His Choice - Rafe Cameron

1. Seven Years

I walk through the thick grass with my suitcase trailing behind me. I tug on the handle a little harder as the grass blades twist around the wheels. This place hasn't changed a bit. The dusty floor to ceiling windows with the timber frames which are barely holding together. The tin roof with palings missing on the front and sides. JJ bordered them up with thin timber sheets because it's too expensive to replace the entire roof. 

Toolboxes and esky's. A lop sided wooden table with gasoline, a broken vas and a desk fan on top. Grandma's old knitting park bench. At least that has stayed in tact. I should have known that JJ wouldn't clean up all of the clutter in this place. Even with Uncle Luke out of the picture, he's kept this place looking exactly the same. 

My suitcase gets caught in a patch of weeds, so I kick it with my foot to cut it loose and carry it the rest of the way. It's not that heavy since I don't own much. I take another look around the place, looking for a particular blonde head of hair, backwards cap, tank top and baggy pair of denim jeans. 

With my cousin nowhere in sight, I place my foot on the grey timber step and apply some pressure to the surface to check if it is stable enough for me to put my full weight onto. It makes a small creaking sound, but is steady enough so I walk up the four small steps. I place my suitcase down on the floor and continue taking in my surroundings.

This place smells like a mixture of gasoline, weed and men's cologne. 

"JJ, you in here?" I call out, wondering if my cousin is any where in sight. 

There was no sign of his bike out the front, so I'm assuming he's either on shift or hanging with his friends. This door is so fragile that I could kick the entire panel down with one swift kick, but I decide to keep it in tact. 

Exhausted from my long boat trip over here, I sit down on Grandma's knitting park bench and rest my eyes. 

After a short nap, I am woken up by the sound of a vehicle pulling up. JJ rides a motorcycle so I get a little worried. I run around to the opposite side of the house and place my hands against the wall. 

I hear a group of laughter, some belonging to females. My nerves ease slightly. 

"Remind me to never let you drive in a time of an emergency, Pope." 

I recognise the voice. It's John B. I haven't seen him in three years when he came to visit my place with JJ. Apart from monthly FaceTime calls, I haven't seen the rest of the Pogues since I moved out of town 7 years ago. 

I walk back to the front of the house and when I appear before the five of them, they all stop in their tracks. 

"Do my eyes deceive, or do I see young Scarlett Maybank before me?" JJ says in a southern accent. I smile and run towards him. JJ opens his arms and when I reach him, he picks me up and spins me around.

"Hey J." 

He places me back on the ground and stares at me for a moment before engulfing me in a tight hug once again. 

"Oh my god." I say while laughing, slightly struggling to breathe. 

"I haven't been able to do this in three years. I'm not letting go of you just yet."

I get out of my hiding space and walk outside to greet everyone. However, when I walk through the doors, I forcefully pulled into somebody's chest with cold metal pressing against my neck. 

"Share her with the rest of us." Kie says, appearing beside JJ. 

I let go of JJ and move over to Kie, pulling her into a hug. "It's so good to see you again." 

"I've missed you so much, Scarlett."

I look up from Kiara's shoulder at the rest of the group. "Hey guys." 

"Here's my favourite Maybank." John B is the next to hug me. I look over at JJ who chose to ignore the remark. "We caught some of the best snapper today, we're about to grill it. You're not vegan or anything, are you?"

"Just lactose." I respond while peaking into the blue barrel on the floor which is filled with ice and a dead fish. 

Sarah and Pope are the last people that I greet.

"You really are the female version of JJ." Sarah says while laughing. She looks between the two of us. "That's insane."

The others head up to the front porch and I begin to follow. JJ grabs my arm and pulls me back. "Why are you here?" He asks me before his eyes scan around the features of my face. He then twists my arm so that he can see the underside of it. He reaches for my other arm, about to scan my limbs for wounds but I pull my arm out from his grip and take a step away from him. 

"JJ, I'm fine. I'm not hurt."

"What happened here? Did he do this?" He points to the dark purple bruise on my elbow. It was much worse yesterday. 

I shake my head. "That happened on the way over here. The sea got a bit rocky and I fell into the wall." 

"So he hasn't touched you?" He asks, impatiently awaiting my answer.

I place my hand on his shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze. "He didn't get the chance to."

His eyebrows furrow together while he listens closely to what I am saying. I know he worries about me, but I really am fine. I know that my arrival is sudden and unannounced, but I didn't want him to stress. I also know that if I told him I was coming, he would have come to get me himself and that would have made everything worse for the both of us. 

"Sorry to ruin the family bonding moment, but JJ, where the bloody hell is the salt?"

JJ momentarily breaks his gaze on me and looks up at Pope who is leaning over the railing. 

"It's in the cupboard."

"I can't find it."

"Guys, I found it!" Sarah holds up the jar of salt in the air. "It had fallen on the floor."

JJ looks back at me. "We'll talk about this more later." He places his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into him again while we walk towards the house. "I really am glad to see you, Bambi." He places a kiss on the top of my head. 

A/N: 

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I know that it was a little boring, but I promise that things will heat up within the next few chapters. 

Thanks for reading, enjoy your day/night! x