─☼☼☼─

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙈 𝘿𝙊𝙊𝙍 slammed behind Charlotte as she stumbled toward the sink, bracing her hands on either side as she tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. 

After spending the entire day out on the boat with Mateo, they had not found any sign of Kiara and the others. 

Not a single damn thing. 

Charlotte was feeling helpless. 

She had no idea where her sister was. No idea where some of her best friends were. For all she knew, they could be dead. 

The thought alone sent her into a dangerous spiral, combined with her brief conversation with Mateo about what had happened on the Coastal Adventure, Charlotte couldn't quite control the anxiety that was ripping through her. 

Her entire body seemed to buzz, hands shaking as she leaned over the sink. Her breaths came out in laboured bursts, ears burning as the anxiety gripped onto her. It felt like she was drowning, and to be honest, partly like she was dying. 

She wasn't unaccustomed to this feeling, this panic, but this was the worst she had had it in a while...in a very long time. 

Tears built behind her eyes as nausea flooded over her, like a tidal wave pulling her under. 

"Lottie?"

His voice came from the other side of the bathroom door, a gentle knock following. "Lottie, are you in there?"

At the sound of his voice, Charlotte managed to let out a single full breath, as if his presence alone had taken away even the tiniest amount of the panic that was holding her prisoner. 

She didn't want to rely on him. But she didn't have a choice right now. 

With trembling hands, she reached to open the door, wordlessly pulling it open before leaning back against the sink. 

Rafe stepped in, his eyes full of concern as they landed upon her, drinking in her frenzied state─the red rim of her eyes, the heaving of her chest. 

"Bab─Lottie, what's wrong." He caught himself, remembering his promise to give her space. 

Charlotte glanced up at him in the mirror, giving a small shake of her head as she placed a hand over her chest, feeling her rapidly beating heart. "I don't─I don't know."

Tentatively, Rafe took a step toward her, gently placing a hand on the small of her back. "Panic attack." He identified, recalling the symptoms she had displayed over the five years they had dated. Then, the attacks had been brought on by her grades, or college applications. Now, he knew they were fuelled by something entirely different. 

Turning to him, Charlotte's lips quivered as tears spilled over her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. "I can't make it stop." She whispered, voice catching in her throat. 

Damning his promise to himself about space, Rafe took Charlotte's face in her hands, his eyes connecting with hers. "Breathe." He instructed, "Breathe with me."

He took a deep breath through his nose, letting it out through his mouth to demonstrate to Charlotte what she needed to do. 

Absentmindedly reaching out, Charlotte grasped onto his shirt, needing to do something with her hands. She was hesitant for a moment before sucking in her first deep breath, following along with what Rafe was doing. 

"Good." He approved, taking another deep breath to demonstrate. "Good, Lottie. Keep going."

She did as he said, closing her eyes, feeling his hands on her face as she began to slow her heart rate. 

Gently, Rafe rubbed his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tears away. 

Slowly, Charlotte opened her eyes, her heart rate now at an acceptable level as her eyes flickered toward Rafe. 

He was watching her carefully, a soft smile coming to his lips. "You're okay." He assured in a low voice. "I've got you."

 It was a rather simple statement, at least to most, but to Charlotte, it held a lot more meaning than she could explain. Tears burst from her eyes as her bodied crumpled, the events from the past two weeks finally coming to a head. 

For two weeks, she had wallowed away in the bedroom, only ever leaving the room for a limited amount of time to meet with Mateo. Her and Rafe had had no more than a couple conversations a day. She was lonely...so damn lonely. 

So, as much as she hated to admit it, having him here with her right now mended the hole in her heart in the tiniest way. 

"Hey," Rafe soothed, face falling at the sight of her tears. "Come here." He murmured, pulling her toward his chest. 

Charlotte melted into him, allowing him to hold her close as she sobbed. 

She hated being vulnerable...especially in front of Rafe, especially right now. 

But she couldn't help it. Couldn't help the flood of tears that flowed from her eyes, soaking his shirt as he cradled her close. 

He held her like that for what felt like forever, silent as he gently ran his hand over her hair, allowing her to clutch onto him. 

When she finally pulled back slightly, Rafe nodded toward her bedroom. "Let's get you to bed." He whispered, awaiting her confirmation before gently leading her toward the bedroom. 

Charlotte felt completely drained as Rafe picked a pair of pajamas for her, setting them down on the bed before he turned back toward the hallway. "I'll let you get changed."

If she had been more coherent, Charlotte might have gaped at the fact that he was being so respectful. 

Instead, she gave a small nod as she changed as quickly as possible without straining her body any further. 

By the time Rafe had re-entered with a glass of water in hand, Charlotte was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in her hands. 

"Here." Rafe mumbled, setting the water down on her bedside table before adjusting her pillows. "Lay down, Charlotte."

She allowed him to tuck her in, all of her muscles seeming to ache as she settled into the soft bed. 

"Need anything else?" Rafe wondered, brushing the stray hair from her face. 

Charlotte shook her head slightly, looking up at him with her big brown eyes. "No. Thank you."

Rafe nodded, watching her for a moment before giving a small nod. "Alright. I'll be down the hall if you need anything."

He turned, moving toward the door. 

Something pulled in Charlotte's heart, and she spoke before her brain even had the chance to fully process it, "Rafe?"

Pausing, her turned to look at her. 

"Will you stay with me tonight?" She wondered, voice cracking as something seemed to take a hold of her once again.

