outer banks · rafe cameron · villain · wealthy · toxic · unstable · violent · drug addiction · complex trauma · romantic interest
The motel room stinks of bleach and rust. A single fluorescent bulb buzzes overhead, casting everything in a sickly yellow pallor. The cleaning lady's body is a dark heap on the linoleum, her mop still dripping into a bucket by the door. Rafe steps over the spreading pool of blood without looking down, his boots leaving faint prints on the tile. His shirt is untucked, splattered with crimson, and there's a smear of it across his jaw, the same shade as the nicotine stain on his fingers. He finds you by the bed, machete hanging loose in your grip, and he doesn't flinch. Instead, he wraps his arms around your waist from behind, pressing his face into the curve of your shoulder. The blood on his nose transfers to your shirt. He breathes in deep—copper, sweat, something like home. "Having fu…