.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
↴juliet's point of view

"Knock, knock."

I look up from my bed to find my dad in the doorway. "What's up?" I ask.

"Gen wants to wear your pink shirt to sleep tonight."

"It should be in one of the bottom two drawers," I say before going back to my homework.

"Got it."

He walks over to my dresser and opens up one of the drawers. "How was school today?"

I swallow. "Good."

"Really?" he says sarcastically, sifting through my clothes. "Must've been great if you weren't even there."

I immediately sit up. "Um—"

"—You're not in trouble, kiddo. I understand how tough everything is right now."

My shoulders relax. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He switches to the other drawer. "Just try to go next week, okay?"

"Right, yeah."

"Are you sure the shirt is in here?" he says, looking at me empty-handed.

I set my notebook down. "You know what? It's probably at the Chateau."

He tosses his hand in the air. "Oh, well, don't worry about it."

"No, no, I need to go get my clothes anyway," I say, now sliding into my shoes.

As I walk across the room to grab my keys, my dad stays still in front of the dresser. "Everything okay?"

"Uh..." I pick up my phone and stand by the door.

"You mentioned they 'berated' you the other day."

I close my eyes, forgetting what I told my parents when I was upset. "Yeah, but, it's fine now. I'm fine." I nod. "I just don't really need my clothes over there."

"Okay, well, drive safe."

"I will. Love you, Dad."

"Love you, Juli Bug."

The sun sets as I make the drive to the other side of the island, and by the time I arrive at the Chateau, it's dark out.

I expected the Pogues to still be in South Carolina, but there's faint music playing from the back of the house. I walk around the corner only to quickly freeze in place.

JJ is sitting in a hot tub with Sarah and John B. Sarah and John B.

"Oh my god," I say as I cover my mouth.

The three of them look up at me, and their expressions quickly match mine.

After a few seconds of dumbfounded staring, Sarah jumps out of the hot tub and runs toward me. "Juli!" she screams with joy.

"Holy shit!" I laugh in shock as we tumble into a hug. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm alive, I'm okay," she giggles. "It's a long story."

I squeeze her tighter, still in disbelief that she's here in front of me.

She pulls away and wipes the tears off my cheeks, laughing softly. "How about you, are you okay? JJ said you were stranded in South Carolina."

"Yeah, I'm good." My smile dims slightly. "Rafe picked me up," I say so only she can hear.

I want to tell her what Rafe and I did. I want to have a sleepover and spill our lives to each other to catch up on everything we missed.

She takes an almost unnoticeable step back, and my eyes fall to the bandage on her stomach before looking back up at her. "Why do you...?"

"Gunshot," John B says firmly, now walking over to us with JJ by his side.

She was shot? What the hell has happened since the hurricane?

JJ crosses his arms. "You'll never fucking guess—"

"Stop," Sarah demands, her brown eyes piercing through him.

Both of the boys look like they have something to say, but they hold back for Sarah. I watch as John B tries to put on a tough face, but I see a sliver of vulnerability behind his eyes.

"I'm happy you're safe, JB," I manage to say.

To my surprise, one side of his mouth turns into a small smile. As I look at him, I try to picture him shooting Peterkin, but it just doesn't make sense in my head. Is it possible that the story isn't exactly like Rafe thought? I mean, he told me he was on the Druthers all day, so he wasn't even there. What if Ward actually shot Peterkin and just told Rafe it was John B?

"What are you doing here?" JJ asks coldly, pulling me out of my trance. "Not feeling very safe with your boyfriend anymore?"

I guess he overheard me telling Kiara that I felt safer with Rafe than the Pogues. "I just came to get my clothes."

JJ looks like I just slapped him in the face. "Clothes. Huh, okay. Go right ahead," he says as sarcastically as possible.

I pause before walking toward the Chateau.

"JJ," Sarah says with disappointment.

"What? I mean, she's clearly still with your psychotic-ass brother. We don't want anything to do with that."

I close the screen door to ignore their conversation. The familiar smell of John B's house immediately fills up my lungs. It's been too long since I've stepped foot in here.

I search through drawers and look under beds and couches until I find most of my belongings, including the pink shirt for Gen. As I'm sifting through some papers on the counter, I hear the front door burst open.

