This is Me Trying ⭑ Rafe Cameron

sixty nine

CHAPTER SIXTY NINE
[69]
song: ain't quite right by still blank

The holding cell smelled of mildew, and there wasn't a single spot on the cement floor where a puddle hadn't formed— of what, no one knew. The air conditioning rattled above their heads, and the clothes they'd put them in did little to provide any comfort.

They'd been in holding for hours, just sitting and waiting for someone to tell them what exactly they'd been detained for, and whether or not the next step was actual prison or deportation.

"Hey! Hey—" Rafe shouted, getting to his feet and walking over to the bars every time an officer walked past. "You gonna tell us what's going on here?! Huh?!"

They ignored him.

"Yeah, alright." He yelled down hall as the officer walked on. "The actual criminal is walking free, but yeah, lock us up."

"Be quiet, Rafe." Pope muttered from the corner of the cell, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "You're just gonna piss them off."

Rafe turned around frustratedly. "This is a joke." He scoffs, shaking his head. "You've got the wrong guy!" He raised his voice suddenly, redirecting it back out towards the bars.

Sarah jumped at the sound, and John B spoke up. "Sit down!"

"We can't just keep sitting around here with no answers." Rafe spoke annoyedly, like he didn't understand why everyone else wasn't bent out of shape about it.

"Just sit." Cassie spoke quietly. "It's not like we're in a rush to be anywhere."

"We should at least have lawyers." Rafe huffed, starting to pace.

"Yeah, with who's money?" Sarah said, looking up at her brother. "Yours?"

Rafe glanced at Cassie, and she tilted her head back against the wall she sat leaned on, closing her eyes. Her head was throbbing with pain. Every time someone spoke it echoed off the walls and sent a surging pain behind her eyes.

She'd taken the last few of her pills right before she and Rafe got off the train. Which worked out, as they'd all been stripped down and searched before they threw everyone in here. But if she knew she'd be without them for this long, she would have timed things better.

"If anyone's getting in serious trouble it's me. The Corsairs could've told them what I did." Pope spoke just barely above a whisper.

Cassie looked at him, at the way his eyes remained glued to the floor. She knew all too well what he was going through mentally right now. Thankfully, it was still fresh. It was weeks from now when things would really start to sink in. When the nightmares would start, the real paranoia.

Rafe came and sat back down beside Cassie.

"The Corsairs were not gonna just stop and talk to the cops." John B shook his head. "They were a little busy jumping off cliffs and getting away with the crown."

"Groff too." Cassie said.

Kiara hadn't said much of anything since they'd been detained, sitting alone on a bench in the corner. "I had him. Right in front of me, and I couldn't do it." She spoke quietly.