angel - rafe cameron (outerbanks)

16 - bonfire

chapter 44
bonfire

the house was quiet. angie sat curled into the corner of the couch, the dull blue light of her phone screen casting shadows over her face. her head throbbed gently from too much thinking, too much scrolling, too many pieces of a puzzle she hadn't yet solved. maddie's name still rang in her head, inked in that journal, hidden under dates like secrets waiting to be exhaled. the map was still burned into her memory.

the silence fractured with a sudden, frantic knocking. loud. rapid. urgent.

she startled, muttering a soft, "jesus," as her heart leapt.

grumbling under her breath, she dragged herself off the couch, feet dragging as she padded toward the front door. her hand hesitated on the doorknob.

then she swung it open.

topper. and sarah.

angie blinked, taken aback.

"why aren't you ready?" topper grinned.

he and sarah laughed at her blank expression.

"ready for what?" she asked, voice flat.

"the bonfire," sarah replied, as if it were obvious. "it's tonight, remember? obx annual mayhem?"

"oh," angie said dumbly. "that's tonight?"

"yes," topper groaned dramatically. "and you look like you just emerged from a bunker. come on."

topper flopped down onto her couch like he lived there, legs spread, thumbs already working his phone at warp speed. sarah grabbed angie by the arm and tugged her toward the stairs.

"you're not escaping," sarah grinned. "i need emotional support and a distraction, and you are both."

angie let herself be pulled upstairs, glancing back at topper, who was now kicking off his shoes like he was settling in for a three-day stay.

in her bedroom, she plopped onto the stool at her dresser, pulling open the top drawer and taking out the makeup bag. lip gloss. eyeliner. concealer. mask of survival.

sarah sat on the edge of the bed, her gaze slowly circling the room and then it landed on the crumpled shirt by the laundry basket.

angie met her gaze in the mirror.

she didn't move. she didn't have to. they both knew exactly whose shirt it was.

"are you still sleeping with my brother?" sarah asked, the question leaving her mouth so quickly that angie almost didn't believe she had even said anything at all.

"no. i am not."

the air hung taut. sarah cleared her throat awkwardly.

"i broke up with john b."

angie's head snapped around. "wait, what?"

"you okay? what happened?"

sarah looked down at her hands. picked at the skin around her thumb.

"i thought he'd get it," she said finally. "losing a parent. but he didn't. not really."

angie stood, crossed the room, and wrapped her arms around her.

"i'm so sorry, sar."

sarah nodded into her shoulder. "yeah. me too."

an hour later, angie stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in blue denim shorts, boots, and a denim jacket. she had never seen someone less excited to go to a party than sarah cameron.