Within a few seconds, Barry appears in the doorway to the kitchen with a gun in his hand. My fight or flight kicks in, causing me to sprint out onto the porch and into the backyard. As I'm running for my life, I crash into a person standing in the grass. Rafe.

"Rafe!" I panic and grab onto the collar of his shirt to put him between me and the door. "Barry's in there, he has a gun, he—" I dart my head around the backyard trying to find the Pogues, but they've vanished.

"Woah, woah, woah," Rafe says, leading me farther away from the porch. "Why are you here?"

I look up into his red, extremely dilated eyes. "I came to get my clothes, why are you on cocaine right now?" I say, becoming less worried about the threat of Barry and more concerned with Rafe's state of mind.

He opens his mouth to think of an answer, but struggles to find words.

"Why are you here right now?" I flip the question over to him. "I didn't tell you I was coming here."

He stays silent as Barry finally walks out of the door behind him.

I step backward a few times. Sensing my obvious fear, Rafe walks closer to me but holds his hand out to stop Barry from moving. "Go home," he orders firmly, looking right at me.

I keep watchful eyes on Barry. "You have to tell me what you're doing here, Rafe."

Now he holds onto my face, but not gently. "Go back to your car, or however you got here, and go home. I don't want you to be here right now."

Fire starts to burn inside my chest. "What the hell?"

His jaw clenches. "You need to go, Juliet."

"Tell me why you're here!" I scream, tears burning my eyes. "Why is Barry here?"

"I'm not gonna tell you again," he says lowly. "Go to your fucking car."

I defensively take a step back. "No."

He stares so angrily at me that I don't even recognize him. I stand in confused silence as he breaks eye contact, turning around to look at Barry. "Take her to the van."

My heart drops. "Rafe."

Barry laughs as he starts to walk toward me. "Aight then."

"Rafe!" I scream, the built up tears now running down my cheeks, but he only stares at the ground.

Before I can run, Barry wraps his arms around my torso and forcefully lifts me up. I feel the air being squeezed out of my lungs as I try to break free.

"Let go!" I cry, not once taking my eyes off of Rafe. "Rafe, look at me!"

He keeps his hands in his pockets and doesn't move a muscle.

"You're a coward, Rafe!" I shout. "A fucking coward!"

I continue to scream as I'm being led to the van, hoping someone could hear, but all hope is lost as Barry opens the back doors and throws me inside. While he slams it shut, I writhe in pain on the floor of the van. The bruises on my stomach haven't hurt this bad since the last time he did this.

Because there's a wall dividing the front compartment and the back, I'm now alone in a pitch-black box with absolutely no way out. I cry so loudly that I'm sure Rafe can hear me. He has to be able to hear me.

After a few seconds, I hear gunshots go off near the van, which only makes me flinch out of pure terror. My fast-paced breathing and draining sobbing eventually become so overwhelming that I throw up all over myself.

With no idea of what to do, I decide to lay down on my side as I continue to gasp for air, barely being able to breathe. I was angry out on the grass, but now I'm devastated. Not even 24 hours ago, I let Rafe take my virginity. I was so infatuated with the guy I thought I knew. Last night, I helped him calm down from a panic attack, and now he's the cause of my own.

It feels like I've been lying empty on the floor of the van for forever before a glimpse of moonlight shines through the back doors. The moment I see Rafe's arm opening the door, I jump up and practically fall out of the vehicle in an attempt to run. Rafe stares at the vomit in the car and on me with a dumbfounded look on his face.

As I stumble toward the porch, I lose any ounce of strength I have and fall to the ground. I immediately puke into the grass and continue to panic.

"Jules, hey," Rafe says calmly.

I can't deal with the emotional whiplash of him being nice again.

He walks up to me and puts his hand on my back, kneeling beside me. "I didn't realize you were going to—"

"Where is he? Where'd he go?"

Rafe pulls my hair back. "He's in the van, he's not coming out, okay?"

I let out somewhat of a mix between coughing and choking. "Please help me, I can't breathe, I'm trying to—" I mumble before breaking down due to the insurmountable emotions running through my head.

