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 ''Sorry! You're gonna have to take care of your own vagina from now on!''

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RAFE

I STORMED THROUGH the Pogue side of the island, keeping my head down, hoping no one would spot me. My dad's voice was still ringing in my ears, his words hard and sharp, like he'd driven a nail straight into my pride. Honestly, I didn't even know why I was here; maybe I just wanted to walk it off without running into Ashley or any of the other guys who'd make it worse by trying to ''cheer me up'' or something fake like that. I wasn't interested in their pity.

I kept my distance as I approached Mavis's place. Her dad wasn't around—he never was—off God-knows-where for months on end. And Mavis? She was always wrapped up in whatever drama the Pogues were stirring up, so I figured I could crash at her place. Still, I was halfway across the yard before I noticed a low, muffled sound coming from inside the house.

Curious, I moved behind a tree, peering through a gap in the curtains. Inside, there she was: Mavis, focused on cleaning up JJ's bloodied face. His eye was swelling up, and his cheek was darkening into a nasty bruise. I felt a twisted sense of satisfaction looking at him all beaten up. Of course JJ Maybank needed a girl to patch him up—he was weak, nothing more than a scrappy punk who couldn't handle the kind of fights I'd been through. And here he was, letting Mavis fuss over him like some hero who'd earned a war wound.

I watched as she gently pressed a bandage onto his forehead, her face soft with concern. When she finished, she hugged him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as if he were fragile. I scoffed under my breath, disgust curling in my stomach.

''Typical,'' I muttered, half to myself. ''Fucking Pogues.''

I turned away from the window, clenching my jaw to keep the frustration from boiling over. So that's her way of thanking me—coddling that loser JJ—after I went out of my way to return her stupid dog?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

MAVIS

JOHN B WAS THE first to leap off the boat, shooting a sly grin over his shoulder as he bolted with the rest of us close behind.

''Code Red!'' Pope had called to get Kiara's attention, as she walked over the gangplank toward us.

''What the hell is going on?'' she demanded.

''JJ and John B conked out in the marsh. They need a tow,'' Pope explained, trying to sound calm.

Kiara arched an eyebrow. ''Uh, okay, well, what does that have to do with me?''

''We need you for mechanical,'' Pope replied with a shrug, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

''Mechanical,'' she repeated, her expression skeptical but resigned. I could see her slowly buying into the story.

She finally stepped onto the boat, looking at me and Pope. We arrived at the place where John B and JJ parked their not working boat, with Sarah hidden inside. ''Can't you guys do anything without me?'' She gave the boat a once-over. ''What exactly happened?''

JJ leaned forward. ''The alternator's, uh, not alternating anymore.''

''It's not charged,'' John B corrected quickly, trying to keep a straight face.

Kiara narrowed her eyes. ''Did you check the plugs?''

''No,'' JJ admitted, exchanging glances with John B. ''No, you should check 'em.''

Kiara sighed, rolling her eyes. ''You guys are useless.'' She squatted down, already getting her hands dirty as she poked around the engine. They exchanged a quick look and crept back from the boat, carefully making their way off before she noticed anything.

''Sorry about that,'' John B mumbled as they hit the water, glancing over his shoulder to check if she'd caught on yet.

''Come on, come on, come on!'' he hissed, motioning for JJ to hurry up.

''Is this a joke?'' she yelled, finally looking up to see JJ and John B swimming away towards me and Pope on the other boat.

''Go, go, go!'' John B urged. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me.

Kiara's voice carried across the water, angrier now. ''There are no plugs, like, at all!''

''Sayonara!'' JJ shouted, his voice ringing out as he splashed further into the water.

''Get your asses back here!'' Kiara screamed, her frustration reaching new heights as she caught sight of Sarah poking her head up through the hatch, equally bewildered.

Sarah's voice joined in. ''You can't just leave us here!''

Pope, now a safe distance away, cupped his hands around his mouth and called back. ''There's food in the cabin, and JJ rolled a blunt!''

''Hydroponic!'' JJ added, holding up his hands like he was selling her a luxury cruise.

