iii. do i miss you at the party?
content includes: heavy angst, infidelity mentions, female & male yearning, mentions of external fictional characters, parents mention, drugs, tension, alcohol, anger, sadness.
you and rafe barely spoke when he showed up at your apartment that night.
you being you, you took him in without a word. you sat him down on your toilet as he threw himself at you and hugged you. he sobbed into the crook of your neck, embracing your scent and warmth. trembling and choking on his own sobs, you couldn’t help but rub his drenched back.
“i’m-i’m sorry..” he choked out over and over again, clinging onto you as tightly as possible. “please just take me back, i won’t do it again i promise..i promise..” he sobbed harder as you stared at the wall in front of you.
“shh..” you cooed as you pulled away slightly. “give me a moment, alright?” you said calmly as you cupped his cheek ever so gently. his bottom lip trembled as he leaned into your hand, desperate for your touch. you stood up from your crouch and rafe whimpered slightly at the sudden shock of coldness. you backed away and turned on your towel warmer and threw a few of your clean ones in there.
leaving rafe in the bathroom, you sighed as you walked out and into your bedroom that was only a few feet away. closing the door behind you, you let out a shaky breath as you slid down against your door. you’ve spent these last few months from winter to now trying to rebuild what he broke. the insecurities that he had built up in you since then. the anger that you were holding in your heart and soul. your heart beat started to pick up as you realized that he was here, in your apartment, trying so hard to get back into your life as if he wasn’t the one who ruined it. this was all his fault.
shaking, you stood back up and attempted to compose yourself as your body trembled in anger. you walked over to your closet and grabbed your oversized hoodie that you knew would barely fit him as well as some basketball shorts that your brother ended up leaving here one night. taking a deep breath, you prepared yourself to enter the bathroom once again.
rafe was still in the same position as how you left him. blankly staring at a wall, shaking violently from how cold and wet he was.
“come, stand up.” you said softly. he obeyed as he rose from the seat. your hands grazed the buttons of his shirt as you plucked away at the buttons, careful not to make eye contact with him. but you could feel his eyes burning into your skull, watching you strip him. you pulled the sloshy shirt from his arms, revealing his toned body. tossing the shirt to the side, you looked up at him.
“you can get your pants.” you said, intending a stern voice when all that came out was a shy whisper. still staring at you, rafe unbuttoned his pants and kicked them off. you refused to break eye contact now, letting your eyes speak a thousand words that you couldn’t speak out loud. he stared intensely into yours as he tried to discover just what you were trying to speak to him. just as his mouth was about to open, the timer to the towel warmer beeped loudly.
taking out the towels, you pushed his shoulder down, signaling him to take a seat once more as you wrapped him in the warm plushy material.
“i’m going to put these to dry, you can stay in here while they do that. but i think you should leave after your clothes are ready.” you said, collecting his clothing from the ground. you walked out of the bathroom with nothing to say to him.
he left 30 minutes later with dry clothes, an umbrella of yours, and no exchange of words.
the sun could not be any stronger on kildare island, the summer bringing everyone out to the island. it was almost too hot to even be at work, but there you were behind the counter of the downtown boutique that was marketed towards the youthful tween tourists that used their parents money to pay for the overpriced items.
out of the blue, a much older girl rushed into the store. it took you a second to register that it was your dearest friend, mattie, who had the largest grin on her face as she spotted you at the cash register.
“y/n!” she sang as she moved past the group of girls that were crowding over a table full of overpriced pink purses & clutches. when she reached you, you could tell by the look on her face that she was planning something almost too devious.
“don’t tell me. no, i am not going on a date.” you gave her a stern response before she could even approach you with an idea. your eyebrows raised as her smile turned into a frown.
“well hello to you too.” mattie said. “and no, not a date this time. even though parker was heartbroken when i told him that you said no. he really wanted to take you out, you know. and i’m sure if you changed your mind he would be more than willing!” mattie continued.
