─☼☼☼─

"𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙊𝙉𝙀?" 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀 wondered, pointing to the two dresses that lay out on the bed in front of her. 

She stood with a towel clutched around her bare body, wet hair sticking to her neck from the shower her and Rafe had shared minutes earlier. 

Emerging from the closest, now fully dressed, Rafe regarded the two options, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. "That one." He answered, nodding toward the blue and white floral dress. "It makes your boobs look extra good."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte reached for the dress. "Do you ever think about anything other than my boobs?"

"On occasion I like to think about your ass." Rafe grinned, taking a seat on the bed before pulling the case of melted gold toward him. "I like to switch things up."

A playful smile had settled on Charlotte's lips, her mouth open to shoot back a retort. But the words soon fell dead in her throat as she turned, her eyes landing on a figure standing in the doorway. 

Self-consciously, she gripped the towel tighter to her body. Suddenly feeling entirely exposed. A mixture of fear, distaste, and confused swiping across her features. "Rafe." She muttered, trying to pull his attention toward the door. 

Rafe didn't turn his back. "Jesus, Lottie. I'm kidding. I promise I think about other things other than your─"

"Rafe." She repeated, this time more forcefully, throat constricting on itself. 

Finally, Rafe turned to face her, his eyes snagging on what had her so upset. 

Standing in the doorway of the bedroom was Ward Cameron. 

He was out of bed. Here. In the Outer Banks. 

"Dad." Rafe breathed out, already moving to put himself between Charlotte and his father. He could feel her discomfort from across the room. 

Ward cracked a small smile, nodding at his son. "Hey, bud." His eyes then swivelled toward Charlotte, but only for a moment. "Charlotte."

Rafe turned, facing Charlotte with a gentle expression. "Lottie, go get changed. I'll come get you in a few minutes."

Charlotte didn't argue. Instead, she clutched onto the towel for dear life as she scooped up the dress Rafe had chosen, barely even honouring Ward with a glance before she disappeared into the bathroom. 

Subconsciously, she clicked the lock once she was in the bathroom, trying to put as much distance between herself and Ward as possible.

But even the locked door couldn't drown out the voices seeping in from the bedroom. 

With her heart hammering against her ribcage, Charlotte dressed quickly. She knew she had to get ready...they had their meeting with a potential buyer in less than an hour. But there was something so wrong about contouring her face while her boyfriend went head to head with his mentally unstable father just feet away. 

Nonetheless, she gave it her best effort─making herself as presentable as possible while still keeping an ear on the conversation behind the closed door. 

She was putting on concealer when the revelation of Rafe melting down the cross came out. Ward was─rightfully so─shocked beyond words, his voice rising ever so slightly. 

Charlotte paused, waiting for a sign that she needed to get out there. 

But while Rafe was worked up, he hadn't totally lost it. 

Good. Charlotte thought. He's learning to regulate his emotions. 

"Okay," Ward levelled Rafe as Charlotte applied her mascara, the final step in her routine. "What's done is done. But now you've gotta do the things I sent you here to do, all right? So we can go back to Guadeloupe and we'll start again."

Something had lodged itself in Charlotte's throat, her chest seeming to collapse in on itself. She wasn't going to let Ward take Rafe away from her. She wasn't going to lose the only person who truly had her back right now. 

Something Rafe had said to her that fateful day on the Coastal Adventure had stuck with her..."So why didn't you help me?"

She had seen his father's flaws, but left Rafe to fall victim to them. She wasn't going to do that again. 

The bathroom door was open before Charlotte had a chance to actually think about what she was doing. The words were leaving her mouth just as quickly. "He's not going back there." 

Ward turned, his eyes locking on Charlotte. It seemed like it took a lot of internal convincing for him not to snap on her. "Charlotte, listen sweetie, Rafe doesn't belong here anymore. Not after what you and your friends have done."

Charlotte's eyes narrowed, "We didn't do anything." She shot back. "You did that. All of it."

Rafe arrived at Charlotte's side, a gentle hand wrapping around her waist as if to let her know that he could handle his father. "I do want to start again." Rafe explained to his father, eyes flickering to Charlotte for a moment. "But not in Guadeloupe."

Ward shook his head, eyes darting between the two teenagers in front of him. "What?"

"Why the hell would I want to start over there?" Rafe challenged. 

"You don't get it." Ward argued. "We can't stay here, son."

"No," Rafe shook his head, "You can't stay here." He pulled Charlotte closer to him. "I've got Charlotte here. I've got my home, okay? What I'm saying, dad, is that I don't need you anymore. I'm good." 

