CASTAWAY ⚓ R.C, J.M

S1 F I N A L E

Rafe's hand got tighter, a silent warning. Harley swallowed her fear and shook her head. If she got out of here then she didn't need to worry about his retaliation for lying. He could scream, shout, and throw whatever ever he liked, but she wouldn't be there to witness it all. If she got her way, she'd be in the arms of JJ soon enough. She would be back with her friends.

"I mean it. You know what I'm like. I don't realise when I have something good." Notoriously, Harley had been rather naïve, but even a blind man could see what she had with Rafe wasn't good. Stepping on eggshells around somebody was the most draining activity.

Harley deduced that Rafe was insane. He believed her words again and she could only put it down to insanity. He kept expecting a different result, he kept expecting what he wanted to be true and it never was. There wasn't a reality where Harley forgave everything Rafe did, except the warped reality in his head.

At one point, Harley thought Rafe wanted to kiss her so she had leapt into his arms and cuddled him like her life depended on it. Because, despite saying she would do anything to escape the Cameron's, she couldn't kiss Rafe or anything like that. First and foremost, the mere thought plundered her with guilt. Then, she worried about the impression that would leave on her ex-boyfriend. She could talk to him, uttering words like a snake charmer's ballad. She could bat her lashes and gaze dumbly at him. They could lay on his bed together to watch a movie, and she'd let him rest an arm around her. But she refused to kiss him.

The end credits of some movie Harley hadn't cared to pay attention to had disappeared some time ago. Her body had felt tight with tension the entire time and her mouth had long gone dry. She needed a drink and she saw this as her opportunity. The rest of the Cameron family were awake, she could hear them, so she hoped Rafe would bump into his dad and they'd get talking.

"Rafe?"

He hummed and glanced over.

"Could I get a drink?"

"Sure. What do you want?"

"An orange juice would be great."

Rafe got up. "Do you want anything else? I can get more snacks if you want to watch another movie."

Though she shook her head, she still smiled. "No it's OK. I'm just a bit thirsty."

Rafe asked no further questions and left his room. Harley got up carefully as not to aggravate her stitches and limped to the door. She couldn't hear anything on the other side and decided to take her chances.

A dilemma arose when she realised it was too risky to try and leave downstairs. Which meant climbing would be her only option and it had to be on this first floor. A big question mark hung over whether her leg would hold up through all the action.

She manoeuvred to the oriel window in the landing. She tried to open one of the side windows but it was locked.

"What are you doing?"

Harley's heart stammered as she startled. She swung around, her eyes already tracking over the top of Wheezie's head and to the top of the staircase.

"Wheezie. You scared me."

"Sorry." Wheezie shrugged. Her hair was braided in two and she had pyjamas on. "Are you trying to leave, too? Is there something going on that I don't know about? Everyone has been acting weird. And Sarah had me pretend to be her so that my dad wouldn't realise she was gone."

"Um," Harley uttered. She listened to Wheezie but she couldn't help but focus on the stairs. How long did it take to make an orange juice? "Some things have happened and I need to leave to help sort it out."