(chapter forty four)

Clara adjusted the top and her pants, trying to cover the wound of her stomach, then she pulled her hair into a bun as a way to try to tame the complete mess that was her locks of running and hide between wheat, while Rafe stood there on the sun, waiting for his clothes to dry at least a little.

She had refused any chance of conversation the man before her tried to start, arranging her rings and touching the pocket of the pants, where Rafe's star necklace was resting, she swallowed dry and when he tilted his head to the side, they both started making their way to the docks.

The girl had never been to Barbados before, but just like any other touristic island, she knew that there were souvenir stands closer to the beach, somewhere where they could easily find or steal money.

Then she saw a couple, the man holding her partner's bag while she stood in front of a small mirror with a dress in front of her body, trying to see if that was her best option, while the man had a confused face as he looked for something to get for themselves.

"Rafe," she whispered and the man's eyes completely shifted to her as she pointed with her head to the two. "I'm gonna try to distract the woman so you can lure the man away. He's with her purse, so..."

His blue eyes moved to who she was talking about, and he licked his lips thinking of a way that he could persuade the man to follow him. Rafe then nodded his head, meaning that he got this. Clara then gave him one last look, before walking up to the woman, stopping by her side as she also pretended to be looking at the hanging clothes.

Clara then brought a dress closer to her, standing by the woman's side as she looked in front of her, and she hummed in disapproval, sending a side look to the woman. "Maybe not for me, but I think this would be great for you."

She turned to the girl in surprise, as she wasn't expecting her to talk to her. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah. This is definitely your color," Clara continued, giving the woman the dress so she could see herself in the mirror with it, then sending a small look to Rafe, signaling for him that it was his turn.

And he did, talking to the man and he quickly was able to pull the man away from there. After Clara noticed the woman was distracted enough, Rafe left the alley as he tossed the purse back, his hand holding two wallets, his eyes met hers and Clara knew that it was her turn to leave. She gave the woman a smile before walking away.

Clara continued walking with her head up to the end of the dock, being very conscious of Rafe walking behind her. When he reached her, his fingers twirled the ID in front of her face, and Clara could only pull her lips into a line as she looked around.

The face of the woman smiled back at her, and she grabbed it in her own hands, trying to memorize the name and birthday.

"Married?" She asked with a small disbelief in her voice. The two they just robbed were married. How in the world would they pass by a married couple? "They are married, Rafe."

"Why, is it so hard to imagine?" He asked, his own face closer to hers so their conversation would be heard by outsiders passing by. "A little more than a month ago we were living under the same roof, sleeping on the same bed. I think we can pull this off."

Clara rolled her eyes, looking everywhere but at his electric blue ones.

"How so if we look like high school students?" She retorted, and it was Rafe's turn to roll his eyes. "They never gonna really believe we have 26."

"Whatever," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "Do you have any other idea? Cause I'm sure they'll be looking for us in a few."

She knew Rafe was right, so she only sighed, nodding her head as Rafe held out his hand in front of her.

"Give me your hand," he pointed with his head, and Clara furrowed her eyebrows, slowly putting her hand on top of his.

Rafe slipped off the ring from his index finger and moved to slide on her ring. It was a little loose, but then she closed her hand in a fist to prevent it from falling off.

"Not taking any chances," he said as he looked at the line to get into the ferry. "C'mon."

And he started walking, this time with Clara by his side, as they walked up the ramp to get to the ferry. Rafe's hand found its way to her waist as he pulled her closer to him, the hat covering his face just a bit as they got closer to the security guard.

"Hey, boss," the man said, and Rafe took off his hat, flashing his smile at him and to the girl beside him, then giving the two IDs to him as he looked at them.

"How're you doing?" Rafe asked as the man looked at their picture and back at them.

"Living the dream. Did you enjoy your day?"

"Was great to take a break from work. It's beautiful here, right, my love?" Clara commented, resting her hand on the ring on Rafe's chest, and the boy couldn't help but smile back at her.

"You two got some sun since you took this photo, guess staying here did its job," the man said, and Clara let out a small laugh. "There you go, Mr and Mrs Tompkins."

Rafe grabbed the IDs back and nodded his head, the two of them walking inside the boat. "Appreciate it."

"Enjoy Guadaloupe."

When their feet touched the floor of the boat, Clara let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding, as she let Rafe guide her to one more isolated part of the ship, where they could sit down.

Clara brought her knees to her chest, resting her head against it as Rafe sat by her side. Her eyes were still locked on the various people walking past them.