“well, no. but i’m honored. matt, you know how i feel about meeting new people right now.” you smiled softly at the girl. you knew that all she wanted was the best for you and to see you happy. you appreciated her efforts more than anything, but it just wasn’t time for you to experience anything even close to an interest in another man at the moment. not when rafe and the memories of him were still on your mind constantly.
it was like that almost every day and night. the differences in your life still haunted you while you were awake and while you were asleep. it was like his ghost was there, but it was better than nothing to you. everything about your mornings never felt the same after rafe had been out of your life.
it was a simple task. waking up. but to you it was impossible to do without him. it started off with the alarm that went off every morning to try to wake you up while you were ingulfed in darkness. you made sure to get blackout curtains to not let an inch of light bother you. because that would mean that you would wake up and he wouldn’t be there to watch the sunrise with you. you both were once in a king sized bed that faced the window to a gorgeous view of the sun no matter what season it was through sheer curtains. something you both did every single morning since the day you both started dating. it was a sacred ritual between the two of you.
“god i can’t believe you’re my boyfriend” you fake groaned as you leaned into rafe’s side. the waves were crashing near your feet as your bottoms were planted next to each other on the moist sand. high tide had just been pulled in by the moon, you two were getting wet but couldn’t move from the spots where you had chatted all night.
it was after a party, 10 months after you and rafe had met. you guys fought all night before he finally, down here at the beach had let you know that he’s loved you for all those months. how could he have hid something like that from you when you felt the exact same? you watched him deny his feelings for so long, making everything so damned complicated. till you got him to finally confess. it was a long night of bickering, laughing, reminiscing. something that helped you both grow.
“took me long enough huh.” he smirked as he looked down at you. his lips pressed to your head, hair draping forward and tickling your cheek. it gave you this weird feeling in your stomach, comparable to butterflies. rafe. once hook-up to awkward friend to almost a relationship. your boyfriend.
the water continued to tickle your feet as the sky reflected a pink and orange hue across the water.
“i fucking love sunrises.” he admitted. you pulled away and looked at him like he just admitted the biggest secret ever.
“you like sunrises?” you almost choked out laughing. this was rafe cameron, drug dealer & coke addict. so aggressive that most people wouldn’t even make eye contact. that was before he went to rehab then came back almost a year ago. later that day, mattie had introduced herself to you as she scolded you for speaking to rafe. he was the bad boy in town. you should not speak to him. you liked that challenge.
“yeah. i do like sunrises. is that surprising?” he said while pushing his hair back. you stood up and opened your hands towards him to pull him up. he grabbed onto your hands and helped himself up. he stood by your side and grabbed onto your hips and leaned down.
“jump.” he said softly with his forehead pressed against yours. you listened as you jumped into his arms as he grabbed your upper thighs and held you close. you grasped onto his shoulders as he started walking slowly deeper into the freezing water. you squealed as he revealed his master plan of dunking you both into the ocean.
you laughed as you threw yourself backwards, still holding onto him as you both plunged into the water. he brought you both up as the water shocked him. drenched, he laughed and set you down. you sprinted deeper into the ocean as you turned to splash him right behind you.
you both continued to talk in the water, pounce on one another, all while hysterically laughing as the sun beamed higher into the sky. the disappearing sunrise occurring right before you. finally, you both found yourselves walking up towards the shore together. rafe leaned over to pick up his phone to see 8:49 a.m. and 10 missed calls from ward.
‘not tonight.’ he thought as he shoved his phone into his pocket.
“they remind me of starting something new.” rafe said as you were coming up behind him with pink sea glass you had found on the ground.
“hm?” you questioned and snapped out of your trance, looking up at him staring down at you with a wide grin on his face.
“let’s do this everyday. you know. watch the sunrises. start new, but by each others side. everything may change and be new when the sun rises but i know you’ll be there for me through it all. you keep me grounded. you make me whole. y/n. you’re it for me. i mean it.” rafe said while looking at you intensely.
“sounds like a plan, cameron.” you smiled up at him as he reached down to plant his lips on yours for what seemed to be the 100th time that night.
you looked up to look at your best friend while she had a sympathetic look in her eye. “yeah, y/n. i know. but its always worth a shot. i just want the best for you” she said while shrugging. “anyways. i came here to bug you about a party that’s happening tonight down by the beach. apparently everyone is back in town for the weekend for some reason.” mattie said, trying to come off nonchalantly.
“why would i care about the people we met and drank around when we were 20? we’re a little too old for that don’t you think?” you sighed as you started to eye the lineup of girls that were marching towards check out. mattie rushed over to the side of the counter to give you space to handle your work.
