𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 ☼ 𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯

𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯〔 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 〕

𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

Kiara, Rafe and I climb out of the truck now that we're at the marina and can't shake the feeling of Rafe's eyes on me, watching my every move as if he's scared I'll slip through his fingers again.

"Come on. My boat's down here" Rafe speaks up, Kiara and I following him towards the boat that he obviously docked here this morning.

"Make sure your shoes are off" He warns us as we reach the vessel and Kiara glances at me.

"I'm not taking my shoes off" I declare stubbornly, stepping onto the boat.

"Okay, we should have enough juice to get us to Saint Lucia, no problem" Rafe informs us as he unties the boat from the dock "Hey, get in the boat"

"Kie!" Rafe snaps in annoyance as he stands at the wheel.

"You're not gonna pull anything if I get in?" Kiara questions and Rafe looks at me in disbelief, as if asking me for help but I merely shrug.

"No, I'm not gonna pull anything, okay? I'm trying to do you a solid here. You really wanna be back there with Singh, or do you wanna be somewhere safe?" Rafe speaks to her as if she's a child and I can tell she doesn't appreciate that at all "Can you help me with the bowline?"

Kiara finally steps onto the boat and heads to fix the bowline while I make my way to the front of the boat, taking a seat onto the warm surface and leaning back on my palms as I soak up the sun.

"Thank you" Rafe sighs.

"Hey, uh, I... I can't get it" Kiara calls out and I glance back at my friend, noticing her skittish demeanour that makes me frown.

"What?" Rafe questions.

"I need some help!" Kiara shouts at him.

"Goddamn, do I have to do everything? Okay" Rafe storms down from the wheel and strides past Kiara "Move"

He climbs over the railing and I watch from a metre away as Kiara lunges forward, shoving Rafe right into the sea water below us. She then spins around and locks eyes with me as I pull myself to my feet, brushing off my pink satin shorts.

"Don't make me fight you on this, Addy" She pleads and I shake my head.

"I won't fight with you, Kie" I assure her and she breathes out in relief but I grab her wrist as she tries to pass me "Please tell my brother that I love him and that I'm sorry"

"Why?" She frowns deeply.

"I'm not leaving him behind again" I state firmly and she must see something in my eyes or my expression because she doesn't argue.

Kiara sighs defeatedly with a nod and climbs up the boat until she reaches the wheel, starting up the engine almost immediately as I step back onto the dock.

"Kie! Hey!" Rafe screams from the water "Kie! Where are you going?"

"I've gotta help my friends!" Kiara replies, peeling the boat away from the dock.

"You don't know what you're doing! Hey!" Rafe screams "Shit! I'll find you, Kie! I'll find you!"

"Kie, you're gonna regret this shit. Kiara! You're done!" He screams as Kiara sails off into the distance, leaving me behind with Rafe.

The boy's defeated gaze turns to me and his anger seems to soften as he stares up at me.

"Get out of the water, Cameron" I demand and he listens, climbing up the ladder.

"You stayed" Rafe breathes out as he stands in front of me "Why did you stay?"

"I don't know" I shrug nonchalantly, ignoring the feeling of my heart slamming against my chest "Maybe I'm just bored"

A smile cracks at Rafe's lips and he lets out a chuckle, nodding his head with a look that says he doesn't believe my bullshit.

"Don't slow me down or I'll leave you" I warn him, turning and walking back up the pier.

I hear the boards creak behind me and a wet arm is draped around my sunburnt shoulders, causing me to gasp and push Rafe away with a glare.

"Watch the sunburn and keep your soggy clothes to yourself" I snap with narrowed eyes and Rafe rolls his with a smile.

We walk side by side all the way through the small town until we reach a market place and I manage to swipe a couple mangoes from a stall without anyone noticing, including Rafe. I lead the boy to the beach and take a seat in the warm sand, him sotting next to me.

When I offer the boy a mango his eyes widen in surprise and he glances back at the stalls as he takes it from me, making me laugh. I slip the old pocket knife I carry out of my bra and Rafe eyes it with even more surprise.

"Did you have that the whole time?" He questions me.

"Yes, I always have it on me" I answer, cutting open my mango before passing the knife to him.

I start to eat the fruit and glance at Rafe who is staring at the knife, more specifically the initials that are engraved into the wood.

"J.J.M" He reads aloud.

"It used to be JJ's. I gave it to him when we were growing up as some sort of protection. I wanted him to be safe when I couldn't be there to protect him" I explain to the Cameron boy, avoiding his eyes on me "When he grew muscles and claimed he didn't need it anymore, he gave it back to me. Told me that he wanted me to be safe"

"The little shit used my own words against me" I hum with a smile.

"Do you not feel safe? Is that why you carry it with you all the time?" Rafe asks me, telling me that he's definitely seen the object before.

"It's not safety to me anymore. It's a piece of my brother I can keep close to me when we're apart, y'know?" I tell him, glancing to the side to see him nod at me in understanding,

"Yeah, I know" He assures me.

A comfortable silence envelopes us and the boy cuts open his fruit, letting me eat mine without anymore talking.

As the two of us eat quietly, listening to the surrounding chatter and the waves in the distance, I start to wonder if maybe I made the wrong choice by not going with Kiara. I think about how the Pogues might not be happy with me, about how angry JJ must be right now.

But then I think about Pope and how he'd ask me how staying behind made me feel, if it felt wrong to me. It didn't feel wrong.

Sitting right here on this beach with Rafe feels so right and I don't regret staying with him at all. My heart feels whole for the first time since I left him on that ship and the happiness creeping into my chest has me smiling at the boy next to me.