THE PERFECT GIRL.

chapter five, never ending nightmare.
[ original episode ]

AUGUST 2018.

THE DAY RAFE CAMERON ASKED OUT AURORA FERNSBY IS ONE THAT MARKED THE REST OF HER LIFE.

She sits with him now on the Cameron's boat, the My Druthers. The oceans waves knock against the side of the boat. Rafe stands several feet away from her. Rory sits on the couch in the cockpit.

School has started already. The two of them haven't been able to spend much time together due to the fact Rory attends school on the Cut instead of going to "Kook Academy", despite the fact that she lives with her father again. Of course, Big John has tried his damndest to get her back. . . it just doesn't work. Dylan has too many people in high places that can ruin the entirety of the Kildare Island.

Skipping school isn't ideal. But neither was trying an extremely hard drug like cocaine. Yet, here Rory stands with a baggie of coke in her pocket while skipping school.

"So," Rafe starts from where he stands in front of the wheel. "Why aren't you going back to Kook Academy?"

Rory shrugs. "I've been going to school on the Cut since I was in fifth grade. It's really the one thing my dad doesn't give a shit about."

"What if I give a shit about it?" Rafe asks her.

Rory's blonde brows furrow. "Why would you?"

"Uh, because you're my girlfriend. What if another guy fucks with you?" Rafe questions.

"I got JJ, John B, and Pope. Not to mention Kie, too. That girl is scary when she's mad." Rory says with a small smile as she thinks of Kie. Her only girlfriend. The other half of her soul.

"You know how I feel about those Pogues." Rafe tells her, his voice becoming more on edge each passing second.

"They're my best friends, Rafe." Rory says.

"I'm you're boyfriend."

"Okay, so what if I asked you to pick me over Topper, and Kelce?" Rory hums.

Rafe scoffs. "That's different."

"How so?" Rory asks.

"I'm a dude and so are they. You're a girl with only guy friends, plus Kiara. It's different." Rafe tells her.

Rory's eyes narrow slightly. "Why is it different? You think I'm gonna sleep with them? John B and Pope are like my brothers."

"And JJ?"

"Rafe, I've known him since I was five." Rory huffs. "I'm not gonna fuck JJ."

"You want people to think you're a whore? Because I don't want people to think I'm dating one." Rafe informs her.

"You sound dumb as fuck right now," Rory tells him, closing her eyes.

Within a second, a hand is wrapped tightly around her neck. A small, shocked gasp rips through her throat.

Her eyes open in fear. Rafe is inches away from her face, eyes nearly black with rage. His upper lip curls in anger.

"Rafe," Rory whimpers, tears sprinting in her blue eyes.

"Say you're sorry," he snarls. "Say you're not gonna fuck JJ Maybank. Say you're mine."

"I—"

"Say it!" Rafe screams. Spit lands on Rory's face. She squeezes her eyes shut, flinching back from his anger. Tears fall from her eyes.

"I— I'm not gonna fuck JJ. I'm sorry, Rafe. I'm so sorry. I'm yours. I'm com— I'm completely yours. I promise." She rushes out.

"Good girl," he snarls.

Rafe squeezes her neck tighter, making her gasp for air as her airway tightens. He then releases her harshly. At the relief of her neck being released, she immediately gasps for air.

She brings her trembling hand up to her throbbing neck, tears still cascading down her rosy cheeks.

She's used to abuse. She's been abused by her father her entire life. He's thrown her down the stairs of the Fernsby Estate. He's knocked her out. He's given her concussions. Her father is her devil, he always has been.

As she sits on the My Druthers now with bruised handprint forming around her neck, one that isn't from her father. . . Rory wonders if she'll ever escape the cycle of abuse?

Rafe moves back to the wheel. "We're going home." He says, no emotion in his voice.

Rory nods despite Rafe not being able to see her.

The entire boat ride back to Tannyhill, Rory cries silently to herself.