“don’t you remember how fun those days used to be? come on y/n. you haven’t been out with me for a little. let’s go back to the olden days and do something besides watch star wars on your couch with a glass of wine.” she said with a tone at the end of her voice that implied how bored she was of your developed introvertedness.
“hey! anakin skywalker is everything to me, okay?” you looked at her while scanning items and folding them neatly into a pretty packaged bag.
“anakin skywalker isn’t real, y/n. it’s time to socially interact with some real people, besides me and your mom.” she said as she got closer to crossing behind the counter. she was right. it was time to talk to people and get back out there. mattie was an amazing friend to you, constantly coming over with takeout and wine when the days without rafe became too lonely. it was like she had a radar. she just knew.
you saw her pleading eyes lose hope with every second that ticked. you could do this for her. it’s just one party.
“okay. i’ll go.” you admitted in defeat. suddenly all the life went back into her as she squealed and almost bolted towards you. “amazing! i’ll do your hair and makeup and it will be the best night! just like old times!” mattie jumped up and down.
“i’m gonna go get everything ready, text me what kind of drink you want to pregame with! come to my place immediately after you’re off y/n. oh this is perfect!” she said, texting whoever she decided to tell immediately following your rsvp acceptance. with that, she ran out of the store leaving you with giggling 12 year olds and obnoxious clothing.
“how does it look?” rafe asked his sister who stood before him. his hair was buzzed off, bringing a mature look to his features.
“oh! uh. it’s different.” she said as she opened her eyes to reveal a whole new version of her brother. unsure how to feel, she smiled at his attempt to positively change something about his life since you had left him. just 45 minutes prior, he had grabbed the trimmer after the shower and cut off his hair, the one thing that you had always complimented on him. with the humming from the electric razor halting as he skimmed against his scalp, it was like all of those words you spoke disappeared from his mind.
with his hair gone, left you and your voice. it was a sense of temporary relief that he felt for the first time in months.
“it’s that bad?” he asked as he turned to look at himself in the mirror. sarah got a ding on her phone just as he turned around. with wide eyes she put her phone away with an attempt to look calm. “no no. it’s not bad. i’m sure a lot of people will be surprised tonight after they see you with your hair gone after god knows how long.” she admitted sheepishly.
“man, maybe tonight wasn’t the night to do this then huh. we should probably get going soon though huh? it’s getting late.” he admitted. “are john b and the guys there?” rafe asks sarah as she pulls out her phone once more to stare at it.
“sarah?” rafe asked as he turned toward a rather dismissive sarah.
“yeah. yeah! they’re there. we should get going.” she said, frantically reaching for her purse as she headed out towards the door. rafe followed behind her as he got into the passengers seat of his own car, something that he let sarah drive when they attended parties together. she backed out of the driveway with shaky hands and pulled out into the street and down the road.
“dude what is the matter with you?” rafe asked curiously as she looked like she had seen a ghost. “rafe. god don’t get mad please.” sarah said. “what? you’re scaring me. is everything okay?” he asked.
“y/n is there at the party. i’m sorry i didn’t tell you rafe. john b told me when you were still kind of getting ready. i didn’t want to ruin your night and tell you that and have you not come. you seemed so excited to see everyone.” sarah looked over at her brother as she drove to see some kind of reaction from him.
the color had drained from his face as his heart started pounding. the anxiety of seeing you again had him feeling just as nervous as he was hanging out with you for the first time.
he knocked on your front door with a bouquet of tulips and a nervous grin. he was wearing a plaid button up and khakis with a backwards hat, a lazy attempt at being versatile no matter what you guys had planned on doing.
a ‘lets hang out’ text led to what you now both consider to be your first date. you walked out in a satin mini dress and it was like his whole world stopped spinning. he watched your figure close the door awkwardly behind you as you stepped next to him, finally looking up to see his facial expression.
“too much?” you asked as you noticed the snapback resting on his head. the casual accessory making you giggle.
he quickly reached up with one hand as he snatched it off his head to reveal his messy hair flopping over his forehead. he turned a bright pink at your words as he shook his head. “no. not at all. um, have you decided what you wanted to do?” he asked.
“bowling and ice cream.” you said matter of factly, walking down your tiny steps and the pathway to his car. you walked alone as you pulled your purse up your shoulder and turned to look at the starstruck man behind you.
