The Song of the Sea

27. Mutiny

The sound of the door thumping closed seemed to echo round the room. And then there was silence.

Jacob was torn between running after Pete and James or hiding under the covers with Raephier pretending that never happened.

Getting caught in a passionate embrace was embarrassing, there was no doubt about it, but Jacob could live with that. What worried him the most was the look on Pete's face. He'd known Pete long enough to know when something was really wrong. And even though Pete had never even set foot in the cabin, the look on his face had dropped the temperature below freezing.

"Are you ok?" came a timid voice from his side.

Jacob turned to look at Reaphier. Despite his dishevelled appearance, Jacob still thought he looked beautiful.

"I'm sorry," Jacob said, "I shouldn't have done that."

"You shouldn't have kissed me?" Raephier asked. And Jacob felt his chest tighten at the worried look on Raephier's face.

Jacob was already beginning to worry about the repercussions this could have. And above all he was concerned about the repercussions it might have for Raephier.

"Yes, I really, really shouldn't have done that," he said, feeling his anger at himself start to spike. "What was I thinking?! I need to talk to them," he said, jumping up.

"Wait!" Raephier said, scrabbling off the bed to join Jacob at the door.

Jacob turned to look at Reaphier, but Raephier just stared at him with wide eyes, clearly not knowing what to say.

Jacob grabbed hold of Raephier's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I am really sorry Raephier. I take full responsibility for what happened. I hope you can forgive me."

Then Jacob picked up his coat and left to go and speak to Pete.

Jacob suspected he knew what the problem was. After the pressure he'd been under by the crew to use Raephier as a weapon, and then to lose Marco, it looked even worse that he had now been caught being intimate with the person that he'd been protecting.

The truth was that Jacob loved every member of his crew and would do anything for them. He would never put one person above another. And the same went for Raephier. He would not sacrifice Raephier for the sake of his crew. He would gladly sacrifice himself though.

Jacob slowed to almost a complete stop when he saw the entire crew gathered on the main deck, James and Pete in the centre. He knew at that moment that this was probably even worse than he already thought.

He watched as a show of hands went into the air. He had no idea what they were voting on, but he could guess. He stared at the one man who mattered the most. Pete.

Jacob watched as Pete cast his eyes around the crew. Most of them had raised their hands, though not everyone. Slowly, Pete raised his hand too, and Jacob felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him.

He took a few breaths then strode forwards.

"So am I not even allowed to defend my actions?" he announced loudly, making every head abruptly turn his way.

He saw the guilt in his men. Only Pete and Lyle were brave enough to maintain eye contact.

"It's not forever," Pete said, stepping towards Jacob. "It's just until we can be sure that he's not affecting you in some way."

Jacob snorted. "He's not affecting me in the way you think."

"So you admit he is affecting you then," Lyle butted in.