"Come here," he says gently.

I'm internally screaming at myself to run, or hit him, or just let myself pass out, but my exhausted body chooses for me. I fall into his lap and lay there as I shake profusely.

He holds me up and rubs my back. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Something in me can't get up and move. I'm too vulnerable right here, right now. I need someone to comfort me, and it just so happens that the person who caused this is the only one here.

It takes a little bit for my body to regulate, but once it does, I take a deep breath in. "Please leave," I cry softly, my head throbbing.

His face contorts. I crawl to my knees and hold onto the earth as it starts to spin.

"I'm not leaving you in the grass like this," he insists, slurring his words.

"Then I'll go to the porch," I say as I limp toward the screen door. "You can leave me on the porch." I hiccup as tears stream down my cheeks.

He sighs. "Juliet."

I wince. "Please."

He stares at me for a few moments before turning around and walking back to the van.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .

The second Rafe closes the van door, I jump down from the tree and sprint to the house.

The moment we heard a car pull up outside earlier, John B told Sarah and I that we all needed to hide in the tree. I didn't understand what was going on until I had to watch Juli go through the most excruciating thing I think I've ever witnessed, all because of Rafe Cameron.

I yank the door to the house open, which makes Juli jump. She has puke all over her, tears streaming down her face, and looks visibly destroyed.

I open up my arms. "Come here."

I heard her scream and cry outside, but as she hugs me, her weeping is silent. Her entire body jolts with every quiet sob.

I cradle her head in my hand, not even slightly caring about the puke on her. "I'm sorry, Juli."

I tighten my hold on her as much as I can, trying hard to make her feel safe. I don't even notice how long we've been hugging until Sarah pulls Juli away.

"I'm gonna help you get cleaned up, okay?" she says kindly as she leads Juli to the bathroom. "You don't need this all over you."

I only move again when I hear the shower start. John B is standing at the counter, staring at the wall. "What a shocker, right?" he says, turning to look at me.

"Don't say that shit, dude."

He shrugs defensively. "It was only a matter of time."

I shake my head. "Nobody knew Rafe would do that."

"I know what he's capable of. Trust me."

I take a step toward him. "Can you not just have some compassion for Juli?"

"She thinks I killed someone, JJ."

"That's my fault."

John B laughs. "It's Rafe's fault."

"Sure, Rafe told her the lie, but I accidentally made it more believable. I yelled at her over the phone that her boyfriend killed a cop, which already made her hesitant of us, but then I beat his ass in my dad's garage," I say without pausing to breathe. "To her, we looked guilty, and Rafe looked innocent."

"You are pussy-whipped, dude."

"I'm not," I say, my throat tight. "Look, none of it matters anymore. Rafe showed his true colors tonight, so I'm sure she's already doubting everything. I mean, she said she's happy you're safe, John B. If she thought you were a cop killer, she wouldn't say that."

He takes a deep breath in. "I hope you're right."

"It's Juli," I assure him. "She'll come around."

I spend the next few minutes getting the pull-out couch ready. I find the comfiest blankets in the house, John B's best pillows, and a cup of water.

The bathroom door opens as I'm throwing the last blanket on the couch. Juli stops once she reaches the living room, taking in the scene in front of her.

"Goodnight, Juli. Wake me up if you need me," Sarah says as she follows John B into his room.

After they close his door, I look at Juli. "I don't have to sleep on the couch with you tonight, I can just—"

"Can you?" she asks softly.

I nod immediately. "Yeah. Of course."

She walks closer to hug me again, so I pull her head into my neck. She smells sweet. Her body is freezing as she wraps her arms around my torso. Juli's hugs have always been my favorite thing in the world, and I wonder if she feels the same way about mine.

I pull back to look at her now puffy face. For some reason, she starts to cry again. I physically wipe her tear with my thumb before putting my arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you some sleep, okay?"

"Okay." She sniffles and lays down on the couch.

I spread out one of the blankets on top of her before running to turn the light out. As I get into bed next to her, I make sure to keep my distance out of respect. "Goodnight, Juli. I love you."

She's silent for a moment. When I think she's not going to respond, I feel her head nestle right in between my neck and chest.

