulled up to john b's house, an unfamiliar boat was moored at his dock. if it weren't for the loud laughter drifting through the air, she would've thought nobody was home.

her heart pounded as she followed the voices down to the water, her stomach twisting with unease. and then she saw them.

alive.

sarah. john b. sitting on the dock, beers in their hands, the late afternoon sun casting a golden glow over them like some cruel joke. angie's breath caught in her throat. her vision blurred at the edges. she didn't move. couldn't move.