“well, i’m not gonna drive myself.” you smiled at him softly as he stood there. “let’s go, plus i liked the hat! you should keep it on. even though your hair is way too cute to be hidden like that.”
the silence in the car was deafening as sarah continued to drive towards the party. “i’m sorry rafe. i should’ve told you when we were back at home to give you the option. do you wanna go back?” sarah asked kindly. for a second after, rafe sat there regulating his breath and trembles.
“sorry, didn’t mean to go silent on you sarah. it’s okay. thanks for telling me. we can still go.” he said bluntly. sure, he made a mistake. but he needs to get himself back out there, he told himself. you hadn’t reached out since that night, so he took that seriously as a sign that he should move on. so this was him trying to. he was also doing it for sarah, who hadn’t gone to parties in god knows how long just to be up and make sure her brother is okay.
sarah looked worried as her brother wasn’t telling the full truth. regardless, she had pulled up to the mansion that was once owned by toppers parents and then passed down to him. raving with music, rafe gulped as he realized that you would be in there. unexpectedly seeing him with this damned haircut. feeling insecure, rafe looked down at his lap before going to open the door.
before his hand could pull at the clutch to open, sarah grabbed onto his arm. “hey.” she said reassuringly. “you got this rafe. you look great.” she assured him. of course she did. sweet sarah was always looking out for others.
with that quick boost of confidence, rafe pulled himself out of the car and into the party that awaited in front of him.
it was so uncomfortably loud in the room where you stood next to mattie while she chatted up luke, a guy she had been seeing who was visiting his aunt for the summer. you were listening in and out of the conversation when all of a sudden a guy had come up and approached you all. smiling a big wide grin like he had just won the lottery.
“y/n! this is parker! remember the guy i was telling you about!” mattie gushed as a 6 foot man stood above you and smiled down at you. sure. he was handsome. he had wavy light brown hair and earthy green eyes. his jawline was sharp and his nose looked like it was a sculpture cutout. any girl would flush at the sight of parker looking at them, but to you he was just a guy.
“hi. nice to meet you.” you said politely but looked over to mattie with a ‘what the fuck’ face. “i’ve really been looking forward to meeting you y/n, mattie has said so many nice things about you.” he said just as politely with a southern accent. god he was actually nice. that made him a little cuter, you thought. maybe mattie wasn’t trying to set you up for failure. maybe you were meant to meet someone like parker and be with him. you smiled softly at him as he stuck his arm out to link it with yours as mattie smiled at the sight of her best friend opening up to a stranger, something she hadn’t seen you do since you met rafe.
it was like the weight of tens of thousands of bullets had pierced him through the heart. seeing you from afar, arms interlocked with a man who was ten times the one that rafe was. he had heard of the guy. parker johnston. his family owns all the casinos that were on the mainland, richest scums on earth. what the fuck was he doing with you? it didn’t matter. nothing mattered except that here rafe was, standing and staring at the girl he loved most looking as beautiful as ever, and you looked different. happy.
you didn’t have the same complexion. rafe noticed. you were glowing with radiance and tan from the beaming summer sun. your eyes had that same glimmer in it like you were talking to rafe himself. your smile was genuine and soft, the way you would at rafe. these looks were too fucking familiar to him as he watched intensely from across the room.
people would come up to rafe, say hello and give their condolences about his father and then ask him meaningless questions or ask for some advice, but he would just stare at you talking to him the whole time.
it played in slow motion, you looking okay. you looking like your old self. his heart clenched within his chest as he heard your laugh for what seemed like the first time in forever. he couldn’t take it anymore, he couldn’t watch. it fucking hurt. that should be him with you right now, making fun of this stupid party then running away to find something better to do with one another.
rafe looked around to the people that seemed to be ever changing, excused himself and walked out of the back door and down the pathway that lead to the beach.
parker seemed to be his 24th forced joke in before you had decided that your fake laugh was sounding way to fake at this point. sure, he seemed funny. but you could tell he was just trying to impress you. it wasn’t natural like it was with rafe. your throat closed up slightly as you choked out your last laugh before you would excuse yourself.
you needed to get out of here.just to breathe. just for a second. it was too much, talking to someone who wasn’t him. the immediate comparisons you had felt to rafe. you just needed a second to collect yourself then you could go back to normal.
you turned towards the first door that you noticed and ended up stumbling onto a pathway that lead down to the beach outside of toppers house.
your breath was shaky as you clenched onto your chest. you tried to stiffen a sob as you shuffled into the sand. rafe confusingly turned around to see who had joined him and felt the pit in his gut deepen into him. his throat went dry as he noticed your trembling hands. he rushed over to your side when he saw you swaying and sniffling.
