Beautiful disaster || RAFE CAMERON

chapter 4

'Great, now everyone thinks we had sex.' I say with an upset tone, closing the passenger door. 'Never said we did.' Rafe responds. 'You smirked and shrugged, basically a yes.' I argue. 'What do you expect? Having a relationship and not fucking a lot?' He spoke. I roll my eyes. 'Seems like we have different ideas about what a relationship is.' I mumble. 'So you think having a relationship is no sex?' He asks. 'Not one of the priorities, no.'

Rafe turns on the engine, and we drive away. Driving in the woods is not great. The path is a collection of rough patches and uneven terrain. The wobbly ride is caused by Rafe's lack of effort to avoid the holes in the path. When we finally reach the asphalt, Rafe slowly swings across the road, going slightly left and right. 'Rafe, go in a straight line. It's making me nauseous.' I demand. 'I can't, I'm dizzy.' He says, smiling. Staring at him, I sigh. 'How can you be drunk? You had two beers?'

'No, not drunk, I've had cocaine.' He admits. I frown, 'What, when?' I ask. He grins. 'When you were grabbing water.' I take a deep breath in and press my lips together, 'Are you fucking kidding me.' I whisper. He is still swinging across the road, almost hitting the curb. People behind us are honking at us. "Alright, stop. This isn't going to work. Pull the car over to the side." I say anxiously. He tilts his head to the right for a second with his jaw clenched. He finally turns the steering wheel to the side.

He stops the car, 'Happy?' He snaps. He speaks up again before I can respond, 'I had everything under control, okay? You always ruin everything.' He scolds. My eyebrows rise, 'Are you serious right now? You were swinging on the road! We almost hit the curb, Rafe.' I rant. He rolls his eyes and nods slowly. 'Now what?' His tone is deeper and raspy. 'You had drugs and beer, you're not driving anymore.' I say. 'And you can't drive.' Rafe says. 'I can't, no.' I lie. 'You can try, right?' He grins. 'No, absolutely not, too dangerous.' I say fast. 'It's the only option and sometimes you need to say yolo.'

I take a deep breath and lean back in the car seat. 'Fine.' I say as I open the door. Rafe's grin grows wider. 'I knew you had it within you.' He says, pleased with my answer. After we switched seats, I asked Rafe for a quick sum-up. 'Left pedal is clutch, the middle pedal is brakes, the right is gas, that's it.' He says. 'Hm, okay.' I turn around, no cars. Great. I slowly begin driving on the road.

'Come back here! You bitch!' She shouts at me, her head out of the side window. My arms extended, my hands firmly gripping the steering wheel. My heart beating fast, and my leg bounces slightly on the gas pedal. I look in the rear-view mirror and see her following me in my dad's car. 'I'm calling the police on you!' She screams. I know that she isn't going to. If she does, she and my dad will go to prison for what they did to me.

My arm is bleeding from a cut caused by shattered glass. I look at the broken window, the shards of what used to be the window lay next to me on the passenger seat. The rock she tried to throw at me, is lying on the ground. I'm lucky the rock didn't hit me. Looking back in the small mirror, I see my mom in a rage. She is pointing at me and shouting things. She lost control over herself. She is getting too close to me, so I speed up the car.

As I race down the highway, the wind roars around me, drowning out all other sounds. The speedometer needle crept higher. I zoom past other cars, the world blurring around me. I hear people honk at me. I unexpectedly take the exit to the right, hoping I get rid of her. While taking the exit, I glance once more in the rear-view mirror. She observes my unpredictable turn. Her gaze trails the car I'm in, but as she speeds past the exit, her realization sets in—I've dodged her.

'Valerie, pay attention to the road.' Rafe says with slight laughter. The sound of his voice acted like a sudden jolt, snapping me back to the present. My eyes refocused on the asphalt in front of me. 'Hmhm' I respond. Rafe's fingers twist the radio buttons. 'Could You Be Loved' from Marley Bob begins to play. Rafe is smiling and moving his arms around, in tune with the music. I'm guessing the cocaine is doing its job.