"Guadaloupe," she whispered, and Rafe's head snapped to the side when he heard her voice. "That time... you said to me that you would talk to your father to send me back to the OBX-"

"Clara-"

She could only stare back at him. And he didn't need any other words. The look she sent his way told him enough. Because Clara wasn't his anymore, she had made it clear with their conversation earlier, and she wasn't her old self either.

Of course, Rafe didn't want to mention it. He knew her from the inside out, so obviously he could recognize her from miles away, but there was a reason he knew that she could fool the security with the stolen IDs.

She was a lot skinnier than before, the baby fat on her face long gone, as the cheekbones were almost visible, her eyes were deep, dark bags obvious under them, not to mention how her bones were visible with every movement she made. Don't get him wrong, she was still beautiful, but the look on her face showed that she had gone through a lot, almost as if she had matured years in a month.

Rafe still didn't even know how she was alive with how frail she looked. And he couldn't even be mad at anyone but himself.

"I'll send you back on the first plane when we get to Guadaloupe, alright?" He could only say, voice so soft that took her back. She expected him to argue back with her, yet she was grateful he didn't. "I'll see if they have anything for us to eat."

He got up and Clara watched him walk away, her arms still around her legs as she was left alone with her own thoughts.

++++

Unfortunately for her, the boat there didn't have anything other than water, which she happily took. And when they arrived, Rafe called them a cab to wherever was the new Cameron house.

Clara wasn't exactly thrilled to be there, but it was there or nothing. She didn't want to see Ward or Rose, not after the stunt they had pulled leading to her kidnapping. She didn't know exactly if she would find herself in that position if they had left her at the estate.

Because Clara was selfish, and she knew that. She couldn't picture herself crashing into a boat to an unknown place like the pogues did.

But now, there she was.

Rafe gave the cab driver a few bills and he closed the door after her, starting to walk up the steps to the house.

Clara stayed still for a few seconds, staring at the house. It was different from Tannyhill, but the Camerons apparently couldn't give up the fact that they needed to live close to the sea. Her thoughts were broken by a small whistle from Rafe, who raised his eyebrows at her, and she pursed her lips, holding the injured arm close to her stomach, and walked up the steps to the door.

He walked in first, his eyes traveling around the house as he could hear footsteps approaching the door. The first one that appeared was Rose, who crossed her arms at Rafe, but confusion took over her expression when she saw Clara standing awkwardly behind him.

Then his eyes widened when he saw his father, who stopped by Rose's side with a small — yet forced — smile. Rafe looked back at Clara for a second before walking forward and bringing his father into a hug. It had been too long.

She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under their stares as they took on the girl's appearance. What had happened?

However, Ward's eyes still were locked on the girl. Rafe pulled apart from him, asking how the man was while his father tried to reassure him. Another steps appeared behind them, and the small girl appeared.

Wheezie's eyes almost twinkled when she saw Clara. The youngest Cameron did not notice the tension between the adults as she called out her name in happiness and ran to hug her. Clara wrapped one of her arms around Wheezie's shoulder and exhaled.

"I thought Rafe was on a business trip..?" She asked, pulling back from the hug, but still staying under Clara's arm.

"I was, but a few things happened and..." he trailed out, scratching behind his ear, then pointed at her and to the air. "Yeah."

"Clara, it's good to see you," Ward finally said, and the girl tried to hide the disgust on her face, as Rafe walked closer to the two girls, his hand going to the injured arm as his eyes flickered to the stairs.

"I'll show her the room she'll be staying-"

"She won't stay with you?" Wheezie asked, and Rafe's jaw clenched for a second.

"Wheezie," Rose called the girl so that she wouldn't intrude on the situation, and she frowned.

Clara squeezed the girl's shoulders and she let go, nodding at Rafe as he rested his hand on the high of her back and started guiding her to the second floor, not without knowing the two adults were watching their every move.

Rafe brought her to one of the doors, showing a regular bedroom with white sheets, looking like it was never even used. Next to the window, there was a bathroom. And that was pretty much it. Empty.

It reminded her of her own room back at her mother's house.

"This was supposed to be Sarah's room before..." he broke the silence, closing the door behind him. "You'll probably find a few of her clothes here too, if you want to shower. There's towels under the sink."

Clara nodded again, not daring to say anything else. Rafe bit his lips as his eyes went to her arm.

"Does it hurt? I can bring you painkillers if you want," her eyes flickered at the thought, and Rafe had to hold himself back in not slamming his hand over his mouth at her look.