“hey, hey. what’s wrong?” rafe asked you carefully as he held onto you, settling you down into the sand to kneel facing him. he calmly placed his arms around you as he engulfed you, something that made you feel safe, and he knew that.
“s’okay. you can talk to me.” he whispered as he held you close and started to rub your back as you fully were letting out soft cries.
“this is your fault.” you mumbled in his arms. angrily you pulled away to see a stunned rafe staring down at you.
“you did this to me! you made me feel like this. this was all your fault, rafe. all your fault because you decided to cheat on me. you made me feel not fucking normal! i wake up everyday and struggle! do you know how that feels for me?” you admitted out loud, intoxicated with both anger and alcohol. normally you’d be caught dead before you told this to anyone let alone rafe himself.
your eyes met a different expression on rafe’s face as he studied your outburst. a mix of shocked, determined & sympathy written across his face. “keep going.” he said.
“what?” you said confused.
“keep going y/n. tell me how you really feel. tell me everything i made you feel. i need to hear you. i don’t care that you might hate me right now, or you might hate me forever. but i can’t live without you. even when you’re mad at me. i need to hear you. i need to let you be angry at me, until ou forgive me. i miss you.” rafe choked out, eyes watering as he looked at you desperately trying to find other answers.
your eyes reflected his as you stared at him, confused. why does he have to act this way now? he fucking cheated. you didn’t forget that. you reminded yourself as you looked at him. he spent months burying himself into another woman while he shut you out except to have sex with you on the occasion. he would throw money at you like it would fix everything. his emotions weren’t there on the last few months. that’s what made you angry. what made her better than you? what made him better than you? you never would have thought that the rafe cameron you knew would cheat on you. .
now here you were, red in the face as you stood before the man who had embarrassed you and broke your heart into thousands of pieces all at once.
“you fucking ruined my life, rafe.” you said out of anger. “you’re a fucking asshole and a piece of shit.” you spat out at him. your tears flowed down your cheeks as you stood up and looked down at him. him still on his knees he looked up at you with pleading eyes.
“let’s talk about it. please. i will listen to anything you have to say, y/n. please let’s just talk.” he asked.
and so you did. you sat there with rafe and talked through the night as you both shot back questions about the ending months of your relationship. you didn’t talk about the cheating for some reason, but everything else that built up before it. how the spark died and how he wanted to feel something other than numbness. you talked about how you felt now, and how impossible it was for either of you to look at other people at the moment. you talked about what you both did on a day to day basis. he talked about how much he missed you and you listened. you talked about what it was like to live alone for the first time.
you and rafe sat there exchanging words like friends who hadn’t seen each other in a millennium, expressing raw deep and sensitive emotions. the party had simmered, you two had heard people calling for you, laughter as people left with old flings and friends. drunken people that neither of you had seen had rushed past you on the beach.
you shared some laughs and felt a sense of comfortability with the man that once broke you.
“i like your haircut, by the way.” you complimented him. he chuckled as he ran his fingers through a phantom length shyly.
“yeah, it’s different. i know.” he admitted, comparing sarah’s reaction to what he had thought was crossing your mind. “no, rafe. i really like it. i knew you’d fit that look.” you smiled at him.
“well i’m glad someone does. but i know you’re gonna miss my longer hair.” rafe teased you as he playfully nudged you, the touch making you jolt. he looked at you sympathetically as if he had made you uncomfortable, when it was exactly the opposite.
“i miss you. i really do.” rafe admits out loud. you looked up at him in silence and stared into his eyes, not sure what to say back to him right now.
much like your anniversary and based off the tradition you two had built, you both sat there on the beach and watched the sunrise.
the orange and blue was calming, while the waves contrasted something heavier and at a quicker pace. it was beautiful and tragic all at the same time, similar to you and rafe at that moment in time.
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