Lightly guiding Charlotte toward the door, Rafe mumbled a quiet, "Come on," prompting her past his father. Charlotte could feel goosebumps rise on her skin as she neared the Cameron patriarch. She couldn't stand that man. Couldn't even stand being so near to him.

In a desperate final plea, Ward spoke again. "You're throwing away everything for a Pogue, Rafe! Don't you get that? That's what she is...always has been and always will be."

It all happened so fast, Charlotte barely even had a chance to step out of the way before Rafe was ramming Ward into the doorframe, pressing his forearm against his father's chest. "Don't." He warned, voice cold as ice. "Don't speak about her like that." 

Charlotte took another small step back, her focus on Rafe as he shoved his dad further against the wall. "Lottie and I are gonna sell our gold. And then we're gonna do whatever the hell else we want, and there's actually nothing you can do about it. Okay?"

Bending down to retrieve his father's discarded cane, Rafe shoved it back into his hands. "Go home, dad." He muttered, giving his father a final look before reaching out to take Charlotte's hand. 

The Carrera girl paused for a moment, eyes locked on Ward Cameron. "Stay away from them." She warned, no sympathy for such a man. "Both of them."

No one needed to ask who she was referring to; the two Cameron children who Ward had damaged beyond repair. Charlotte couldn't stand to watch him tear them apart any further. 

Ward didn't follow them. Even if he had wanted to, it was unlikely he could have kept up as the couple hurried from the house and into the Rover that Rafe had left out front. 

Neither of them said anything. Not for a while at least. 

They were pulling up to Barry's when Rafe finally spoke. "I'm sorry." He apologized, voice raw as he looked over at Charlotte. "For what my dad said.'"

Charlotte shook her head, "I don't care if he calls me a Pogue, Rafe. That's literally the very least of my worries when it comes to your father." She paused for a moment, reading the sadness on his features. This wasn't easy for him. "Hey," She said softly, reaching out to run her hand against the back of his neck. "You did what was right for you. I'm proud of you."

Rafe gave her a sad smile, putting the Rover into park before reaching for her hand. He brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "We're going to be okay." He promised, voice gentle. "You and me."

"You and me." Charlotte repeated, truly wanting to believe the words herself. They had to be okay this time. Had to. 

─☼☼☼─

"Holy fucking shit!" Barry whooped, rifling through the bag of cash that sat in front of them. "I ain't ever seen this much money in my entire life."

"What about that time you sold drugs to the entire graduating class of 2018?" Charlotte wondered, quirking a brow. 

Barry waved her off. "Ain't nothin' compares to this, princess." 

Charlotte hated to admit it, but she agreed with him. She'd never seen so much hard cash in her entire nineteen years of existence. 

Rafe was grinning at the two of them, proud of his team for making the first couple deals. The three of them had worked well together. In Charlotte's opinion, her and Rafe could have easily done it without Barry, but she knew it wasn't up to her. 

"What you gonna do with this, princess?" Barry wondered, fanning himself with a stack of bills as he looked to Charlotte. 

Shrugging, Charlotte picked one of the stacks up, turning it in her hands. "I don't know." She admitted. But she already knew. She'd known since the moment she asked to be in on the deal. It just wasn't something she was going to share with either of the boys. 

Rafe appeared behind Charlotte, wrapping his hands around her waist before resting his chin on her shoulder. "Barry, stop barraging her with questions. Just let us enjoy this for a minute."

"I am enjoying it!" He argued, cracking a grin to prove it. 

"What do you say we throw a little party at our place tonight?" Rafe proposed, Charlotte's heart soaring at the use of the term our. "I think we need to celebrate."

"I'm in." Barry agreed, stuffing his share of the bills into a bag. "Couldn't hurt to make a few more bucks selling some of my supply."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Barry, if you even think about selling him a single drug I will literally kill you."

"Relaaaax, princess." Barry drawled, shooting her a wink before making for the front door, "I'll stay away from your loverboy."

Once Barry had made his leave, Rafe nuzzled further into the crook of Charlotte's neck. "What do you say?" He wondered, his voice sending shivers down her spine. "Down for a little trip down memory lane?"

In high school, Rafe and Charlotte had thrown some of the best parties for their circle of friends. They were never huge, but they were sure as hell a lot of fun.

"Why not?" Charlotte shrugged, turning slightly to press a kiss to his cheek. "But I gotta do something first. I'll meet you back here tonight?"

Pulling back, Rafe furrowed his brows slightly, "What do you have to do?"

"Relaaaax," Charlotte teased, mocking Barry, "I'll be back soon. Just have to check on a few things."

