This is Me Trying ⭑ Rafe Cameron

seven

CHAPTER SEVEN
[7]
song: another day by the cure

It was at least two minutes of silence, and stillness, until they were sure Rafe and Barry were really gone. And then JJ hopped out of the tree first, storming over to where Cassie got out from between the dumpster and the house.

Her hands trembled, the weight of the gun in her hand became too much to bare and she felt like she could drop it. Hearing JJ approach her, she immediately started shaking her head, for what she wasn't sure, but whatever he was going to say next wasn't going to be good.

"What the hell are you doing?!" JJ asks, raising his voice slightly.

John B helps lift Sarah down from the tree, "JJ, chill, not the time." he says, grabbing onto her waist and making sure she was okay in the midst of managing JJ.

"No, John B—" JJ says, sparing him a glance while he kept his charge over to Cassie. "No. What the hell was he talking about?!"

Cassie couldn't form words, she opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.

"He was here last night?!" JJ talked down to her, shaking his head at her like she was an idiot.

Cassie looked at John B, and then to Sarah, a mix of worry and confusion on their face that would've matched JJ's if his wasn't so red and furious.

"Hello?!" JJ waved his hand in front of her face.

"JJ!" Sarah snapped at him.

"Nah, you know what—" JJ steps forward to Cassie and holds his hand out. "Give me that." He says, barely giving her the chance to do so before he ripped the gun out of her hands. Quickly, he turned around and made his way over to where his dirt bike sat in the grass.

"What are you gonna do, you gonna go kill him?" John B says, stepping in JJ's way.

JJ pushes past him. "Yes."

Cassie rolled her eyes, growing quickly annoyed with the protective older (by six months) brother act. She speaks up. "Don't be an idiot, JJ, I'm serious. It's not charming."

JJ spins around quickly, letting out a loud scoff. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't think that's the point here?"

"What did he do?" Sarah steps in. "My brother— why was he here?"

Cassie swallows, glancing at Sarah and realizing her expression was far more worried than she expected it to be. And Cassie was quickly catching onto the fact that there was probably something far worse going on with Rafe than she knew about.

She looks to John B, then to her brother, who were all patiently awaiting an answer, and she realized she couldn't get out of this.

"He..." she tried to find words that would result in the smallest reaction from them. "He followed me here. And, he told me if I don't—" she stops herself, realizing there was more to this story that she hadn't told them, and there was no use in hiding anymore.

There was a part of her that wanted to break down in tears, her body riddled with guilt. But she tried to keep herself composed.