𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐚 ☁️ 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 | 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 |

Cassie's POV

"Sandy! My baby!" My mother drunkenly coos, stumbling to her feet.

"Where have you been? How'd you find me? How the hell did you get here?" I bombard her with questions and her eyes widen considerably as she takes them all in.

"I was in Mikonos with some friends, didn't I leave a note? I'm sure I left a note" She slurs.

"No, you didn't leave a note. You never do" I snap angrily.

"Oh. Well, I'm back now, and it's time to go home" She smiles sloppily.

"I am home" I declare.

"Don't be silly, Cassandra. Your home is in Manhattan with me, and Liam, and your friends" She tells me as if I'm a child.

"No, mother. My home is with dad and Anna. With my little sister and my friends, no scratch that, my family. The Outer Banks is my home, mother, not New York" I argue, my eyes watering at the state she's in.

She nods defeatedly and sits back down on the sofa, looking at the floor.

"I understand" She mumbles sadly.

I stand still, the silence enveloping us as we both are quiet with nothing left to say, or so I thought.

"If you're going to stay here, then there's something I should tell you in person before I leave" She announces and I listen silently "At most, I have a week left to live" 

She looks up at me through teary eyes and my heart shatters as I collapse to my knees in front of her, pulling her into a hug. A loud sob leaves both our lips as we cling onto each other and suddenly nothing else matters, every bad thing she's ever done flies out the window and my chest aches knowing we don't have long left together.

The front door opens and I hear Anna's airy laugh as my father tells a stupid joke. I look up to the entrance and both their faces pale as they see my mother and I on the floor.

"Cassie, what's going on?" My dad asks worriedly, rushing forward to help me to my feet as my mother pulls herself together and stands up straight.

I look to my mother and my father follows my gaze, giving her a confused look.

"I'm dying, Mike" She tells him "The doctor says I've got a week left to live"

His face pales even more and he turns to Anna who has a hand over her mouth in shock. Suddenly Rafe enters the living room, looking around the room through sleepy confusion and when his eyes land on me, he races towards me. I let him pull me into his arms as I sniffle and hide my face in his shirt.

"So, who's this handsome fella?" My mom asks and I turn to look at her, a small smile gracing her face.

"Mom, this is Rafe" I sigh before looking up at Rafe "Rafe, this is my mom"

"Rafe Cameron? Holy crap, you're all grown up" My mom laughs and Rafe chuckles.

"It's nice to see you, Miss Jarvis" He says politely and she waves him off.