She hoped she wasn't being too obvious as she reached for her bag of cash. Luckily, Rafe made no comments about it. 

He was already looking down at his phone, "If I call Donny and order a couple kegs, can you pick them up?"

"Sure," Charlotte agreed, "Just text me his address."

Rafe was already backing toward the bathroom, likely to start getting ready. "You're the best!" He called, pointing at her as if giving her a shoutout. "Love you, Lottie."

Charlotte pushed down the lump in her throat as she smiled back at him, "Love you more, Rafe."

─☼☼☼─

Charlotte hadn't been this nervous to talk to one of her friends in a long time. The last time was likely after the huge fight her and Kensington had gotten into in their junior year. Looking back now, the reason for their argument had been so trivial. 

But now, as she stood in front of Heyward's market, still dressed in the blue floral dress Rafe had picked out that morning, Charlotte couldn't fight the anxiety that was creeping over her. She knew Pope didn't want to see her, she just wasn't sure exactly how he was going to react. 

The bell chimed as she entered, the bag of cash feeling like it weighed a million pounds as she stepped into the market. 

At first glance, there was no one in the store. Then came a voice from the back. "I'll be with you in just a minute!"

Charlotte thought about turning and leaving. Maybe writing a note and dropping the cash before running back to Tannyhill...back to Rafe. But she couldn't do that, she had to face Pope no matter how hard it would be. 

It was Pope's mother who emerged from the back, her face lighting up at the sight of the Carrera girl. "Charlotte!" She beamed, pulling her into a warm hug. "It's been forever, sweetie."

The smile Charlotte wore was tempered by her nerves, but it was good enough. "Hi, Miss. Corrine. How are you?"

Pope's mother smiled, one that held a lot of words. "Better now that my boy and all of you kids are back home safe and sound."

Nodding, Charlotte kept the small smile plastered to her face. "Is uh─is that boy of yours around?"

Corrine motioned toward the back door. "Think he's out back. Do you want me to put on a pot of tea for you guys?"

"Oh, no." Charlotte breathed. "That's alright. Thanks though."

Corrine sent her another smile as Charlotte slowly turned toward the back door. There was no backing down now. 

The door creaked as Charlotte stepped onto the back patio. Her eyes scanned the area, instantly landing on the figure who was seated on one of the benches, attention cast out toward the water. 

Was it too late to run?

Yes. 

"Hey, Pope."

Charlotte's voice barely even sounded like her own at this point, but it didn't matter, Pope turned anyway. And when his eyes landed on her, they darkened instantly. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" He bit out, voice harsher than Charlotte had ever heard it. 

"I─uh. I wanted to talk to you." Charlotte stammered, her eyes already stinging. She hated this. Hated being at odds with her friends. 

Pope let out a humourless laugh, "What's there to talk about, Charlotte? I know what he did to the cross, and I know you've been with him."

"I didn't know what he was going to do." Charlotte hated how desperate her voice sounded. "I promise you that."

"What does it matter." Pope muttered. "You people always win."

"You people?" Charlotte repeated, slightly taken aback. "What does that even mean?"

Pope looked back out toward the water. "You know."

To Ward, all Charlotte was was a dirty Pogue. And to Pope, one of her best friends, all she was was a filthy rich Kook. She didn't fit in anywhere. She didn't belong anywhere. 

Trying to keep her composure, Charlotte set the bag onto the table, drawing Pope's attention back to her. "This is for you."

Pope's dark eyes met her sad ones. 

Charlotte nudged the bag in his direction, prompting him to look inside. With a stone-cold expression, Pope did just that. 

He pulled his hands away just as quickly, as if the bag was full of fire. "I don't want your damn money, Charlotte." He snapped. 

"It's not mine." Charlotte maintained, truly believing that. "And it's not Rafe's, Pope. It belongs to you...to your family."

He shook his head, turning his back once again. "Take it and go, Charlotte. I don't need your damn handouts."

"Pope─"

"Just go." He repeated, this time with more force. "Run back to your little Kook Prince. I'm done."

The tears started to fall now, but Pope couldn't even look at Charlotte long enough to see them. She should have fought harder, but Charlotte Carrera was exhausted, so damn exhausted. 

Leaving the bag on the table, Charlotte turned to leave. But before she could reach for the door, she found herself speaking. "I never betrayed you." She announced, voice wavering. "I would never do that to you. And it absolutely destroys me to think that you believe that I would."

Pope didn't respond. Charlotte wasn't sure she wanted him to. 

─☼☼☼─

-an-

blah okay this is a boring filler chapter. it was all over the place so sorry about that!!

hope you're all enjoying anyway

-maddy xoxo