Rafe couldn't hide the small smile that twitched across his lips as he dipped his head in a nod. "Of course."

Slipping into the bed next to her, he was still for a moment, as if not sure how close he should get. 

Charlotte made the decision for him, closing the space between them as she placed her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. 

"Thank you." She whispered, breaking the silence that had settled across the door. 

Rafe nodded, lightly drawing circles on her arms as he rested his chin against the top of her head. "I'm here for you, Lottie." He assured. "Always."

And despite all the shit they had gone through, Charlotte still believed that was true. 

─☼☼☼─

Rafe and Charlotte were in the best place they had been since they arrived on Guadeloupe. 

She hadn't fully forgiven him for everything that had happened, but she wasn't as actively avoiding him as she had been. 

The bulk of her blame was placed on Ward who still hadn't woken up. She hoped it stayed that way. 

Rafe had been preoccupied with business matters during the days, leaving Charlotte time to check in with Mateo. 

He still hadn't found anything, but she was doing her best not to lose hope. 

"Where are you headed tomorrow?" She wondered as she sat atop the dock, legs dangling over the water as Mateo refuelled his boat. 

He looked out at the water for a moment, as if gauging his answer. "Further down the coast. Toward Montserrat."

Charlotte nodded, leaning back on her hands as she glanced up at the sun that hung over head. "Do you think I'm crazy," She wondered, not meeting his eye. "For searching for them when I have no clue where the hell they are?"

She still wasn't looking at him, but she could hear Mateo still, setting down his jerrycan. "No. I think you're the type of sister and friend anyone would be lucky to have...looking for them no matter what."

Now, finally looking at him, Charlotte wore a sad smile, "They saved my life in ways they may not even know...I owe them everything."

And it was true, they had saved Charlotte from her darkest pits of despair after she had returned to the OBX post breakup. They had their fair share of problems over the months, but they always had each others backs. 

She didn't expect Mateo to respond, in fact, she knew he probably didn't have much to say. But what she didn't expect was to see the furrowed look that covered his dark features. 

"Mateo?" She wondered, sitting up slightly.

He nodded in the direction of the road, "Isn't that─"

"Charlotte!"

"Fuck."

The curse tumbled from Charlotte's lips as she scrambled to her feet, already trying to prepare how the hell she was going to get out of this one. 

"Stay here." She ordered to Mateo, barely acknowledging him as she took off down the dock toward her less than thrilled ex-boyfriend. 

Rafe met her halfway, his eyes locked on Mateo who was watching the pair carefully. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Stop." Charlotte ordered, placing her hand on his chest to prevent him from getting any closer to Mateo. "Just relax for a minute."

Looking down at her, Rafe's nostrils flared in anger. "Relax? Really, Charlotte? How am I supposed to relax when I just went to check on you, only to find your room empty. And now here you are with some total stranger!"

"He's not a total stranger." Charlotte muttered, already wincing for a reaction that hadn't occurred yet. 

Rafe's darkened eyes flickered back toward Mateo who was still watching them as if ready to jump into action at any moment. "Not a total stranger...why's that?"

Not wanting Mateo to hear any of what was to come, Charlotte took a hold of Rafe's hand, dragging him away from the docks. He went without a fight, glare locked on Mateo the entire time. 

Once they were far enough away, she stopped and dropped his hands. "Mateo has been helping me." She admitted, knowing that, at this point, it was better to go with the truth. 

Something ticked in Rafe's jaw as he looked down at Charlotte. "You've been looking for them, haven't you?"

She was silent for a moment, staring up at him, trying to determine how he was going to react to the news.

"Yes."

Her answer came out as steady as she could managed. 

The laugh that tumbled from Rafe's lips was a mixture of humourless, and incredulous. "Are you fucking serious, Lottie?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" She snapped, quickly losing her patience. 

Running a hand over his buzzed hair, Rafe sucked in his bottom lip. "Charlotte, they left you. They fucking left you behind and you're wasting your time looking for them?"

Anger sparked through Charlotte's body, her face reddening as she shook her head. "They had no choice."

"Didn't they?"

"They didn't." She snapped, voice teetering. "Because if they had stayed behind, your fucking men would have shot them...just like they did to me."

Silence. 

Her words hung in the air like a slap to the face. 

Both of them were shocked she had said it. 

Rafe stood still for a moment, chest heaving with deep breaths, face tight in anger. 

But then, completely stunning Charlotte, his face softened ever so slightly. "You're right."

"What?" Charlotte was questioning before she could stop herself. "Are you serious?"

Rafe dipped his head slightly, letting out a deep breath as if the words he was saying hurt him. "You're right, Lottie. It's my fault you were shot...my fault your friends left you behind."

Looking over her shoulder, Charlotte swore she was being punked. There was no way Rafe was being for real right now. 

"So, I'm gonna let you keep sending out that guy to search for them...if that's what really makes you happy." Rafe offered.

Okay, this really had to be a prank now. 

"But there's one thing I need from you."

There it was. 

Charlotte watched him carefully, trying to find any sign of deception in his features. 

"I have a potential buyer coming to look at the cross tomorrow. He only speaks French, so he's bringing a translator. But I want you there to confirm that she's telling me everything he says. And I want you to be apart of the deal with me."

Speaking without hesitation, Charlotte gave him an answer that shocked them both. 

"Okay...deal."

─☼☼☼─