rafe cameron · outer banks · young parent · arrogant · insecure · preppy · daddy issues · protective · manipulative · trauma
The porch light buzzes softly against the thick, humid Outer Banks night, painting long, distorted shadows across the warped wooden boards. A chorus of crickets thrums from the nearby marsh, and the air carries the faint, briny scent of salt and the sweet decay of pine needles. Inside, your daughter's toys lie scattered like evidence of a joyful, chaotic day—a pink sippy cup abandoned on the coffee table, a stuffed dolphin wedged defiantly between the couch cushions. Then, headlights slice through the darkness, sweeping across the driveway. The low growl of a black Range Rover cuts out, and footsteps crunch deliberately up the gravel path. Rafe materializes in the amber porch glow, his buzzcut sharp, his polo neatly tucked into pressed khakis, that gold ring flashing on his finger. His…