He recognized that look because he had it himself before he got clean. Every now and then he got a sudden urge to throw it all out of the window and find out how he could get someone to buy. But he was containing himself, because of that, he had forgotten how Clara had her own share of addiction herself.

It wasn't for such a long time like his, but it was still something. How could he forget the time after his visit to that boy's house, where she had cried in his arms, asking for him to throw the rest of the drugs she had down the toilet?

Of course, Clara wanted a painkiller. She wanted one just as much as he wanted a line in his worst days. Wasn't just to numb the pain.

"How about you take a warm shower, I can ask for the maid to prepare something for you to eat, then I'll book your flight back, yeah?" He then offered, and Clara forced out a smile, turning her back to him and walking to the bathroom.

Rafe took that as a sign he wasn't welcome anymore, so he licked the inside of his teeth and left the room.

He still needed to talk to his father.

++++

Clara wasn't sure how long she had stayed in the shower, sitting on the floor with the water hitting her back, but she blinked when the water started turning cold. So she turned it off and dried herself.

Dropping the towel on the sink, she could only stare at her body. At the gnarly shot wound, at the big bite mark that still had yet to heal and how much of her bones were showing, how dry was her hair. She bit her lip trying to keep her tears at bay, as she touched her her skin.

She felt for the first time in so long conscious of her body. So Clara forced herself to turn her back and walk inside the room, making her way to the wardrobe.

Shuffling a little bit on the drawers, she took a pair of loose sweatpants and a big shirt that belonged to Sarah. Her already small body, now even smaller, was engulfed by the clothes.

On top of the bed, there was a small medical kit that Rafe probably left for her. Clara opened it a little too eagerly for her liking, sighing when there was no pain medicine, so she applied an ointment on the bite and wrapped her arm with gauze.

Clara didn't know if she should wait for Rafe to check on her or if she should leave the room by herself, but when her stomach grumbled, she gave in. The smell of food was all over the house and already reaching her room, and she was so hungry. So she opened the door and slow steps to not be heard by anyone else as she made her way downstairs, following the amazing scent to the kitchen.

Wheezie was there, putting up a plate on the table, and she smiled when she saw Clara.

"Good timing, the timer just ringed!" She said it excitedly and Clara smiled, moving to her side and staring down at the pans. "There's chicken and mac and cheese. I know it's not a lot, but-"

"Thank you," Clara said for the first time in hours, and Wheezie smiled relieved.

What the young girl wasn't expecting was for Clara to devour her food like she hadn't eaten anything in days, but for Clara, she could almost cry with joy at having food in front of her.

Anything right now would be better than fish and coconut water.

Rafe entered the kitchen and he scratched the back of his neck, eyes focusing on his girlfriend — ex-girlfriend.

He had told Ward what happened, how he found Clara, and the situation at hand. And that he agreed. Clara should go back to Outerbanks, but so should Rafe. As soon as possible. End all the enterprises, and sell Tannyhill. Start over.

He should've been concerned about why he agreed so easily to let her go, but he didn't.

Wheezie looked at her brother, while Clara didn't even notice he was getting closer, so he sent his sister a look to tell her to leave. The young girl rolled her eyes, scoffing as she left.

Clara looked confused at Wheezie and then turned her head to look at Rafe, while he just opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water for himself and a jug of apple juice, putting it in front of her, eyes never leaving hers.

The girl swallowed the food and slowly grabbed the jug, opening it and pouring it down on her cup.

"My dad already called the pilot of the plane so he can drop us off back in the OBX," he started, leaning himself up by his elbows on the counter.

Clara took a sip out of the juice, sighing happily at that, but then her eyes turned to him as she finally understood what he meant.

"Us?"

"He wants me to deal with some things on the enterprises. Since you're already going, I'm tagging along," he shrugged, and Clara nodded in understanding.

Rafe's eyes analyzed her. Clara took another bite of the chicken, staring off to nothing on the table.

She had been too quiet, thinking too much, and he knew that that was never good.

"We're leaving in two hours," he said, turning back to open a door taking out a plate and starting to place food for himself, then sitting in front of her.

Clara didn't like the normalcy of the moment, but deep down she couldn't help but feel comforted by it.

Hey! I'm sorry for taking so long to release this chapter, but I really had bo idea how to write it, so I hope this is good!

Can you believe this fic is One Year Old TODAY? It's crazy how the time flies, oh my God.

Thank you all that has been reading and waiting patiently for updates! I appreciate all of you!

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