𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟖

CHAPTER EIGHT we meet again

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MY MIND RAN back and forth as I skated home. Originally, I thought taking the longer route would give my thoughts some time to settle down, but that was far from reality. I was rather overthinking everything, the silence of the Figure 8 roads adding to my mental torture.

All I could think about was my mom, how she was probably exhausting herself trying to make things better for us. I was a hypocrite for expecting more from her, when I myself couldn't even keep my job. I had resented her for the longest time, and my selfishness was finally coming back to me.

The sudden sound of a car pulling up close behind me made me pick up speed, suspicious of how close behind me the person was. On top of everything, I didn't need hospital bills to pay in case I crashed, so I swiftly turned onto the grass strip beside the road. My board stopped immediately on the change of surface, making me lose balance.

After dusting myself off, I raised my head to get a better view of the car. Even though the driver was in such a rush to run me off the road, he had now parked just a few metres away from me. I could tell it was a Kook, the tinted windows and freshly polished exterior giving it away almost instantly.

"Nice fall, is the grass okay?" the driver shouted, coming closer to me.

I could recognise that voice anywhere, unfortunately.

"Stalking me now, huh. Getting me fired wasn't enough?" I sprung to my feet, my previous sadness switching swiftly to anger.

Rafe towered over me, the strong scent of his cologne overpowering every breath I took. He was missing his signature slick-backed hair, rather replaced by the same middle part he had the night of The Wreck incident. He wore the same black jeans as yesterday, paired with a casual grey t-shirt and his gold ring.

"Didn't mean to startle you like that, Cami."

"Get the fuck away from me." I went in to slap him, being stopped by his hand gripping my wrist and placing it back to my side.

"You'll regret that. I just want to talk."

"I don't have shit to say to you."

"For such a pretty girl you sure do have a filthy mouth. Remember where that got you last time?"

Even though Rafe was the last person I wanted to see right now, I did want answers as to why he did what he did.

"Fine. You want to talk, so talk." I sighed.

"Listen, I just wanted to apologise for how things played out—" I scoffed at the sound of his words, making him pause his sentence.

"I know, I know you hate me right now—"

"Just now? I've always hated you, Rafe, don't flatter yourself." I interrupted him again.

"I didn't want things to end up this way, but I had to do it, Camille. It's more than just the deal we had- which, you still broke, by the way."

"What, did Angel Gabriel come down from heaven and tell you to get me fired? I had a lot riding on that job, y'know? Not everyone has the same comfortable life as you do."

"You said you'd let me talk, can I please say one sentence without you interrupting me?"

"Fine." I replied, wanting to hear what was so important for him to say.

"I have a better job opportunity for you. You were so obsessed with working at The Wreck, that I didn't know how else to get you to take it. I thought that, maybe, if you didn't work there anymore—"

"Well, I don't. What's the job?"

"We don't have anyone to work on the Druthers anymore. You don't have to do much; clean, fill up the scuba tanks, maybe make me a mean whiskey from time to time. Pays 20$ an hour, depending on how much work there is to do that day."

My thoughts froze, surprised that Rafe Cameron had gotten me fired so he could give me a better paying job. Was he being nice for once? Knowing him, there was always an ulterior motive. I needed money desperately, but is it worth spending every day in his presence?

"Doesn't John B work on the Druthers?" I recalled.

"Used to, up until like last week."

What kind of a friend would I be to take John B's old job? I'd hate for him to start working at The Wreck as my replacement, so I had no right to do the same. Besides, there were more than enough other jobs I could take. I had just been fired, and since I still had the money he gave me a few nights ago, I had time to find someplace else.

"I'll give you my number, call me when you've made up your mind." Rafe's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I don't have a phone."

He broke out into laughter, clearly presuming I was joking. My face stayed completely straight, his laugh dying down as he realised.

"Not even, like, a flip phone?"

"Nope."

"Damn."

"I have a house phone though." I continued. "I can call you on that."

"I'll get a pen from my car, wait right here."

As he asked, I stood still waiting for Rafe. I didn't even know why I offered to take his number, it wasn't like I was going to call him back or anything. I guess I just didn't want to push my luck by making him angry again, knowing full well where that got me last time.

Less than a minute later, he was back with a Sharpie in his hand. With the other, he took my palm and lifted it to where his other arm was resting. He bit the cap off the pen, leaving it resting in between his lips.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing my number, like you asked." he muffled.

"Wouldn't you prefer to write it on, like, my cigarette box or something?"

"No need. You do know smoking kills, right?" he questioned as he started writing a series of numbers on my skin.

"So does coke. That's the fun part, isn't it?"

"Stop moving." he said, readjusting the hold he had on my hand.

"You're tickling me."

"I don't care."

I watched as he finished writing the last few digits, holding my hand for a few more seconds before letting go. He tucked the now-closed Sharpie behind his ear, accidentally pulling back a few strands of his hair with it.

"I should probably go." I resumed after a brief silence.

"Let me drive you."

"No."

"I made you crash, it's the least I could do." he attempted to reason with me.

"No, Rafe."

"I may hate you, but I'm not evil. I won't let you potentially injure yourself."

"Glad to know the feeling's reciprocated."

"You gonna get in the car now?"

"Fine." I gave in.

"Good girl."

I picked up my longboard from the grass strip, quickly getting up to follow Rafe to his car. He opened the passenger door for me, before sitting down behind the wheel. The board rested at my feet whilst I sat in the leather seat, not used to this much comfort when compared to John B's van.

"Got an address for me?" he asked, opening a navigation app on his phone.

"Merrimac Lane."

Apart from the soft hum of the car radio, no other noise sounded the entire time it took to get to my house. As weird as it was, getting a ride home from Rafe Cameron, it was a nice gesture. It was minimal effort after him getting me fired, but best to start somewhere than nowhere.

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"I'll get out here." I said, breaking the silence.

"Okay. Don't forget to call me when you come to your senses."

"Mhm." I reached for the car door, grabbing my longboard with my free hand.

"Thanks for the ride, Rafe."

"You're welcome, Camille."

I strolled up the broken cobblestone path leading to my front door, dreading having to break the news to my mom. Wasting no time, I walked into our front room, wanting to get the confrontation over and done with.

"I'm home, Mom." I said as I opened the door, my eyes meeting a much different sight than I had been expecting.

My eyes darted to the countless glass bottles scattered over the floor, never having seen this many bottles in the time my mom had been drinking. My heart sank, realising that what Kiara had said earlier was true.

I moved the bottles out of my path, getting deja vu from when I last came from work- except May wasn't on the couch this time. In fact, I had no idea where she was.

"Mom?" I called out again, dropping my board to free my arms.

Both the kitchen and her bedroom were empty, a sense of panic starting to rush into me. I paced the corridor, double checking every room and making sure she was hidden somewhere. The next place to check was my bedroom, although the door looked to be closed since I'd left.

The hinges screeched as I pried the door open, seeing that the room was laid out exactly as I had left it. With little to no time to waste, I moved to look in the last place I hadn't checked- the bathroom.

With the bathroom being the most secluded part of the house, it was also the easiest to miss. I rattled the door handle, hoping it was just jammed and not locked.

"Open the door. It's me, Camille." I shouted, continuing to twist the handle. Starting to get impatient, I slammed my body into the door, causing it to swing open.

It felt as if my entire life had been out on pause, horrified at the sight I was seeing. My breathing turned shallow, leaving me standing in a state of shock.

"Oh my God, Mom?"