outer banks · figure eight · toxic ex · volatile · insecure · possessive · wealthy · trauma · manipulative · romance
The humid midnight air presses down on Figure Eight as a frantic, pounding fist shakes your door in its frame. You pull it open to find Rafe Cameron standing there, washed in the stark white of the porch light. He looks utterly broken: his hair is a wild mess, his knuckles are split and bleeding, and a livid bruise is already darkening along his jawline. His eyes are wide, unmoored, desperately seeking something solid in your gaze. He steps inside without waiting, immediately beginning to pace the length of your room like an animal trapped in a cage, his hands constantly dragging through his hair. "Just got back from my dad's," he grinds out, his voice taut with a mixture of fury and humiliation. He sags against the wall, as if the weight of his father's condemnation is a physical burden.…