─────────

Mascara stains her under eyes.

Rory sits in her bed, a tray settled in front of her crossed legs. Three lines of coke sit on it. She stares down at the drug with red-rimmed eyes.

She leans down, bringing her hand up to her nose to close one nostril. She snorts the first line. Then the second. And finally, the third.

She falls on her back, the silver tray clattering to the hard wood floor of her bedroom. Her bed consumers her like a cloud. It wraps around her, protecting her from the horrors outside her bedroom walls. Her bed protects her from her father and Rafe and the drugs she's just inhaled.

Everyone in the OBX knows about her father's abuse, even the little kids. No one does anything about it. But would they do something about Rafe Cameron?

Does she tell the island about Rafe's outburst?

No.

The Cameron's could ruin her. Ward would attack her financially despite all of her money coming from her father, Ward's own business partner. Sarah and Rose would become the meanest of mean girls. Rafe would attempt to kill her. And then there's Wheezie, sweet Wheezie who doesn't belong in such a horrific family.

Rory's eyelids flutter shut. Sleepiness and the high from the drug slowly getting to her. She hums You Are My Sunshine to herself. It's the song Big John would sing to her and John B when they were younger and had nightmares.

That's when her phone rings.

Rory's shoulders jerk, her eyes snap open. She reaches out, searching blindly for her IPhone. When she finds it, she grips the phone tightly in her shaking hand. She brings it to her face to see who the caller is.

LAYLS <3.

Rory groans internally. Nonetheless, she presses the green accept button, putting her best friend on speaker phone.

"Rory." Layla begins, excitement laces her voice. She's so excited to tell her best friend that's she's made captain of the cheer team for the the new school year.

"Heyyy," Rory slurs out.

"Hey—" on the other end of the call, Layla freezes. Her eyes narrow slightly. She recognizes the slur of Rory's voice. She remembers the way Lyn sounded when she first tried cocaine and it's exactly how Rory sounds now. "Are you high?"

"What?" Rory laughs. "Me? High? Neverrrrrr."

"Rory, for real. Are you on coke right now?" Layla snaps, her voice full of worry and anger.

"Not me. You're the one who's trippin'." Rory says, rolling onto her stomach.

"This isn't funny, Aurora! Are you high on freaking cocaine right now!?" Layla shouts.

"Shh!" Rory hisses into the phone. "Shut up, shut the fuck up."

"Oh, my God." Rory hears Layla mutter over the phone. "This is freaking unbelievable. You're unbelievable, Rory!"

With that, Layla hangs up on her best friend.

Rory slams her phone down on the mattress, not caring when it bounces off of the bed and clatters to the floor below.

She lets her eyes fall shut once again. She lays on silence for several minutes. When she finally starts to doze off, a wet substance makes her eyebrows furrow.

She pushes herself up, looking down at her pillow. Red blood stains her satin pillow case. Her blue eyes widen slightly in surprise. A drop of blood falls from her face, landing on pillowcase.

Reluctantly, Rory lifts her fingers to her nose. When she pulls back, her fingers are coated in the same sticky red substance.

A small gasp falls from her lips. Her brows furrow again. Her blue eyes glance down at the hardwood floor of her bedroom. They settle on the silver tray.

What is this drug doing to her?

______________________________

word count: 1,326
episode: original episode

wow.

i wrote this chapter almost a whole year ago and am just now publishing it, which seems actually crazy to me. what's even crazier is i haven't updated this book since october?? i am SO sorry to the people that actually enjoy this book.

but now let's talk about this chapter. rafe sucks. i hate him so much. he's a cunt in the show and he's a cunt in this story. one thing i don't like are the fanfics that make him out to be a sweetheart, like you read what you want but we've all watched the same show and we all know how rafe cameron behaves.

but the coke scene?? HELLO!? the bloody nose rory got?? that's not good at all and it is a CRUCIAL part to this story. so make sure you all pay attention to her nose bleeds.