RIPTIDE | Rafe Cameron

52. 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦

this is a double update! read 51 first!

"Home sweet home," Rafe sighs as we pull onto the driveway of Tannyhill. We left my parents about twenty minutes ago and drove over here as quickly as we could. Rafe got a text from Ward which explained that he wanted to talk about something, which seems ominous.

"Do you miss it?" I ask him, grazing my fingers over the short hair on the back of his head.

"It's just a building," Rafe mutters, switching the engine off, "But it was home once."

"Let's get this over with then," I reply, opening my car door, "It must be serious if he wants to call."

"He probably just wants to check up on us," Rafe tells me as he climbs out of his side of the car, walking around to meet me before opening the trunk and retrieving our luggage.

"Of course," I sigh, reminded yet again that as long as Ward's part of Rafe's life he'll always be the one in control.

Rafe closes the trunk, slinging my bag over his shoulder and picking his case up as his phone begins to buzz in his pocket, "Talk of the devil."

"Dad?" Rafe says to him over the phone as he locks the car, leading me up to the front door, "Yeah, we just got to the house....I know the plane landed two hours ago but we had to make a stop to see Sid's parents."

He holds the front door open for me, letting me cross the threshold first as he continues talking to Ward over the phone, "Yeah, they said, um, two days on the transfer, it's in the works though, so no worries."

We make our way up the stairs towards the bedroom we once shared as Ward continues talking to Rafe on the phone. But given that Rafe has the phone pressed to his ear, I can't make out anything that Ward is telling him, "Yeah, we're upstairs, you said you wanted to talk about something, what's up?"

I lead Rafe into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed as he dumps our bags on the floor before  joining me on the bed, interlocking my hand with his, "Wait, are you being serious?" He asks his father, and it doesn't take a genius to work out that it's not good news, "I was just with you, what's changed since then? What are you talking about?"

"Dad, no, no, Dad," Rafe continues muttering as I gaze out onto the landing, my heart pacing as I lock eyes with Sarah, the two of us sharing a quick glance as she rushes past towards the stairs, "This cross is mine, you're taking it from me."

Everytime I hear Rafe talking about the cross, another part of me realises that the longer the cross is in his clutches, there will always be something tying him to his feud with the pogues. He doesn't need the money that the cross can offer, he got that with the Merchant gold, this is different, this has a value that runs deeper than buying a new house in Guadeloupe, this is family.

"Listen, this is something I got through my work, and now you're trying to make yourself feel better by giving away my shit?" Those words are just another reminder of the attachment he has to the cross, and how he believes he is entitled to it.

I love the man beside me, more than anything or anyone I've ever known, and I know the Pogues will tell me that makes me a fool. But as much as I adore him, I don't know if I'm capable of loving the person he becomes when the gold and the cross are involved.

"I'm just gonna grab some water," I whisper, kissing Rafe's cheek and slipping out of the bedroom, eyeballing Sarah and gesturing to the bathroom on the opposite of the landing.

Tentatively, she follows behind me, once we're both in the bathroom I softly let the door shut behind us, flicking the light on, "You okay?" I whisper, so relieved to see her back on the island.