Nothing is hidden under the sunlight // JJ

Chapter 24

Rafe was standing in the forest with his back resting on a tree's trunk. His glance was wandering around making him calmer.

Sophie was walking into the forest lost in her thoughts. Every other time she used to walk in there she used to think about long lost kingdoms with knights and princesses or about magic forests with dragons and fairies. Yet at this time she couldn't think of anything else than what Rafe was about to tell her.

As soon as she spotted him behind the trees he ran towards his side. "I got your message." She regretted her words as soon as she told them. Of course she had got his message why would she be there without having it.

"Well at first I want to apologize for breaking down like that and putting you in an uncomfortable position."

She hated apologies. And when people were apologizing for something they shouldn't that was giving it on her nerves. "Don't apologize for that. It's fine really."

Rafe rolled his eyes at her. He knew that she was trying to make him feel like she wasn't upset but he was able to tell her otherwise. "Now look. Lots of things happened last summer. You're not ready to hear all of them but I want to tell you what happened with me."

Sophie sat down on a huge rock next to the tree were he was standing. "Okay" she nodded in agreement knowing that this would be enough at first but at some point she would search for more information.

"So last year a cop, Sheriff Peterkin was about to arrest Ward. The thing is that I didn't knew that that was all she was going to do. She was pointing a gun at him and I was standing behind him not doing anything. I couldn't do that! I had to do something I was thinking that she was about to kill him."

His words were coming out sharply just like he was reliving this moment in his head. That didn't stopped him from continuing.

"Ward then put the blame on John B who was at the crime scene too. And everyone believed him. The Pogues of course were ready to testify against me but no one would listened to them.  After that everyone started chasing John B and Sarah -of course- was with him. She preferred sucrificing her own family to be with him. He preferred giving me out than teaming up with her family. Anyway they decided to get out of the island the day of the storm. And yeah... No one has heard from them since then."

Sophie noticed a taste of despise in her cousin's voice when he mentioned Sarah. She preferred to move on and don't think about it. He wasn't finished anyway.

"Now, everything went fine. But then cops started arriving at our house and spending hours locked with Ward on his office. I have no idea what are they talking about but I think one of the things is an exchange. Peterkin's murderer or his imprisonment. He's going to tell the truth. And then he'll have the Pogues on his side. They're going to testify against me and that's it. That's how the story is ending... With me in the prison. And the real criminal here wandering around like nothing has happened."

"Wait, who's the real criminal?" Rafe looked at his cousin. She was confused and you could tell just by looking at her.

"Forget about that, there's no way you can handle all of it now. Another time." Sophie shook her head at his words not wanting to seem ungrateful.

He was opening up about how he experienced the previous summer and if it wasn't easy for her to hear it just think about him. But still, there were some things that remained unsolved in her head.

"But you do know that Topper knows, don't you?" She thought that this was something she should ask. Well probably he would know it but just to clarify the things she had to ask.

"Well, I don't know if he's sure about that. I mean Sarah told him and just because he is an idiot who fell in love with Sarah, he was going to buy whatever she was telling him."

"So he just suspects you..."

"Correct. Let's hope that he doesn't find out. I can't make another enemy now." Rafe said almost whispering but loud enough for Sophie to hear it.

"I can't make another enemy know." Why would he say something like that? Who were his enemies? Well the Pogues of course but who else?

"Who else knows?"

"Ward, and the Pogues. Oh and about the cops and the exchange only Ward. And now you. Don't tell anyone. I beg you..."

"I didn't mean to..." Sophie said trying to assure him that she would keep her mouth shut. Even though her words sounded most like an apology. Like she was regretting even the thought of talking to someone about it. Because she had thought about it and she knew very well that she would thought about it again.

"Thank you. Now! What are your plans for today?" It's funny how quickly his mood changed, if she didn't know him she could assume that he suffered from a bipolar disorder or something like that.

"Probably swimming... It's not like I have something else to do. You know how much I despise golf."

Of course he knew he had spend most of his teenager summers trying to get her into playing golf with him but she always ended up sitting next to him and observing him playing.

"Do you mind accompany you for a swim?"

She smiled. She really wanted to be alone for a while, processing all these things Rafe had just told her. Just her and the sea. But she decided that it would be better for her to spend as much time she could with Rafe. Who knew for how long he was going to be able to hang out with her.