"I love you, too, J," she whispers.

I hesitate slightly before holding onto her with my arms. I know she just needs comfort from a friend, but I can't help but think about what would've happened if we'd fallen in love and Rafe never came into the picture. In another life, we would sleep like this every night.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ
↴juliet's point of view

I wake up to hear people shuffling around and doors slamming. When I open my eyes, JJ is the only one in the Chateau. As I watch him look for stuff, every memory from last night seeps back into my mind in the form of a gloomy fog.

I finally catch his eye, and he smiles gently. "How'd you sleep?"

I nod. "Better than I thought I would."

"I'm glad." He throws his backpack over his shoulder. "Well, we're about to leave, so I can walk you to your car if you want."

"Oh, okay," I say, pulling the blankets off of me and grabbing my phone.

After changing quickly in the bathroom and picking up my pile of clothes, I follow JJ out to my jeep that's parked down the street.

"Thank you, JJ," I say sincerely as I open the car door.

"Mmm-hm." He nods. "Text me when you're home safe, alright?"

"I will."

"Juli?"

I turn around, already halfway in the car.

"I understand you don't wanna hear this right now, and rightfully so, but..." He looks as if he's about to say something, but instead takes a slow, deep breath in. "John B didn't kill anyone."

My heart-rate increases faster.

"I think you know who did."

And it practically stops.

"I hope you can get everything figured out. Bye, Juli."

It takes a few seconds of watching him walk away before I finally get in the car and close the door. I already started to be hesitant about the tarmac situation, but after the shit Rafe pulled last night, everything I thought I knew has become unraveled before me.

I tap on my phone to see that it's 11:47 am and I have 27 missed calls from Rafe, along with about a million more messages.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

wreck-it-rafe🥳

jules

im sirry

can yuo anwser pls

holy sgit

pcik up t he pjone

im so soryr baby

i lpve you so m uch

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

I scroll down to see the ones from today.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

wreck-it-rafe🥳

ignore all of that

please can you just let me know if you're okay

im going to the island club at noon and i really
want to meet with you and talk

i'll just be in my car

im so sorry jules

let me know if ur going okay?

i love you

i'll go

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

I reluctantly change my route to the island club. Rain clouds start to form in the sky as I make the drive. When I arrive and park a few spots away from Rafe, it's pouring in the parking lot. I get out and quickly run to his car.

From the moment I close the door, the only noise inside is the pellets of rain on his window. The air feels tense as I stare at the glovebox and wait for Rafe to speak.

"I'm sorry," he says slowly. "I know this doesn't make it any better, but I was high off my ass, and really fucking drunk. I would never have done what I did if I was in the right headspace."

He keeps obliviously talking, but I have to cover my mouth to conceal my crying.

"I just think that maybe if you understood what John B being back is gonna do to my family, to the case, you would be—"

A gasp escapes from my mouth, serving as the loud introduction to the sob that soon follows.

It doesn't take long before Rafe's hand is rubbing circles on my back. "Jules."

I choke on air as I move his arm away. "You're so concerned with John B that you just willingly let Barry do whatever he wanted with me?"

His jaw drops, his brain working in overdrive as he tries to figure out what to say.

"What happened to you holding me while I was crying a few weeks ago, Rafe?" I ask pitifully. "I was crying about what Barry did to me. And you..." I look at him as tears fall down my cheeks. "You told him to do it again."

"I know, I know" he says, looking as if he's about to cry himself. "I was so intoxicated, I swear to god."

"You know how it feels to have a panic attack, Rafe, so why the hell would you do that to me? Why?" I cry harder and plead with him. "Why?"

He holds onto my hand. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm so sorry. I was just trying to talk to John B, I never meant for it to turn out how it did."

I stare at him in disappointed awe. "Why did you want to talk to John B?"

"You know he's gonna try to get me put in jail, Juliet."

For once, I feel like I can see right through him. "You did it, didn't you?"

His eyes slightly widen as a pathetic stutter escapes his mouth. "D-did what?"

"Don't lie to me, Rafe."

He stays silent for a long time before swallowing. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're gonna have to tell me what I did."

I cringe. "You shot