Alive | Rafe Cameron

Part 4

My shift is now over, I head out to my car and drive to the Cameron's residence, also known as Tanneyhill.

Sarah opens the door and we make our way up the 2 flights of stairs to her room.

We sit in her bed, chat, and eat snacks for awhile. It feels good to have another girl friend to hang out with. Besides Kie, I am pretty much always surrounded by guy friends, not that I'm complaining. I love John B, JJ, and Pope and I would do anything for them. But it is nice to have Kie, and now Sarah, plus they can try to help me keep the guys out of trouble.

We've been chatting for about 2 hours now, I look out Sarah's bedroom window and see that the sun is starting to go down. I am exhausted after working my long shift so Sarah and I say our goodbyes so that I can head home.

"Do you need me to walk you out?" She offers.

"No, that's okay, I know the way."

"Okay, thanks for coming over, see you tomorrow."

"Anytime, see ya." I say and then start making my way down the first set of stairs.

Before I start down the second set of stairs I look over and spot Sarah's older brother, Rafe, sitting outside on their balcony.

He is alone, sitting on the porch swing, and has his head down in his hands. I can hear him breathing heavily as I am standing just outside of the door to the balcony. I think for a second and wonder if I should just leave him alone and continue out to my car, or if I should stay and check on him. He is clearly upset and from the looks of it I would say is in the middle of a panic attack. I know because I have helped JJ through a fair share of panic attacks after some of the violent altercations he has had with his dad.

I decide to at least see if he is okay and I make my way over to where he is seated.

"Rafe, are you okay?" I ask softly as I sit down next to him.

He looks up and quickly wipes the few tears on his face to try and hide the fact that he was obviously crying. His face is slightly red, he glances at me, then quickly looks away.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just need to man up." He says and then goes back to the same position he was in, slouched over with his head in his hands and his elbows resting above his knees. I'm sure he is expecting me to just leave at this point.

I sit there for a second and think about his words. 'Man up', that must be something his father or his friends have said to him. I go out on a limb and do something, not sure how Rafe will react. After-all, he is a kook and I am a pogue, we are not really what you would call 'friendly' towards one another. But I feel the need to try and help.

I get down on the balcony floor and crouch down in front of him. He is still breathing fast and heavy. I lightly place my fingertips on his hand.

"Hey, Rafe, look at me." I softly say. I wait a few moments but he doesn't look up. "You can trust me, Rafe." I add to reassure him.

He soon looks up and his blue eyes meet mine. I shyly smile.

"Okay, look at me, and focus on your breathing." I instruct. I gently hold onto his hands and breathe along with him.

His breathing soon calms and matches the rhythm of my own. I take my hand and gently wipe away the tears that are left on his face and then brush a stray strand of hair up out of his face.

I meet his glance again and his eyes are still fixed on me. I get up and sit down next to him on the porch swing. I place my hand on his upper back and begin to softly rub small circles in an effort to comfort him.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah." He says with a rasp in his voice.

We sit in silence for a few moments while his breathing slowly returns to its normal pace. In the midst of the silence I think about how vulnerable he just was. It's totally different from his tough guy act I'm so used to seeing.

He is sitting there quietly staring off in the distance. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." I tell him.

He looks over at me again. I grab his phone and put my number in his contacts.

"Seriously if you need anything feel free to call or text me."

"Thanks." He says and gives a shy smile.

I smile back at him and then I get up and continue on my journey back to the Chateau.