Kiara's voice rose in protest one last time. ''Mimi, what about our vagina pact?''

I paused, laughing so hard my sides hurt, and threw a wave back at her, already feeling the distance between us grow. ''Sorry! You're gonna have to take care of your own vagina from now on!''

RAFE

THE WORLD ALWAYS seemed sharper when I was this angry. Anger did that—made every sensation feel painfully vivid. I'd followed her home, hidden in the brush just beyond her driveway, watching. Every movement she made, every sway of her hair, the distracted way she fumbled with her keys as she pushed open the door, only made that familiar knot in my chest tighten. She didn't even look back. She didn't lock the door.

It was almost too easy, slipping inside after her, gliding past that first threshold. I closed the door softly behind me, but I didn't let it lock. I could hear her moving around, her quiet footsteps shuffling toward what sounded like the kitchen. I followed, breath still and hands steady, until she turned around.

Her eyes widened as I reached her, and I clasped my hand over her mouth before she could scream. Her skin was warm beneath my palm, her eyes locked onto mine with a look that was somewhere between shock and terror. I didn't let go, not yet.

''Why didn't you reach out to me?'' I demanded. ''After everything I've done, why didn't you say anything? Not even a fucking thank you.''

She looked confused, more so than I'd anticipated. Her gaze flicked from my eyes to the door, then back to me, and I felt a flare of frustration surge through me.

''Don't play dumb, Mavis,'' I snarled, lowering my hand from her mouth but still keeping her locked in place with my stare. ''After all the things I did for you, you're just gonna ignore me? You owe me that at least.''

Her expression changed, that initial fear replaced by something steely, and she straightened herself, pulling back ever so slightly. ''I never asked you to do anything for me, Rafe. You're not doing me any favours by showing up here. Now, get out.''

My jaw tightened, anger flaring hotter. How could she be this oblivious? I'd left a letter, poured everything out onto that stupid piece of paper. And now she was looking at me like I was crazy. My chest felt heavy with the weight of words I couldn't say, and I couldn't hold them back anymore.

''I left you a letter, Mavis. On your nightstand. After I brought your dog back.''

I could see the disbelief in her eyes, and it was like a punch to the gut. She took a half-step back, blinking as though my words were registering piece by piece. ''What letter?'' she whispered. ''I never saw a letter, Rafe. My dog just... came back. I thought it had wandered home since the window was wide open.''

I felt a rush of cold disbelief. The letter hadn't even been found. I'd put myself out there for her, crossed boundaries, snuck into her life in ways I couldn't undo—and she hadn't even seen it. I muttered a curse under my breath and turned on my heel, not looking back as I unlocked her door and left without another word.

As I strode through the dusky street, my fists clenched tightly at my sides. She didn't even know. Everything I'd done, every step I'd taken to get her dog back, and she was clueless. And worse, she looked at me like I was just some psycho breaking into her house.

The memory stung—me and Barry that night, both of us on a high that felt endless until we stumbled across her dog. The scrappy little thing had been alone, cowering under a car in the dark, and something inside me had twisted. I'd scooped it up, and I could remember the way it squirmed, how I'd brought it to her house. I'd thought, just maybe, that this could mean something, show her I wasn't just the guy everyone assumed I was.

I'd left that note, simple and scrawled in my half-sober handwriting, and laid it carefully beside her bed, making sure the dog was settled. I'd looked around her room, noticed all the little stupid decorations she'd put on.

And she didn't even know I was the one that got her stupid dog back. She didn't even know what I said in that letter and I hate to repeat myself.

Now, that glimmer of hope I'd had was crushed. She was afraid of me now, and that would never change. Anger flared again, but it was colder this time, more resigned. Whatever it was I'd wanted from her—a thank you, a chance to be seen as something other than Rafe Cameron, menace of the Outer Banks—I didn't want it anymore. Not from her.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, forcing myself to breathe evenly as I walked away from her place. I let the darkness close around me, deciding then and there that this was it. I was done hoping, done reaching out to befriend a Pouge.

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