The Ocean Remembers | JJ Maybank

C H A P T E R 7

MISSED HIM?

𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 was pounding too fast in my chest, I could feel it everywhere in my body, but I made my best to hide it. My mother was about to knock at the Cameron's front door when she stepped back and looked at me.

"Remember, you smile, you stay polite and you show they interest you," she instructed me and I rolled eyes.

She knocked at the huge door with her fist and a few seconds later, Rose came to open the door. "Hi!" the lady greeted.

"Hey!" my mother hugged her tight as we got in the house and everyone gathered in the living-room. Rose went at me and hugged me too, softly. I smiled and pulled away from the hug, seeing everyone else around us.

"It's been so long," Sarah and Wheezie pulled me in a warm hug and I smiled at them.

"Hey girls, it's great to see you," I breathed.

Then he walked to me, smiling, and I tried to act relaxed. How was I supposed to act?

He leaned towards me, giving me a hug as everyone else had. His cologne filled my nostrils and plunged me back in my memories. He moved his mouth closer to my ear, so I could feel his breath on my neck. "Missed me?"

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We all gathered around the table, as Rose warned us dinner was ready. I sat next to my mom and tried to act normal. Just smile, stay polite, show they interest you.

I looked at the Cameron's and wished with everything I had to disappear. Rafe's words from earlier kept echoing inside my head but I tried to chase them so I could spend a good time. At least try.

"So what brings you here?" Ward asked. "I did not ask you"

"I lost my job, but I found one here, so I took her along with me here," my mother explained, talking about me as if I was an object.

"Where are you working?" Rose asked, and I realised I still didn't know where she was working either. Communication wasn't really a thing in our family, apparently.

"At the groceries store, downtown. My boss is a close friend of yours apparently, Miss MacMiller, she owns TannyHill," my mother replied and Ward frowned.

"I own Tannyhill, but whatev-"

"How about you Sam? I haven't seen you around ever since you moved here," Sarah said softly, cutting her father off.

"I usually hang out on the Cut with my friends, that's probably why," I gently said.

"The Pogues?" Rafe scoffed to what I just nodded, and focused back on Sarah.

Everyone stopped talking as if I had said something wrong and we started eating the tasty dinner Rose had cooked.

Then, Ward started talking about his amazing real estate agency and how he wanted to invest in the whole island, all of us focusing on his words. He told us how his business was increasing every second, people from all around the world participating in his wealth.

The conversation was getting very annoying when I felt a foot hitting my leg. I looked at the people sitting on the other side of the table, searching for who could've done this.

Then it hit again, but this time it lingered on my leg, going up my thigh. I spotted Rafe smirking so I understood it was him and I looked at his shoe going up and down my thigh from under the table.

I acted natural, as if nothing was happening, not giving him this satisfaction at all. He raised it higher, on my inner thigh, rubbing it. What was he trying to do?