addicted vol 2 | rafe cameron

𝟏 | 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

I wake up to find my face smushed into Rafe's. As I regain consciousness, a heavy cloud of grief fills up my heart. I try my best to physically and mentally shake the truth out of my head. It cannot be real.

Against my own will, tears begin to trickle down my cheek as I sniff and tighten my grip on Rafe.

The sun is starting to rise, and I can feel a crisp breeze blow against my skin. The air feels cold and stiff, almost as if the weather can sense the undeniable aura on Kildare Island right now.

I feel a gentle kiss on my forehead that immediately removes a burden that I didn't know was on my shoulders. I look up to see my favorite face gazing at me with adoration in his eyes. Rafe's expression slightly changes after noticing fresh tears on my own face.

He kisses me softly again, this time on my lips. "I love you."

A small smiles spreads across my face as I remember the new words that we've begun to use with each other. I'm happy that I can finally properly express the way I feel about him.

"I love you," I whisper quietly and hiccup my tears back while I rest my head in his chest.

"You ready for today?" he asks, rubbing his hand across my back.

"What?" I mumble.

"Peterkin's funeral," he replies. His voice becomes quieter at the mention of her name.

I sigh shakily. "I'm not really ready for anything, to be honest."

He kisses my temple. "Me neither."

As I hold onto his arm, I think about the fact that my parent's didn't show last night. They didn't even call me to ask if I was okay. I feel bad that JJ didn't have anyone, obviously, but the people that I have should've been there.

JJ.

I can't help but start to cry harder, no matter how embarrassing that is. I can't tell Rafe what happened with JJ and the rest of the Pogues, at least not yet. I ball my hands up into fists on his torso as I struggle to breathe.

"I know," Rafe whispers, now running his hand through my hair. "After the funeral, we can go back to my house and rest. We don't have to think about anything, okay?"

"Okay." I sigh, exhausted from crying. "Can I go over to your house to get ready? Do you think Rose would have a black dress I could borrow?"

"Yeah... why?" he asks.

"I don't want to talk to my parents."

"Okay." he says, thankfully not prying for any more information.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

The drive to Peterkin's funeral is slow but familiar. Rafe has his hand in mine like always, except this time there's no music playing in the background. We're both just stuck in our thoughts. No amount of fancy attire or perfectly styled hair could disguise the exhaustion that's so obviously seen in our faces.

As we pull into the parking lot, I notice that almost the entire island is here. I almost forgot how big of a role she played in keeping the community under control.

"Hey, bud," Ward says as he reaches out to hug Rafe, his polite smile not meeting his eyes.

Rafe wraps one arm around his father, but keeps his other hand holding tightly onto mine.

Ward pats the side of his son's arm and looks deeply into his eyes. "You feeling okay?"

Rafe simply nods with pursed lips.